The Significance of Ladybugs.....

Almost all countries consider ladybugs good luck. But are they? My experience so far confirms this theory. I don’t think my Mom would agree, because one summer she had a ladybug infestation.

My first significant encounter with a ladybug was one of the days I almost died. I used to ride motorcycles with a group of very reckless people. Every time we hit the bridge in town we would all take off at ungodly speeds. Sometimes I joined in, other times I stayed in the back. This particular day two of the guys were riding really aggressively.

The first guy took off, and the second followed closely behind carrying a 16 year old on the back. They were going much faster than me, perhaps 120. I was going about 90 when something told me to get in the other lane. They were playing far too much for my liking.

Suddenly, a ladybug landed directly on my visor. I was perplexed that the ladybug did not get smashed into oblivion like every other bug does at these speeds. Before that thought was even finished I looked up to witness one of the most horrific things I have ever seen. The second rider and the passenger slammed into the other rider at over 100mph on the peak of the bridge. My heart sank. Time stopped. I couldn’t breathe. I watched three people get slung into the air like ragdolls, heard the awful noise of the impact, and watched in horror as bike parts exploded into an atomic mushroom cloud. They were tumbling along the road like tumbleweeds. Not one had a helmet.

As the shrapnel rained down, half of a bike and one rider began to slide into my lane. I had to make the most important split second decision of my life - try to pass the piece of bike and the rider without crashing, or attempt an extremely quick stop and potentially lose control, crash, or run someone over. I slammed on the brakes and struggled to not crash. The bike began to wobble and lose its balance. I came to a screeching halt within inches of the drifting piece of bike and my friend. I went from 90 to 0 in about 4 seconds. That was a new one for me.

The ladybug didn’t move an inch. I took a moment to compose myself and figure out how to breathe again, and then I went into autopilot. I checked on everyone to make sure they were alive. Two of the three were not in good shape. The girl’s hair got stuck in the bike tire during the airborne collision. She was missing half a head of hair, her shoe flew over into the ocean, and she would easily require major skin reconstruction for the rest of her life. The entire left side of her body had literally been peeled off. The other rider went as white as a ghost and started to pass out. He wanted me to call his mom. The bike that split in half was still blocking the bridge. Gasoline was spilling everywhere. The second rider walked away with not one scratch on his body. He even came and singlehandedly hoisted the 600lb bike out of traffic. They say men can lift entire cars with a high dose of adrenaline, but I never saw such a thing in my life.

As we waited for the paramedics to take our friends to the hospital, one of the other guys walked back with me to get my bike. He quit smoking for almost a year until that day. I proposed we get away from the gasoline first. As he smoked, I showed him the unrelenting ladybug. He was already beside himself, but this really bewildered him. He insisted someone had been watching over me today. As the paramedics loaded up our friends and drove away, the ladybug slowly fluttered off my bike. It is indeed life's little irony how nothing can really make you feel more alive than being so close to death.

That was my first significant encounter with a ladybug……..