The question caught me off guard and was asked in the strangest of settings – a courtroom.  Several months ago I found myself in the county courtroom on the witness stand as the initial witness for the prosecution. My “Good Samaritan” actions eighteen months prior got me a date with the legal system.  Fortunately, I was not the one in trouble.

Let’s wind the clock back to put things into perspective.  It was a Fall Thursday afternoon and I had left work early to travel to Pittsburgh to stay with my Mom in anticipation of our early flight the next morning. Before I took to the road, I wanted to get some cycling in as it would be 10 days before I would get the next opportunity, as we were headed to Colorado for our nephew’s wedding.  I decided to add some mileage to my ride and snaked my way to a secluded area north of my home.

As I began to climb the hill, I noticed a beat up blue truck parked in a driveway with the driver side door open.  Lying face down and motionless was a man with his upper body under the open door and his legs underneath the body of the truck.  I yelled to get his attention.  No response.  I yelled again with the same result.  I circled back, got off my bike, checked the surroundings to be safe, and hovered directly over top of him, again calling to him to get his attention.  He replied with a faint moan.  He had received a blow to his head as his left eye was badly swollen and the side of his face bore the marks of blunt force trauma.

I placed a 911 call and it was a miracle to have connected with the operator as the location from which I made the call was in a ravine.  Within a few minutes the first of four EMT crews arrived.  In the process of assisting the EMT’s to stabilize the man, an angry German Shepherd crashed through the screen door of the run down trailer opposite us.  Although I would not intentionally hurt an animal, I had noticed a golf club in the back of the truck.  If the dog attacked, I would have done my best to emulate Bubba Watson or Tiger Woods in the process of defending myself and the EMT’s.  Fortunately, it did not come to that.

A few moments later, a State Police officer arrived and asked me to recount the story.  After giving the officer the details, he pulled his gun and decided to case the trailer to make sure there were no perpetrators inside.  Something told me to duck for cover behind his car just in case others were in the home.  The man was loaded into the ambulance and taken about a mile away, where a Life Flight helicopter transported him to the hospital for medical attention.

My wife is a second grade teacher and always has a story to tell about her students.  This day, any story she had to tell would succumb to mine.

Flash forward a year and a half later to the courtroom and me on the witness stand.  After some preliminary questions to establish my identity and what I was doing on the scene the day of the incident the question came from the prosecuting attorney.  “Mr. Cross, are you an athlete?” 

Quite honestly, it left me speechless for a moment or two! I was involved in organized sports most of my life when I was younger and if asked the same question in yesteryear the answer would have been a resounding, “YES”!

In this context I momentarily hesitated and then answered a respectful, “Yes“.  I had to think about it. I cycle – a lot.  One that cycles, let say in the Tour de France for example, is an athlete.  Insert me into the cycling equation and it began to dawn on me – “YES, I am an A-T-H-L-E-T-E!”  Although the answer seemed to process in me like a wet garment going through an old fashioned wringer washing machine, my conclusion made me feel empowered.

What’s the point, you might ask? 

For me personally, I have thought of myself as a WOULD BE writer, an ASPIRING writer, a WANNA BE writer – you get the drift.  Much like someone who hops on a bike can be considered a cyclist, someone who writes (whether professionally or not) is a WRITER.  The only requirement for a writer to be considered a writer is to write, which is something that truly gets me lost in the moments that I do so.  Much like a dancer dances and an artist paints, a writer writes – with the method of transport in conveying an idea being pen and paper or in this, case laptop and software!

As I conclude this blog post today, I say all of the above to affirm in me a path I am choosing to travel.  I might be light on experience and I may feel like I did when I first started cycling, staying close to home and seeking internal permission to enjoy the moment.  However, given the fact that I am at this moment writing, there is a pleasant voice in my ear whispering – “Yes, you are a Writer – Write!”

What things are going on in your world that might be overcome with you recognizing a simple fact – “I am a – ________________?

Incidentally, after originally writing this post, I decided to participate in the ‘Writing Contest: You Are A Writer’ held by Positive Writer.”  http://positivewriter.com/