Commuting by bicycle exposes the rider to many sights and sounds. My little 2-mile ride to work didn't fail to deliver on this cloudy Friday, either.
After last night's prevailing thunderstorms, J and I anticipated a small breakfast on the bridge—our weekly tradition with Q and C. As we approached our friends, I noticed a few police cars on Riverfront Parkway by Ross' Landing. We sipped our coffee and also noticed two emergency vehicles parked blocking traffic on the Market Street bridge.
It must be a jumper, we concluded, describing past jumpers from the Walnut St. bridge and Olgiati.
Only hours later would I realize, after hearing a co-worker's witness of the woman who jumped from the bridge at about 8:10 this morning, that I witnessed a suicide.
I had spotted a piece of red material floating under Market and asked if dead bodies floated. A few policemen were watching the red as well.
"They do for a little while," my friend said.
The coast guard (river cops?) boat didn't arrive till about 8:30. That piece of red was a body.
I rode on to work, not thinking much of it at the time. There have been two other deaths in the past weeks that hit "closer" to home than anticipated. This one most certainly was the closest.
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