Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Irony of It All

Yes, it's been over a year since my last post. And you may be asking yourself, "What would prompt Susi to post after a nearly 13 month sabbatical?" The answer: the owner of the Segway machines passed away. A brief moment of silence before I tell you how....
He died on a Segway. Now a brief moment for laughter. :)

Yes, the owner of Segway, Jimi Heselden, ironically died on a Segway after he apparently drove it off a cliff and into a river. The very thing he loved was also literally, his downfall. What's even more ironic is that he died just days prior to the company releasing information on safety measures and procedures regarding riding the Segway.


Yes, this "one hit wonder," I fear has seen it's last day. With high profile people having mishaps (including former U.S. President George W. Bush not being able to get on it, and America's Got Talent judge and soon-to-be CNN host Piers Morgan falling off), I'm surprised they are still around. I will give it to Segway owner Jimi Heselden though...as one of Britain's richest people who just purchased the company, he was also one of the most generous. As ironic, funny and untimely as his death was, he led a fascinating life...growing up poor in Leeds, England, leaving school at 15 to work in the mines and then staying in his hometown to build up his company. In 1990, he founded Hesco Bastion, which if we have ever had any friends or family in the warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan, we should be so lucky that Jimi was alive to see this company into prosperity. Hesco is a company that makes concertina barriers that are filled with dirt and junk used to protect military bases and secure areas. Essentially, they are everywhere in warzones. Maybe he needed one of these barriers by the cliff.

Yes, overall, Jimi's death is quite tragic--on all accounts.