By Theresa Keegan

I didn ’ t know Dr . Michael John Mammone . But I do know the warmth of the winter sun on your back while biking in Southern California . I know the cerulean blue of the sky and the blissful feeling that you may be the luckiest person alive to be living in such a beautiful place .

For visitors , these slices of life are captured on camera and bragged about as they return to their snowy , wind-swept climates of home . For

residents , they are grasped when we slow down enough to look around , to appreciate what is before us ; Nature ’ s abundant glory , ours for the taking . How lucky are we ? Until we aren ’ t . For Dr . Mammone , that happened Feb . 1 at the intersection of Crown Valley Road and Pacific Coast Highway . A white Lexus barreled upon him , crashing his bike into traffic and flinging his defenseless body into the pavement . And then the crazed motorist really snapped , exiting his car and mercilessly attacking his victim with a knife . The stabbing ensured a certain death .

Initially , hearing of a midweek bike accident , I lamented yet another two-wheel versus fourwheel incident . I know who the odds are against .

Upon hearing of the horror of the stabbing , all I could hope for was that this lunatic somehow had a grudge – a reason to want this one person removed from the face of the earth . And then , when authorities said the suspect didn ’ t even know Dr . Mammone , I was shocked .

What offenses , what slights and

wrongs could create so much rage in one person ?

What deck of life ’ s awful cards were dealt so resoundingly to this man ?

What mental torments had he endured that , on this sunny day , he opted to end a stranger ’ s life ?

I didn ’ t know Dr . Mammone . But as an asthmatic , I ’ ve encountered many emergency room doctors patiently wait as their actions opened my constricted airwaves . I ’ ve watched ER docs staple together my daughter ’ s young scalp and patiently explain options after an 89-year-old uncle ’ s heart stopped pumping . Their far-reaching skills extend beyond medical textbooks . These professionals deal with people during some of our ugliest moments – day in , day out , early in the mornings , late at night . They evaluate , they heal , and then move on to the next case , knowing all the while that not all outcomes will be favorable no matter what they do .

These doctors ( and nurses ) show up to do God ’ s work . The fact Dr . Mammone , age 58 , will never again perform his life ’ s calling is a tragedy to all .

AND NOW WE MOURN An ever-expanding pile of flowers now sits upon the corner of Crown Valley Parkway and PCH . The frame of a white ghost bike is shrouded amid orange Gerbera daisies , yellow daffodils , red roses . Purple and white stock flowers are tucked in the wheel spokes .

This is a painful reminder of the fragility of life . That sentiment is something emergency room workers

KEEGAN , PAGE 15