Part One:What was your biggest rookie mistake?

Ben Thompson, Velocity
Well, back in Janurary of 95 I was working for ProMess and it was about 8:30 in the morning. It was overcast and kinda rainy and I picked up something at 101 The Embaracdero. I was already loaded down with 8 or 9 tags. And I had this computer thing in a big box that was going to 555 California. It was hella windy and I was all loaded and wasn't feeling very well. I got on my bike and got on the Embarcadero, turned on to Mission. As soon as I got to Spear, I got caught by a crosswind and it blew me and the computer over. I landed on top of the computer and I was totally pissed off. So when I finally got there I dropped it off. Later on that day Jen, my dispatcher called me into the office and we sat down with Joel Ritch, the owner of ProMess. Joel Ritch says, "Luckily for you, we have insurance. But if you are loaded down in the future and can't take something, then just tell us." When I asked why, Jen said, "You know that computer thing that you fell on?" I said yeah, and she says "That was 20,000 dollars worth of computer equipment and you broke it!" And so I said okay. And they never sent me to Panelight again.

Matt Dillon, Express Legal
I never messengered until I moved to this city. Finally after 12 weeks of trying to find a bike, I found a Miyata road frame and decided to go over to Silver Bullet and apply for a job. I got to about 4th and Bryant and and right at the intersaection a cab blew the light and knocked me clear off of my bike, abour 10 feet away from it. Then I actually had to walk my broken bike to Silver Bullet to apply for a job.

Wendy Fallin, Western
When I was working at Aero, post-Huffy days and pre-not-rookie days, one day I decided that I was going to be a rebel and not wear my helmet or my uniform. I got through the whole day without being caught, and they called me in and I was going down California Street. I unhooked my helmet off of my bag and placed it on my head, swung my bag around, pulled my uniform shirt out and threw it over my handlebars. I swung my my bag back around and realized that this really was not the most fabulous of ideas. So I started diving for my front brakes but before I could, what I thought would happen did happen: my uniform shirt got caught in my front brakes, my bike just pitched me over the handlebars. Of course I hadn't strapped my helmet on my head, so it went flying off. I smashed into the street but of course since I was wearing toe clips, my bike swung around and hit me in the back of the head, smashing my face into the cement in front of about 50 million commuters in front of 101 cal, and they all rushed out into the street and asked me if I was okay. Of course I told them to leave methe fuck alone. Picked myself up, undid my brakes , pulled my shirt out from between my brakes and my rim, put it on, and rode whimpering and limping into base

America Meredith, Western Legal
I was working late night 'cos Wheels would never let us in early. I was cruising down Spear Street and I never paid attention to red cones and danger signs 'cos I was too punk rock for that stuff, so I wound up sinking into very wet cement. I was still wearing Converse hi-tops. Unfortunately I had a few more to go and I didn't want to embarass myself by calling in, so I left my cement-filled shoes on the sidewalk and did the rest of my tags barefoot. When I finally got called in, I went into the office and nobody noticed that I didn't have any shoes on.

PART TWO: What do you think of bike messengers and their effort to unionize?

Gary Floyd, former singer of the Dicks and Sister Double Happiness
I grew up in a union family in South Texas. I was always excited to see bike messengers in San Francisco. I knew I could never do that. It was a special thing and I guess unionizing makes sense.

Hillary Binder, drummer of Sabot, co-founder of C.E.S.T.A. in Tabor, Czech Republic)
I think there should not be a struggle. Messengers should have been organized from day one. I think that the idea of working, particularly servicing most of the corporate community without at least basic benefits that are mandatory for most other areas of the service industry is criminal. I think if this does not happen soon you are going to see a lot of shit flying. So to avoid that, I suggest that everybody should get involved and support those who support you.

Jello Biafra, former U.C.Santa Cruz student
It's not just communism that is dying; capitalism is dying too, and being replaced by corporate feudalism. If you liked the feudalism of the middle ages, where the barons and of castles could treat the serfs like virtual slaves down below. Corporations are treating people the same way today-temp jobs, less and less benefits, longer hours, labor safety laws being gutted- all of this is a part of the onslaught of corporate feudalism. There is a blood less unspokens civil war going on in this country and in the industrialized world. Not the left versus the right, but the top versus the bottom. And the front line against corporate feudalism is for labor to organize not just among the unions for the different types of workers, but for the unions themselves to organize, with each other, and keep the corruption and the mob out at the same time and fight these motherfuckers who are trying to take everybody's money, and for that matter, everybody's wallet as well.

Tom Alder, Bound Together Books collective member
If you are going to talk about organizing messengers, maybe you should talk about organizing everyonre else. And if you don't want people to fuck you over, DON'T LET THEM. Give yourself a voice and some sort of protection. You derserve it.

compiled by Damon