I can't say that I've always been a consciencious walker. Before I met Will, I was one of those free-minded walk any ole' way kind of girls. Then I met Will and learned that there are rules to walking.
1. ALWAYS walk on the right side of the sidewalk
2. Be aware of the path of the person beside you and do NOT cut them off by taking a crazy sharp turn or edging them off the sidewalk
3. Do not walk so quickly that you leave your loved one behind, feeling lonely and unimportant
After ten years together, these have now become second nature to me. So you can imagine my consternation when I crossed paths with a non-rule-followerer the other day. Last Wednesday morning we took Owen to the free kids' movie and then headed to the Fun Forest for some playtime afterwards. We're on the sidewalk at the park, me in the lead, and there are two ladies approaching from the other direction. They are walking side-by-side, taking up the whole sidewalk. I assume that one of them will drop back so that my family can pass. Neither is moving. They get closer. Still nothing. I'm starting to wonder if I am playing chicken with this lady. I will not jump into the pine needles so that she can continue hogging the sidewalk. So I stop. For a second, I think she contemplates just bowling me over and stepping on my face so that she doesn't have to swerve, but finally, she caves. Am I crazy? I know she doesn't know The Walking Rules, but doesn't this particular behavior fall in the common sense category? So I'm taking a poll...are you a sidewalk hog?
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3 comments:
It always mystefies me when people do this sort of thing. I mean, hey, we learned to walk on the right side when we were in grade school! It's like people forget their manners.
The same thing happens to me in the grocery store. You are going down an aisle and there in front of you are two shopping carts side by side. I have been made to feel like I need to back up so they don't have to interupt their conversation. I have been run off the walking path by people who won't move. Moving to a single line is just common courtesy
My mom also taught me the rules of the sidewalk, so I, in turn, am passing them down the line. I will confess to some pre-blood boiling situations similar to yours.
I have pulled out an old trick my mom used to use (which I swore I would NEVER do!!!). When I see such a situation unfolding I will tell my boys, pretty loudly, "Guys, we need to scoot over so these nice ________ (insert appropriate gender title) can get by. We don't want to hog the sidewalk." That usually gets the attention of the rule breaker and gently (or not so much) calls attention the the infraction.
Glad to know there are still some polite sidewalkers out there!
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