Pedestrians

There's always that guy. And when it comes to operators of motor vehicles, most are 'that guy'. This could easily launch into a multi-page essay on all things driving, but I'll keep it down to just one thing for now.

There I was, an innocent pedestrian walking his dog, about to cross the lazy neighborhood street. One car approached the intersection, and, instead of turning left like a sensible person, decided they should be polite and wait for me to cross first. This would be a fine idea if I was already in the street, but I was not. Five meters still sat between me and the road. And yet, she stopped and waited, waving for me to go ahead. Now, I know when people do this they're trying to be courteous, but it's just not helpful. Maybe if we were attempting to cross a busy metropolis street during rush hour with our three-year-old kid and second-cousin once-removed this would actually be helpful, but if you're waiting on us in a tiny town that takes a long yawn and two winks before you get to the other side, it's not going to be very helpful. In fact, it makes it terribly awkward for us poor pedestrians, who now have to do the Walk of Shame: continue walking at the speed we are wont to, forcing the driver to wait an inordinate amount of time for us to cross. We were, you'll remember, still five meters away from even starting to cross when they started waiting for us. If we want to avoid this Walk of Shame, the only other option is to do the Jog of Awkward Acceleration, where you don't want to commit to a full run, (you were out a walk to begin with!) but you still want to hurry across the street to minimize their wait time. It's this really uncomfortable half-committed trot that is just unbearably embarrassing and awkward at the same time, and if you are ever so unfortunate to make eye-contact with the driver... I feel your pain.

Drivers, it's not that hard. Make it easier on all us poor wayfaring pedestrians, and when you come to a street corner and you happen to see somebody on the sidewalk a quarter mile away, do us all a favor and just make your turn. Believe me, our feelings and/or pride won't be hurt if you don't stop and wait for us. And no, waiting two and half minutes for a pedestrian to cross in front of you does not count as your daily good deed. I honestly think getting where you're going is more important than waiting on us, and I know for sure that we'll be glad you didn't.