Pop quiz time: What's the name of that place at the corner of the street? Where there is a stoplight and also one of those light-up signs that will show either a green man walking or a red hand . . . Anyone???
A surprising number of people in downtown D.C. do not seem to know the answer to this very basic question. Rather than head to the end of the block in rush hour, these people prefer to saunter from one side of the street to the other, through moving cars, as if playing Frogger on Benadryl. That’s right, folks, these people are jaywalkers.
It’s not that I am such a goody two shoes. And it’s really not even so much that these people cross before they get to the official crosswalk. It’s the fact that these people are in no particular hurry and choose to trust that I will stop for them. And to them, I say, "Since you're obviously not in that big of a hurry, how about a nice leisurely stroll to the crosswalk?" They apparently don’t know my reputation in elevators, where I deliberately move to the inside corner of the compartment so I can hit the close door button when people are scurrying towards the door without them seeing me. And if I get caught, I just play dumb that I didn’t see them coming. It’s not that D.C. is such a hardening kind of city. It’s not like I’m really in the trenches here. It’s just that I’m really not all that nice. So jaywalkers – beware.
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I, too, am perceived as "nice" when I'm behind the wheel. Good thing they can't hear me cause I've got the rage...road rage.
ReplyDeleteCrosswalks signals are there for a reason - to save a life...so why not use them.