During my time off running, I started doing a lot of walking. I tend to go out later in the afternoon and tool around, listening to a podcast or two. I've really been enjoying some stuff I pulled (free!) off iTunesU; right now I have a series going on Autism, and another on American history. Anyway... at first the walks were basically just to keep me from going stir crazy, as I can get really batshit crazy when I don't get in enough activity, but they have evolved into their own little enjoyable thing, a sort of bonus land, if you will, and despite having put in a morning workout at the dojo AND having hit the gym, I am missing my walk right now. I do have some great raingear, but I think perhaps it might not be a bad idea to give things a break for a day.
I'm still feeling ambivalent about running on this hip. I AM stiffer than I'd like to be, stiffer than normal for me. And come to think of it - it's possible that all the walking, on top of the resumption of normal activities, isn't helping matters... which kind of sucks.
But - my topic du jour is something that has been on my mind for a while, and that is my state's IDIOTIC pedestrian crossing law. The law, which seems simple enough, states that cars must stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, including, apparently, invisible crosswalks. As a runner and frequent pedestrian, I am all for not getting hit by a car, so in principle, I am all for this law. However, it seems to have bred some incredibly stupid behaviour on the part of both drivers and pedestrians alike.
My personal view of crossing the road breaks down very simply. In the pedestrian vs. car equation - if the two collide, the result will nearly inevitably be, Car - 1, Pedestrian - 0. That simple equation underlies all of my dealings with roadways and cars. I don't assume a driver is going to do anything; I act on what they actually do in a manner I believe will best preserve my own ass, period. I don't assume they will stop at lights, stop signs, or even the holy crosswalk. However, some people apparently DO expect cars to stop at crosswalks, even if they (the pedestrian) are essentially walking out into traffic. Hello?
And then there are the cars that stop for pedestrians, even if they DO have the right of way. Yesterday morning I was walking to the train to go to school. I cross one road that has a traffic light. When I got there, my direction had a red light, so I stood waiting by the curb to cross at the appropriate time. Well, some GENIUS driving through the intersection stopped to let me go, despite the fact that he had a green light. He's lucky no one rear ended him.
I don't really blame drivers for any of this; I blame "officials" who seem to give conflicting information as to how the law is to be enforced, right down to where a crosswalk officially begins. So I try my best, as a PEDESTRIAN, not to confuse drivers, but some of them still like to stop when I'm on the freaking SIDE WALK waiting for a safe time to cross. Never mind that, as alluded to above, some officials imply that a crosswalk de facto exists wherever a pedestrian is trying to cross a road; I have seen drivers do what I consider really, really stupid and unsafe things in the name of trying to comply with a set of nebulous guidelines. (I say that, because I presume the law is pretty explicit, but I've never SEEN the actual law, I've just heard media discussion about it, and I assume most people are in the same boat.)
So, I'll continue to operate under my Guiding Principle (thou art responsible for thine own ass)and who knows - maybe one day there will be Clarity for All on this issue.
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