Look out, people!

I just don't understand why or how some people drive through my neighborhood with seemingly total disregard for pedestrians. I've seen it many times during my travels on foot - a car comes blasting up to an intersection, intent on running the stop sign, only to slam on the brakes at the last possible second because the driver just noticed a person on foot or bicycle right in front of them.

Just last night I was out on a 4-miler, cruising along, listening to some bitchin' tunes on my ipod, when some truck comes racing up to the stop sign of the intersection I was walking across. He sees me, slams on the brakes, and comes to a screeching stop in front of me (no, not me in front of him, but him in front of me). If I had not stopped, then I'd would have walked in front of him and been hit.

It's just a matter of time before I make someone a 250-pound hood ornament. I just can't wait to see their eyeballs staring at me, the large mass on their hood, in disbelief and shock. I don't know what I'll say to them. Well, obviously something like, "call a damn ambulance, you moron", but after that?

I got news for you speeders and stop-sign runners, if you don't kill me with your car (and provided I'm not suffering from a punctured lung or compound leg fracture) you will have to deal with me in a very pissed off state.

Just ask the guy in the silver colored luxury car that hit me some years ago. He went home with a brand new palm-sized dent in his hood ;-) Along with the hood-crater, I gave him "the look".

"The look" is the "I'm going to rip off your left arm and shove it down your pie-hole" stare. Coming from a 6'-3" man weighing 250 pounds and covered in sweat, "the look" is quite effective. That dude must have shot a load of dung in his pants because he made no effort to get out of his car. He just sat still with the "I'm in deep doo-doo, and I'm fixing to get dismembered" look.

Pleasant thoughts, and happy walking... :-)