Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Right of way

An hour ago, I was nearly squashed. About to cross Court Street at Atlantic, and the pedestrian light was green. I'm a dedicated jay walker, but this is a tricky intersection with cars turning in from Atlantic, right and left, too focused on avoiding traffic to think about humans.

I had my eye on a woman in an SUV who was about to gun her car right into Court, across my path, but then she was held up by oncoming traffic, so my way was clear. I start to cross, then VROOM! another SUV turning left into Court, slices past me, almost removing parts to which I was and remain, attached.

Bleep you! I yelled in reflex, through the open driver's window: Greenlight! gesturing at light.

This positively galvanized the apparently multitudinous occupants of the SUV. Big, brown arms and hands shot out of all descending tinted windows, giving me the collective finger as various variations of Bleep you Stringbean were hurled at me. They were outraged. It became so funny that I packed up laughing while hoping the bullet wouldn't hurt. And that was the end of it.

But really, a couple of inches, is all it was. Green pedestrian light. Cop not 8 yards away. They hand out parking tickets left right and centre, but what about moving violations?

I must be getting old. At least I'm getting old.

4 comments:

  1. All true NYers "ahhrr wawkin heeuh!"

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  2. "Bleep you Stringbean" LOL (shaking head). Glad you didn't get squashed and I can laugh about the visual.

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  3. Glad you survived!!! but may i remind you of Mr D'Andrea, my sainted driving instructor (40 years ago????) who said "just because you have the right of way doesn't do you any good when you're dead."

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  4. Bleeping is better than bleeding.

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