Why I Walk on Right Side (otherwise called the left)
Every weekday I walk 2 miles, unless it's raining or the windchill goes below -20. Since I do this early in the morning, I'm often walking in the dark. I try to always be sure to wear something light-colored - though I'm sure I should probably also have something reflective on. Yesterday a car was coming straight toward me. Usually they swerve over to the other side of the road just to be safe. This one was not swerving. There was actually plenty of room, but that extra space just feels safer. At about the last second, the car swerved and I took a step off the side of the road. Then I promptly forgot about the whole thing.
Shortly after I got back home, there was a knock at the door. I was surprised to find one of the neighbors at the door. She was apologizing for almost running me over. She had been trying to get something off her windshield and hadn't seen me until the last second. I think it really scared her - more than it did me, anyway. I thought it was really sweet of her to come and apologize, though I assured her that it was fine. There really was more room between me and her car than it seemed. But this is why I walk on the left side of the street, facing traffic, because I can see what is coming toward me. What if she hadn't seen me at all and maybe swerved slightly toward the side of the road instead of the middle? If I was walking on the other side of the street, the way 90% of the people in this town seem to do, I would never have seen her. Why is it that these people don't seem to have a clue where they are supposed to walk? It really bothers me to see people, especially those with small children, walking with their backs to oncoming traffic. Yes, I know, it's a small town and there's not much traffic, but still. It's the principle of the thing. It is a rule, after all, and it is for their own good. Maybe they just don't think the rule applies to them. Sometimes when I'm driving and come up behind someone walking on the wrong side of the street, I don't swerve until the last second just trying to see if they ever notice me. They don't. They're clueless.
With most rules, if it makes sense, then I'm going to follow the rule. I'm not even sure I could do otherwise. Well, I could, but it would cause me extreme distress. And then I let it bother me when other people don't follow that same rule. I know. I shouldn't, but I do.
Now, if I don't agree with a rule or it makes no sense to me then that's a little different. Still mostly I do what's expected of me. I don't speed, even when I think the speed limit is extremely slow for no good reason - at least that I can see. When I was in college I did go out and get a tape full of music we were told not to listen to - my RL tape. RL for Restricted Listening. Obviously I couldn't just call it Restricted Listening because someone might notice that. Still, I didn't want someone telling me I couldn't listen to Def Leppard or Twisted Sister if I wanted to. That rule made no sense to me whatsoever. (It was a church college. They had several other rules that made no sense either.) I probably still have that tape around here somewhere. No rules against that in this house. :P
Shortly after I got back home, there was a knock at the door. I was surprised to find one of the neighbors at the door. She was apologizing for almost running me over. She had been trying to get something off her windshield and hadn't seen me until the last second. I think it really scared her - more than it did me, anyway. I thought it was really sweet of her to come and apologize, though I assured her that it was fine. There really was more room between me and her car than it seemed. But this is why I walk on the left side of the street, facing traffic, because I can see what is coming toward me. What if she hadn't seen me at all and maybe swerved slightly toward the side of the road instead of the middle? If I was walking on the other side of the street, the way 90% of the people in this town seem to do, I would never have seen her. Why is it that these people don't seem to have a clue where they are supposed to walk? It really bothers me to see people, especially those with small children, walking with their backs to oncoming traffic. Yes, I know, it's a small town and there's not much traffic, but still. It's the principle of the thing. It is a rule, after all, and it is for their own good. Maybe they just don't think the rule applies to them. Sometimes when I'm driving and come up behind someone walking on the wrong side of the street, I don't swerve until the last second just trying to see if they ever notice me. They don't. They're clueless.
With most rules, if it makes sense, then I'm going to follow the rule. I'm not even sure I could do otherwise. Well, I could, but it would cause me extreme distress. And then I let it bother me when other people don't follow that same rule. I know. I shouldn't, but I do.
Now, if I don't agree with a rule or it makes no sense to me then that's a little different. Still mostly I do what's expected of me. I don't speed, even when I think the speed limit is extremely slow for no good reason - at least that I can see. When I was in college I did go out and get a tape full of music we were told not to listen to - my RL tape. RL for Restricted Listening. Obviously I couldn't just call it Restricted Listening because someone might notice that. Still, I didn't want someone telling me I couldn't listen to Def Leppard or Twisted Sister if I wanted to. That rule made no sense to me whatsoever. (It was a church college. They had several other rules that made no sense either.) I probably still have that tape around here somewhere. No rules against that in this house. :P