Civility

I suppose I better see what kind of weather we have in store for us. I’ve been outside, (to call the cat) in the dark, and couldn’t see any stars, so I guess we have a cloudy future. Here it is, “A 50 percent chance of rain after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 61. South wind between 8 and 17 mph.”

If the forecast is correct, I can get in a good walk this morning before the rain starts. I did a 4 mile walk yesterday but without a timer, so I’m not sure of my performance. But it was good for me no matter how long it took.

And yesterday’s walk deserves some comments: The weather was OK but the timing was off. I started at a time when the “mommy brigade” was starting their walk through the park and they have this unfortunate habit of taking up the entire pathway with themselves and their strollers. They are unable to walk in pairs, or even in groups of 3 or 4. Anyone passing them or coming towards them has to detour out into the woods to get around them. Which I did.

And then there were the dog walkers and their bad habit of holding lengthy meetings in the middle of the pathway. Three dog walkers with 4 dogs each on retractable leashes makes a formidable barrier for the unencumbered walker; me. I was finally noticed and they reeled in a few dogs and allowed me to pass.

There were the usual nice folks out there and we exchanged greetings as we usually do; then, as I was returning, a cyclist passed me without warning. There wasn’t another person in sight but he chose to pass me with a foot or less of clearance. Jerk!

What’s with this lack of civility? Are people being raised without any sense of what’s right and wrong? Or just plain old good manners? I know…it’s always been this way, even in the “good old days” and these people won’t change. You see them everywhere; men with hats on while inside and eating. People spitting. Cutting in line ahead of you. Interrupting you. The final insult was my getting stuck behind a women wearing perfume while walking. What was she thinking? On and on it goes.

I should also mention one of my favorite sights in the park, just so you don’t think I’m a perpetual grouch. There is an older man that walks a short distance each day; maybe a mile. He is usually dressed in a Japanese style robe and wears Japanese sandals. He’s not Japanese and he appears to be about 60 years old. Balding, but with a short ponytail and always wearing sunglasses. He also walks with a pronounced limp, as if one knee were fused. He uses a cane.

And what I enjoy most is the fact that he is often accompanied by a black cat. The cat follows about ten feet behind him and at the same pace; stopping to sit whenever the man pauses. I wish I knew more of this story…