Crossroads, Revisited

 

I was stuck in a bit of traffic on Dobbin, sitting in the right hand lane, near the section where the fast food restaurants are grouped together. I saw cars in front of me trying merge left, so I thought there had been an accident ahead, or road work blocking the lane. As I approached the hold-up, I did a double-take.

He was in his sixties, or maybe seventies, his thinning gray hair on the longish side. His gray jacket looked worn. And he was moving along in the middle of the right-hand lane in a motorized wheel chair. I noticed there was a police car to my left. I wondered if the police would intervene.

They didn't. The man continued his progress. Nobody honked, they either merged out of the lane or drove along slowly. Many, like me, probably had no idea what was gumming up the works.

I kept fearing for this man's safety, and also wondering if driving a wheelchair in vehicular traffic was illegal. One thing I didn't wonder: why he was in the street.

That's simple. There are no sidewalks there. Where else was he going to go?

As I got to the intersection of Dobbin and Route 175, I noticed people on all four corners, in brightly colored reflective safety vests. Wearing Santa hats, they were collecting money for toys for poor children. I'm sure their hearts were in the right place. But I have a better idea.

We need to be out with our buckets, at the crossroads of Columbia, collecting money for sidewalks.

hocoblogs@@@

 

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