Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A Close Call
Around 7:30 I was about to cross 1st Ave. at the intersection of Elmora Ave., Just after sunset, the worst time of day for seeing. This is a busy, unpredictable intersection, a fast through street meeting a three block retail district, drivers have a variety of destinations & goals, you pause at the curb even when you have the green & the white pedestrian figure. I noticed a maroon car was coming on & appeared determined to make the left in front of me, had the vibe. Then I saw a boy, about ten, pedaling his little bike across the street, with the light, in the crosswalk, the maroon car was turning & not stopping. I yelled, "Whoa!" as the car bumped into the rear tire of the bike. It tipped him over but it was a nudge rather than a hit & I knew immediately he was unhurt. I asked if he was alright & said bring the bike over & make sure it's o.k.
The car pulled over & out stepped a thirtyish woman wearing maroon scrubs - guess she likes maroon. She asked the boy if he was alright. She had the solicitous voice & demeanor of an underpaid opthamologist's assistant ("Lean back, I'm going to put these drops in your eyes now, don't blink.") She walked to the front of her car, examined the bumper then came back & began lecturing the kid he should be more careful. Of course, he should be more careful, but he's a freakin' kid, & he's a bit frightened, & he was doing the right thing crossing with the green in a legal way, & he was fine & I think his bike was undamaged. A close call, that's all. I listened to her for a few seconds & said, "You should be more careful." She said, "Me? I was careful." Like the doctor told her to just dilate the patient's left eye & she forgot & dosed both. I wanted to get to the library. I said, "Lady, if that kid had been hurt, I would've hung you. Learn the lesson. He will." She looked astonished, & indignant, too. She probably got back in the car, called her boyfriend, & whined all the way home, driving with one hand on the wheel.
***
Later, I'm trying to read a newspaper in Dunkin' Donuts, choosing my selections for the New Jersey Hall of Fame, I have Paul Robeson, Larry Doby, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, William Carlos Williams, Count Basie, & Abbott (Asbury Park) & Costello (Paterson), & wishing the more culturally significant & likable novelist Mickey "Mike Hammer" Spillane was nominated instead of F. Scott Fitzgerald, & Rutgers grad Ozzie Nelson instead of Rutgers grad economist Milton Friedman. The TV there is permanently tuned to Fox, why I don't know, it used to be CNN. I can't enjoy myself, O'Biley is on, I can't see him but I hear him, he has Dennis Miller commenting. In O'Biley's presence Miller takes on all the qualities of a nasty little Irish fascist with an irritating nasal voice that could saw sheet metal & who never expresses any of his heartless opinions in the bar until he's sure there's nobody bigger around to twist his ugly head off.
***
Note to the clueless full time male cashier at Pathmark: You had it coming when head cashier Maxine relieved you & said, "The line shouldn't be backed up like this." That young woman two customers in front of me had three WIC vouchers, one dozen cans of Similac formula, two large jars of Gerber apple juice, & two identical boxes of Gerber cereal. You don't have to be Einstein. If you're in UFCW Local 1262 , you should get on your knees every night & thank the Lord you're not selling popcorn from a cart at Walmart.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
The car pulled over & out stepped a thirtyish woman wearing maroon scrubs - guess she likes maroon. She asked the boy if he was alright. She had the solicitous voice & demeanor of an underpaid opthamologist's assistant ("Lean back, I'm going to put these drops in your eyes now, don't blink.") She walked to the front of her car, examined the bumper then came back & began lecturing the kid he should be more careful. Of course, he should be more careful, but he's a freakin' kid, & he's a bit frightened, & he was doing the right thing crossing with the green in a legal way, & he was fine & I think his bike was undamaged. A close call, that's all. I listened to her for a few seconds & said, "You should be more careful." She said, "Me? I was careful." Like the doctor told her to just dilate the patient's left eye & she forgot & dosed both. I wanted to get to the library. I said, "Lady, if that kid had been hurt, I would've hung you. Learn the lesson. He will." She looked astonished, & indignant, too. She probably got back in the car, called her boyfriend, & whined all the way home, driving with one hand on the wheel.
***
Later, I'm trying to read a newspaper in Dunkin' Donuts, choosing my selections for the New Jersey Hall of Fame, I have Paul Robeson, Larry Doby, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, William Carlos Williams, Count Basie, & Abbott (Asbury Park) & Costello (Paterson), & wishing the more culturally significant & likable novelist Mickey "Mike Hammer" Spillane was nominated instead of F. Scott Fitzgerald, & Rutgers grad Ozzie Nelson instead of Rutgers grad economist Milton Friedman. The TV there is permanently tuned to Fox, why I don't know, it used to be CNN. I can't enjoy myself, O'Biley is on, I can't see him but I hear him, he has Dennis Miller commenting. In O'Biley's presence Miller takes on all the qualities of a nasty little Irish fascist with an irritating nasal voice that could saw sheet metal & who never expresses any of his heartless opinions in the bar until he's sure there's nobody bigger around to twist his ugly head off.
***
Note to the clueless full time male cashier at Pathmark: You had it coming when head cashier Maxine relieved you & said, "The line shouldn't be backed up like this." That young woman two customers in front of me had three WIC vouchers, one dozen cans of Similac formula, two large jars of Gerber apple juice, & two identical boxes of Gerber cereal. You don't have to be Einstein. If you're in UFCW Local 1262 , you should get on your knees every night & thank the Lord you're not selling popcorn from a cart at Walmart.
Labels: Elizabeth NJ
