Pedestrian Crossing

To get to school, we have to cross 4 lanes of traffic, with a median in the middle. If I haven't mentioned it before, drivers here are impatient, speed demons, and they make frequent use of their horns. Taxi drivers are some of the worst, and when Nate is driving, I try not to watch because the inches between cars is unnerving. As a pedestrian, especially one with a stroller, there are some things I have learned. When preparing to cross in front of traffic, it is essential to have eye contact with the drivers you expect to stop for you. Oftentimes, people will just "pretend" they don't see you so they don't have to stop, and I have had a couple of close calls when a driver in one lane stops, and the driver in the far lane does the "If I don't look at you, you aren't there" thing, and speeds right past. And I do not use the word "speeds" in exaggeration, despite the fact that there are speed bumps right before the crosswalk in both directions.

Pet peeve number two has to do with the liberal use of horns. When drivers in both lanes are kind enough to stop, and wave you across, oftentimes a driver a few cars back will lay on their horn in impatience at having to wait for us pesky pedestrians. It really bugs me. Especially as those hornblowers are often Arab women, most who have children of their own.

Two cute things that have come from our pedestrian travels, and the frequent horns is Will's waves to cars as they stop for us, and his "beep" notification every time he hears a horn outside. He knows that the cow says Moo, and the sheep says Baa, the cat says Meow, and the car says Beep!

And even though we weren't, but speaking of Will, guess who figured out he is strong enough to push open the front doors in the lobby, and run pell mell onto the sidewalk, and almost to the street? I had a mini-heart attack tonight as I caught him a step away from the road. We were on our way to his first professional haircut - and he did great. The barber at the Beby Salon turned on a Garfield cartoon, put on the red cape and trimmed Will's hair up nicely. My baby has turned into a little boy...