Turn, Turn, Turn, Dammit!

Take a look at this picture. What's going on with the silver vehicle on the street corner? Looks to me like the driver is about to turn right onto Yonge Street. Guess again...she isn't.

I was walking up Yonge Street yesterday morning when I encountered this vehicle parked directly across the sidewalk. I assumed the driver would move by the time I got there. There was no apparent reason (i.e. traffic) why she couldn't. It looked like she had her right turn signal on.

By the time I was ten feet from the vehicle I could see that she was texting furiously. My first thought? You bitch. My second thought? So you and your texting was so important that you pulled over and inconvenienced everyone on the sidewalk. This is the frame of mind in which Toronto has put me. Okay, so I put myself there....under the influence of Toronto. We're just quibbling at this point.

I walked around the back of the vehicle. My outer Rhino considered flipping the vehicle over. We'll call it social justice, though it's really nothing of the sort. Sidewalk rage? Yes....that's it. My inner Rhiney senses were tingling and this is unusual. I decided to cross the intersection saying or doing nothing. I glanced back. She hadn't moved anything other than her texting fingers. Other people looked perturbed as they skirted the vehicle. I looked back again once I was two hundred feet up the sidewalk. Still texting.

So, was she a rude bitch? Maybe, but I doubt it. My last look at her, from afar, allowed me a little more detail. I noticed that her four way flashers were on. At this point it occurred to me that her vehicle likely broke down at a very inopportune moment. She was probably texting someone for help.

Did I feel badly about my initial reaction to her blocking the sidewalk? Not really. I am now a creature of the city, expecting rudeness before it happens. It was a good lesson about not jumping to conclusions before you have all the facts. What you read on the surface may be nothing like the real story. It's always good to keep digging. Find the truth. Don't assume anything and don't believe everything you (think you) see. And sometimes....be patient with others.

Now, I'd better go finish my Quaker oatmeal before I take the Rhino out for his morning walk.