The car pulled into the crosswalk just as I stepped into the street; the driver glanced to their left, looking for oncoming cars, as they were trying to safely make a right turn at a red light. I’m sure that the driver saw me: I was in their direct line of sight as I crossed the street. I’m also sure that the driver did not expect to experience “That Guy” in the crosswalk.
As a member of the “Frequent Walker Club,” I have a lot of experience with cars and crosswalks. When I was the daytime caregiver for my youngest granddaughter, we used to pram about Irvington, often to the Bonna Avenue location of the Coal Yard Coffee Company. I remember starting to cross a street and seeing a car in the crosswalk. The woman looked to her left, saw me, Myah, and the pram, and slowly reversed her car out of the crosswalk. I raised my hand in thanks, and she lowered her window. “Tell the baby I’m sorry,” she called out.
People often pull into the crosswalk without checking for pedestrians, to execute that right turn on red; I am often one of the people who are blocked by that maneuver. And those of you who have blocked my passage may remember the way I address your presence: I place my hands on the hood of your car and lean on it. I slowly move around your car, making sure to leave as many of my handprints on it as I can. I do not make eye contact with the driver.
I am aware that in Indiana, one need merely be alive to qualify for ownership of a firearm, and that the possibility that someone may be angered enough by my violation of their property to open fire on me. But I am far more irritated by the incursion into the pedestrian crosswalk than concerned about what the driver may do to me. Foolish, I know, but I am “that guy.” In July of 2023, I wrote of “The Hot Corner,” (The Weekly View, July 20th and 27th, 2023.) I live on a corner that has a 4-way stop, and few drivers actually stop. Some will slow down and glide through the intersection, but a lot of people just hammer on through without so much as a pause. My youngest granddaughter has heard me grumble about the lack of observance of the stop sign and will sometimes call out to me: “Clop! That driver came to a full and complete stop!”
I don’t know if I am changing anyone’s behavior by touching their cars as I make my way around them. When I was actively monitoring the “stop runners” on my street, I would walk to the corner with my camera and aim at the oncoming car. One driver took exception to my recording of his behavior, and stopped (past the actual stop sign, of course) and opened his door.
“Are you taking pictures of me?” he barked. “Yes: I am,” I flexed back. He muttered something, re-entered his car, and drove off. A few days later, I heard his engine roaring, and walked outside to record his passage. He made a full and complete stop at the sign, drove past the intersection, and paused. He opened his car door, stepped out and said to me, “I meant no disrespect.” I saluted him, and he drove away. One person’s behavior changed, and no one died, but if you block an intersection in the Irvington area of Indianapolis, I am that guy who will put handprints on your hood.
cjon3acd@att.net