A Sidewalk Story

I was on my bike somewhere in a residential part of Lower East Side and in the middle of the street was a fire engine and two ambulances. There were people standing around on the sidewalks watching the rescue workers do their business. One man was being hoisted on to a stretcher. I couldn't tell what had happened, but it looked as though he had a black eye. On the sidewalk someone was taking photographs with a telescopic lens. I thought to myself that that was rude, that someone was taking photos of this man at his lowest point. Where were the photographers when he was, you know, conscious? Perhaps it was a celebrity. Or, would someone take photographs of me when I was passed out in a stretcher?

To get around the commotion, I had to take my bike on to the sidewalk. There were people there, so I couldn't pedal, but I took one leg out of the strap and pushed my way slowly along so as to not hit bystanders. I weaved through people and suddenly ran into one old staunch lady in a blue t-shirt walking her dog. "Get out of the street, damn you!" she yelled at me. The interaction was quick. I raised my hand, gesturing toward the fire engine, "What am I supposed to do?" I said. I went past her and deeply pondered the moment.

I realized that at first, by her tone I assumed she was yelling at the photographer for taking photos of a man at his lowest. The interesting thing was that before I consciously took into account that she was yelling at me, my hand had already begun gesturing toward the fire engine. Essentially, my body took into account the old lady's intention before my mind could process the words.

I would have liked to say, "Chill the fuck out, old lady. There's a god damn fire engine in the road." I would have liked to say, "We're all human beings, old lady. We can share the sidewalk once in a while, can't we? For, if we can't share a sidewalk, what can we share? There are neighborhoods, apartment buildings, countries, a whole god damn world to share. One would like to assume that we have the right to do what we want, but in fact we have to take into account others' rights as much as we have to take into account our own. The idea of sharing a sidewalk seems inane, but in fact, it's practice for sharing the globe. Once in a while, you'll see something upsetting as a biker, and instinctively you'll think, 'Why the hell?' But take a step back, think about the idea of cohabitation, think about how you shouldn't kill others, even though it's really easy and might ensure your safety, you're actually taking precarious advantage of the fact that your life can just as easily be taken from you. In the same way, your place on the sidewalk is just as precarious as mine. I could just as easily yell at you go get off the sidewalk, damn you! Instead, let's agree to disagree. So, shut the fuck up."