Look Both Ways ...

Today, I noticed the bus slowing down to almost a stop, but we were nowhere near a bus stop. People started pointing, and I looked over to my left, where I saw a man lying on the street at the crosswalk, on his back in front of a GMC Acadia , and a woman with a cellphone standing over him. His hat was about 20 feet away. He slowly moved to a sitting position and started yelling at the woman and pointing up at the crosswalk lights. By this time, other drivers were getting out of their vehicles to help.

Now, I just missed the hit by a few minutes, so I can't say what really happened or whose fault it was. One piece of advice I can give to pedestrians is the same as what your Mom told you growing up. Look both ways before you cross the street. You need to be a smart pedestrian. Too many people think the crosswalk button activates the brakes on all vehicles in a 20 foot radius, so they hit the button and don't even break their stride or look before they step off the sidewalk. I've seen a lot of pedestrians almost get hit this way, and a lot give drivers the evil eye after they've slammed the brakes to avoid hitting them. I almost hit a guy on a bike the other day because he flew across the intersection - and he was riding on the wrong side of the street. I know you have the right of way as pedestrians, just keep this in mind - a car is usually a thousand pounds plus of steel and glass going faster than you can run, and they're driven by regular people like you and me who sometimes make mistakes or who are distracted. There's a good chance that you could be hit anytime that you're crossing any street, so you have to be smart about it and follow Mom's advice.

Here's a related clip for a good laugh. If you've seen the original, I think this one is even better with this music ...

Inception Ice Cream Truck Out of Nowhere - watch more funny videos

!!! WARNING !!!

I'm behind on the blog again, and this one comes with a warning. Not for those with a weak stomach. If you're looking forward to lunch in a few minutes, don't read this now. If you just had breakfast, don't - well you get the idea. My friend in Dubai heard a story relayed by a Winnipeg Transit driver. People reveal waaaay to much to drivers sometimes. Here it is: 

"Was stuck in traffic with some dirty pig telling me about how he got fecal matter in a cut on his testicles and needs surgery because of the infection.. Which is why he has a hard time climbing the stairs on the bus!! What do you even say to that?"

Ugghh. Told you.

Aging Gracefully

Old people have a choice. They can either accept their age or be crabby about it. I hope when I get there I'm not a crabby one. A group of seniors was on the bus one morning and they were all smiles. One of them stood up to get up, and one of her girlfriends didn't even hesitate for a minute as she said, "Stay out of trouble Gladys!". then reached over and smacked Gladys' bum before she got off the bus. The other ladies were having a good laugh at that.

At the next stop, an old man with a cane got on. He walked to the middle of the bus and put one leg across the 3 seat bench, and the other on the floor as he held his cane. Didn't care who was watching, he was taking ALL 3 seats, because that's just what he felt like. Now that's what I call aging gracefully.

Thinking Outside the Box

Rode the bus a while back and there was a group of daycare kids, must have been at least 10 of them on the bus with 2 daycare workers. As we passed over the bridge crossing the Red River on the way downtown, one of the workers said to the kids jokingly, "Who wants to go swimming in there instead of the pool?".

If you live in Winnipeg, you know that the Red River is not exactly the cleanest river around. It could actually be called the Brown River if it the name was based on what it looks like. There was of course a lot of noise and a chorus of "Eeew"s and "No way!", and "Yuck!" when the question was asked. Of course there had to be one kid who shouted over everyone, "I do! I do!"

Now that is one kid who really loves swimming. Maybe the next Michael Phelps.