Are you experienced?

Let me start off by saying that I realize that Griffin retains some of its small town atmosphere even though we are rightfully a part of the great megalopolis of Atlanta and lose bits of our former identity every day. Some of the idiosyncracies of small town life remain. However, I was party today to one of these such moments, which I really want to illustrate, to see if I am just not the only one this happens to.

This afternoon I was driving back to my office after lunch. I had completed the journey all the way from my home to the intersection of South Sixth Street and Taylor Street (the main east/west thoroughfare in Griffin). I was stopped at the light at Taylor Street, watching the traffic go past, when it finally turned green for me. I began to proceed up Sixth Street toward the courthouse and Solomon Street.

As I proceeded at a leisurely clip up Sixth Street, I notice two women meandering on a diagonal across my path. Both were bundled in winter coats; both were looking up the street toward the traffic approaching from the opposite direction. Neither was looking in my direction.

There were several cars proceeding down Sixth Street toward me. These several cars were obviously the concern of these two women, since they were facing them. None of the cars was stopping or slowing in order to allow the women to cross the street in front of them. Neither did the women speed up or return to the safety of the sidewalk behind them in order to avoid the possibility of injury from an on-coming car. Neither was looking in my direction.

As I proceeded northward on Sixth Street, I had several options before me. One would have been to honk my horn and get the attention of the two ladies so that they might return to the sidewalk or proceed faster across the street. One would have been to speed up in order to make them aware of me by the sound of my revving engine. Another would have been to maintain the posted speed, or even speed up, and proceed down the thoroughfare, obstacles notwithstanding.

Instead, I slowed down to allow the two ladies time to cross my lane of traffic. I didn't speed up or hit my horn. I basically allowed these two women the ability to continue on their route unimpeded.

As I slowly moved down the street toward them, the ladies finally finished cutting across my lane of traffic, stopping in the middle of the street. At this point, I was able to pass them without risk of injury to either of them. I finally approached their proximate location, still slowly moving toward their position, when one of the women turned and gave me a glare as if to inform me that I was invading their personal space.

At this point I really wondered what sense of entitlement could cause someone to cross a city street, basically near the busiest spot in town, at a diagonal which would cause that person to take the longest geometric journey across the street, causing traffic in the area to slow down or speed up depending on the orientation of the drivers, then register an objection to any such driver evidencing some ownership of the right of way down that street.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that pedestrians do have some rights when crossing the streets. However, I really wondered how my efforts to act gentlemanly and hospitable in order to ignore the selfish efforts of these two ladies in taking up my lane of traffic for an inordinate amount of time, could be met with such disdain.

I realize that Griffin still bears some idiocyncrasies from its proximity in time to its more rural past and its nearness to its more rural neighbors. This rural lifestyle often causes scenes which one might not ordinarily find on the streets of a more cosmopolitan city, like Atlanta. I remember driving back to work after lunch one time to find myself behind a wrecker hauling the carcass of a Hereford cow which had been hit by a car. That was a lovely post-luncheon image. I also often see people stopped in the middle of busy Griffin thoroughfares to leisurely talk to people they know. I must admit that I quite often do that myself, as long as I am not causing an obstruction for other traffic.

No, it was not the fact that these two ladies were walking across traffic in a manner which would impede traffic, apparently anticipating that we members of the surrounding traffic would stop or slow to allow their journey. No, it was the attitude of entitlement which caught my eye and made me wish I had been less than hospitable in dealing with these two women crossing the street, in their own time, in their own manner, without apparent concern in which their manner of traverse might effect those of us, like me, who were operating vehicles of greater girth and weight than they.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a gentleman. Or rather, the effort to be a gentleman is not rewarded with its appropriate due. At least, in my opinion. My humble opinion.