Possumblog

I haven't walked on the sidewalks, but the park near our house has rubber stuff under some of the playground equipment and rubber mulch under the swings they just installed. It feels pretty cool to walk on it.

Well, see, that's what takes all the fun out of the insult--it's actually a good idea, and I'm jealous I didn't think of it.

Well, it is something I am certainly grateful for...remind me to call the City of Clearwater and have them installed IMMEDIATELY on Countryside Boulevard...the walkers and runners claim that the sidewalks are too hard on their knees, so they have a tendency to run in the road before daybreak with the excuse that the asphalt is easier on them....what I don't understand is if the 95 year old man racing to IHOP in his sparkling perfect 1967 Cadillac at 5 AM finally RUNS OVER these people...will that be easier on their knees, as well?

You have hit upon my OTHER pet peeve--people around here do the same thing and it drives me nuts. Not quite nuts enough to deliberately swerve to hit anyone, though.

Yet.

Comparatively few people have pet peeves involving sparkling 1967 Caddys. [ed - is that like a carbonated beverage?]

Once again, Possumblog is home to the Unique.

Concrete is ten times harder than asphalt. That's a huge difference to a runner. Also, would you rather the runners use the roads during rush hour? Can't please some lazy folks...

And Skinnydan, we intend to root out the unique and throw it in the garbage where it belongs.

Megabeth, it would seem that what runners gain in squishyness from running on asphalt is more than made up for by the obdurate nature of the front end of a Chevy Suburban.

In any event, roadways are best used by wheeled vehicles (yes, including bicycles--as long as they can go 0-60mph in 6 seconds or so), while all the other parts of the earth are better for pedestrians.

Well, obviously, except for the watery parts.

Unless you're Jesus.

Simple courtesy would say that it's perfectly acceptable to run in the street when the primary intended user of it isn't using it. When a car DOES dare to sully the pavement with its grubby tires, it would behoove everyone for the secondary user to briefly move to the sidewalk, then return to the asphalt AFTER the vehicle has passed.

Either that, or by golly I'm gonna start driving on the sidewalk like they do in Italy.

I don't think I can move my bicycle to the sidewalk when there isn't one, or there is a curb blocking my bike from getting onto the sidewalk. Road bikes are not made for curb-hopping.

Since places like B'ham and Atlanta are so spread out, drivers who live there feel as if they are justified in plowing anything over that does not weigh 4,000 lbs and has at least four wheels. Including my tiny Civic, which apparently is not big enough for other people to respect me as a driver. It's that "I will plow you over and I have no respect for human life" attitude regardless of whether the life is inside a wall of steel or not, that is so dangerous, particularly on neighborhood streets where the speed limit is 25 mph (and not 60).

I think the obvious solution is to forget about rubber sidewalks and switch to rubber cars.