Are You In My Way?

My husband and I were downtown here in Portland. We were having breakfast in a restaurant called Tasty and Taylor...located, you guessed it, on Taylor. I was facing the restaurant full of people. My husband was facing the window. He loves watching the world go by.

That particular corner is busy with pedestrians. The homeless, people with babies or dogs in strollers, upscale tourist walking, bicyclists and runners.

To set the scene you need to know that free orange bikes are parked everywhere and there is the occasional motor scooter. I think those might be free to those who want a quick ride too.

The streets even have a big green stripe down the middle in some places to accommodate all of those vehicles.

On this particular day someone had parked an electric scooter near a lamp post over just across the street from our restaurant.

Got the picture?

So I will give you one guess as to who intentionally knocked the scooter over...the homeless, people with babies or dogs in strollers, upscale tourist walking, bicyclists or the runners.

It was the woman with the stroller and a baby on board.

I guess it was in her way. It seems being in the way is a big problem these days. We need t-shirts...don't get in my way...they should say.

We have traveled around the world and in those cultures where women are less valued, I might get pushed into the street if I don't get out of the way. Women are in the way a lot in those places.

In San Miguel Allende, MX any one facing the traffic is expected to step out into the street because the walkways are only one person wide. If you don't, I discovered, you will be bumped into or pushed aside.

I am seeing all of that here in the USA. In fact, being in the way is a sign of the times.

What do you think?

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