TUESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2013
Just before I moved into one of only two open parking spaces (think of a space wide enough for bicycles, scooters and motorcycles) at the supermarket this evening, a woman and her son manoeuvred into the adjacent bay. But she parked at such an angle that half the bay where I was planning to leave my bike ended up being occupied by the front of her scooter. Walking away, she looked over her shoulder. She must have noticed how she had parked. She must have noticed that I had to enter the space where the front of her scooter protruded. Nevertheless, she turned away, and disappeared through the sliding doors of the supermarket.
My view of her is simple: She’s a savage.
What else? She probably expects consideration from other people in a parking lot, yet she showed none. Also, if everybody did what she did, there would be chaos and conflict. Not only is she not a reasonable person, she also doesn’t behave rationally.
I tried to give her a dirty look at the vegetable section, but she looked away.
What else could she do? (Or am I overthinking it?)
In other news, I had a narrow escape shortly before the skirmish with the barbarian woman. I was pedalling through the tunnel under the railway line near our apartment. In front of me was another cyclist. I usually stay on the right side of the narrow underpass so people on scooters can pass me, but in this case I could see I was going to have to pass the other cyclist. Just as I was squeezing past him, I heard a bang. When I looked back, I saw that the guy had hit something that ruptured his rear tyre.
If he were not there, it would have been me going over that sharp object. Which means I wouldn’t have made it to the supermarket, and therefore I wouldn’t have encountered the savage woman. That, in turn, means I wouldn’t have had reason to produce this short piece of text, and you would be reading something else right now.
Funny how things work out.
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