I have to say that overall I am a fairly cynical person and usually see the craziness in the world around us instead of seeing the good. Alex always tells me crazy political stuff but then he says, "Okay, now I will balance it with this great human interest story." And he does, and it is about someone who showed great moral judgment, character and strength. I guess this is a long preface to an event that happened last Saturday. We try to go out as a family on Saturdays for a bike ride/run. Christopher and Mark will ride their bikes or scooters while I push Anna in the jogger and if Mark gets tired, he joins Anna. Alex usually comes, but this last Saturday he was helping some friends move (which is a whole other topic, but we're REALLY going to miss the Woodburys). So, I was by myself on the Capitol Crescent Trail with the three kids and it was a beautiful day and so it was getting a lot of use by everyone. Now, there can be some occasional bikers that forget that the trail is for everyone and that there are even rules posted periodically along the trail reminding them not to go too fast and that pedestrians have the right of way. Christopher was being cautious and taking his time in passing some other runners and I was a little ways behind him when a man came way too fast and yelling "ON YOUR LEFT" and then as he got to Christopher who was passing the people in front of him at that exact same moment really yelled at him. I was furious to say the least and called out to the man not to yell at my little boy. He was clearly livid that I had the nerve to say anything and turned around and started to yell at me and then fell off his bike. He even started to backtrack and act as though he was going to get at me. I won't go into all of the words that passed between us, but I will say that as he was getting more and more angry as I maintained that he should have been the responsible one to slow down as he was coming from behind, people on the trail were slowing down and said an occasional word to support me. When he saw that a small crowd was gathering, he backed down and was not even able to get back on his bike properly because of how enraged he was. Normally I would have been bothered by this for at least a number of hours. But there were several ladies that checked to make sure that I was okay and I was truly uplifted by the fact that so many people were willing to slow down and step in if needed. There are the occasional bad apples, it is inevitable. But, there are far more good people and for them I am grateful!
A sidenote: I love music but do not always have time find new songs when I tire of my current list. I found this great site where you just type in an artist you like and it plays a range that it links you will like. Hopefully some of you can enjoy it too. www.pandora.com
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4 comments:
Good for you, Gina. That biker sounds so rude and frankly quite comical. He should be responsible! You are a good example to me of looking for the good in experiences, as well as expressing yourself in a Christ-like way, but not letting yourself get walked all over. : )
Ahhhh! How frustrating, but nice that people were ready to support you at the same time.
Yeah, don't you love it how bikers think they own the Crescent Trail and children should not be allowed on it at all ... I remember one time in particular, Sarah and I were walking together and letting Ethan and Summer run on the trail. We were of course watching like hawks for bikes, and making sure the kids were on the correct side of the yellow line with plenty of room to spare. But of course we still got shouted at - "Keep your kids under control!" as the biker zoomed past. Whatever, jerk! Control yourself - our kids ARE behaving!
Some people are just so rude and inconsiderate. This guy sounds like he went beyond even that! I would have been shaking iwth rage and unable to articulate myself! I am proud of you that you stood up to him, and I am so glad tha tyou got backup from strangers. That reinforcement really helps.
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