December 24, 2023- The harried man looked at his watch and led his lady friend, into the street, at a corner with an unmarked crosswalk. I was in the process of turning left, onto said street, and was fortunately able to stop-though his hunched shoulders and angry glare suggested he felt his rights had been violated. They did keep on walking across, and fortunately, the cars which were speeding along did not come close to hitting them.

I thought of two things: A pedestrian who is in the road can make any vehicle stop, even if he/she happens to be dancing around or standing still, muttering to self. I was told this, back in 1967, when I first learned to drive. Secondly, it was a reminder that people, this time of year, are not necessarily all that keen on following protocol. Holiday season is seen by many as “non-work”, and therefore not a time to dwell on responsibility. 

The buzzer in my head goes off- EENH! Wrong-o! Suppose the passengers on holiday, in Belgium, about five years ago, had ignored the terrorists who were trying to hijack a passenger train, in Belgium. Suppose that those on Flight 93 had stayed in their seats, as the west bound plane turned around and slammed into the U.S. Capitol, or the White House. In large events and small, those around need to be on game, even if they are coming off a five-month long stint of 18-hour days.

Any parent with small children knows this. Any leader of a community, state/province, or nation knows this. I know this, and so do you. May your Christmas and/or Kwanzaa be peaceful, and hopefully not wrapped up in drama or emergency response.