i occasionally talk to strangers. here’s the reason why.
i’d just finished my crossfit workout and was headed home. i was walking, balancing my water bottle in the crook of my arm, and typing on my phone. (i’m not normally one to type on my phone whilst walking, but i had to put in the details of my workout before i forgot them.) i came up upon the crosswalk of danger.*
*this crosswalk is named as such (by me) because, when driving, it’s incredibly hard to see pedestrians waiting to cross, so it appears they pop out of nowhere causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid (a) hitting them and (b) breaking the law of not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. having been on the driving side of that, i’m usually petrified to cross there on foot. i’m very tentative and don’t usually cross until cars have stopped completely or there’s an vast gap between cars and i can sprint to the other side.
so, back to the moment. i looked up from my phone to check the status of the cars. one was headed towards me, so i turned my attention to my phone while i waited for it to pass. two voices caught my attention. i glanced up and two men were in the crosswalk. i looked back at the car. it didn’t appear to be slowing. i stared at the men. they were continuing boldly on. i looked at the car. it may have slowed its speed a touch. i studied the men. they studied me. i studied the car.
i figured “what the heck” and stepped into the road.
man #1: we’ll protect you.
man #2: we’ll stop him.
me: THANK YOU. *walks in path between two bodyguards*
my thanks was of the sincerest variety because after the workout i’d just completed, my arms were nothing more than cubes of jello and wouldn’t help in whatever precarious situation a crosswalk + a blind spot + a speeding car could create. also, that was the first time i’ve felt safe as a pedestrian on that portion of the road. thanks to those guys, maybe it’s time to rename the crosswalk of danger?
Abigail Mumford 
Nice to hear there are still heroes in the world. Even crosswalk heroes. :)
more like “everyday heroes” and it’s true, it’s what people do in the little moments that add up to how they’ll act in the big ones. i know those guys will handle themselves wonderfully in all situations.
p.s. your comment reminded me of a scene from WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING where sandra bullock’s character & peter gallagher’s character are talking about heroes and he says “i’ve never done anything heroic” and she says “you give up your seat on the train every day” and he says “yeah, but that’s not heroic” and she says “it is to the person who sits in it.”
I love that movie. Hmm…must watch it again soon.
it’s 100% my most favorite movie ever. i could/can/will quote the entire thing. it’ll be JUST like you’re watching the movie.
LOL! Will you use hand puppets?
i find shadow puppets give a more honest portrayal of the story, so that’s the medium i’ll be using.
Somehow I missed this post! I love that they offered to help! And I also love While You Were Sleeping and would like to be invited to the shadow puppet show please!
your invite’s in the mail.