Our neighborhood is good for walking and with the weather as mild as it has been, the walkers are out in DROVES! Good for them! Some walk first thing in the morning...some walk after the morning commute and school bus routes have ended. Some walk in the late afternoon/early evening and some even walk at night. The "night walkers" are the ones that chap my hide. Case in point...this past Sunday night.
Y1 and I were coming home from church. We end up driving separately on Sunday nights...my small group meets at a local sandwich/coffee shop...Mr. Snark's meets at the church. Y1 and I like to stand around and socialize after service, so we are usually about 10-15 minutes behind Mr. Snark and Y2. So....we're nearly to YOHOS, navigating through the last curve before going up the hill and out of the corner of my right eye, I see a woman pushing a stroller on the grass. Mind you...it's pitch dark outside. She's wearing black athletic clothes and not a stitch of anything reflective. So I move to my left, a bit...to make her understand that I see her and will give her safe distance when my headlights sweep across a man pulling a couple of little ones in their wagon. I'm assuming he's her husband. He's also wearing black and nothing reflective. Scared my liverless! I'm sure it scared him...based on the look he shot me! I understand wanting to do a little family bonding in an evening walk...I also understand that there's a BIG difference between evening and dark:30! It was gorgeous all day...I really think there was probably a better time to take that walk. After dark, wearing black clothes...with nothing to give off light or reflect light...that's not a good recipe for family bonding...it's a disaster waiting to happen.
Walk...run...hop....ride your unicycle. Do whatever you need to do to get your work-out...but PLEASE, if you absolutely have to do it after dark, wear something a light color. Carry a flashlight...wear a crossing guard vest. Put a strip of reflective tape on your t-shirt. Carry sparklers. Wrap yourself in a strand of battery operated Christmas tree lights. WHATEVER! DO SOMETHING! I can't provide you safe passage if I don't know you're there!
Y1 and I were coming home from church. We end up driving separately on Sunday nights...my small group meets at a local sandwich/coffee shop...Mr. Snark's meets at the church. Y1 and I like to stand around and socialize after service, so we are usually about 10-15 minutes behind Mr. Snark and Y2. So....we're nearly to YOHOS, navigating through the last curve before going up the hill and out of the corner of my right eye, I see a woman pushing a stroller on the grass. Mind you...it's pitch dark outside. She's wearing black athletic clothes and not a stitch of anything reflective. So I move to my left, a bit...to make her understand that I see her and will give her safe distance when my headlights sweep across a man pulling a couple of little ones in their wagon. I'm assuming he's her husband. He's also wearing black and nothing reflective. Scared my liverless! I'm sure it scared him...based on the look he shot me! I understand wanting to do a little family bonding in an evening walk...I also understand that there's a BIG difference between evening and dark:30! It was gorgeous all day...I really think there was probably a better time to take that walk. After dark, wearing black clothes...with nothing to give off light or reflect light...that's not a good recipe for family bonding...it's a disaster waiting to happen.
Walk...run...hop....ride your unicycle. Do whatever you need to do to get your work-out...but PLEASE, if you absolutely have to do it after dark, wear something a light color. Carry a flashlight...wear a crossing guard vest. Put a strip of reflective tape on your t-shirt. Carry sparklers. Wrap yourself in a strand of battery operated Christmas tree lights. WHATEVER! DO SOMETHING! I can't provide you safe passage if I don't know you're there!
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