PLEASE, slow down
For those of you that don't know, I'm a resident of south Florida, Miami to be exact. I've lived here now for 3 years. It hasn't been all candy and flowers, but it hasn't been that bad. If, by some chance, you don't read these sorts of trivial things, Miami was voted country's rudest/worst drivers. You can laugh about it and point fingers and joke, but it's sadly true. I've lived in many places both in and out of this country, and Miami is the worst. (And no, I'm not going to just sit and complain, we're moving next year.)
I didn't start this post, however, simply to say the driving is bad here. This is a wake-up call, a warning, a shout-out, whatever you want to call it, that we, as responsible driving adults, need to SLOW DOWN on the roads. Saturday morning I was reading the Miami Herald and under the breaking news was a story about a pedestrian being struck and killed by a car while trying to cross US1. This highway is dangerous. People are dying trying to cross it and nothing is being done. The most tragic part is that this pedestrian was only 14 years old. A young life lost before even having a chance to reach its potential. Parents have been devastated. A whole school is this morning trying to cope with the loss of their friend and classmate Vincent Delmore. I know this is true because my daughter was friends with this young man. She created a
It's hard enough to explain death to the young, but at least it is typically an older relative. How do you help a child cope with the senseless death of a friend?
I beg you, I implore you, I ask you kindly from the depths of my heart, le pregunto, please slow down on our roadways. There is really very little that can be that important for you to endanger the lives of those in our community and the lives of our children. Please, leave 5 minutes earlier or just be 5 minutes late (nothing starts on time anyways) and slow down and pay attention to the road.
My heart goes out to every child at Ponce this morning and especially to the parents of this young man. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Just help out
This morning I had the pleasure of visiting some of the finer government offices here in Miami. The entire story is another post for another day. Like many downtown areas, parking is a bitch. Even though it meant I would have to backtrack almost all the way home after my appointment before heading out to work, I figured it would be worth it to take public transportation, ie the Metrorail, not to have to promise my next child, an arm and the title to my car to the parking attendant.
Despite this wonderfully wonderful climate, people here are still pissy 24/7. But of course they are, they still have to go to work unlike the tons of people I see scamper past our building on a daily basis (I work on South Beach). The ride into downtwn was uneventful, meaning, thankfully, no one tried to strike up a conversation. I handled my business in a manner befitting a single mom who is completely fed up with the system and wonders why said system makes it so difficult to track down a deadbeat dad. (Thank goodness for loving and supportive boyfriend.)
As I was standing on the platform waiting for train number 2 to get back to my car, I noticed an older gentleman in an electric wheelchair. It's possible that he was paralyzed from the neck down, but I didn't ask. I stepped onto the train while keeping an eye on him. He seemed to be waiting for the crowd to clear before attempting to board. When the time finally approached for him to get on the train, he started moving forward but he got stuck. You'd think that train stations would be a little better designed, but they aren't and so stuck he was. (His front tire had turned sideways and was stuck in the gap between the platform and the train.) At that moment, I held my phone in one hand, briefcase in the other. It only took a split second to realize that of this train full of people, more than 60 percent male, no one was going to help. God bless Miami.
After cupping my phone ear to shoulder and slinging my briefcase over the other shoulder, I got behind his chair and tried to get him on the train. Those chairs are heavy. Way heavier than I imagined. Or I'm weak. Way weaker than I used to be. Either way, I had damn near thrown out my back and blew out a knee (note to self, don't try it in heels next time) before any of the lazy bastards on the train got up to help me. It's amazing how people have no respect for others. I wonder how much longer he would have been stuck if I hadn't helped. It's scary here.
This post has no end.
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