Pick a side

I just want to say, first, getting up at 5am to run should count twice. It should count an extra time because it's flipping cold here in Dream State at 5am. Like 50 degrees. In Florida, I had to run at 6am to be in 80 degree weather.

I digress.

So, as you could imagine I'm not terribly pleasant at 5am, especially when I'm running and I'm cold. Weirdly, however, I am by no means the only one out on the road. It is very, very, very weird to me just how many people are on the road running and biking in this freakishly cold weather and freakishly early hour.

Again, not my point.

My point is, anyone on the road running at this hour is by no means a novice. Well, perhaps I sort of am, but I'm considerate. Which counts for 'not novice'. Yet, I cannot tell you how many people I want to push into oncoming traffic because they have no seeming awareness that the sidewalk is actually made for two-way traffic and they aren't a fucking parade.

Today, I'm running along, trying not to freeze and die or die then freeze when I come across three people across worth of runners.

THREE!

Now any normal threesome would see me coming along and one would slow a bit to allow for me to pass.

These bastards did not, and I nearly grazed the building as I tried to squeeze past. Clearly, it was too dark outside still for them to see my death glare of disgust. I cursed them in my head and continued.

I completed my halfway point and started back. I get to a portion of my path that's a bridge. I nice wide bridge made for pedestrians. It's gotten later since I began so there's more pedestrian traffic.

More bikes. More runners. So on, and so forth.

Not so oddly enough, I catch up with my threesome.

Only now they've spread even further apart to utilize all of the bridge space, and continue to cause runners in the opposite direction to squeeze through. However, as a bike whizzed towards them I did notice they quickly moved. I tried to use that little gap of bike space but nearly got squished again.

This time, in my most annoyed voice, I said "excuse me".

I tried to again use my death glare.

Almost done with my run, I'm heading back into civilization only to come across someone coming out of StarSucks in her little business suit (I'm not hating, just describing). And she is literally weaving down the center of the sidewalk looking at her coffee cup.

Um, eyes on the path when walking, Coffee is a-okay without a chaperone. Promise.

So again, I'm trying to judge which side to pass her on. I barely make it past her and I seem to almost frighten her as I jog past. Which, I find particularly odd since I'm by no means a ninja runner. In fact, I've been known to not pick up my feet totally so I make occasional scraping sounds.

Here's what I want to know.

WHY do people seem to be oblivious that there are normal courtesies on sidewalks? I'm not asking for friendly chit chat. I'm asking you to pick a side...it doesn't even have to be the right side. Just a side so that normal people can go about their business and we can all continue to not make eye contact and not make small talk.

Okay?

I'm just saying, I may be from the south, but not the nice part of the south. I'll give you a verbal smack down before 6am without a thought. I'm just biding my time to see if people tend to hit or scratch first.

Thanks, kisses!