(un)Healthy Stuff

So, here are a couple things I don't like about this neighborhood. Firstly, say you want to go for a walk. Or a bike ride. No, let's start with a walk. So, you walk. You go out the door, around the block, up the hill, back down the hill, down along the waterfront. Beautiful, tree-lined streets with expensive houses and cars. Lovely waterfront with a section of beach and, uh, good scenery there, too. Then, you're within a couple blocks of home, back in your own section of the 'hood. There are 3 people walking toward you. You'd assume, in a nice neighborhood like this, that they'd share the sidewalk with you. I mean, wouldn't you? But they don't. They form a wall and none of them seem to be yielding so that you can stay on the sidewalk as you pass. You have to walk in the grass or practically step onto the street. And one of them was female! Was one of them her boyfriend trying to impress her? Was she really as thoughtless as the men, regardless of their relationship, or lack thereof? For some reason I'm not quite as surprised at guys being bastards in such a manner, or at least thoughtless. But... what is that?!
Okay, the same thing happened to me today on my bike ride. It's bicycle Sunday:
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/Athletics/bikesatsun.htm
so I rode to Seward Park and back home. Lake Washington Blvd isn't as 'bike friendly' as they'd have you believe so I definitely take advantage of the official biking days where they close off a good portion of it. Mind you, in this case I can understand drivers having trouble sharing the road along there. It's narrow and without a shoulder a lot of the time. Some drivers are just plain nervous so they wait for a big opening and then accelerate by you as fast as they can. Others, though, really are plain thoughtless. They somehow think that their f'ing 1972 Chevy van will just slide right between you and the cars going the other direction so they don't hesitate or yield at all. The next thing you know you feel the wind by your ear as their mirror passes within a couple inches of your head. A couple weeks ago there were a few cars waiting to pass and one of them was honking their horn repeatedly as if that would speed things up. Talk about making the other drivers AND the cyclist very nervous. Yes, I love the fact that they have biking days!
So then, you get back in your own neighborhood. A couple blocks from home. Sound familiar? Three people are standing in the street next to their car discussing something of obvious importance. Then, when you're almost to them, they start crossing the street in front of you. You have to put on the brakes and downshift and wait until there's room behind them. There's no way they could have 'not' seen you. What is that?
Uh oh... I'm getting myself worked up.
I'm having a flashback to the whole Madison Park Rudeness Introductory Course - Part 1 from when I first moved here. I was driving home through the Arboretum. It was in the evening, after dark. The speed limit is 25 along there. For the sake of drivers behind me I usually fudge a little and go closer to 30. But that wasn't enough for the Land Rover behind me. I tried to give him a hint that he was making me nervous by slowing down toward 25. When I slowed down he turned on his brights and tailed me even closer. I was livid and frankly a bit panicked. I didn't know if he or she was a psycho. Or a road-rage type who'd try to start something at the stoplight. Or whatever. How do you know who you're dealing with? At the least they were extremely rude and I found it in bad taste to try to use intimidation tactics on a smaller vehicle. How stereotypical. But I was new here. I wasn't used to all these poor little rich people and their way of living.
3 years have passed. Not much has changed. I guess I'm still not used to it.