A Matter of Perception

A few weeks ago, as an assignment for school, I had to spend a day in a wheelchair.
I considered taking Eselin to school and leaving her overnight in the lockup, but I was worried something would happen to her. So she stayed home and I took the bus.
Funny thing is, I had a wretched cold a few days later and I was ready to leave Eselin behind so I didn't have to spend valuable energy riding back to the house.
Amazing when I think she would be safe, and when I don't.

Have You Lost A Bike in Winnpeg?

I found this article in today's Winnipeg Free Press. It is nice to see people get involved. It is even better to see people get involved and not get hurt.
His shop is not too far from where I work. If I ever buy any jewellery, I should buy it from him.

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
He rescued bike, seeks owner
Man chased down brazen thief, wants Peugeot to go home
By: Gabrielle Giroday 8/06/2010 1:00 AM |


Marty Halprin holds the post, from which the bike was stolen, showing it’s still easily removed. (PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

IT'S a Cinderella story complete with a knight in a pickup truck, except Marty Halprin isn't looking for the owner of a lost shoe.
Instead, the jewelry store owner is looking for the Winnipeg woman with the key that fits the lock on a turquoise Peugeot bike he rescued from a thief Friday morning.
The Celia's Jewellery owner was in his truck at the corner of Smith Street and York Avenue about 11 a.m. when he saw a man about 30 years old knock over a steel pole on the north side of York. The thief then dragged away a 10-speed bike that had been chained to the pole.
That's when Halprin pulled up alongside.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Halprin, 59, an avid biker who's cycled for over four decades and isn't shy about calling himself a rabble-rouser.
The man dropped the bike and took off on foot after Halprin gestured he was going to get out his truck.
"I guess he didn't want to get involved with me and he was having trouble with the bike, so he just left," he said.
Halprin then put the bike in the back of his truck and took it home for safekeeping.
"Whoever (the bike owner) is obviously had to walk home from wherever she worked. I'd sure like to meet her, find her, and give her her bike back."
The Peugeot's about 20 to 25 years old and still has a cable locking its front wheel and frame together. Its fender was twisted like "spaghetti" after the attempted theft.
"He just figured that (he had) every right to take this bike," he said.
He's confident he'll know he has the rightful owner when he finds the woman whose key fits into the lock.
A sign Halprin put near the intersection with his name and number -- as well as information about the theft -- has so far gone unanswered.
Halprin said he's shocked the thief tried such a brazen theft in the middle of busy downtown, and that people nearby didn't intervene.
"I know how sick it feels to go to where your bike was and it's gone," he said. "It's a sick feeling."
gabriellegiroday@freepress.mb.ca

Preventing Misplaced Aggression

Yesterday was cold and we had a few centimeters of dry snow, the kind that squeaks under your boots when you walk. The Geek rode her bike home in this stuff, but was very impressed how the drivers of motor vehicles gave her lots of space and didn't crowd her at the lights.
Today though, she elected to run, rather than ride her bike, given that the streets had not improved overnight. She reasoned that while she felt relatively safe from injury, she didn't want to feel responsible if someone who, frustrated at her presence on the road, acted aggressively toward another driver.
It was also a rather chilly today, and she was very frosty when she arrived at her destination.

My Angel was Watching

Early this morning I was on the sidewalk of a busy street waiting for the light to change so I could walk across with Eselin. I pushed the 'walk' button and a car stopped almost immediately. I glanced at it, wondering why it had stopped so suddenly, when I noticed the light had indeed changed.

My confusion saved me. A car went roaring by, accelerating, in an failed attempt to beat the red. All I heard was the howl of the engine as the driver sped off into the darkness. Had I stepped off the curb when I noticed the walk indicator, even tho' it was at least five seconds after the signal had changed, I would have been killed. I wonder if the driver of that speeding, red-light running car would have even noticed.

Upon Reflection

Now that the days are shorter, at least a part of the daily commute is done in the dark.

The Geek picked up this Illuminite windbreaker last fall. During the day, it looks like any other jacket.
But when a beam of light hits it, it glows amazingly well.

She also has reflective strips on the back and front of her back pack, on one pair of gloves, and bits of reflective material on these runners. Anyone who doesn't see her probably is not paying attention.