Yesterday, I was sitting on my front stoop wallowing in my own private depressions when I saw a blind girl walking down the street. Or at least I assumed she was blind because she was wearing sunglasses and waving this cane thing back and forth in front of her. The cane wasn't for show either; if it weren't for the cane, she would have walked straight into one of those trees they build directly into the sidewalk. I guess maybe because this happened directly in front of me, I should have called out, "hey you're about to walk into a tree" but I wanted to see if the cane actually worked.
I watched her continue down the street, meandering slightly but generally walking directly ahead. I was curious to see what she'd do when she got to the intersection. Intersections in NYC don't have those annoying beeping sounds that tell blind people when to cross the street. Would she need assistance? Cross behind some random stranger?
But when she arrived at the intersection, there was no one else around. I was shocked when she simply stepped out onto the street, LIGHT STILL RED, and started walking across. I watched nervously, dreading the careening way-too-fast taxi that was sure to turn her into roadkill, but no cars came. She calmly walked across at the same speed she walked as she passed me on the sidewalk.
I suppose since cars make that tire-on-pavement sound, you could technically hear when they are coming and when they are not, but would I have the guts to close my eyes and start walking across a intersection trusting my ears alone? Hell no. How much courage it must take to be a blind jaywalker.
From a NY Times article describing a scene in Michael Moore's new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11:
For the White House, the most devastating segment of "Fahrenheit 9/11" may be the video of a befuddled-looking President Bush staying put for nearly seven minutes at a Florida elementary school on the morning of Sept. 11, continuing to read a copy of "My Pet Goat" to schoolchildren even after an aide has told him that a second plane has struck the twin towers.
Seven minutes after the second plane hit, I was surrounded by a screaming, tearful, running crowd fleeing the humongous fireball that had just exploded in front of my eyes, just down the street. My only thought was that I needed to be at work; looking back, it was pretty stupid to think that I would still need to work that day, but I just didn't know what else to do besides seek what was normal, familiar, safe.
But for the commander-in-chief on the greatest country on Earth to do that in response? And to be reading "My Pet Goat" for SEVEN minutes at that? Inex-fucking-cusable.
The movie comes out on Friday. Oh, and if you have broadband, watch the trailer on the website. The last bit with Bush at the golf course is hilarious.
Call me a spelling snob, but I hate when journalists can't spell. Especially in front page ESPN.com headlines that otherwise might have been clever word play:
Albums on My Current Wish List:
Portishead - Portishead
Kill Bill Soundtrack - Volume 2
Requiem for a Dream Soundtrack
Nas - God's Son | 
