Unaware

Some people are so unaware of their surroundings.

I was heading home today from my walk, and a woman turned the corner ahead of me so I was trailing her path. She was a mother of three, but wasn't using a stroller. Instead she had one of those wagon deals--only this version was more like a train. Each child had their own...boxcar, if you will. But then the mother added on a few boxcars of her own for storage and whatnot. The 'train' was five boxcars in length. The mother was pulling the first car with the handle attached, followed by child 1, 2, and 3, and then an end car piled full of items. It truly was a sight to see and she seemed to be managing it fine.

Not only was she the main engine of this beastly, child train, but she was also talking on her cell phone! Which means she was managing it one handed as well as carrying on a conversation.

All this was fine and dandy, until she decided to stop. She brought the train to a halt and began digging out goodies and snackies for her children and really diving deeper into her phone conversation. Nevermind my approach.

The woman stopped in the ONE place on the sidewalk where it was congested. The ONE spot where another person with or without stroller could not pass with her there. I stopped for a few moments and waited, thinking surely a woman who managed to birth three children, manage a cell phone, cookies, and crackers and all those miscellaneous items in boxcars #1 and $5 could see that I was standing behind her massive train with my own child in stroller waiting to pass.

But no. She didn't notice or she didn't care. She continued on with her dealings.

I had to finagle my stroller into the street, down off a rather obnoxiously high curb, up a few feet while cars weren't passing, and then back up the rather obnoxiously high curb, and then continue on my way.

I really felt like saying something to the rude woman...but who am I to interrupt her snack break and phone conversation.