Swallowed up by the city

It was a beautiful sunny day and I knew if I didn't get outside I'd be kicking myself, so late afternoon I ventured out to accomplish some errands. Yes, there is always a to do list on the go for me. A woman's work is never done I tell you.

I digress. (As per usual). [While rereading my blog I found this word no less than half a dozen times, perhaps more. It's my own freakin' blog! I can digress as much as I want to! Why the hell do I find the need to apologize for it?!]

Headed in the direction of Big Bud's as I needed to pick up various things I knew I could find on the cheap there: dish soap, boot tray, other odds'n'ends that I didn't know I needed but could probably find a use for. What can I say? Shopping can be cathartic. And on this particular day, my stomach was in an uproar and I needed to get out of the house for a little while. Stress or something, I guess. Funny how stress manifests itself in my body sometimes.

After I left Big Bud's, I headed north on Bank to be greeted by wailing sirens of fire engines, police cars and ambulances on Somerset. They all stopped at Gabriel's pizza. I had to walk on through, checking out what was going on as I passed. I realized there was a man/woman/person lying on the ground, face down in front of the pizza shop. "Is he dead?" I heard someone ask. Until that moment I assumed it was just a drunk, but with that question I realized the paramedics were not moving very quickly and the person was only wearing what appeared to be long underwear, no pants, and not much of a coat. Tears sprang to my eyes as the realization that this person very well could be dead, and I had just walked by, as had dozens of others, curious onlookers who would eventually go on about their day as if nothing had happened.

And yet I had to continue my day, because what could I do? I had come all this way, and I had things that needed to get done because I don't get many days off. Callous, hateful, just like everybody else. What could I do? What could be done?

On my return from Zellers (it too, is cheap like Big Bud's) I encountered once again the wailing of sirens. What now? passed through my mind. Callous. Callous. The action stopped at the Second Cup. There was a very large crowd gathered outside and as I manoevred my way through the crowd, I saw a woman inside, crying, and being held up by people inside. I had no idea what happened, until I reached the corner.

Check out Lana's photo: http://www.placeandthyme.com/001013.php as she witnessed it too.

Someone had driven THROUGH the window of the Second Cup. I was stranded on the corner, momentarily, as the ambulances arrived. It was incredibly upsetting for me - I had witnessed two "accidents" in one day and to compound the problem, I was completely disgusted by people who stood around and gawked at the accident. The worst thing - I saw people with camera phones taking pictures of what had happened. I was NOT impressed. No offense Lana, but those people probably had no way of knowing whether or not someone had been hurt. Lana at least knew when she published her photo that no one had been seriously injured.

Perhaps the thing about it that bugged me the most is when I tried to make it through the crowed, the stupid cellphone/cameraphone users wouldn't get out of my way as I tried to get through.

It made me upset, and more cranky than when I had started out, and made me not want to live in a city anymore. I got over it as the day went on, but it was rather traumatic for me. Can't exactly put my finger on why - but I just was.