Driving up the street, I approached a stop light. A young man was smoking in the bus stop on this bright and sunny day. As I rolled to a stop, he began crossing the street; slowly passing in front of me. I noticed his Qdoba t-shirt and figured he’s walking to work. The nearest Qdoba, a head turn to the left.
A thought also emerged: Clearly this twenty-something individual, with hairstyle and tattoos that round out his identity is the kind of person who will “take his time walking across a street.”
I know what mean. I also figure anyone who might read this should know what I mean. For those don’t: Certain people (mostly guys) have a burning need to assert power, control, masculinity, etc. by illustrating how tough they are in the face of traffic. Some individuals will walk out into moving traffic. I encountered one of these pedestrians in the 90s. No issues. no incidents, but clearly he was going to let anyone seated behind the wheel that “he owned that space.”
Today’s youthful tough guy wasn’t overly blatant. When he was preparing to cross at the next side, taking him to the actual block of employment, he was clearly standing, watching, waiting… I drove off before he crossed. Actually, he would have crossed while I moved forward. This prevented me from observing the walker since my attention needed to be on my path.
Another thought presented itself: ” Most pedestrians I’ve witnessed who would seek to dominate clearly have a recognition that they won’t win in a contest between flesh and a more than a ton of metal. Usually there’s an obvious limit to their “alpha sensibility.”
Another takeaway for me was that I don’t envision stopping to that Qdoba. He doesn’t seem like someone I want preparing my food. I’ve never visited a Qdoba, but this doesn’t have me heading to that storefront.
This entry does not appear to be about music or visual arts! No. Not directly, but who we are and how we behave is the sum of our presence. If “how we hold our pick is how we organize our life,” what do I give away in my actions? How do I cross the street? How does that affect my relation to practice or performance?
Alex Kelley 