Good Samaritan

Story from this morning:

Walking out of the train station on my way to the office, I stood at the street corner waiting for the signal to change and give me the go ahead to cross busy Walnut Street. Seeing the traffic come to a stop and the walk signal light up, I suppose some might head right out into the road. But being now a seasoned Philadelphia pedestrian, which is to say I trust absolutely no one behind the wheel of any motorized vehicle whatsoever at any time, I ventured only a few steps into the parking lane and looked back for any traffic turning right and crossing my path. Seeing no one in the immediate area, I ventured on only to be abruptly stopped mid-crosswalk by, and I am not making this up, seven cars in succession driven by seven professorial/suburban-type commuters who all looked me directly in the eye over the hoods of their midsize to luxury vehicles and gunned it, the heat of their engines like a slap in my face as they rounded the corner. I smiled and thanked each one in turn as they roared on by.

At the tail end of this classy group of upper middle class folks, a young guy whose appearance suggested he might be a member of a dubious and dangerous young men's urban group up to no good, cocked his stance to the side and gave me the flick of his hand indicating he wouldn't be the one to mow me down today. I waved a genuine thank you and under his watchful eye, crossed to safety and we both went our separate ways.

You just never know, do you.