Divine Wind-Up
The Japanese never seem to look up.
Every morning Robin and I have to weave our way to the train station. We ride on our bikes most days and admittedly, we ride on the pavements, but it's okay; the pavements (sidewalks) have bike lanes, it's a bike kind of society. You wouldn't think it though to see the Japanese blithley walking wherever the hell they like, staring at the floor. Oh, they wont cross the road if it's red - even when its so quiet that tumbleweed slowly rolls by - they'll even queue in orderly demarcated lines for when the train pulls up. But walk blindly through crowded shopping centers, down crowded streets, through crowded train stations? you betcha.
I've never seen them collide though. I read once that ants have this sense, that though they can't see in their swarming dark nests they know exactly where everybody is and what they're doing, due to some special receptor. It must be the same with the Japanese. However, they don't seem to be able to 'see' me, the six foot foreigner. In fact, like moths to burning death, they're attracted: they veer toward me without being aware of it. I can spot the 'veerers' from a hundred meters. I can tell they're heading straight for me, head down. I veer left, they match me. I veer right, they veer to my right. Right before the moment of impact I leap aside and - they don't even look up, they continue, oblivious. They have no idea what just almost happened. In World War II kamikaze pilots weren't intentionally crashing into American ships, they just had their eyes glued to the cockpit floor.
Every morning Robin and I have to weave our way to the train station. We ride on our bikes most days and admittedly, we ride on the pavements, but it's okay; the pavements (sidewalks) have bike lanes, it's a bike kind of society. You wouldn't think it though to see the Japanese blithley walking wherever the hell they like, staring at the floor. Oh, they wont cross the road if it's red - even when its so quiet that tumbleweed slowly rolls by - they'll even queue in orderly demarcated lines for when the train pulls up. But walk blindly through crowded shopping centers, down crowded streets, through crowded train stations? you betcha.
I've never seen them collide though. I read once that ants have this sense, that though they can't see in their swarming dark nests they know exactly where everybody is and what they're doing, due to some special receptor. It must be the same with the Japanese. However, they don't seem to be able to 'see' me, the six foot foreigner. In fact, like moths to burning death, they're attracted: they veer toward me without being aware of it. I can spot the 'veerers' from a hundred meters. I can tell they're heading straight for me, head down. I veer left, they match me. I veer right, they veer to my right. Right before the moment of impact I leap aside and - they don't even look up, they continue, oblivious. They have no idea what just almost happened. In World War II kamikaze pilots weren't intentionally crashing into American ships, they just had their eyes glued to the cockpit floor.
posted by Geoff at 12:07 PM
3 Comments:
What does occidental mean?
R2K
Basically a westerner. Like oriental means one from the east. in this sense however it is an adjective - a westerner, oriental style....
Occident - the west
Levant - the Near East
Orient - the far east/Asia
On the way home from Toyama eki today I was assaulted by more than the normal level of walking stupidity. After having a pack of high school boys look up, see me on the bike and not break rank to let me through I was pissed, the an obchan did the unintentional weaving dance with me, finally in front of Lawsons a 5 foot little person jumped into my way, I opened my mouth to scream "Are you retarded?" and then realized she was. This is after making a student cry in class today. I shall stay in my apartment and avoid the world for the evening.
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