yes... we all need to focus more upon ourselves and less upon others... but what is our responsibility to others
this photo of me with Brian Baker out from of Dag Haus in the mid to late 1980's has nothing to do with this post
but when I scanned for Haus... I saw this image of the kid who allegedly took the blinky light
the dog was doing that thoughtful prance
looking for the perfect spot
I could tell from the owner's body position that there would be no effort to pick up the dog's poop
sure enough...
I make my pass in my car just as this wonderfully muscular beast of a dog took a dump leaving a poop the size of a small dog in someone's Cleveland Park front lawn
sure enough
the dog owner was walking by the time that steamer touched down on earth
not effort to bag the poop
so I honked... and then considered looping back to give a shout out to this older gentleman with the over sized dog
but no... I kept moving forward
as my words would not do anything other than initiate conflict
I do not need any more conflict in my life
I have enough conflict in my life
but this incident is not the only incident of its type
last night as I was rolling up to a party on the border of Mount Pleasant-Columbia Heights I passed two people on the sidewalk
as I politely passed I thought I recognized one of the people as a kid who lives up the block from me
a kid I have seen riding an assortment of bikes... bikes that he does not appear to be the original owner of
I roll past them then pull up to a No Parking sign that seemed like a good enough place for me to lock up my bike
as I am in the city I try to be alert to my surroundings
I glanced at the two people on the sidewalk with half my attention while the other half of my attention locked my bike
without my concern I went about my business as I witnessed in my periphery this young man... a kid in his late teens lean over to a locked bike as he passed
without giving the action my complete focus I thought
ah... cool... that kid is turning off another cyclist's blinking light
as I finished locking my bike I stood upright and saw the form of that young boy in his late teens
he looked like he was trying not to be suspicious as he put something in his pocket
it happened rather quickly
as he walked past I brought those actions to my full attention
then I questioned what I should do
here is this kid... just ten yards down the block
and I hesitated
as I have seen this kid on an assortment of bike and already shared with him my notion of "bad karma bikes"
and walked away always reminding myself
I have my own kids... let me focus on them
but...
it is not just about helping this kid to make the right choices
it is not just about helping this kid stop making the wrong choices
it is about stopping a kid from stealing my friend's shit
but no... the moment passed and I did nothing
as it is complicated
this young man is always polite and respectful
polite and respectful to me... with no change in behavior
really... how will my words help to change his behavior in the future?
in fact...
he could be spiteful and loop back and steal all the lights on all the bikes to make a pointI have not seen his father in a while
it would be nice to have a casual run in with his dad to have some man to man talk
but again
what makes me so sure that my words will be taken well
how would this father respond to a virtual stranger coming up to him and telling him that his son is a thief?
Stolen\Thie\and Karma on the Gwadzilla Page
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=stolen
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=thief
and
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=karma