I find that walking calms my brain, giving me a moment or two to contemplate life's other questions (like "What am I doing here?" and "Who am I really?") - ones that don't revolve around communication theory or new media or whatever other scholarly stuff I'm slogging through for my exams. I especially like walking from my house in Capitol Hill down to Pioneer Square. It's a long walk, but I love doing work at Zeitgeist and browsing Elliott Bay Books. It reconnects me with myself - and, in turn, reconnects me with the universe. I revel in the peace of mind I feel after this walk.
Thus, it is with heavy heart that I reccount the following incident:
On Thursday, I decided I would walk downtown as usual, and read some stuff at Zeitgeist. After working for a while, I headed back home at 2:00 pm. As I was crossing the street on 3rd and Washington, a woman was crossing in the opposite direction. She was in her 50s or 60s, heavyset and wearing a hat. All of the sudden, she made a beeline for me and hit me. On my head. And then kept walking. I stopped, and yelled, "Excuse me" (I'm not the best at coming up with pithy comments on the spur-of-the-moment), but she continued on and entered the building behind me.
As I was contemplating this unusual turn of events, I was struck by a thought - she just slapped me upside the head! I had never understood what exactly that phrase meant before, but there was no better way way to describe what happened. It wasn't like she punched me, or even slapped my face...it was definitely a whack at the base of the back of my neck in an upward direction. The two guys who were walking a bit ahead of me turned around and asked if she had just hit me. When I answered affirmatively, they said, "What was that all about?" I said that I had no idea.
I still don't know what this is supposed to mean. Was the universe using this woman to send me a message? Like I shouldn't cross the street using the crosswalk? Or was this just a crazy lady who decided she didn't like the look of me? (I don't like not being liked!)
Anyway, it happened. I don't think my walks in Pioneer Square will ever be quite the same.
That's nuts. But then again, that whole block can be nuts. And that whole block is a whole block from my office . . . lemme know when you're hanging at Zeitgeist, I'd love to catch up!