Imagine standing on the Ocean City boardwalk and unexpectedly a surrey filled with 5 kids ages ranging from approximately 6-14 crashes into you and knocks you on the ground. What do you do? Also as you are falling, imagine that you knock over a 7-year-old on his bike. What do you do?
Well, that was the eventful end to our morning boardwalk bike ride. We were all standing with our bikes ready to exit at 12th street. When a surrey crashed into a woman standing on the boardwalk who then crashed into my 7-year-old and knocked him over on her way down. I’m sure she got hurt. I know if it was me I’d be more than a little annoyed. But I hope I wouldn’t respond the same way she did.
She got up and started yelling at the kids and her language was not rated G (remember the kids were approximately 6-14 years old, in addition to my 5, 7, and 10-year-olds who were also there). If someone yelled at my kids that way, even if it was deserved, I’d be furious.
As we got back to our house, my husband, my mom and I were discussing it. We agreed that the woman had a right to be angry. Who wants to get run over by a bunch of kids on a surrey? But, in fairness to the kids, she was standing, not walking, just standing in the surrey lane of the boardwalk. Perhaps that wasn’t the best place to stand. But still, the kids should be looking where they were going. The kids apologized and they also apologized to my son and asked me multiple times if he was alright – which he was. (The lady never once glanced at my son in concern for him.)
As we discussed it, I said how we all have a sense of entitlement on the boardwalk. The bike riders feel like they should be able to ride in their lane without having to swerve in and out of pedestrians and slower bike riders. The surrey riders feel like they should be able to ride in their lane. And the pedestrians, well they feel like they should be able to be anywhere they want on the boardwalk and everyone should watch out for them. (I know because I’ve been all of these.)
Isn’t that how it is in all of life. We always think that what we are doing is more important and somehow more “right” than what everyone else is doing. Perhaps we need to spend more time looking out for each other and cutting some slack when someone messes up… but that’s easy to say when I’m not the one having a surrey filled with laughing kids crashing into my back and sending me crashing to the ground…
♥Becki, imperfect boardwalk bike rider
P.S. I love Ocean City, NJ! No summer would be complete without spending time here… morning bike rides on the boardwalk, stopping to stand in the long line for Brown’s doughnuts, afternoons on the beach (with hundreds of your “closest friends”), nights on the boardwalk enjoying the rides, the sights, the sounds, and the smells (Mack and Manco’s pizza, Jilly’s fries, funnel cakes, Laura’s chocolate covered strawberries, Shriver’s salt water taffy, Kohr’s frozen custard… I think next Training Tuesday’s post will have to be about getting back on the healthy eating wagon...). But the best part about Ocean City, NJ: running into friends from various seasons of my life!
