Reply #29: I make room.

[CBHagman]

I've lived in seven different states and the District of Columbia, and have spent time in Canada and Europe, but it's only been in the Washington, D.C., area that I started noticing issues with space.

Now let me preface this with the observation that in the D.C. area, it's only a limited number of aggressive souls that stand out. Most people do show consideration on sidewalks and in stores.

Then there are the doozies who barrel through everything and into everyone. I first noticed that while waiting for a Metro train. I was up against a concrete wall and people would almost walk right into me instead of adjusting their path. Then there was the guy who was running for a train and knocked me flying. I was wearing a suit and carrying paperwork for a job interview and wound up literally skidding across the tiles. I heard people gasp but no one asked if I was hurt or helped me to my feet. The guy who struck me turned around to apologize but clearly was in a huge hurry to go on his way.

There was also the time that on a wide and virtually empty sidewalk I'd paused to jot down the address of an office building. A young guy came up the sidewalk and more or less walked right into me.

And then there are the people who think it's a good idea to walk three, four, five, six, or seven abreast in the store or on the sidewalk, as if they're filming The Magnificent Seven or something.

It's all a matter of balancing confidence with consideration -- a hard task for many, it seems.