Traffic Lessons

I ran a red light yesterday on my bike ride home. I was careful, looked both ways, decided not to wait, and I pedaled through. There was one pedestrian crossing the far side of the street, so I slowed down to  stay out of her way. A young man who took advantage of the lack of traffic to run the red light next to me didn't bother, instead riding about a foot in front of the woman and ringing his bell. The woman jumped back, surprised, and I suspect with less than savory feelings toward cyclists. At the next light, I stood next to this guy and decided, ignoring past lessons, to say something. So I said, "You know that woman had a green light?" He turned and gave me a big smile. We were biking buddies. In cahoots, if you will. He must have read confusion on my face, because he stopped to take out one of his headphones. "That lady was shocked!" he said. "I know, she had the walk sign, you know," I told him. "What? I thought you said she had the green light?" I resigned, no use explaining, I turned away and he put his headphones back in his ears. Now I wonder if he ever figured out what I was trying to say, and if so, whether he assumed I was a loser or merely insane.