Women in general act more hospitably than men when it comes to sidewalk encounters of me and my unicycle. Whereas single men tend to ignore me or to pretend I don't exist, single women are generally more likely to smile. But men and women with children are a whole nother matter.
I attribute this to the way our society has become so child-centric. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact many more women work outside of the home, so when they're with their kids, they let the kids run the show more than moms did a generation ago. Dads have even less of a clue about parenting skills than their wives. And then there is our general decline in acceptable outdoor behavior.
When I started riding in 1980, kids might point to me, and I might hear the word 'unicycle' as I rode by, but the entire affair was on the QT. I was pointed out, but it was done in a relatively classy way. Nowadays, kids shout, "Look, Mom, a guy on a one-wheeler!" and the parents, rather than admonishing junior about pointing at strangers, merely say, "That's called a unicycle." Everything's a friggin' "teachable moment" except that very few parents teach their kids about manners.
Sometimes the parent notices me before the kid does. Then I hear, "Look, Persimmon, see the man on the unicycle?" while Mom or Dad swivels the stroller around so that the 18-month-old can get a better look. I'm not bitter but I do find this funny. I mean, I don't even remember the most important event of the first three years of my life -- the Apollo moon landing -- and these parents act as if their diapered offspring are going to be impressed (and impressed upon) by a 5-second encounter with someone on a funny bicycle.
By far the oddest behavior I've seen came from a woman I passed last year. She was taking Buster for a walk when I rode by. She picked him up, tilted him in my direction, and cooed, "Look, Buster, a man on a one-wheeler." Buster wasn't impressed. He licked her face and then tugged on his leash. Buster was a pug.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
Reaction File: Rustic Types
Young men driving trucks are a tricky group to categorize. Some of them are perfectly kind and quiet. They see me and might find me a bit odd, or even a lot odd, but they tend to behave respectfully. But some of them are hicks. Hicks, it turns out, behave a lot like middle- and high- school kids in urban settings. That's not saying a lot about those kids, and it's saying even less about hicks.
This behavior is totally understandable and even predictable. Like kids in urban high schools, hicks are fairly low on the totem pole. Presumably they don't have a lot of self-confidence, and they have even less self-restraint.
What's really interesting about hicks is that they are the one group, other than drunks and other fringe members of society, who will make negative comments even when not in a group. Urban high-school kids might mumble something under their breaths as I go by, but the hick will go as far as to yell 'Faggot' or some other disparaging remark. I can only speculate that this is because unlike high schoolers, hicks know that they can kick my ass or just drive away in their gas-guzzling truck. Or both.
I'm glad that I haven't come across too many hicks.
This behavior is totally understandable and even predictable. Like kids in urban high schools, hicks are fairly low on the totem pole. Presumably they don't have a lot of self-confidence, and they have even less self-restraint.
What's really interesting about hicks is that they are the one group, other than drunks and other fringe members of society, who will make negative comments even when not in a group. Urban high-school kids might mumble something under their breaths as I go by, but the hick will go as far as to yell 'Faggot' or some other disparaging remark. I can only speculate that this is because unlike high schoolers, hicks know that they can kick my ass or just drive away in their gas-guzzling truck. Or both.
I'm glad that I haven't come across too many hicks.
Reaction File: Hippies
Peace Signs and Smiles, with a Drop of Righteousness
It's hard to classify someone as a hippy, becuase even people in suits might be hippies at heart (especially if they're sporting bushy facial hair). Let me define hippy as anyone who's able to make a living while dressed in something other than a uniform and who doesn't smoke or take taxis. It's more nuanced than that, but essentially those attributes probably capture a vast majority of liberal, Ben-and-Jerry eating, organic-food-market shopping tree huggers (like me).
On the one hand, hippies really appreciate the unconventional. So when they see me coming, they usually smile and often give me a thumbs-up or some other positive sign, even a nice comment. They are never unclever, so I don't have to worry about lame comments or circus music. On the other hand, hippies are more righteous than many other people. They sometimes feel that unicycles, like bicycles, don't belong on the sidewalk, and being righteous folks, they aren't afraid to speak up. So I sometimes get comments from perfectly nice-looking people about how I shouldn't be riding on the sidewalk. The comments are usually delivered quite drily and without anger. Unfortunately, they still rankle me because they're wrong on two counts: I'm not reckless or dangerous (which they can't tell, I realize), and there is no law against riding a uni on the sidewalks of NYC (which they don't know because, sadly, they don't know everything). So hippies, here is what I have to say: Thanks for your support, and keep the comments coming, as long as they're positive. Otherwise, I respectfully ask that you shut up.
Since moving to New Paltz, I've noticed that I get a lot more positive feedback on the sidewalks, on average, than I do in Manhattan or Brooklyn. New Paltz is known for its abundance of hippies, so it's generally a pleasure to ride thru the Town. But New Paltz also has a fair share of rustic types, so it's not all fun and games. More on that soon.
It's hard to classify someone as a hippy, becuase even people in suits might be hippies at heart (especially if they're sporting bushy facial hair). Let me define hippy as anyone who's able to make a living while dressed in something other than a uniform and who doesn't smoke or take taxis. It's more nuanced than that, but essentially those attributes probably capture a vast majority of liberal, Ben-and-Jerry eating, organic-food-market shopping tree huggers (like me).
On the one hand, hippies really appreciate the unconventional. So when they see me coming, they usually smile and often give me a thumbs-up or some other positive sign, even a nice comment. They are never unclever, so I don't have to worry about lame comments or circus music. On the other hand, hippies are more righteous than many other people. They sometimes feel that unicycles, like bicycles, don't belong on the sidewalk, and being righteous folks, they aren't afraid to speak up. So I sometimes get comments from perfectly nice-looking people about how I shouldn't be riding on the sidewalk. The comments are usually delivered quite drily and without anger. Unfortunately, they still rankle me because they're wrong on two counts: I'm not reckless or dangerous (which they can't tell, I realize), and there is no law against riding a uni on the sidewalks of NYC (which they don't know because, sadly, they don't know everything). So hippies, here is what I have to say: Thanks for your support, and keep the comments coming, as long as they're positive. Otherwise, I respectfully ask that you shut up.
Since moving to New Paltz, I've noticed that I get a lot more positive feedback on the sidewalks, on average, than I do in Manhattan or Brooklyn. New Paltz is known for its abundance of hippies, so it's generally a pleasure to ride thru the Town. But New Paltz also has a fair share of rustic types, so it's not all fun and games. More on that soon.
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