| I was up at 9:00 this morning. After putting on a pot of coffee, I started my final load of laundry, which consisted of all towels. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had enough towels to wash at once to make up a full load. Half the load was my entire set of bath towels from the guest bathroom, which Kevin (av8rdude) threw in the hamper before he left.
After lunch of a ham and Swiss wrap, I put on four eggs to hard-boil, and while they did, I made up a grocery list for a run today. I desperately need some fruit for breakfasts. I spent a little while straightening up around the house today, before heading out to the gym and a grocery run. |
I am definitely feeling yesterday’s workout in my upper body today, particularly whenever I lift my arms. (I know, “Well don’t lift your arms, then!”) Today was an all-cardio day for me, and I did the stationary bike—a first. Stats:
|
Cardio (Stationary Bicycle) |
40 |
After a shower at the gym, I stopped by Food Lion, where my grocery order totaled $104.77 until she swiped my MVP card, when it went down to $80.97—a savings of $23.80, or almost 25%. Woohoo.
Back home, I cut up watermelon and cantaloupe, and cleaned and sliced some strawberries.
I got a voice mail message from Kevin today, who is making his way across country with his friend Greg:
| Good morning Ms. Martin. Just returning your call. Congratulations on turning in your notice. Glad that all went well for you.
We are now in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We did some of Yellowstone yesterday and the Tetons, and then came here to Jackson Hole just to stay over night. We discovered they have whitewater rafting here, so we’re gonna do that this morning. Then we’re gonna continue on back up through Yellowstone and into someplace i can’t remember, stay the night there, and then drive into Seattle tomorrow. So, we’re making good progress and seeing lots of cool stuff, And, hopefully, I’ll talk to you soon. |
He gets his exercise in Yellowstone National Park and in the Grand Tetons, and I get mine at Planet Fitness. “You leave you workout buddy behind like that? Nice!”
AAA’s Go Magazine enumerates these 6 Big Lies About Pedestrian Safety:
| Lie | Why |
|---|---|
| Lie No. 1: Kids account for most pedestrian casualties. |
We tend to think of pedestrian safety as an issue primarily involving kids walking to and from school or playing near the street. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Although child pedestrian safety remains a serious issue, the fatality rate for children has dropped steadily and dramatically over the last 20 years or so, decreasing 84 percent since 1975 (the most among any age group). Nowadays, seniors run the greatest risk of becoming a walking fatality. People age 65 or older account for one out of every four pedestrian deaths. |
| Lie No. 2: Intersections with “Walk/Don’t Walk” lights are the safest places to cross. |
If you think that crossing only on the “Walk” light decreases your risk of getting hit, think again. Studies show standard pedestrian signals have no effect on crash rates compared with non-signalized intersections.
Only signals permitting a pedestrian-exclusive interval—those that stop traffic in all directions, allowing pedestrians at all four corners to cross—make a difference in cutting collision rates. But they impede traffic flow so severely that cities rarely install them. In fact, three North Carolina cities ranked among the 100 worst cities nationally for pedestrian deaths in a 2003 US Department of Transportation analysis – Fayetteville (26th worst), Charlotte 60th and Greensboro 90th. |
| Lie No. 3: You can always cross safely when the driver waves an OK. | Making eye contact and getting a go-ahead wave from a driver don’t necessarily ensure safety. In certain cases, the stopped vehicle actually becomes an obstacle blocking the view of drivers overtaking it in the next lane. With the stopped vehicle screening their view, they may not see you and keep heading on a collision course. Stop before clearing the first car and make eye contact with all oncoming drivers. |
| Lie No. 4: Drivers running red lights, barging into crosswalks, or not paying attention cause most collisions. |
All things considered, drivers and pedestrian share blame pretty much equally. Certainly, drivers take the rap deservedly at intersections; they cause 88 percent of the conflicts there.
Nevertheless, most pedestrian collisions happen at places other than intersections, where pedestrians are usually at fault. These accidents often involve jaywalking, darting out into traffic mid-block, or crossing highways. |
| Lie No. 5: Wearing white at night lets drivers see you. |
Compared with dark clothing, white does make you more conspicuous at night, but not nearly enough to give you a comfortable margin of safety under all conditions.
Consider this: at 40 mph, an alert driver covers slightly more than 120 feet while recognizing a pedestrian, hitting the brakes, and coming to a complete stop. Drowsiness, bad tires, slick pavement, and other factors can double that stopping distance According to government studies, pedestrians wearing dark clothing become visible at 55 feet—obviously, a deadly distance for a pedestrian facing a 40-mph vehicle. But a white shirt improves visibility to about 200 feet—still not enough under many conditions. |
| Lie No. 6: Just walk home when you’ve had too much to drink. | An astonishing number of collisions involve drunken pedestrians. And that includes underage drinkers, too. According to the most recent statistics, 34 percent of pedestrians age 16 or older killed in traffic collisions had a blood alcohol concentration at or above 0.08, the legal limit for drivers. |
After waffling about it most of the night, I did drop by Flex, as I wanted to see “the staff” in “Turnabout Night,” which is when everyone who works there dresses in drag as a fundraiser for NC Pride.
OMG. Brigner, the manager. He looked like some artistically grotesque cross between one of Cinderella’s (ella’s, ella’s ella’s) [← wow, that video has been viewed 46.5 million times!] ugly stepsisters and a geisha girl, complete with the absolutely reddest Betty Davis-shaped lips.
Too funny. It’s one of those images I laugh at every time I think about it, no matter how often. It was worth the ride out solely to see that.