Take Five Seconds out of Your Day

Five seconds, I'm guesstimating, is the amount of time it take to cross the street.

On Saturday morning, I went out for a stroll with my little guy on the beautiful Brandon Parkway path. When we came to the intersection of Pauls Drive and the cutoff road, we had to wait to cross while three cars, after stopping at the stop sign, made a left turn onto Pauls. None of three drivers could take five seconds out of their day, on a Saturday morning nonetheless, to let a mother and her stroller-riding toddler cross the street AT A DESIGNATED CROSS WALK. They didn't even acknowledge that any pedestrians were present.  

When we finally crossed, I met a nice couple with two dogs who witnessed my defeat. They were as bewildered as I at the situation, as they had just encountered the same with two cars. (Side note: I'm not saying that a mother with a stroller should get any special treatment, but this was my situation that day.)

Are we so busy and self-absorbed in our lives that we cannot provide five seconds to others? Whether it is letting people cross the street, or *gasp* letting a car into the lane from a side street, or even stopping short to not block a driveway/street so that a vehicle can get to its destination, where is the courtesy, people? Doing any one of these actions is not going to ruin your day, but it will probably make someone else's life a little easier, if just for a moment.

I challenge you to take five seconds out of your day, to let someone cross the street (legally, of course) or to let a car go in front of you on your ride home. If we all were a little more courteous, our dreadful commutes may start to get a little more pleasant.