Monday, May 28, 2007

Pirate of the Wissahickon

When Noah and I were out running in the Wissahickon last night, a guy holding a little baby drove a car onto Forbidden Drive. He was going rather fast for a car in the woods, nevermind that cars aren't allowed in the dark woods full of pedestrians. We flagged him down and told him to get out of there, assuming that he just wasn't familiar with the area. However, he yelled some stuff at us and continued to drive for 15 yards where he runs into people he know. They told him that cars aren't allowed on Forbidden Drive. He made a K turn and began to head out of the woods.

At this point, the car was 100 yards away facing us. He aimed the cars towards us. I knew that he wouldn't have guts to hit us, so I didn't move. But it was still scary. Noah stuck his arm and body out while yelling "hey" or something at the guy. Finally, the guy stopped the car in the middle of the trail and got out of the car. I guess the baby was in the passenger front seat.

Standing next to his car and facing us, he told us to keep running or he'd beat us up (said with some curse words in there). Really, there was no way he would win. One look at him, and I knew he's fat and slow. And there are other people around, so he's not going actually going to do it. He was also clearly in the wrong, and he knew it. I forgot exactly what Noah said to him, but I'm sure the guy didn't bother to hear it. He was all peppers. A couple people caught up to us and yelled at the guy to get back in the car. The guy got in the car and drove out of the trails.

Afterwards, Noah told me that during this confrontation, he also reached into his car to try to get something, presumably a baseball bat, but it got stuck, so we didn't see it. What a wimp... first the car, then the bat. Why don't people fight with fists anymore? And why do people curse and threaten others in front of babies? Or endanger others by driving cars onto pedestrians' safe places? Or escalate the situation rather than listen to a legitimate complaint about their behavior?

As we ran back to Valley Green, I hoped that we'd run into a park ranger or a cop. Gosh, I really wished I had memorized the car's license plate, but I didn't think fast enough to do that.

It was a relaxing run until then, and this moron stole our peace and left us with an aggravating experience.

1 comment:

julia said...

There are some whack-ass crazy peeps in this world. I'm glad that other people were around in case he did have the nerve to try to do something. Be careful! I remember our athletic director in high school telling us about a guy who pulled out and waved a gun at her over a parking spot misunderstanding as he drove away. Whack, I tell you. Whack!