Monday, May 03, 2010

This morning I was at a busy downtown DC intersection waiting for the "you can walk now" sign to appear, when I decided to do a little informal research. Your friend and mine, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, has been a quite a crusade as of late, in attempt to get commuters to put their cell phones down while driving. To be perfectly honest, I never really paid close attention to the problem, but what better time to delve deeper into, than while waiting to cross the street right? Here are the results of my poll.

I counted about 55 cars in various states. Some were at red lights, some were temporarily stopped while traffic slowed, and some cars were just zooming through intersections. Of the 55, 30 people were holding cell phones, and more than half of them were texting or looking at their phone and not the road. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but as someone who walks to work, its absolutely terrifying. I've been at intersections where I have the right o' way, but the driver of the car near me isn't paying attention, he moves his car up, and then slams his breaks on, when he realizes the light is still red. There have been some pretty close calls to be quite honest with you. So for once in my life, I support something that Oprah is doing, so if you're a violator, please be more mindful.

So I was wrong about my fight prediction. Floyd won. I was correct when I said Floyd would struggle early on, and then smile like he wasn't hurt. But I thought Mosley would put up more of a fight in the middle rounds, and force Floyd to fight from behind, but it didn't happen. Shane got lit up like the Las Vegas landscape for 10 long rounds, and that was a wrap. Now I owe my little brother money. And I have to wait for a Mayweather/Pacquiao fight that may never happen, before I see a good fight.

As for the fight party I attend, my main man Neil and his wife Melanie were great hosts. They had Panini machine, plenty of hors d'oeuvres, plenty of drinks and the crowd was festive and lively. I also have to give props to Neil for having this book on display. As I have mentioned many times in this blog, the late Ralph Wiley is my favorite author, and before the fire, I had all of his books. Seeing this on display reminded me, that I need to re-purchase and re-read all of his works so I can be a better writer. But back to the party.

As good of a host as Neil and his better half were, and as much fun as my lady and my man Sabin had, I must say that I was man of the hour that night. You see when you're going to some one's house, you MUST bring some food or some drink (not napkins). That is the polite thing to do, although I saw some people come in empty handed, that is none of my business. So the night before the party, the lady and I were out to eat, and I was trying to figure out what to bring to the party, and I decided that a Chik-Fil-A platter was the way to go. There are no Chik-Fil-A's in the DC (except on college campuses) and I thought that if I were to bring it to the party, everyone would be appreciative, and they were. People (myself included) dug into that platter like gangbusters. In fact when I walked in, Neil and his wife looked at the platter like this was college and I had brought the keg. So let this be a lesson to you. You can NEVER, EVER go wrong with Chik-fil-A.

4 comments:

£ said...

though i am generally anti the Oprah "machine" i support the no cell phone while driving cause. in fact, just the other day i was driving behind some dude who was maneuvering his car so janky, i wondered if he was drunk. when i finally got from behind him, i saw the cause - he was on his phone. His wonky driving had me running late. I wanted to perform a citizen's arrest © gomer pyle. lol.

Chik-fil-a was a splendid idea. kudos! I see you, showing errybody else up. lol. :) I'm gonna have to "borrow" that idea. Also, I think I know what I want for lunch...

oh and yeah... panini makers rock.

maxwellsmusze said...

you're chick fil a obsession does some good in the world for once i see:) great idea!

Neil MacLean said...

Glad you came through, you're definitely a legend in the minds of all there at the party for the chick-fil-a platter.
We'll do it again without a fight being the center of focus so we can actually talk. Great to meet Renita, and Sabin as well.
Also glad someone recognized the greatness of my book collection, finally.

Papier Girl said...

The cell phone initiative is a good one...whether Oprah endorses it or not. But it happens, when she's behind something, zillions of others follow. If only we could get her to tackle texting-while-walking now, I'd be safer on the streets of NY.