Did you really think this through?

This morning, I nearly committed vehicular homicide. Note that I said, "nearly." All parties involved are fine, save for a momentary increased heart rate.

This morning it was rather dark. The storms from last night had ended, but the sky was overcast. At 5:45am, the sun hasn't started coming up yet. This means that - save for the street and building lights - that it's damn near pitch black out there. On my commute in to work, there are sections of my route where there are no street lights. Not only does this make it incredibly dark, but it's also harder to see pedestrians.

It was one such pedestrian that I nearly turned into a greasy stain on the road this morning. I rounded a curve (traveling at the speed limit, mind you)and immediately had to swerve to avoid tagging an older gentleman walking a bit farther out from the curb than he should have been. There's several reasons I didn't immediately see him; primarily because it was dark, but primarily because he was wearing an all-black track suit. Let me say that again, just so it's clear: he was wearing an all-black track suit.

Even the umbrella he was carrying was black.

Now I ask you, WHY?!? Why would you go walking early on an overcast morning, with reduced visibility, on the road, wearing an outfit that's almost guaranteed to make you the unwitting target of motorists? Is it a death wish, or just general stupidity?

In this gentleman's defense, it was East Grand Rapids*. Perhaps he thought that everyone should see him, and get out of his way. Perhaps he's still out there, cursing at cars that swerve to avoid him and yelling at them to get off of his damned road...

*I'll explain in another post.