(no subject)

[girlofprey]

I've just been on a walk now, and honestly I think I might have to give up on them. The other day I went for a walk in the rain, just because I hadn't been outside for a few days, and I was ready to commit to only ever going for quarantine walks in the rain, it was so quiet and the people I did meet were so polite and eager to follow guidelines. But then on the way back, I had a group of three men walking towards me. They weren't quite walking three abreast, but close, in a little triangle. I walked up to them, and they really didn't move, then at the last minute one of them moved in about an inch. I swear the lane I go for walks on in about 6ft wide anyway, so I went over to the grass at the side. Then later, I was coming back down a narrow pavement, and a guy was coming the other way, and a car was coming through the tunnel behind him so he was obviously nervous. But he still stepped into the road - by just stepping off the pavement. The pavement is only wide enough for one person, so I couldn't go anywhere except into someone's garden. And it was like....why even go into the road if you're just going to do that? A car was coming, but cars have people inside, and will slow down and stop if a person is walking on the tarmac in front of them. I could have literally reached out and touched him. So I ended up turning away so he could pass without putting his face into my face at least, and I heard him loudly exhale literally the second he passed me. Why?

Then today, it was a drizzly walk also, and I had high hopes. The first person I passed was one man with a dog, as far over to the side of the lane as they could get. The second, on the way back, was a couple with two dogs, and the minute I saw them I got over to the side, and the woman got over to the side, but the man she was with did not. Which is always a bad sign. He eventually moved over about five inches, so he was closer to her side, rather than idk, behind her? To walk single file for five seconds? So I was in the gravel again, as far as I could go. And then his dog ran up to me, which was lovely, but not ideal for current circumstances, and then he came a bit closer calling the dog's name, which obviously didn't come when called, and I just give up. I don't know where I'm supposed to go. The lane is perfectly wide enough if people get on either side, and it's a lovely walk and pretty quiet. But the fact it's pretty quiet means everyone wants to go there suddenly. There's a field just before it where there's always space to get away from people who won't distance, I guess I could just walk around and around that for an hour everyday. Or maybe in the sewers, they should be quite deserted. It's really disheartening when you're trying to follow the rules, and other people just don't seem to know or care at the moment. Maybe I will just stay in my room. And write hate lists about the people I've met.

Comments

[breyzyyin]

I feel so bad for all the dogs right now because they are just attention-starved at the moment, but really...I can totally see why you've gotten frustrated with walking when people aren't following the rules. 0_0; It's a shame because it can be such a nice activity to engage in if people would just follow the guidelines.

[girlofprey]

The dog I didn't mind, but then clearly the guy 1) didn't have his dog well-trained enough to come back when called, 2) didn't have his dog on a leash, and also 3) wasn't excited about following social distancing guidelines, and then had to come closer to me to get his dog. And yeah, it should be a really nice half-hour or hour outside the house, walking, in the beautiful weather we're having, and instead you just don't know what's going to happen no matter how much you stick to the rules, or only go to places you know will have enough space to follow them. It's very unnecessarily stressful. Part of me wishes I had gone out in the hailstorm instead.