on velopaths and reconciliation

well there you have the weather. on the way in i was waiting at fifth avenue and huron, over to the right with no cars at the light, and right as it turned green a subaru outback slipped by and began to turn right, the old right hook as it were. i gave it a slap on its hindquarters, and the driver stopped, although it may have been because there was a moving van around the corner. i then did my best to urge the driver to keep moving, to get along, shoving as hard as i could (as if it mattered) on the wagon's rump. eventually the driver moved out of the way, a cyclist on the sidewalk said "you tell 'em" and i rode away, muttering expletives. while it certainly couldn't be counted as "altercation-free" (my goal, remember), neither did it leave an unpleasant aftertaste as these things so often do.

i get weary, and sometimes even sad, when i read cyclists' posts on bikeforums referring to all motorists as "cagers" along with other narrow interpretations. let she or he who has never driven a car step forward, and then immediately return to their business. certainly the actions of many motorists infuriate me, and not only when they also endanger me, but i have to believe that the important stuff of being human is shared among all of us.

safety is my goal, so i ride defensively. to me, this means anticipating unsafe behaviors on the part of other drivers, of all vehicles including bicycles (which are very much part of the overall picture). this anticipation, when realized fully, is entirely sufficient; that is, it is unnecessary for me to speculate as to the motivations and philosophies of the other drivers. in simple terms, i don't make it personal. usually that makes things worse. and then there is the whole stereotype thing.

last night we had an interesting meeting of our task force on the church and homosexuality, largely to discuss the outcome of the ELCA's churchwide assembly and the voting on recommendations concerning rostering of gays, and blessing of same-sex unions. the short story, with the best possible spin, is that we did not take a step backward. the long story would involve details of how divisive the issue continues to be, even in the relatively progressive ELCA. at trinity, we are contemplating RIC and affirmations of welcome, to the chagrin of a few. our pastors are very much behind this, however, and are wonderful persons, and they have considerable support. we are just going to have to continue to talk about it.

i have a busy day ahead of me here so i can't write more although the topic is of great interest.