People...

On this the first day of school...
I was followed by two teenage thugs for a mile and a half; who were obviously looking for an opportunity to jump me. In one hand I carried my day bag, and in the other, a large reusable bag of groceries with nothing more than; Corn Flakes, blue corn chips, salsa, peanut butter, 2 Sparkling Waters, and that Dolce Gabbana sweater I found earlier.

I would cross the street, and they would cross the street. Several times this happened. They yelled ahead three or four times for me "Hey, hey, hey, Sir, do you have a light? I ignored them until the 4th yell. I turned around, shook my head, and walked faster. The faster I walked, the faster they walked. I would cross the street, they would cross.

So, finally I thought "enough of this crap," and I stood and waited for them to catch up. I tightened my grip on my bags. I looked them both in the eye as they whispered to each other and continued onward. Other than the grace of God, I imagine the only thing that saved me was being aware today. I think if they could have gotten the surprise jump on me, I most certainly would have had trouble. Cowards.

You know? You try to be sympathetic. You realize that people have troubled lives and they're from troubled places, but some days it's hard to be sympathetic or empathic.

An update...

The next day after the almost mugging, I decided to take the bus rather than walk. I took the bus to the downtown hub to transfer. I had missed my connection by two minutes, so I sat on a bench a few feet from the stop. Keep in mind that there was no one other than myself there for ten minutes or so...

The bus was a half hour late, and by the time it arrived, a long line had formed. As the bus pulled up, I stood and moved near the head of the line. "Hey you can't cut. That MF was sittin' on that bench, now he gettin' ahead everybody?" I ignored the voice at first not realizing it was about me. The voice got louder and others, indignant joined in. The bus doors opened and people pushed with their bodies. "What the fuck is this, 3rd grade" I thought?

The angry jerk boarded a few people after me. As he passed my seat (middle of the bus) he roared again. I politely explained that I wasn't actually getting ahead of anyone. This just added fuel to his fire. He now promised to fcuk me up...  I ignored him, and he continued his very loud mindless rant for another mile and a half until he got off. 

Friday, I opted to walk and I did do in peace, the universe realizing that I had had quite enough for one week.