Walking in another person's shoes

I don't know if this happens in other cities, but in Detroit a lot of folks walk in the streets. There are seemingly perfectly good sidewalks, but lots of people walk in the streets. Sometimes I've thought it is because for so long there were hardly any cars on the streets, so why not make good use of the pavement. But when you're driving a car in the City, you better be alert--not so much for the other vehicles, but for the pedestrians popping up and out of everywhere.

On Sunday, we had a little bit of an ice storm--nothing like what has been hitting the Country's mid-section, though that is supposedly headed our way. I headed out to church in the evening and started slip-sliding all over the sidewalk. It didn't help that I had shoes with absolutely no traction, but...the sidewalks were a sheet of ice, although the roads (likely due to the steam that runs under them) were nice and safe.

So there I was doing what so many of my fellow Detroiters do---walking in the street like it's a sidewalk. Not to be ornery, not to challenge the vehicles passing by, but really just out of shear necessity.

What a simple reminder about not judging someone til you've walked in their shoes.