Cross stand

I have a habit of crossing against the light, its something I picked up while living in New York City. Though time saving, it’s a custom Japanese people tend to shy away from.

Thus while crossing the street against the light this evening, the sound of a phone ringing in the middle of the intersection naturally caught my attention. What Japanese person in their right mind would be in the middle of the street when a taxi was threatening to barrel through the intersection I wondered?

Turning towards the sound, the first thing I saw out of the corner of my right eye was a baby carriage, then two miniature Dachshunds, and finally an old lady. However something was wrong. The おばちやん did not appear to be walking. A millisecond more of observation made it clear that she had stopped in the middle of intersection and was proceeded to pull out her mobile phone, which was still ringing. I was dumbfounded. Here in the middle of Roppongi rush hour traffic was an old Japanese woman with her two dogs and a baby carriage, who was seemingly unaware that she was about pulverized in to Okonomiyaki.

Confident that there was a disaster in the making, I turned to watch the spectacle. But nothing happened, the taxi swerved, the light turned green, and the old women remained in the middle of the intersection chatting away.