There’s this cock carved in the sidewalk near Queens and Wellington; nothing fancy, just a half oval with two circles. My sense of humour includes the not-so-sophisticated, so I giggle every time I walk past.
It takes me about 45 minutes to walk to work (factoring in a stop for coffee, because the coffee at work tastes like poisoned piss). Both ways, that’s an hour and a half out of my day, every day, that I spend walking. A perk of the job I’m walking to is that they give me money for doing it. Should I use that income to buy a car and save the time it takes to walk?
No, because if I was driving, I wouldn’t get to giggle at that cock.
Beyond the obvious health benefits, there is a subtle value in taking the time to walk wherever I go. When I started this job, I’d pass this angry black man every day. With his unpleasant scowl and determined stare, I wondered what the problem was. But every day, his scowl softens just a bit when he sees me, and that glint of recognition flashes in his eyes. Further down the road I encounter the pretty girl with the nice eyebrows. We’ve progressed to a corner-mouth half-smile when we pass.
We’re building something in slow motion, 10 seconds at a time. Not relationships, but maybe something approaching acquaintanceships. Even if it never goes past near-imperceptible nods, that’s enough to foster a sense of community. A feeling that we share the space we live in with unique people, rather than anonymous silhouettes behind windshields.
I’ll still buy a car for when I need it (read: beer runs), but as long as my legs will carry me, I’ll rely on them as my main form of transportation. It’s worth taking the extra time to smell the roses, get to know the people, and laugh at the dicks.
Phronk.com 
Comments
22 responses to “The Cock of the Walk”
Way to go deep about dicks. And community. This post made my Saturday afternoon.
Also: I like your “dating and pathetic crushes” label. The real excitement in life usually comes from the most pathetic desires. Makes for good reading, and you own up to it. High fives.
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Way to go deep about dicks. And community. This post made my Saturday afternoon. Also: I like your “dating and pathetic crushes” label. The real excitement in life usually comes from the most pathetic desires. Makes for good reading, and you own up to it. High fives.
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*slap*
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slap
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I don't have a driver's license, so I walk a lot. However, I don't get to see as much dick as you.
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I don't have a driver's license, so I walk a lot. However, I don't get to see as much dick as you.
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I like this post. Well done sir.
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I like this post. Well done sir.
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You COULD just put a picture of the dick as your desktop wallpaper (at home, not work, obviously).
But I agree with you about walking, it's really great. I walk/run 3-6 miles a day, everyday. I see many of the same people when I go, I try to make a point of saying hello or waving at all of them. Even the dude who never makes eye contact and has never said “hello” back. I find his discomfort at my human decency amusing.
Great post. Even better then the one about the goose.
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You COULD just put a picture of the dick as your desktop wallpaper (at home, not work, obviously). But I agree with you about walking, it's really great. I walk/run 3-6 miles a day, everyday. I see many of the same people when I go, I try to make a point of saying hello or waving at all of them. Even the dude who never makes eye contact and has never said “hello” back. I find his discomfort at my human decency amusing. Great post. Even better then the one about the goose.
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Cool post–I don't have a car, so I walk or bus it everywhere I go, and I know what you mean about developing the “acquaintanceships”– I have a few of those at my bus stop in the morning. We have no idea where each other spends the rest of our day, but for those few minutes of waiting together we're our own little community.
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Cool post–I don't have a car, so I walk or bus it everywhere I go, and I know what you mean about developing the “acquaintanceships”– I have a few of those at my bus stop in the morning. We have no idea where each other spends the rest of our day, but for those few minutes of waiting together we're our own little community.
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I know which cock you speak of, I pass it most days as well, although I always wonder about scale. If it's 1:1 that's pretty impressive….
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I know which cock you speak of, I pass it most days as well, although I always wonder about scale. If it's 1:1 that's pretty impressive….
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Nice post. Some people manage to appreciate “taking a walk”, but you managed to capture how nice it is to have a walk as part of your routine.
I get a lot of my best ideas when walking to and from work. Some day, I will remember one of them, act on it, and become fabulously successful at… that thing I was thinking about on the way home from work the other day….
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Nice post. Some people manage to appreciate “taking a walk”, but you managed to capture how nice it is to have a walk as part of your routine. I get a lot of my best ideas when walking to and from work. Some day, I will remember one of them, act on it, and become fabulously successful at… that thing I was thinking about on the way home from work the other day….
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Ummm…I'm pretty sure you will use your car to get to work in December and January!!
Stop trying to be such a free-loving hippie. You're not a hippie. You've never even sat in at a drum circle. You don't even know what patchouli is.
Love, your sister.
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Ummm…I'm pretty sure you will use your car to get to work in December and January!!Stop trying to be such a free-loving hippie. You're not a hippie. You've never even sat in at a drum circle. You don't even know what patchouli is.Love, your sister.
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Sigh. I spend twice as long commuting each day, and that involves mostly transit. I wish I could walk to work. Or work from home, then I'd take walks as a break. Hell, I'd draw my own cock to entertain me.
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Sigh. I spend twice as long commuting each day, and that involves mostly transit. I wish I could walk to work. Or work from home, then I'd take walks as a break. Hell, I'd draw my own cock to entertain me.
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I like this.
When I used to walk to work Monday to Friday for a 5:15 open (arghh), I would judge how early/on time/late I was based on where people were on their route.
It is funny how multiple people can be in the exact same space, at the same time day in and out and not know one another. I often wondered how many of those people were using me to tell time.
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I like this.When I used to walk to work Monday to Friday for a 5:15 open (arghh), I would judge how early/on time/late I was based on where people were on their route.It is funny how multiple people can be in the exact same space, at the same time day in and out and not know one another. I often wondered how many of those people were using me to tell time.
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