Friday, November 30, 2007
Til the Time is Right
I was on a night run last week when a '1st' occurred. When you've been running 16 or so years, there aren't as many firsts as there used to be. I was just jogging along old Superior Street here in good old Bay View -- you know, "the friendly south side", they call it. And it was dark out -- and cold. So cold -- and of course I was underdressed -- that I was running fast with fists clenched to stay warm. And as I approach this parked minivan with only its parking lights lit, I hear the minivan 'lock up' upon my approach.
I've never thought of runners as intimidating, but I guess everything changes when the light goes down.
I thought, at the time, that I would like to explain to the person that I wasn't a threat, but now I think it was good they locked up. I think carjacks would be cut down significantly if people just hit the locks. What's so hard about that? And what carjacker wants to shoot the person through the window, ruining the car, getting blood everywhere? And of course they'd still have to move the body to drive it. It doesn't make any sense. Lock up, then drive away. It can't be that hard.
That's why I can't stand the horror movie cliche in which someone is being chased, and they're too afraid to think coherently. And they run -- and don't they all run like pansies? -- until they trip. Then they keep tripping, because that's convenient, isn't it? That hasn't been done before.
I guess what I want is a horror movie in which the people prepare really well, don't make any mistakes, and avoid all the silly cliches....but still the bad guy gets in. Now that's scary. Not people being stupid and getting stabbed. People playing it smart and still getting it.
I've never thought of runners as intimidating, but I guess everything changes when the light goes down.
I thought, at the time, that I would like to explain to the person that I wasn't a threat, but now I think it was good they locked up. I think carjacks would be cut down significantly if people just hit the locks. What's so hard about that? And what carjacker wants to shoot the person through the window, ruining the car, getting blood everywhere? And of course they'd still have to move the body to drive it. It doesn't make any sense. Lock up, then drive away. It can't be that hard.
That's why I can't stand the horror movie cliche in which someone is being chased, and they're too afraid to think coherently. And they run -- and don't they all run like pansies? -- until they trip. Then they keep tripping, because that's convenient, isn't it? That hasn't been done before.
I guess what I want is a horror movie in which the people prepare really well, don't make any mistakes, and avoid all the silly cliches....but still the bad guy gets in. Now that's scary. Not people being stupid and getting stabbed. People playing it smart and still getting it.
