Some people are fortunate enough to work remotely. I am one of those. It isn’t necessary for me to get up at any set hour, shower, shave, and use up gas going into the office. In the morning, I stumble just a few feet into my home office and start typing away with Muchacho in my lap.
But Tuesdays are a different story. Will requires me to show up in the afternoon because the paper goes to press that evening and it’s all-hands-on-deck. It can get hectic at 50 North Jackson Street on Tuesday afternoons but somehow, we always pull it off.
For some reason, a couple of hours after I’m into my weekly proofreading session I always have a need for a sugar rush and let Will know I’m headed to the Devi Foods store for a Twix bar. He never wants me to bring him back anything, but I always bring back a small bag of chips for Tammy which I feel helps keep me on her good side.
Devi Foods is on North Lee Street and just a block from the Reporter’s office. I always cross North Lee Street at the Forsyth Welcome Center directly across from Castleberry Drug which seems to be the part of town with the most traffic at that hour. For two and a half years I must admit I have been illegally jaywalking to satisfy my afternoon craving for something sweet solely because I’m too lazy to walk all the way up to Johnston Street, down to the crosswalk, then back down to Devi Foods. Besides on Tuesdays, I don’t have time for all that.
Then, lo and behold, back in 2020 the good old Georgia Department of Transportation engineers proposed a crosswalk on North Lee Street with a flashing pedestrian light. They said it would be 65 feet north of the intersection with Adams Street and would approximately line up with Castleberry Drug Store Parking Lot and Lee Street Park behind the Forsyth Welcome Center. The Forsyth City Council approved the proposal at their Nov. 2, 2020, meeting. When I heard the news, it seemed like they were doing it just for me. Wow. My own personal crosswalk. The DOT said the new crosswalk would include a solar-powered rectangular, rapid flashing beacon to slow drivers when pedestrians press a button wanting to cross the street. The DOT also said the project would cost about $46,000 to install. That seemed like a chunk of change to me, but I sure appreciated the thought. I read a little bit of flak about it on Facebook but, of course, someone must always stir the pot about something.
And then sometime in the middle of September, a worker from the DOT parked a nice white work truck on North Lee Street with an electrical sign attached to a trailer that said the crosswalk would be open on Sept. 24. Seemed like the sign was there forever and I was getting anxious to see it happen. For some reason, the truck remained attached to the sign. Parked there like it had nothing better to do.
As I mentioned, I felt like the new crosswalk was MY crosswalk and I wanted to be a part of Forsyth’s history by being the first citizen ever to use the new device. No one seemed to know at what time on the 24th the crosswalk beacon would be activated so I called Mayor Eric Wilson. Surely, if anyone knew, it would be him. Nope. He did have a number for me to call in Thomaston for the DOT people who oversaw the project though.
After being on hold for a few minutes the nice lady at the DOT informed me that she had spoken to the supervisor of the crosswalk department, and he said no crosswalk openings were scheduled for that day and no one was sure when it would happen. Later that day, I noticed the date on the sign had been changed to Sept. 26. I again called the DOT on that morning of the 26th but again no one could tell me at what time the magic would happen, but I was assured it would for sure happen that day.
I rushed over to my crosswalk and got there around 9:45 a.m. and found it ready to go. Now I can’t say for sure I was the first one ever to use the gadget, but I can at least say I was one of the first. I was amazed at the technology. The beacon started flashing immediately just as promised when I pressed the button. I congratulated myself for living in these wonderful times and felt confident as I stepped off the curb.
Then suddenly a car swished by without even slowing. Then another and another. I finally made it to the suicide lane and waited while one car slowed but never stopped.
I felt much safer back when I was jaywalking.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Reporter and a known crime fighter. Email him at stevereece@gmail.com.
