Do You Have the Time?

A couple weeks ago I was walking to a friend’s house after we’d gotten a few inches of snow. That probably requires a bit of description for you to get a good mental picture. For me to walk in the snow requires that I use crutches, which are a bit more cumbersome & slower. Furthermore, in my neighborhood, a shoveled sidewalk is defined as a path the width of one snow shovel. So where normally 3 people could walk abreast, one person can only fit now. If said person is taking up even more space with the use of crutches, it gets really crowded and difficult to manage who gets to pass & how & when.
About ten paces from the street, I pass a building a woman has just exited. She quickly approaches behind me and sighs, clears her throat, and sighs again. Now five paces from the street where there is wide berth for passing, it is clear she wants me to step into the snow so she can pass. Stifling my questions on the etiquette here, I step into the snow. She passes, breaking into a run. Briefly, I assumed she was on an urgent mission. However, the run lasted only 15 seconds; about the length of time she was held up by my slower progress. My bemused chagrin was interrupted by a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. The season’s first cardinal landed on a nearby tree, and he greeted me with a chirp before moving on.
It’s a shame she missed it.