Fellow drivers, lend me your opinions.

Driving through Encinitas to my coffee shop this morning, I paused at a crosswalk and waved to a pedestrian that he should pass. This kid was about twelve, with shaggy blond hair, a sunburn, and a knit cap (it's drizzling,) your typical San Diego youth. He cheerfully waved me on but I, in my stubborn conviction that a pedestrian at a crosswalk should have the right of way (borne of so many instances of almost being run over while trying to cross Pacific Coast Highway) and since there were no cars behind me, rolled down my window and said with a smile, "dude, the pedestrian has the right of way." And he grinned and said, "it's no problem! You go." So I went.

This exchange amused me because a) it was so Encinitas (a beach community with, from my personal estimation, the highest incidence of Priuses, "Coexist" bumper stickers and yoga studios per capita in San Diego county) and b) kids are weird. But. The "you go, no you go" scenario, endemic to Southern California but certainly occurring in other regions, can get stale real fast when you're trying to get things done. Fellow drivers, what do you think of it? I think the first wave should be the final word; if I wave you on, go. Failing that, we could be there all day, competing to be the most polite and self-effacing driver on the road. And everyone knows that that title rightfully belongs to ME.

Heh.