Left, Left, Left

I've been to the mall twice and both times I found myself listing to the right. Mall traffic tends to move like street traffic, with people walking on the left-hand side—although, also like street traffic, some people prefer to create their own lanes. I remember when I was little, my mom teaching me that it was polite to walk on the right and this life-long habit is hard to break. It’s like putting on your shoes or brushing your teeth. It’s sense memory and you just don’t think about it. In the mall, it’s not such a problem. If my legs unconsciously take me to the right, I move back to the left as soon as there is somebody in my path to remind me that traffic moves in the opposite direction here.

On the street, it’s a little more important to pay attention. Another lesson I remember my mom teaching me is to always walk against traffic, so that you can see the cars coming. So, in the street, my unconscious tendency is to walk on the left, with the cars driving on the right coming toward me. Here though, cars drive on the left, hence I should be walking on the right. On the big streets, it’s easy to remember because there are always cars present to remind me. On the smaller streets in my neighborhood, I find myself listing again. Thank goodness for horns.