The Art of Walking

It seems this blog is quickly turning into a place for me to vent about things that piss me off and that was not my original vision for it. That said, here is something that pisses me off:
Walking is my preferred method of getting around and that sometimes requires me to walk a certain pace to stay on time. Toronto is a big city so I don't believe it's unreasonable to think that at least a small portion of it's residents are in the same situation as me. On the flip side of the coin are the abated walkers, those who walk for pleasure or see it as an annoying alternative to driving. That's fine, I have no problem with that but what I do have a problem with is people who insist on taking up ALL of the sidewalk when on their casual strolls. Just the other day I was walking down Queen St. East and this group of enormous people who were occupying literally the entire width of sidewalk decided to suddenly stop and look at buildings. They didn't move out of the way to look so I had to come to a screeching halt (I walk fast) to avoid bumping into them. Minutes later a large group of people (mostly children) were gathered around a parking meter and left no room for people to get by. Does the entire group need to participate in paying for parking? Get the fuck out of the way!

As you can tell it's a topic that gets me a bit flustered and I constantly need to remind myself that I'm not the asshole in this situation. I walk courteously, sticking to one side of the sidewalk like the flow of vehicle traffic, getting out of the way of people when necessary. Walking is an art because most people don't get it, it isn't an art for me because I understand that it takes a only a tiny bit of consideration and sticking to a very loose set of guidelines to walk cooperatively. All I ask of these daft people is that they be a bit more aware of their surroundings next time they go for a leisurely saunter. It's not complex.