“The man on the bike was so gentle and nonchalant, it was lovely.”

photo by angela n.

“Dear PoPville,

I want to reiterate my thanks to the person (man, mid twenties) on their bike this morning (Thursday) around 0815/0820 on the Rock Creek path at the intersection at the Georgetown Waterfront / Watergate for being such a polite and respectful neighbor.

I was walking my dog and an unkempt man pushing several shopping carts full of items approached her to say hello – totally fine. When it came time to cross the street he started speaking to me in a language I am not familiar with and following me and my pup pretty closely. I smiled, waved, said “Have a good day!” but he didn’t seem to understand. He kept following me, using the carts to push us further and further off the sidewalk and closer to the river. My dog, who is also a medical alert animal, started to get agitated in response to my increased heart rate and the general situation.

Just as I was aiming for an escape route, a nice man on a bike stopped, took out his earbud, and asked me if I knew the person following me. When I said no, he kindly stayed with us as we continued to walk away,

which sent the first man off in another direction.

The man on the bike was so gentle and nonchalant, it was lovely. I was able to quickly thank him, but would like to do so again…and also highlight out loud a small, less-than-thirty second interaction that made an enormous difference in my day.

Thank you!”