TO THE POLITE, WELL-SPOKEN GENTLEMAN DRIVING THE BOX TRUCK ON TUESDAY, WHO IS NOW SEEKING ME OUT TO ISSUE A FORMAL APOLOGY:

Hello again,

It was nice to meet you on Tuesday when our verbal paths collided and our physical paths experienced a near-miss; (which considering the swath of your 24 foot box truck vs. my 180 pound limber, athletic frame, was definitely to my advantage). I appreciate your current concern with setting the record straight by admitting your mistake and issuing an apology, but I feel it is no longer necessary since I am confident you have already researched the applicable laws, discovered the error of your ways, and are now remorseful and repentant.

In case I am mistaken in this last assumption, below are the pertinent facts, to refresh your memory and to aid you in your contrition:

• At approximately 2:15pm local time on Tuesday afternoon I was walking eastbound along Broadway, on the sidewalk situated on the south side of Broadway.
• As I entered a marked crosswalk, crossing what appeared to be some sort of delivery entrance into the hospital, I heard some honking behind me, followed by a squeal of brakes. (Granted, I could have turned to look, though I'm not sure how I was expected to differentiate your honk directed at me, from the 30 to 50 cars and trucks honking in my 3 to 5 miles of pedestrian adventures each day.)
• It was not until I felt your over-sized grill bearing down upon me from over my left shoulder and turned and saw your vehicular behemoth looming over me, that I realized all this ruckus was for my benefit; (so thoughtful).
• When I then turned around, I could not help but see you gesticulating wildly, and though I could not read your lips, I'm sure your verbalizations were in no way hurtful or untoward.
• I then, (since you were safely stopped), stood for a moment in the middle of the marked crosswalk alternating between outstretched arms and pointing down at the marked crosswalk.
• As I turned away from you and proceeded eastbound, and as you completed your 90 degree turn into the delivery entrance, I heard you shouting something out your window. Believing this to be an invitation to continue our gentlemanly deliberations, I marched up the hill and politely inquired as to your employment status; believing that if we could not resolve our issues, I might have some further recourse.
• You proudly, (and rightfully so), indicated you were self-employed, and proceeded to inform me that you held a strong belief that because it was a marked crosswalk, your mode of transportation took priority over mine. I believe that what you courteously pointed out to me was, (nearly verbatim), "You were in the crosswalk. My truck has the right-of-way."
• Perhaps you simply mistook the maxim "Might is Right" for the law, but (as previously stated) I am confident that you have since found the truth. To quote state statute 300.375.1, "When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk."
• We then ended our discussion when I restated my belief that you were mistaken and bade you a fond farewell.
• You were still extolling the virtues of newfound friendship and saying your goodbyes, as I walked down the hill and around the corner.

If someone were watching from a distance, I realize that all the finger-pointing and arm-waving may have given the impression that this stimulating exchange of ideas was in some way adversarial, or even angry; but regardless, I am happy to have aided you on Tuesday in becoming less of a danger on the roadways. I am sure in your research you also discovered that since 2011 pedestrian fatalities have increased by 6.4 percent, and in that same time they have increased from 11 percent to an all time high of 14 percent of all traffic fatalities.

As you now acknowledge, it is ludicrous to believe that a pedestrian on a sidewalk should stop at every entrance to every parking lot and every driveway, turn around to watch traffic coming from behind them, and wait until all traffic has passed, just in case one driver may want to turn into said ingress. Now that you know the rules of the road that are in place to avoid a mismatch such as we nearly experienced, perhaps you would be so inclined as to pass this message along to your brothers-in-big-trucks at your next "Might is Right" Rally.

Then perhaps, with this momentum, we can work together to educate your colleagues, sisters-on-cell-phones.