After a Pronouncement
by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Alan Catlin

“Leave the worrying to professionals,
and live your lives.”

— Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City

Stop at cross walks where
the yellow lines part
an the white ones divide;
Follow the commands of WALK/
DON'T WALK signs;
Never ignore warnings when
issued, always proceed with
appropriate calm and caution;
Heed street lights, yellow means
slow down and prepare to stop,
not accelerate to avoid coming
to a halt, better to be caught
in traffic than to become a statistic;
Suffer the annoyance of
a cacophony of car horns
rather than risk the dangers
inherent in not following
the sound advice of, timed
by experts, traffic signals;
Remember tomorrow is another day
despite indications it may be
cancelled due to a lack of interest,
better to be in one piece and discover
for yourself if this is true than
someone who has tempted Fate
and lost;
Consider exactly what good those
second gained running a light will
be in the next life where Time is
meaningless and nothing you would
have been doing with those extra
moments will be real;
Consider the alternatives: there are no
second chances once your foot hits
the pedal and presses on the gas,
once you have crossed the imaginary
line, there is no going back;
Remember the chalk lines drawn
on the pavement may be your outline
or someone else's, in the long run, it
makes no difference to anyone but you;
Let the professionals worry,
live your life as if it were your own.