Eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication ... thought to have a large influence on social behavior ... a meaningful and important sign of confidence and social communication. The customs and significance of eye contact vary widely between cultures, with religious and social differences often altering its meaning.
Civil inattention is part of the surface character of public order ... individuals treat others with civil inattention in order to endure anonymised life in cities. Rather than either ignoring or staring, civil inattention involves distant, unobtrusive scanning of others, allowing for neutral interaction. Through brief eye contact with an approaching stranger, we acknowledge their presence and foreclose the possibility of more personal contact ... a means of making privacy possible within a crowd ... a way of shielding oneself from personal contact in public ... a feature of the abstract, impersonal relationships demanded by open society.
When riding a bicycle, eye contact is (to me) an essential tool in ensuring I come home alive and intact. That's my primary goal when riding, as I said before in this blog. If I catch a driver's or pedestrian's eye, I'm pretty sure they've seen me, and they won't run over me or step into my path.
I'm disappointed that it seems to have disappeared from today's drivers, riders and pedestrians. No cheery hello, no nod of the head, wave of the hand, or even a grunt. Nothing. Civil Inattention is all I get.
Other than the general lack of eye contact from on-going riders and inattentive walkers, I had a nice ride on a beautiful day around the edge of the "Big Bay," as our city likes to call San Diego Harbor; as opposed to the "little" Mission Bay.
I ended up down on the pier next to the Midway Carrier Museum, where I carefully laid my bike on the concrete and dangled my legs over the side.
Last night I found a seat bag from the olden days. It straps to the back of a seat and holds a spare sew-up tire. Now I can go farther from home without the fear of a long walk back.
I found the SEAL vehicle parked alongside the Star of India. I've never ridden on the SEAL, but I would like to sometime. It trundles around clumsily on land (it's way too high) but provides a nice viewing platform for seeing the bay from Harbor Drive. Then it drives right down a ramp into the water and goes out to the bait barge so tourists can see the sea lions.
Here it is in the water, near Shelter Island. I took this photo from the Hornblower Adventure, on our way out of the harbor going whale watching.
MUSTANG CONVERTIBLES
I spotted at least nine today. Here are two nice ones.
Both say Mustang under the doors, just in case you didn't know what car you're looking at.
