walking obstacles in my hometown

Date: 2/6/2017

Obstacles throughout my hometown I was walking alone through different areas of my hometown. I passed all different people and neighborhoods. Each passing event or obstacle was different from one another. They were as follows: I was in a bodega, behind two ladies and three kids (2 girls and a boy). They were all heavy, except the youngest, a little girl. The adults purchased pink and yellow soft drinks in bottles. They shared the drinks with their kids by pouring drinks into the cups for kids. The lady who shared her drink with the youngest daughter, sipped the yellow drink and dropping the straw contents into the girl's cup. The little girl didn't seem grossed out by this. I started walking up a narrow path that was a concrete wall you see along a highway. On one side was about 6-8" of concrete, and a fence separates the edge from the other side, which is mostly wild brush, whose depth cannot be seen from the bramble and bushes. I started to walk along the narrow path, which was on a steep incline. With the highway on my left and the fence on my right, and the rapid incline in front of me, I only walked a few steps before deciding that path was a bad idea and turned back to walk a different way. I passed by a man with a long stick, likely from a tree branch. The stick was about five feet long, and a stiff wire was added to the end of it, protruding out. He was not blind, but held it in front of him almost like a walking stick a blind man may use. When I saw the stick, I said "excuse me." The man moved the stick out of my way. It was dusk. The part of the neighborhood I walked in had many private homes. It got dark really quickly, and no power was available, in homes or on street lamps. Suddenly it was pitch black darkness in front of me. I remembered to use my cell phone flashlight, and turned it on, hoping. not to drain my battery. I walked for several minutes and then the street lights were lit once again. I found myself walking along Allerton Avenue, outside of Co-Op City near Petco and Aldi. I was wondering what I was doing there, when my destination was Riverdale. Waking thoughts: I was on the railroad going home from visiting friends this weekend. Conductor told ticketing crew to use their flashlights due to dusk, as it's very tricky to see in the dark.