Be Pedestrian - Word on the Streets

Be Pedestrian

The word pedestrian can serve as a noun or as an adjective. While the adjective use of this term is often a pejorative, we are quite fond of this overlap of identity and have intentionally entitled this section, which we intend to include every week, ‘Be Pedestrian.’ We intend it as a charge to embrace the everydayness of ordinary neighborliness experienced as a pedestrian of Tampa’s streets, sidewalks, and trails.

On Leadership

I have challenged myself to create a short video, each weekday in May, about one small thing we can do to develop our leadership. See embedded posts below:

Justice & Relational Proximity

Justice & Relational Proximity

Cornell West often says that “Justice is what love looks like in public.” It seems clear he is talking about something real and something more than a sentiment or a feeling. Love is an action and it is related to justice in an interesting way. Aristotle wrote, in his Ethics,

Existential Givens

Existential Givens

Irvan Yalom is a renowned psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has made significant contributions to the field of existential psychology. One of his most influential concepts is that of the "existential givens," which refers to the fundamental aspects of the human experience that we all must confront at some

It's Only Waste if We Waste It

It's Only Waste if We Waste It

"Waste" is a term that is often used to describe materials or resources that are no longer useful or needed. The concept of waste, however, is a subjective one. What is considered "waste" is often dependent on cultural and societal values. Waste is only waste because

There is Power in Pretending

There is Power in Pretending

Pretending is very pedestrian activity that everyone engages in. Many of us pretend we are something we aspire to in a kind of "fake it 'til you make it" posture. Many of us, while driving or walking around as literal pedestrians, pretend that we are engaged in

The importance of being a pedestrian.

The importance of being a pedestrian.

So we asked the AI ChatGPT to write and article on the importance of being a pedestrian and here is what it had to say! "Pedestrians, or individuals who travel on foot, often get a bad rap. They are sometimes seen as a nuisance to drivers and are frequently

An Annual Discipline Worth Considering

An Annual Discipline Worth Considering

Each year as everybody is getting excited about the holidays, I also get excited. Albeit at the same time, my excitement is about something else all together. My own seasonal ritual, an annual review! I have been developing this habit over the course of the last decade or so. It

Florida shouldn’t tolerate the killing of so many pedestrians

Florida shouldn’t tolerate the killing of so many pedestrians

The following article was written by Robert Griendling and published as an opinion article in the Tampa Bay Times. The article communicated very real and existentially threatening challenges that are faced daily by local pedestrians. As Our own series is encouraging readers to 'be pedestrial' in both the

A Step at a Time

A Step at a Time

Perhaps you saw this article that came out this week about WellBuilt Bikes celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Perhaps you were one of the many friends and neighbors that joined us on Sunday to celebrate the milestone. Perhaps you are just hearing about it now. In any case, there are

On Objectifying the Poor

On Objectifying the Poor

We have a tendency to objectify the poor. Poverty is, in many of our minds, a cause to be addressed or a condition to be relieved of. We want to make poverty history without ever making it personal. We might donate money or even take a trunk load of sandwiches

Work & Play

I serve as the CEO for The Well, a Tampa based non-profit that is walking with many of Tampa’s most vulnerable neighbors, among whom there are a multitude of homeless and unemployed folks. The reality is that these neighbors, just like the rest of us, have basic needs like

Hurricanes & Neighborliness

Hurricanes & Neighborliness

This week was almost entirely monopolized by preparations for Hurricane Ian. While Tampa was once again spared a direct hit, the threatening storm closed almost all businesses and sent everyone into prep mode. Storms, like other times of crisis, really expose something inside of people. Some of us become selfish

Do Something

I found an old notebook that had a small reflection I wrote after my first time going out on the streets to share food with people experiencing homelessness. This was about eighteen years ago when I was a student in college. As I read this I recognized a sentiment that

The Mondragon Corporation

The Mondragon Corporation

Employee Ownership as Strategy Basque Country is an Autonomous Community and zone located in northern Spain. This is a historically significant region for many reasons, not least of which is the Basque people, a very distinct and ancient ethnicity and culture that differs form the Indo-European peoples that surround them.

Expectations are Premeditated Resentment

Expectations are Premeditated Resentment

If you have hung around any 12 step rooms you will probably recognize the title of this article. 12 step groups are treasure troves of wisdom that has been distilled into pithy sayings and mantras that get repeated again and again throughout the community. These very pedestrian statement often contain

Free Throws & Thresholds

Free Throws & Thresholds

By Lucas Pulley, Executive Director | Underground Network In March of 1962, one of the most historic games of basketball was ever played, when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game against the Knicks. One of the most surprising aspects of his performance was shooting 28 out of 30

The Sobriety of Suffering & The Protest of Memory

The Sobriety of Suffering & The Protest of Memory

In a wonderful (and difficult) book called The Way of Suffering, Jerome Miller begins his geography of crisis by reflecting on memory. He observed that memory takes place at a sub-conscious level. We do not make decisions about what we do and do not remember on a day to day

WellBuilt Bikes is Hiring

WellBuilt Bikes is Hiring

If you or someone you know is a bike mechanic who is looking to leverage their skills to love and serve the community and help our neighbors 'Be Pedestrian' in style, please apply or share! Full time/Part-Time Bicycle Mechanic Bike Mechanics at WellBuilt Bikes serve as support

The Ordinary & the Radical

The Ordinary & the Radical

If you remember back to the very first article posted to the Be Pedestrian column, we wrote: The word pedestrian can serve as a noun or as an adjective. While the adjective use of this term is often a pejorative, we are quite fond of this overlap of identity and

Ecce Homo

I find it interesting to observe people. I am particularly intrigued by the differences in what folks place value on and also what people consider ruined. I know people who would not wear a shirt with a stain or a small hole while other people would simply consider such marks

Waste, Value, & Lessons from The Streets

Waste, Value, & Lessons from The Streets

A few years ago my friend Brian told me that he had been feeling disconnected from the local poor. Since I work with the homeless, he asked if there was someone who might be able to take us out on the streets with them for a few nights. So we

Who Switched the Price Tags?

Who Switched the Price Tags?

Last weeks posts, Reflecting on Ruins, pulled from the introduction of a book, CEO of The Well Jon Dengler, drafted years ago. This article is a continuation of that introduction and continues to explore the realities of humanity and the essence of our call to Be Pedestrian, to experience the

Reflecting on Ruins

Reflecting on Ruins

Ruins are intriguing. Whether ancient Greece or abandoned factories in Detroit they seem to stir wonder within one who visits or even sees photos of them. Ruins take us to a place and remind us of a time that has since fallen into decay. They stand as a testament to

Shoes Don't Fit

Shoes Don't Fit

By Jon Dengler These shoes don’t quite fit right. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not compailin’, I don’t even know what I would do if I ain’t have ‘em. I’m grateful for these socks too! They are my only pair and I’

Change the Street, Change the World

Change the Street, Change the World

On Tuesday afternoon I received a text message from my friend Christine Acosta, with Pedal Power Promoters. It was a last minute invite to join a group of representatives from organizations throughout our city engaged in work on behalf of local pedestrians and cyclists. The city had invited this small