Comments on: A Public Service Announcement to Umbrella Carriers

By: Lady

Lady — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:49:25 +0000

To feel uppity because you do not protect yourself from the weather is odd. Big umbrella, small umbrella – people use what they have.

That said, I do agree that we all need to be careful with our umbrellas. They are big pointy things and we could inadvertantly harm another.

Also agree that if you have shelter from the storm make way for those who don’t – awnings if you’re walking, crosswalks if you’re using a vehicle.

By: Dustbunny

Dustbunny — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:02:53 +0000

And then there are those ginormous umbrellas that more and more people seem to be carrying — big enough for 2 or 3 people to huddle under. WTF is up with that — why are these people taking up more than their share of sidewalk space??

By: Mick

Mick — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:07:10 +0000

Once winter I used an umbrella when I was riding 3 buses to get to work and some bus stops had no shelter. Since then, I have seen no good reason to carry one and don’t understand why so many people have them downtown. It’s only water, not acid. It dries pretty quickly.

Having said that, I find most umbrella carriers to be quite inconsiderate: they take up at least two person widths on the sidewalk, if you walk under the edge of their umbrella, you the runoff and they definitely walk close to buildings (and under awnings) when they should be walking close to the curb.

By: pdxrocket

pdxrocket — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:32:21 +0000

Lived in Portland all my life (39 years) and I certainly do not believe the whole “Real Portlanders don’t use umbrellas.” That’s like saying, “You’re from California, don’t wear sunblock, you can’t get cancer!” …well, not exactly the same, but you get the point.

By: jazmine

jazmine — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:56:23 +0000

ugh, i hate that whole real pacific northwesterners don’t use umbrellas. Look, if you are a woman and have any kind of hairstyle, you need an umbrella. If you have straight, very short hair, or perfectly bone straight hair that is impervious to humidity, then perhaps you don’t. But if you work in a professional/corporate environment and can’t spend your days looking like a drowned rat or a college student, then yes, you need an umbrella. I need an umbrella. but yes, walking under the awnings with it is lame and ppl who do that should get pushed into a puddle.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:53:23 +0000

What’s an Umbrella?
I can’t recall ever buying one. Seriously.

By: PDXJer

PDXJer — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:05:52 +0000

Real Oregonians do not use umbrellas!

By: Brewcaster

Brewcaster — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:54:24 +0000

I think more importantly is that they understand how large it is. I almost get hit daily by one of these things. People fling them around as if they are the only people on the sidewalk.

I am starting to fear the sight of umbrellas.