Zen and the Art of Walking the Dog

Did you ever wake up to a new day with “All Good Intentions” floating there in your rested peaceful mind......
I got up today, threw on jeans and a t-shirt, brushed my hair, went pee, and headed out the door with my dog Lizzy For her morning walk....I am in the process of training Lizzy, and in that process, I have come to understand that watching the “DOG WHISPERER” and being a “DOG WHISPERER” are two different things. It is especially so with my little Westie. She weighs in at only 12 pounds. I got her from the pound when she was about 6 months old. She had been a stray: skinny, dirty, and ragged. We cleaned her up and got her a haircut. She looks quite nice, and is very intelligent. She becomes all ears to the sound of a squeaky toy, and no words need to be said for her to start a Fetch game. Lizzy appears to know how to sit and lay down etc, but the logical words do not elicit those behaviors. After 6 months or so, she has only learned her name, otherwise she seems somewhat confused about every other command. Lizzy proved to be a tenacious chaser of anything that moves, so her games of Fetch are very enthusiastic.
I took her down the street to practice being “calm/submissive” at a nearby busy intersection. As I talked to her, ("Sit, I say SIT!" ) I had the feeling of being watched, and when I looked up, I found two cars in opposing directions, stopped and waiting......I had not kicked the dog or anything, so I couldn’t see what was so interesting. I waved them on, and yet there they still sat.
I began swearing under my breath, and waving more frantically for them to move on. One of the ladies finally got the idea and left. The other woman rolled her window down, while I finished an alphabet of expletives. “What are you waiting for”  I yelled..... She replied “For you to cross the street.”
It seems that in my new home state, the law is; the moment a person sets foot in a crosswalk (basically anywhere in the street) all vehicles must stop.
Now I was trained to respect traffic. When you live on a  40-50mph highway you learn to get out of the street when a car is coming. I passed this attitude on to my kids, reminding them that death was pursuant to a mistake, especially if I caught them. The local people would aim at anything in the road. Furthermore, there was a widely recognized scoring system that depended on the maneuverability of the pedestrian.
So how did it ever get so turned around? When did “Survival of the fittest” become “Survival of the idiots?” How did they get the elected officials to support such unreasonable rules? When did a “Don’t walk” sign become a marquee saying “Step right up and get yourself a personal injury case” “Stupidity rewarded here?”.......Anyway, I digress....
Getting back to the intersection.......The remaining driver, gave me the finger, and drove away.....The dog promptly sat down, and “Dog Whisperer” Laurel found the magic signal.