Over the years, the Promenade has become a drawing card for Havre de Grace second only to the water it overlooks.
Some days more than others, but day in and day out, the Promenade draws people to where the Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay.
If it's a chilly, nasty, rainy day, visitors may only drive by slowly – first at one end through the Yacht Basin at Tydings Park and then at the other end at the foot of Lafayette Street – for a look. If it's a beautiful day, like many we've had during this so-called winter, the Promenade will be packed with people sauntering along.
But no matter the day and no matter the weather, it doesn't take long for a walk on the Promenade to offer plenty of examples of how the rules don't apply to me.
The rule against dogs on the Promenade? That doesn't apply to me and my dog. The rule against bikes, skateboards and the like? That doesn't apply to me. The rule against feeding the waterfowl? That doesn't apply to me.
There's no rational reason why so many people take such perverse pleasure in ignoring simple rules of common courtesy. But ignore them they do.
It's far more annoying than it is surprising. What happens on the Promenade is nothing more than what happens elsewhere. Stopping at stop signs has been replaced by slowing down at stop signs, maybe, before pulling in front of oncoming traffic. The old driving school rule of staying one vehicle length behind a vehicle in front of yours for every 10 mph of speed is rarely followed. A car length or maybe two of distance, no matter the speed, is the new rule of thumb.
And my favorite: "State law requires stop for pedestrians in crosswalk," or whatever it is those stop signs at crosswalks in the middle of the street. Needless to say, state law may require it, but that doesn't apply to me.
More annoying, is too many police think rules don't apply to them, either. I'm not talking about the obvious miscreants who have worn a badge before getting arrested, charged with crimes and kicked out of the brotherhood. No, those officers are con men who fooled some of the people some of the time, at least long enough to wind up on what for them is the wrong side of the badge.
The police I'm referring to are those who think they're upstanding citizens, protecting and serving the rest of us. And for the most part, they do. But they also do stuff they shouldn't. They drive right through crosswalks, instead of stopping for pedestrians. They speed, really speed, unnecessarily. They can be seen chatting on their hand-held devices while driving. They barely slow down while cruising through stop signs.
With the best and brightest of those responsible for enforcing the laws and making sure others obey the rules, not always following the rules, it's no wonder so many others don't obey them, either. And since it happens that way on the streets, it only stands to reason it will happen on the Promenade, too.
Being mindful of the adage that it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye, most of the time, ignoring the rules on the Promenade is harmless. At least it has been to this point.
Many a time, I've thought it would be fun to pitch a tent just beneath the bend on the Promenade below the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum and spend a year watching the days come and go. Some years back, Karen Toussaint spent a year visiting the Promenade, observing the comings and goings and writing about them in a special section in this newspaper.
My daydreams envision roughing it, a modern Henry David Thoreau, if you will, watching time pass over a sliver of our world. Walden Pond supplanted by The Promenade.
It's fun, though obviously romantic nonsense, to think about. But perhaps it's no more foolish than expecting people to follow the rules.