In Miami, especially in my neighborhood, you can see autonomous delivery robots everywhere. I’ve almost been run off the sidewalk by one before! On my block in particular, we often see the robots stopped on the corner, blinking their red heart eyes as they tentatively make to cross the street. Once, we saw one at each of the four corners, waiting patiently for their turn to cross and continue on their journey to their destination.
Sunday afternoon, on our way back from the grocery store, the sky opened up and it started to rain. We hid under a building for a while, but then decided to just go for it. As we ran-walked the two blocks home, squealing (“it’s worse under the trees!”), I saw a lone delivery robot hiding under the overhang by the garage entrance.
In that moment, I saw it not as a robot, but as a small puppy, shivering as it tried desperately to keep dry.
Writing With Abandon 