Umbrella etiquette

It was a gray day, constant rain interspersed with short periods of simple dampness. I headed out of the office during one of the non-rainy intervals, intent on completing a quick errand. As I walked away from the building, I saw a woman on the sidewalk walking under a very large (and curved) black umbrella. She would have made a good photograph with only the lower two thirds of her body visible under the umbrella.

She took up the entire width of the sidewalk and had the umbrella tipped over her face so that she could not see anything in front of her. While I'm sure she could see the ground at her feet, nothing else could have been visible. I quickly jumped from the sidewalk into the road, avoiding an inevitable crash.

I'm still amazed when I see people who act like they must be alone in the universe. What do you suppose she was thinking?