When:  Friday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/13/2018

Weather: Low 80’s with ominous skies

After work is my normal time to walk.  With the need to recuperate from my early wake-up time, I barely hesitated.  I changed out of my work clothes and took a nap.  Not long, but effective.

After dinner, I did end up walking the neighborhood with my wife.  While walking north, the bad weather appeared to have past.  When we reached the farthest north point, we turned west.  To our south, the clouds were telling a far different story.  They were grey and foretelling wrong.  The pleasant breeze now became an evil wind enticing the storm to envelop our neighborhood.  When we had to turn south and go directly into the storm, we shortened our path.  We doubted the storm would allow us to arrive home before it started sneering and spitting at us.  Fortunately, our imagination was overly active.  The storm teased but didn’t bite.

When:  Thursday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/12/2018

Weather: Low 80’s

On this day, there was really nothing to see.  The unflattering woman by the pool certainly doesn’t count.  On the sidewalk, the 2 bikes and the dog walker were some of the least exciting I have seen.  The railroad workers were the only visible humans tied to anything of interest.

With all of the construction along the sidewalk running parallel to the train tracks, it was inevitable it would be leading to something.  Now, there are a number of signs posted.  Each of these signs is warning us to NOT approach the train tracks.  Trains will be running more frequently as the track is being tested for the route to the airport.  The signs put a special emphasis on the trains will be running more quietly.  We should not be as cavalier as we once were when crossing the tracks.  Since I have always preferred sidewalks, I don’t see this “modification” impacting me.  Those who find the track a much more enjoyable portal to the world may find themselves rudely greeted one day.

When:  Wednesday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/11/2018

Weather: Low 80’s, Very pleasant with a breeze

When:  Tuesday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/10/2018

Weather: Low 70’s

When:  Monday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/9/2018

Weather: Low 70’s — Spring is back!

When:  Sunday–   4/8/2018, Mid-afternoon

Weather: Somewhere in the 50’s, Springier than yesterday, but not what I ordered

Unless I have skipped a few numbers or duplicated a couple of days, it appears I have made it to 100 days of this, “Today’s Walk” thing.  I haven’t walked every day, but I have walked most days.  I haven’t hit home runs on any of the days, but somewhere within some of the postings, there may have been a couple of singles or more.  The purpose was to become more disciplined about writing.  And, having accomplished that, the details and quality were of lesser importance.  Never being one to be content, I do need to try a little harder and be a little better at integrating true writing skills.  If a person wants to write, I am told they need to get a million words down.  Including this and some unposted items over the past few years, I am making a dent.

As I came across the little road that is usually of no consequence when walking, a lady had stopped her bike on the other side of the road to take a picture. Being very familiar with this path, I was surprised there was anything of interest to take a picture of. As I neared her, I asked, “What are you taking a picture of?” She quickly replied, “This double arrow sign with a ‘Look’ on it. I haven’t seen one of those before.” The reason for the sign gets back to this nothing road. As the sidewalk comes up on this road, the sidewalk has “STOP, LOOK, LISTEN” painted on it in individual lines. This is on both sides of the sidewalk. When you reach the road, a glance to the left and right reveals near 90 degree turns on both sides. The extra concern by the city to emphasize the need to do something you have learned since being a small child is just to remind us not to be as lazy. I try not to have an entitled attitude. Some walkers must think the path gives them license to proceed without consequence. And, this is what drew this lady’s attention. Being reminded to “look” is almost like being reminded to breathe.

In the little bitty spot on the sidewalk where it is only narrow enough to let one person proceed safely, I encountered a mother pushing her stroller while trying to run. I don’t think she was overly committed to either. She stopped in front of me to check a text. She pulled the shade of the stroller back for a few seconds while texting before returning the shade and jogging again. As I came upon her from the opposite direction, she gave no indication I deserved any sidewalk at all. She continued her pace with a “hello”. As she passed, I was walking in the grass to make sure we didn’t collide. One other day, I was walking while a shirtless man was jogging toward me. He also chose not to give up any of his 3/4ths of the sidewalk. The grass served me that day as well. I guess if I were ever to engage in a game of “chicken”, I would be the one who blinked.

Not sure if a doggie lost his toy (I didn’t see any teeth marks) or if some child misplaced his Chuckee Cheese souvenir. On the path, I saw a little pink frisbee. It was not worthy of anyone who took frisbee golf seriously. It was a cheap variety that would allow you to throw from one person to another–as long as distance and wind were not involved. The conspiracy theorist in me considered it may have been placed on the path as a lure to some unsuspecting pedestrian. Under the frisbee was a poisonous snake or some type of bioterrorist threat. Or, maybe picking up the frisbee would have caused a small explosive device to be tripped. It was gone the next day. Whatever cost was associated with its removal, it was not mine to bare.

I have seen the stickman a few times. Despite his description, he is 3-dimensional. He wonders the sidewalks of our neighborhood bearing a baseball-like bat in his left hand. As he wanders, he walks on the opposite side of the sidewalk you would expect him to walk. (When walking on a sidewalk, you walk on the right. When walking on a road, you are supposed to face traffic. Thus, you would walk on the left.). I have encountered him on the sidewalk. He has always been cordial. As in the case of the jogger above, I don’t know if his ignorance of “sidewalk norms” is intentional. He might just be waiting for the one walker he bumps into who won’t blink and who gives him a chance to show what he can do with the stick.

When:  Saturday– Mid-Afternoon- 4/7/2018

Weather: High 30’s to low 40’s, ugly spring day

When:  Friday–Late Afternoon- 4/6/2018

Weather: Mid-80’s with clouds and eventual thunderstorms

Today was a convenient day to come up with excuses.  In my whiniest voice, “But, it was so humid and my back hurt.  I had to plant the mail order plants that arrived yesterday before they died.”  It turned out leaving the house to walk on my normal route would have been a bad idea.  While the hour by hour weather made it look like no rain was going to happen, I chose to not walk anyway.  The thunderstorms arrived in the middle of my planting.  Its full fervor was not released until plants were in the ground and watered in.

In addition to that, the house was empty of any fellow dwellers.  They were on college visits, at softball games, driving back to their college campus, and at weddings in cold places.  I don’t mean to brag, but an empty house does present a perfect opportunity to take a nap.  The original plan was to treat me to dinner.  I settled for something less appetizing but far more convenient at the house.  I justified my frugalness by realizing the dent in the entertainment budget my wife was likely inflicting due to the pre-wedding activities.

Tomorrow promises even fouler weather.  I plan on walking. The visual “candy” on the walk will almost certainly be minimal.  No one likes to take a walk in cold weather was spring is supposed to have arrived.  It is liked far less in Texas.  I am already plotting what I might write about to fill tomorrow’s posting. <sigh>

When:  Thursday–Late Afternoon- 4/5/2018

Weather: Mid to Low 70’s.

With my recent driving/walking problems described here, I am hesitant to give further evidence I should have my license to solo navigate the world revoked.  This episode was easy for me to push all blame on the driver of the near hit and run.  As I was completing my walk along the train tracks, I was preparing to transition to walking north along the side of the road for about a mile.  At this juncture, there is also a road that runs nearly parallel to the train tracks.  (The road and the train tracks are the chocolate cookie with the sidewalk being the white filling.)  As I was preparing to make the right turn onto the parallel road, I was looking to the left-both ahead and behind and to the right.  With trees obstructing my view, I needed to look more than once in each direction.  As I was preparing to turn to the right, I thought I had a clear path in every direction.  Unfortunately, this turned out not to be true.  The car coming to the left and in front of me did a couple things to throw me off.  The driver just cleared the trees going at a quicker than anticipated speed.  And, the real calculation culprit was her not doing anything resembling a 90-degree turn.  She cut the corner pretty badly.  When I glanced left, it was like she emerged out of the trees and centered me on her windshield while preparing for impact.  As I saw her coming, I did a little skip step and got to the other side of the road quickly.  I stuck my hand up when she passed as if to say, “I am really sorry I was in your way.”  It was really a reflex.  I immediately started analyzing what happened to make me the target of the minivan.  Of course, I bared no blame for the close call.

We have a young man for a neighbor.  He was friends with my son when he and his dog lived in our house.  In this young man’s past, he graduated with a finance degree.  He worked a corporate job and became disillusioned.  He quit his job and has had these dreams for a couple of years.  As I came to the end of the road where I had my near collision, he was going the opposite direction of me.  We exchanged waves.

He has provided two separate plans with neither of them, to my knowledge, being acted on.  The first plan was to join the military.  He was seen doing sprints and all forms of strenuous exercise around the neighborhood.  Conversations with him led us to believe he was planning on joining the military and acquiring various berets for enduring extremes in training.  He is still around and not as fit as he once was.  So, that plan seems to have ended up in the garbage bin.  The other plan was to rebuild a motorcycle, amass the necessary replacement part, and then ride the bike to Mexico and beyond.  This plan was originally voiced nearly 2 years ago.  His parents were not excited about this adventure.  They were concerned for his safety and were I them; I would be concerned about his sanity.

As I saw him today, his hair was less long.  His beard was better trimmed.   And, he was walking without a dog or a motorcycle.  The circumstances of our encounter did not invite a high-level update.  The only thing I know for sure is he is alive and well.  (The long hair leads me to believe the military never came together.  And, if he went anywhere south of the Rio Grande, he survived.)

The last little oddity was almost at the end of my walk.  I could almost see the my house.  Coming toward me on the sidewalk was a family of 5 or 6.  There was definitely a mom and dad.  I remember an uncle or some other older male who may have been pushing/supporting a child who was on a small plastic toy with wheels that gave the child a false feeling of independence.  There was a small boy who was waving some sort of stick.  And, there was his sister in her school uniform.  As our parties were about to collide, the girl was definitely on my side of the sidewalk.  I attempted to balance myself on the edge before resorting to using my voice.  “Could I have a little space please?”  She did move over.  Her face gave me one of those looks like, “But I want to be here.”  Since she was leading the group, I still had to pass the adults.  We smiled/nodded at each other.  The boy asked his sister, “What did he say to you?”  I don’t believe I heard the reply.

I don’t like to parent other peoples kids.  This was one of those times I didn’t think I had to walk in the grass.  Let the child get some thought planted in her head that the yellow line in the middle of the sidewalk is more than a recommendation.  Likely, I cannot fully fathom what all she was thinking.  I am pretty sure she emerged from my “harsh” question unscathed.

When:  Wednesday–Late Afternoon- 4/4/2018

Weather: Mid to Low 60’s.

I began today’s walk wearing one of my most broken-in zip-up sweatshirts.  I was barely a half mile into the walk before the sweatshirt became a modified belt that needed to be continually tightened.  The rest of the walk was the almost daily visit to the common and boring.  Beyond the one lady who was grateful to be passed by a polite walker rather than a bicyclist with an attitude and a minimum allowable speed, I have no recollection of seeing anyone who made me say to Siri, “Take a note…….”.

If my walk can’t better entice me to enjoy it, I will need to go in search of another preferred path.  I realize not every day will provide more topics than I can every possibly expound upon.  I am 96 walks into this adventure.  I knew from the start the precipitation would not fall equally on all days I wear my walking shores.  So, as luck would have it, I have a true story that made me laugh.

When I came home from work yesterday, there was a squirrel on our roof.  He was right above the garage and in front of the window where there is a small landing.  The squirrel was perched there.  As I got out of the car and grabbed my items, he continued to act like he owned the place.  Not being able to stand it any longer, I ran into the garage and grabbed the first thing that could do him damage and not do the house serious damage.  It ended up being an empty, plastic green bottle once used to store some type of dog medicine.  I whipped the bottle up where the squirrel was coveting my house.  It missed him. My new enemy got the message.  He cleared out and scampered up to the roof’s higher elevations where he could either jump onto his “squirrel pole” and slide down a tree trunk OR tree hop until he found friendlier shingles.  I will get him yet!