Regular Walkers

There's the woman who walks back and forth in front of my house while talking on her cell phone. I can't tell if she walks when she gets a phone call, or whether she makes phone calls while she walks.

The gentleman who lives further down the street who seems to walk for hours just went by, too. No matter where I am within a couple miles of our neighborhood, I see him walking.

A fairly new guy walked by at 7:30 on the nose. He looks to be pretty young, maybe in his early 30s. He always walks by at the same time wearing gray shorts, a t-shirt and a baseball hat. He's pretty quick. Looks like he might follow the same route every day.

A couple who live down the street walk together every single day about 5:30, regardless of the weather. They make two laps around the "big" block and seem to really enjoy talking while the walk. They are just a little bit older than I am, and I can tell they have both lost weight since they started walking over a year ago.

And I have the other neighbor who is very environmentally aware. If he isn't carpooling to work, he is walking when he goes out to dinner or to run errands.

I won't even begin to discuss the "dog" people. There are tons of them!

As I watch my neighborhood walkers - the regular walkers - I wonder about them. Why does that gentleman walk for hours? Who is the woman talking to on the phone? How long has that couple been married?

At the same time, I'm sure people wonder about me, too. "There's that woman who's always carrying a bag of books on tape. Doesn't she read?" "Boy, she sure seems to get a lot of mail." "Those are obnoxious yellow tennis shoes!" "She's always walking to the store. I wonder if her car is broken."

Though I only know these people by how and when they walk, it's nice. I feel as if I know these "regular walkers," and maybe they feel they know me a little, too.