Three women. Three dogs. Three experiences.

With the morning quickly warming up, there was no way I was going to delay my five-mile walk.

The air was pleasant, but not the refreshing cool that I prefer.  A few minutes into the walk, a woman who was jogging smiled at me, and seemed to slow down.  It did appear to be purposeful.  I smiled.

She kind of jogged in place and as we approached each other said "hi, you are the one who writes editorials in the newspaper, right?"

While I am no good in identifying accents, this one was not American. Perhaps British.

"Yes, thank you" I replied as I continued to walk as she also appeared to increase her pace.

"I recognized you from the paper" she said as she faded away.

As I passed the bridge and headed to the other side, it amused me that she recognized me.  Six years ago, after the paper had published a couple of my op-eds, the editor emailed me suggesting that I go over to their offices in order to be photographed.  I had become their regular columnist and, thus, my columns would thereafter include my photo too.

Six years ago, I had a lot more hair. My hair and my beard were way less grey. I am now very different from that, I think.  Further, I was wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Yet, this woman recognized me based on that six-year old photo.  Cool!

A few steps ahead of me, a young woman climbed up the bank with two dogs on leashes.  Her outfit was some kind of a summery/beachy attire that hung from her chest to quite a few inches above her knees.  My pace being a lot faster than hers, as I neared her before overtaking, I noticed that her back had a huge tattoo.

I was now nearly on par with her and got a clear view of that tattoo.  It was one that I had never seen before on a human. An outline of the world map.  About a eight-inch by five-inch panel it was. The tattoo was no different from the image below:

An 8x5 of this tattooed on one's back!  Wow!  Different strokes for different folks, indeed!

Before reaching home, I decided to get down to the river, not only to say hi to the waters but to also eat a few blackberries right off the vines.

A tad sour they were.  A few more days of warmth and they will taste sweet to my tongue as the jogger's compliments were to my ears.

I sat by the river.  I consciously reminded myself that I am fortunate to enjoy all these.

I heard approaching sounds.  A dog slowly walked up to the water and quenched its thirst.

A dog with a harness and a collar. "Surely the owner is not far behind," I thought to myself, as I clicked a photo.

"Hello" said a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

"Lovely day" I replied.

She grabbed a stick and threw it into the river, and the dog waded in and fetched it.  He brought it back to the pebbly area, put the stick down and shook the water off his body.

"Not next to to him" the woman said.

"You have trained him well. Not to spray on you, but on others" I laughed.  "How old is the dog?"

"Seven."

"Oh, middle-aged like me."

"And me too" she said. "He was so helpful to ease my parents in their final days" she added.

"Oh, he was your parents' dog ...?"

"No.  Mine. But, we shared the dog.  He was there when my father died, after which we moved my mother to an Alzheimer's care home."

Damn this Alzheimer's. It is appearing way too often for my liking.

"She wasn't there for long. I think she wanted to go after her husband died."

"Oh, I'm sorry. How long ago did you mother die?"

"January 19th."

"Just six months ago!"

"Yes.  It was a peaceful death. She opened her eyes one last time and we hugged. My dog gave her a kiss."

"Thanks for sharing that with me" I said. She nodded her head and smiled.

It seemed like she continues to feel the loss of her parents, and in a healthy way.  As she prepared to leave, I wished her a good day.

I sat there for a few more minutes appreciating my good fortunes.

Life!

Women smile at me. I don't know who they are!

There are good reasons why people stick to their schedules.  If only I had stuck to mine!

I was about three hours behind schedule for my five mile walk.  Not that I woke up late or that I was doodling around.  It was because of the physical therapy appointment, after which I went for a haircut.

Being off by three hours felt strange.  Something was off.  Even my legs were not marching to that joyful rhythm they usually enjoy.  My mind was wandering all over the place without any focused thought.  What the hell was wrong with me!  All because I was off my schedule?

A late-twenty-something, perhaps an early-thirty-something, was biking from the other direction towards me.  As she got closer, I noticed that she was smiling at me.  A smile that was way too friendly.

I am at a stage in life that when a young woman smiles in a very friendly manner, well, I ain't falling for any trick.  I know that there is somebody right behind me that she is smiling at.  But, I heard no footsteps behind me.  No sound of bicycles either.  I smiled at her anyway; couldn't hurt smiling at people. Especially at young women who are smiling at me.

As she continued with her leisurely pedaling, she continued to smile at me, and I continued to walk smiling at her.  A few seconds after she passed me, I turned around to check.  Nobody behind me.  So, she was smiling at me for real?

Was I supposed to know her?  A former student, perhaps?  But in that case she would have wished me.

Perhaps I had forgotten to zip up?  As if it was the most natural of head and hand movements, I casually checked--all safely locked.

I crossed the river and started walking along the west bank.  A few minutes in, the same young woman on the bike passed me again.  And, with that wonderful smile on her face.  As if she knew me.  I had no clue.  Am I getting so old that I can't even remember beautiful women anymore?

The rest of the walk, I had no idea what my thoughts were and, kaboom, I was over the other bridge and was back on the east side, only a few minutes from home.  Three women were coming in from the other direction, walking and talking at a fast pace.  Yes, both the walking and talking at a fast pace.  As they neared me, all the three said hi in a loud and familiar way.  One added a "oh, hiiiiii."

That "oh, hiiiiii" shook me loose from my unfocused thoughts.  The woman who said that "oh, hiiiiii" seemed really, really familiar.  I figured I was losing my mind, thinking that every other attractive woman on the bike path looked familiar.  But this one really was.

The rest of the few minutes home, I tried to match that "oh, hiiiiii" face with the faces in my mental database.  No match whatsoever.  Meanwhile, that face of the young woman on the bike kept popping up and there was no match for her face either.

I was about a minute away from home when it was the sound of a casino jackpot in my head. I had a match for "oh, hiiiiii."  It was Lori, from the dentist office.  The teacher of mine who made me realize that I had been a bad student by not flossing.  Yet, it took me that long to ID her face?  What the hell is wrong with me?

I reached home.  Hours later, here I am blogging about all that and I have no idea about the young woman on the bike.

From tomorrow, I am going to stick to my schedule.  It is too damn stressful otherwise!