Today, on his slow jog through the park
he took a new trail off the blacktop onto
dirt, maneuvered around stumps and over
rocks. The sun shone through the leafless

maples, oaks and beech trees and even
though the leaves weren’t out, there were
enough trees to stunt the chilly spring
wind. He loves being alone in nature.

Back on the blacktop, he encountered a
little dog not on a leash and waited to
see if the dog’s adopter were around.
She was and thanked him for waiting to

see if the dog needed help. He passed
a girl carrying a puppy and he said,
“I’d love to pet your puppy but I won’t.”
She and her boy friend laughed and said

thanks. Before the end of the jog, he
watched a young boy throw a frisbee
into a tree on the disk golf course
and the boy’s father told the boy he

was trying too hard. The jogger told
the boy that he had great form though.
The boy thanked him and then made a
great toss. Approaching his car, the

jogger told a young mother who was get-
ting her child out of the back seat of
her vehicle that he has a buddy who
has a vehicle like hers and that it

has three hundred and fifty thousand
miles on it. Astonished, the young woman
smiled and said the vehicle was a really
good one. The jogger kept six feet be-

tween himself and all the people with
whom he spoke. He put his hiking sticks
in the trunk of his vehicle and drove
home. When he was about to turn into his

driveway he saw three neighbors chatting.
He lowered the passenger window and told
them that he was going to give them all
a big hug and kiss — in three months.

They laughed and then one of the group
asked if the jogger could make that six
months. Then the jogger laughed, pulled
into his garage and shut the door.