The Walker

When I was in college, my parents lived in Long Beach, California. I never really felt like I lived in Long Beach, as I was really only home for summers between my years at Notre Dame, but I do have a few vivid memories of my time there.

One of those memories is of a person we called "The Walker". He was a man, probably in his mid forties, who could be seen for hours on end walking around town. When we first spotted him, he was very heavy. We never knew the story of The Walker, so I sort of just made up my own story about him. In my version, The Walker had suffered a heart attack, forcing him from his job and putting the fear of God (and death) into him so strongly that he took to the streets.

The Walker would walk for hours on end. You'd see him at all times of the day, in various parts of town. He always wore the same outfit, but I don't think he was a homeless person. Over time, The Walker's physique began to change and harden. He went from very overweight, to moderately overweight, to thin. His walk went from a stroll, to a more purposeful stride, to an extremely slow jog.

I don't know what ever became of The Walker - I lost track of him when I graduated and was married and moved away from home. But I like to think that he found what he was looking for - he triumphed over the things that ailed him through his walking.

I was reminded of The Walker this morning when I was out on my own walk. This summer, I've been taking long walks (well, long for me...about one hour) several days a week. My route varies slightly from day to day, and the time varies by a few hours or so. One section of the walk takes me alongside a very busy artery with lots of traffic. Today I thought about all of the people passing by me in cars who must be wondering why some crazy person was out walking in the 90 degree heat. Perhaps some of them had even seen me on previous walks, as they went about their routine commutes to work. I began to wonder if they recognized me and wondered why I was always out walking. For some reason, I never pass other walkers along that busy stretch, so I might stand out to a passing motorist.

Maybe the Long Beach Walker was just like me - maybe he really wasn't walking all day, every day. Perhaps our paths just serendipitously passed by coincidence at varying times of the day when he was out taking his daily, hour long walk.

Have I become "The Walker" of Fresno? Only time, and a few more walks, will tell.