A man and his dog

I drive 25 miles each way to work every day. My drive takes me along county roads where I see beautiful scenery, at least one eagle every morning, and a variety of people out walking.

There are 4 different people that I encounter regularly on my drive to work. There's Orange Hat Guy, Smiling Waving Woman, Really Happy Guy, and then there is Old Guy with Dog.

Orange Hat Guy is clearly out for some serious exercise because no matter what time of year, he's wearing his orange toque (stocking cap) and a heavy sweatshirt, and he swings his arms quite forcefully while he walks. Smiling Waving Woman really shouldn't need more explanation that that. She enjoys her morning walks, and waves to the cars that pass her by. Really Happy Guy waves so enthusiastically at me that I feel like I should know him, and then I feel bad because I don't recognize him. But I wave anyway.

Then there's Old Guy with Dog. I feel bad using the term "Old Guy" to describe him, because I honestly don't know how old he is. I estimate him to be in his 70's. He has an aging Rottweiler that he walks every morning. When I first moved across the county, the Rottweiler was far thinner and more spry on their walks. Now both dog and owner have slowed down a little.

In my mind I've created a whole backstory for this man. He's a lonely widower who lives alone with his dog. He's grown to be a somewhat crochety guy, but with a good heart. He's a lovable curmudgeon. His dog looks tougher than he really is, and the two of them go for their walks every morning while he enjoys the beauty of his surroundings, and maybe even talks to his dearly departed wife a little while he and (I've decided on a name for his dog) Rocky stroll along. He carries a piece of garden hose about 3' long, and it appears to have had something done to it to stiffen it, so it could be almost like a walking stick.

For years I've tried to get up the courage to smile and wave at Old Mr. Walker (as we'll call him) and Rocky as they get their daily exercise, but he doesn't seem to encourage this interaction.

Right around Thanksgiving, I noticed that Mr. Walker and Rocky had a companion walking along with them one morning. From a distance I noted another man walking alongside and thought, "How nice, his son came to visit him for Thanksgiving."

The next morning, however, as I approached they were walking towards me and I could see the face of the second man. I realized that he was in fact a younger man, at least 20 years younger than Mr. Walker. But he was of a completely different ethnic background than Mr. Walker, and even though I realize that he could be an adopted son, I just don't think he was. My mind immediately began re-writing Mr. Walker's story...

So then for the next few days as I would see them out walking, I'd try to come up with alternate scenarios... a sort of Tuesdays with Morrie thing because I didn't like the direction that my mind was taking Mr. Walker's story.

Then, as suddenly as he appeared, Mr. Walker's companion was gone again, and it was once again just a man and his dog out walking every morning.

Crazy stuff I think of...

I've been listening to Christmas music in the car lately, and occasionally a song will come on and I'll start singing along with it, and then I'll really think about the words.

One of these thought provoking songs is "Little Drummer Boy." It's one of my husband's favorite Christmas songs, and so I have about 7 different versions of it on my iPod. There are a couple of things that struck me as funny about this song when I really thought about the lyrics. First of all, has anyone else ever noticed that only Bing Crosby can pull off saying "ass" in a Christmas song and have it be ok? All other versions I've ever heard say, "The ox and lamb kept time," but in Bing's version it's "The ox and ass kept time." And secondly, I started thinking about playing a drum as a gift for a very newly born baby and his exhausted young mother.

Having never given birth myself, I cannot attest to this fact for sure, but I would imagine that right after having your child, the last thing that you would want would be someone banging on a drum. Poor Mary was probably thinking, "Great, I just got the kid to sleep, I was going to try to catch a quick nap, and this kid wants to play his drum for us?" Yet she had to smile and accept this gift graciously because really, what choice did she have?

So I'm thinking that next time one of my friends has a baby, instead of knitting something, or going to the store and buying a cute little outfit, I'll just go borrow my nephews bongos and play a ditty or two... could work...

Also, has anyone else ever actually counted up the gifts in "The Twelve Days of Christmas?" It's 364 gifts!!! (Correction: If you count the Pear Trees as a separate gift, then the total is a whopping 376 gifts!) I love my husband with all my heart, and he is my true love, but if he gave me: 12 Partridges in 12 Pear Trees, 22 Turtle Doves, 30 French Hens, 36 Calling Birds, 40 Gold Rings, 42 Geese a-laying, 42 Swans a-Swimming, 40 Maids a-Milking, 36 Ladies Dancing, 30 Lords a-Leaping, 22 Pipers Piping, and 12 Drummers Drumming, I'd have him locked up!!

First of all, does one person really need 30 Lords a-Leaping? Wouldn't a pair of them be enough? Then lets look at the birds... Now I'm terrified of birds, so even receiving one bird as a gift would be awful for me. But if you add up the birds in this song, there are 184 of them!! And 12 Pear Trees? I have 1 pear tree in my backyard, and if it hadn't been firmly established when we bought the house, I'm sure I'd have killed it by now.

In my family we already have 2 pipers and 2 drummers. I don't think I need any more than that. And I remember hearing how much those bagpipes cost, I can't even fathom paying for 22 of them!!

I guess the 40 Gold Rings wouldn't be so bad, except that I'd have to sell them to pay for the upkeep of all the blasted birds!

If this really was the person's true love, why did they feel the need to buy their love with so many gifts? It's kind of like Barbie... if she's so cool and popular, why do you have to buy her friends?