my turn

While bicycling to work the other morning I passed a few joggers, a lady walking two giant dogs, and to my delight and astonishment, two bicyclists who were using the sidewalk just like me.  As always, I biked into the grass each time I came across anyone and shouted a good morning.  The first cyclist, a man, nodded and hurried on.  The second cyclist, a woman, joyfully echoed my good morning.  Because her panniers were packed, I assumed the lady was commuting, and I was absolutely thrilled by this. While I ate breakfast I wrote this down as my favorite bicycling moment of the day.  

Then something amazing happened on the way home.

As I was bicycling home, I thought I saw the same gentleman cyclist from the morning but couldn't be sure.  I veered into the grass just as he shouted, "my turn," while veering into the grass.  He was the same cyclist!  And he remembered me! 

I felt the pages of my life flip back back back to when I was a child thinking about my future.  Seeing the same people day in and day out while bicycling to work was something I imagined my adult self doing.  This was an exotic idea to me because I lived in a teeny tiny town that not only lacked the necessary humans to interact with, but was also quite a dangerous place to walk due to an abundance of bars (one for every family it seemed like).  I had two walking options - clinging to the ditch or clawing my way through the woods (my preferred method) - and two destinations - grocery store or gas station.

I believed in sidewalks with the same reverence as some people believe in angels or salvation.  Would I ever live in a town that had them?  Would they lead to exciting places like the library?  More importantly, were they even real?  Occasionally, while in the neighboring town, I thought I spotted one but couldn't be sure.  Just as fast as I spotted one, it would disappear, ending abruptly in a field.

To my young mind, sidewalks were pathways to neighbors and civilization and libraries, salvation from boredom.  As a child, I imagined a series of sidewalks leading my adult self to all the places I needed to go each day.  What I didn't realize is that finding a sense of community would be just as tough in a big city as it was in a teeny tiny town, maybe even tougher!  Living in such a big city with lots of people certainly makes it tough to see the same people day in and day out.  Surprisingly, not a lot of people use the sidewalk, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon.  When I do see a familiar face, it's such a treat.  Each time it happens I am transported right back to my childhood dreams, and it feels like I'm adding another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of my happiness.