The Walk

The walk to or from my apartment is always pleasant, long enough to collect yourself and get thinking, but short enough to not be completely exhausted by the time you reach your destination. It’s an uneventful walk too, with few people, bikes, or other obstacles. The most that happens is the occasional awkward encounter with another pedestrian, in which you have to speed walk around them without looking like a completely impatient jerk. 

Anyhow, my walks have taken a sudden and most interesting turn, starting with last night. It was another late night at Bucer’s and I was reaching the point of delirium. Although it was only 10:30, I couldn’t get my eyes to focus and so I decided to head out. Walking through town alone at night doesn’t make me nervous, so off I went. Making my way down main, I was delighted to see that Grub Truck was out. I hadn’t had their mac n’ cheese in months, so I decided to pick myself up some for the next day. After some creepy remarks from one employee, I was soon on the move again. Ah, if the rich and creamy taste of the mac n’ cheese wasn’t enough, the radiating warmth the box provides to your cold hands makes it worth buying. 

About halfway down the street, I noticed a man on the opposite sidewalk heading in the same direction as me. He was clearly drunk, stumbling every which way and pausing every few steps. With his slow pace, it wasn’t long before I was ahead of him and lost interest in his public display. I continued. A few minutes later, a loud stomping interrupted the mellow soundwaves coming from my headphones. I looked around and saw the drunk man running up the sidewalk, taking quite a bit of effort to not fall on his face. He ran until he was at pace with me again, switching back to a stumbling walk and running periodically when I got ahead of him. He kept up with me for a few blocks, staring at me across the street the entire time. We were reaching the end of the road, where I’d have to make a choice. I had to either cross the street to his side or cross a different street to the unlit side that screamed sketchy. This is when I started to worry and decided to call Charli, figuring I’d stop at the corner and wait it out. Charli was obviously very concerned and wanted to come pick me up. I told her that was unnecessary and to just stay to the line with me. He seemed adamant about keeping up with me, until a few feet from the corner he started sprinting. He started making a bend, as if to come to my side of the road, then turned suddenly and ran into the unlit back path. He disappeared into the night and that was the last I saw of him. Sigh. 

The next morning, I was making my way to work, when my path was blocked by a stray dog. Not sure what breed he was, but he was medium size and kind of looked like the Target dog. Anyhow, I wasn’t sure what to do about him. He was too skittish to let me touch him and I didn’t have time to call anyone. I was contemplating being late for work, but he seemed to be hovering near two houses. With regret in my heart, I left him by the houses, hoping one was his home and he would soon be reunited with his owners. Honestly, not staying with him has been eating me up all day and I’m really worried about him. 

I had 5 minutes until I had to go into work, so I was finishing up breakfast while talking to my mom. I always sit against this one tree that’s near work, even when it’s snowing (that was fun this Winter). There I am, talking and eating a peanut-butter-oatmeal-concoction-thingy when a squirrel high in the tree challenged me to a staring contest. Not sure how long it went, but he eventually scurried away, and I didn’t bat an eye (because I won the contest). In the middle of telling my mom about the drunk guy, I was startled by a scratching noise in my right ear. I jerked and turned toward the noise, only to look straight into the eyes of menace. The squirrel was about a foot away from my face, moving down the trunk towards me. I jumped up and backed away. He continued down until he was next to my backpack, staring at me and heading in my direction. Then he paused, sniffing the ground. He found a few crumbs from my breakfast and quickly ate them. Once he was finished licking his creepy little fingers, he headed for my backpack. He started sniffing around it, then climbed on top of it! I stood in shock, watching as he moved all over it, on the hunt for something unknown. I was beginning to worry I’d have to abandon my backpack and go to work, when a loud truck zoomed by, scaring the little bugger off. He run to a nearby tree and stared me down as I quickly grabbed my stuff and hightailed out of there. 

That’s it for my eventful walks over the last day and a half. Well, I guess if you count almost getting hit by a semi-truck, there’s that too. I was walking home from work today when a semi was making a bend and the empty bed of the truck hung over the side walk. If I hadn’t responded quickly and jumped out of the way, it would have jammed right into my hip. What the actual heck. I shook my head and continued heading home, wondering what was going to happen next.