The People You Meet at the Park
The walks Birdie and I take down to the park by the lake have continued more than 120 times and counting.. If you walk down to the park every day, you start to recognize people and say a passing hello. Most of our walks are in the 6:30-8:00 range, and even now that the sunrise is getting later and later there's still a surprising number of people in the park at that time. Here are some of the ones I see over and over. Of course, I know the names of almost none of these people, so I've got mental nicknames for them.
- My neighbor with the white hair. She lives a few houses down from us (she used to have a small black dog named Cole) and I've seen her in the park over and over this summer.
- My neighbor Christine. One of my few neighbors I actually know by name, she goes for early morning walks most days. Sometimes I run into her at the park, and sometimes on the way there or back.
- Cane Man. There's an older gentlemen who looks like he lifted weights seriously who walks slowly but intently through the park with one of those canes with little extra feet on it. He's always wearing earbuds. I get the distinct impression of someone who used to be a lot more active and is now doing whatever he can still do.
- Running Man. There's a middle-aged guy who runs very heavily and loudly. He's there most days.
- Roller Blade Woman. There's a woman in her late thirties who is always doing some kind of exercise in the park. Sometimes its running, occasionally she is walking with free weights, but most of the time she's roller blading. She always waves to Birdie.
- The three Fates. There are three women in their fifties who walk together most mornings. I realize, of course, that the original Fate concept was maiden/mother/crone, and all three of these women are at the top end of the mother scale, but my brain dubbed them that and so they stay. They are occasionally joined by a fourth woman, which completely destroys the already damaged naming scheme. Now that it's dark they each have an armband with a light on it and a reflective vest. Each light is a different color, which leads me to suspect that they bought a variety pack and split it.
- Headset man. This is another older man, I'd guess in his sixties, who wears a really big pair of headphones and glasses. He always says hello. Occasionally he's joined by a woman who I'd guess is his spouse.
- The park worker. Very often when I reach the photography point one of the members of the Lakewood Parks staff is down there with a very large camera taking pictures. He's the only person I've talked to any significant amount.
- The Sunrise couple. Once every other week or so when I get to the photo spot there's an African-American couple sitting on the bench cuddled up under a blank watching the sunrise with coffee. From listening to their conversation with the park worker, I gather that they do this whenever their work schedule permits, which is a solid choice.
- Bikini Woman. About twice a week there's a woman in a black bikini top and short shorts walking along the breakwater path. I assume she'll get cold at some point, but so far not.
- Shirtless guy. There's a guy in his fifties or sixties who always walks through the park wearing long pants and no shirt. I sort of suspect he's even less likely to get cold any time soon.
- The probably not mother/daughter couple. The older woman is in her fifties and white, the younger woman is in her twenties and Asian-american, and they totally give off a vibe of being mother and daughter. And they might be, but they certainly look nothing alike
- The Coffee couple. This is a man and a woman who look like they stepped off of the set of Portlandia, complete with indie rock t-shirts, hipster glasses and coffee travel mugs in hand.
- The grandfather and his friend. I know he's a grandfather because he commented that Birdie was about his granddaughter's age once. He's got glasses and a mustache, is probably Lebanese-American and is always walking in circles through the park for exercise. Many days he is joined by an older man with white hair. They always remain scrupulously six feet apart, even if one of them has to walk on the grass.
- My former coworker Evan. He's a yoga instructor, and in the summer I sometimes saw him wrapping up a class or setting up for one. There are a LOT of yoga classes in the park in the summer, not so many now.
- Khaki Guy. There's a man who is always walking his dog while wearing perfectly ironed khaki pants and a button down shirt. At first, I assumed he was just walking his dog before going to work, but I see him pretty much every weekend as well, so I think he just likes dressing up a bit.
Speaking of dogs, there are also a lot of people who I couldn't pick out of a lineup but who have dogs I would recognize.
- The woman with the Yorkie. I see her most mornings.
- The man with the greyhound. And occasionally a woman with the same greyhound.
- The woman with two small husky looking dogs.
- The old man with the tiny dogs. This person is often sitting on one of the benches, with one tiny dog on the bench next to him and another tiny dog in a sling on his chest. Both dogs appear elderly, and he's always giving them treats.
In the summer there was a swim club at the pool every weekday, but that appears to have ended with the start of the school year. Once I ran into my former ultimate teammate Leah down there; it turns out her son was in the swim club.
To the extent that any of these people notice me, I assume I'm "the guy with a stroller." There aren't too many of those. I occasionally see a woman with a stroller, but I haven't seen another guy yet.
- My neighbor with the white hair. She lives a few houses down from us (she used to have a small black dog named Cole) and I've seen her in the park over and over this summer.
- My neighbor Christine. One of my few neighbors I actually know by name, she goes for early morning walks most days. Sometimes I run into her at the park, and sometimes on the way there or back.
- Cane Man. There's an older gentlemen who looks like he lifted weights seriously who walks slowly but intently through the park with one of those canes with little extra feet on it. He's always wearing earbuds. I get the distinct impression of someone who used to be a lot more active and is now doing whatever he can still do.
- Running Man. There's a middle-aged guy who runs very heavily and loudly. He's there most days.
- Roller Blade Woman. There's a woman in her late thirties who is always doing some kind of exercise in the park. Sometimes its running, occasionally she is walking with free weights, but most of the time she's roller blading. She always waves to Birdie.
- The three Fates. There are three women in their fifties who walk together most mornings. I realize, of course, that the original Fate concept was maiden/mother/crone, and all three of these women are at the top end of the mother scale, but my brain dubbed them that and so they stay. They are occasionally joined by a fourth woman, which completely destroys the already damaged naming scheme. Now that it's dark they each have an armband with a light on it and a reflective vest. Each light is a different color, which leads me to suspect that they bought a variety pack and split it.
- Headset man. This is another older man, I'd guess in his sixties, who wears a really big pair of headphones and glasses. He always says hello. Occasionally he's joined by a woman who I'd guess is his spouse.
- The park worker. Very often when I reach the photography point one of the members of the Lakewood Parks staff is down there with a very large camera taking pictures. He's the only person I've talked to any significant amount.
- The Sunrise couple. Once every other week or so when I get to the photo spot there's an African-American couple sitting on the bench cuddled up under a blank watching the sunrise with coffee. From listening to their conversation with the park worker, I gather that they do this whenever their work schedule permits, which is a solid choice.
- Bikini Woman. About twice a week there's a woman in a black bikini top and short shorts walking along the breakwater path. I assume she'll get cold at some point, but so far not.
- Shirtless guy. There's a guy in his fifties or sixties who always walks through the park wearing long pants and no shirt. I sort of suspect he's even less likely to get cold any time soon.
- The probably not mother/daughter couple. The older woman is in her fifties and white, the younger woman is in her twenties and Asian-american, and they totally give off a vibe of being mother and daughter. And they might be, but they certainly look nothing alike
- The Coffee couple. This is a man and a woman who look like they stepped off of the set of Portlandia, complete with indie rock t-shirts, hipster glasses and coffee travel mugs in hand.
- The grandfather and his friend. I know he's a grandfather because he commented that Birdie was about his granddaughter's age once. He's got glasses and a mustache, is probably Lebanese-American and is always walking in circles through the park for exercise. Many days he is joined by an older man with white hair. They always remain scrupulously six feet apart, even if one of them has to walk on the grass.
- My former coworker Evan. He's a yoga instructor, and in the summer I sometimes saw him wrapping up a class or setting up for one. There are a LOT of yoga classes in the park in the summer, not so many now.
- Khaki Guy. There's a man who is always walking his dog while wearing perfectly ironed khaki pants and a button down shirt. At first, I assumed he was just walking his dog before going to work, but I see him pretty much every weekend as well, so I think he just likes dressing up a bit.
Speaking of dogs, there are also a lot of people who I couldn't pick out of a lineup but who have dogs I would recognize.
- The woman with the Yorkie. I see her most mornings.
- The man with the greyhound. And occasionally a woman with the same greyhound.
- The woman with two small husky looking dogs.
- The old man with the tiny dogs. This person is often sitting on one of the benches, with one tiny dog on the bench next to him and another tiny dog in a sling on his chest. Both dogs appear elderly, and he's always giving them treats.
In the summer there was a swim club at the pool every weekday, but that appears to have ended with the start of the school year. Once I ran into my former ultimate teammate Leah down there; it turns out her son was in the swim club.
To the extent that any of these people notice me, I assume I'm "the guy with a stroller." There aren't too many of those. I occasionally see a woman with a stroller, but I haven't seen another guy yet.