Great things afoot

It's not new or unique to remark upon the social joy of getting about on foot, but that doesn't detract from the deep pleasure I get every time I encounter a friend or acquaintance when running errands or traveling across town. When I'm in a car, or even on a bike, things and people pass by so quickly -- in a car, I may not even recognize a friend in her car passing the other way, and on bikes, we give a quick wave, but on foot, we can easily stop and have a brief chat. Maybe we're going the same way and can use that time to catch up on each other's lives.

Last week alone, I had this experience five times over the course of the week, including running into a former boss, whom I hadn't seen in about five years! It's a miracle we even recognized each other. I also bumped into a friend and got to hear about her adventures in buying a new condo, and found out that another acquaintance is expecting a baby in February, thanks to strolling around my neighborhood on one of these infrequent dry summer evenings.

It's not a surprise to have such encounters, in general, but each one is always a surprise in itself in who I see and what we talk about when we do.