Loonie Noon Hour

It's been hotter than heck these past few days but with the exception of today, I have been keeping my lunch hour dates with my sneakers. The city where I work is an acquired taste ... and I get a hefty serving each time I venture out the front doors for my stroll.

Yesterday was one of those inexplicably odd days that left me shaking my head more than once:

• when the ginormous hulk of a man belched loud enough to register on the Richter scale after I smiled sweetly at him as we passed
• when I spotted a lone expensive leather loafer laying on the side of a lawn and walked away wondering about the fate of the mate
• when a man stood chatting leisurely at great length with a cable repairman as his gas powered lawn mower coughed and sputtered on the concrete sidewalk, causing me to cough and sputter
• when I almost got mowed over by a fierce little lady in a powered wheelchair after she sped up behind me
• when I made a point of smiling at 5 complete strangers and got only one smile returned (from a toothless baby) and 4 looks that screamed "LOON"  (me as the loon), a few of them toothless too.

So I am finding that all of this feet on the street is getting me better acquainted with the fellow who sits on the corner with his hat out, not to mention the other intricates of the city. It is what it is -- but usually it is much friendlier. I will persevere with my walks and my relentless attempts to get a smile returned, and maybe when this heat wave passes people will get a little more cheery and I will see a toothy grin. A girl can dream...

Stay cool as I walk on.