Yet another reason ...

I'm thankful I don't have a cell phone.

As I mentioned earlier, last week I went to one of those “wellness” screenings and they pointed out a couple of things I should work on improving. Well it turns out both areas could be helped by more exercise. I truly do enjoy getting out and hiking/camping/biking/etc. but I’ve always felt exercising just for the sake of exercising is right up there with watching paint dry. Not something I’m real eager to do.

Given my spotty wellness report, though, I’ve decided that I might ought to consider a more regular exercise program. Since my front yard fronts on a wonderful park with a mile-long walking trail, I decided I’d start doing a couple of “fast” walk/run laps 3 mornings a week. Last week was uneventful, but I knew my weirdo magnet would rise to the surface soon. I don’t know that this qualifies as a true weirdo magnet story, but I did have an encounter yesterday morning.

Over the past year or so I’ve often sat out on my porch reading the paper, drinking coffee, doing what not, and I’ve had a chance to watch the folks walking around the park. A few times I’ve noticed this older man who, though he walks alone, keeps up a running monologue as he walks. I’ve never been able to tell just what he’s saying, but he says it in a loud voice and his rhythm makes me think he’s preaching (or maybe praying) as he walks.

Anyway, yesterday morning, as I was heading home, I saw him pacing back and forth between me and the house. I knew he was going to speak to me and sure enough he did. I did not, though, anticipate what he’d ask me. He didn’t want to convert me or witness to me or anything like that. No, he wanted to know if I could help him figure out how to make a call on his new cell phone! I felt really bad for the man because he couldn’t have picked a worse person to ask in all of Decatur. I know he probably thought I was lying to him when I told him I didn’t know anything about how those things work, but it was the truth. Poor guy.

It sucked for him, but I was thankful that my cell phone aversion might have prevented a weirdo encounter. I could easily picture a scenario in which I'd have been sucked into whatever phone call he mad and I'd have ended up having to go to the bus station in Huntsville to pick up his brother or something like that. Whew!