The big dog and I met another interesting person on our walk yesterday. The Independence Day dawn was quiet as we made our way through the sports complex and headed home.
Just down the road, I saw a young man riding toward us on his bike, holding a couple of fishing rods. I pass guys like him all the time, usually fishing off small bridges over the drainage canals.
As we got closer, he stopped and seemed to be waiting for us. But rather than being impressed by the giant dog, he asked, “Would you like a free fishing pole?” I was impressed by his ability to ride a bike holding not a couple but three rods.
I smiled and replied, “No thank you.” Even if my hands weren’t full of dog leash and a blue bag of poop, I would have declined. I just sold a couple of unused fishing poles in a garage sale since it turns out fishing doesn’t really interest me.
Part of me immediately thought, “He’ll probably ask for money.” Been there; done that. “Here’s something free…how about a few bucks?” I don’t know where he got them. Maybe he was being generous. Maybe he was selling dad’s stuff to get a few bucks. Maybe fishing didn’t interest him, either.
I hate it when I feel suspicious of someone I’ve just met or don’t know, who poses no threat to me. I want to think positively about people, but somewhere I learned not to trust…anyone. I don’t like feeling that way.
And now that I’ve uploaded the above picture, I see he was riding his bike in bare feet. He’s more daring than me!
Waite for it... 