The One-Eyed Man

I got a new pair of running shoes last weekend: Vibram 5-Fingers. I'm not going to lie; I've gotten a bit into the minimalist running trend. I read Born to Run a while ago - REALLY good book! - and I'm giving the barefoot running fad a legitimate go...

First of all, these shoes are not sexy or attractive in any way, in my opinion. They make my feet look like flippers, and I've gotten some interesting looks from other people on the trail. So, while they do nothing to enhance my natural feet beauty (ha), they are actually pretty good so far. I have run with them three times now. They do require using muscles in my feet and lower leg that I haven't used before, so I've had some soreness that I'm not used to. This spring and summer, though, my right knee has been hurting when I run and I've been going to the chiro-cruncher every week or so. With the Vibrams, so far, I've had no knee pain! Sweet chicken!

A funny thing happened on the way to the trail today (what was that? A theatre pun? Nooooo!) I was just getting into my run today; I hadn't even made it to the trail which is about a quarter mile from my door. As I was pidder-padding down the sidewalk, a man headed in the opposite direction stopped me to ask for directions. I was happy to help out, so I stopped. This guy was interesting, but I can only share part of how interesting he must be because he had a super-thick European accent. I had a really hard time understanding him, but I did discover that he was trying to get to the Wells Fargo. I gave him directions, but then he through me for a loop by asking me to walk him there! Um, various thoughts quickly zipped through my head:

This is a strange man - It's is the middle of the day and there are lots of people around.

I'm in the middle of a run - It's not as though I'm training for the Olympics; I can be flexible.

HE MIGHT STAB ME!! Yeah...probably not.

It's a bit rude of him to expect me to walk him around town, isn't it? Not really, and I would feel like a jerk if I said "no".

So, as all that ran through my head in about two seconds time, I said, "Sure!" And we headed back up the street together. I learned that his name was Eric (I think), he's from St. Louis Park, he had been walking since he got off the bus in Minnetonka (that's about 5 miles away!), and he just decided that he wanted to come to Excelsior today. I don't know why he needed to go to the Wells Fargo, but it wasn't any of my business. Wait! Oh - that IS my business...banking, that is. Hey-o! I also noticed that he only had one eye... So, the man with one eye and the woman with flipper feet walked down the street together - not really understanding each other, but having one destination in mind. It only took about ten minutes. Once we reached Water Street, he decided he could find the bank from there, and we parted ways. He thanked me; I bid him a good day, and turned to trot back up the street for the third time.

I don't really have a "moral of the story" or anything like that. It was just an interesting few minutes. I like that people can pass through life for a moment like that. It's easy for me to become so enveloped in my own little world that I forget sometimes that there are other people passing by. I'm glad that I decided to walk with him for a couple minutes...I hope he found the bank ok.