Walking & Running and a Sad Reminder

This morning was very a very pleasant 44º. It was nice enough to walk and run outside. My MP3 player featured Aretha Franklin this morning. As I ran and dogs barked I imagined they were the chorus and at times I would shake my finger at them and ran backwards pantomiming Aretha (only in my mind, of course).

I strayed off to an adjoining neighborhood. One house I went by reminded me who used to live there but I think they moved. It was a family of four: a man, wife, a daughter, and a son. They were all black headed and olive skin. For some reason I think they were probably Syrian.

I used to see them at Krogers over the years. They all four went shopping. The mother was the shopper of the family to get most value for the money. The father was very gentle and easy going with his children. The little boy at first was just a toddler who I watched over the years get bigger and bigger. He seemed to always stay close to his parents. The daughter looked to be about 8 or 9 and over the years became 13 or 14. There was something wrong about with the girl. I don’t know what, but I think it was a deathly illness. Through the years she seemed to grow sicker and sicker. One time she wore a patch on one eye. Another time she was limping. And they limp became more pronounced as if she had a prosthetic leg. Then she did not accompany them at all. Sad.