It was Tuesday, July 11th, 6:28am. I had begun the arduous morning constitutional. The sky was beginning to lighten as the sun was not yet up, there were no clouds, it will be a hot day I thought, as I continued my forced march.
I had a new walking stick, which I was attempting to break in this morning. I know you would want to see a photo of the walking stick, and I have one but it has an attachment on the end. Click to enlarge.
As you can see, Tres wanted to be sure the stick was good enough for me to use so he insisted on trying it himself. I did remove the bark from the stick prior to my use.
I had made a couple laps and was feeling good as my stride and pace had increased to an optimal level for a retired senior citizen on a fixed income. As I was walking south on Oklahoma Ave. I thought I could see a person at the top of the hill walking toward me. Upon further observation, this person appeared to be pushing a baby carriage. I thought it was unusual to see a person pushing a stroller this early.
I turned the corner and headed east on Arkansas street. Reaching the end of Arkansas (it is only one block long) I turned and headed back to Oklahoma. I then observed a Female subject pushing a baby carriage walking north on Oklahoma, she walked past the Ford Homestead and continued down the Avenue. I must have been about 150 feet behind her. I slowed my pace, not so I could continue to observe the female anatomy, but to allow her to feel secure. I thought that she might feel uneasy knowing an old man was getting too close.
That is when I developed a hypothesis. This nicely dressed young female, pushing a stroller with what appeared to be a baby inside, could be the perfect disguise for a thief. She did not have the usual clothing items that all thieves wear, black hoody with the hood up, or that knitted cap that we use to call sock caps. She did not have the black pants that crooks wear hanging down showing their underwear, and instead of the black running shoes she had very nice white walking shoes. This could be the perfect disguise for a thief who was steeling packages left at the doors of homes on the Avenue.
If someone called the police they would never suspect a young, clean and nicely dressed mother, pushing her baby in a stroller down the Avenue.
I followed at a distance and as she entered the cul-de-sac, I decided to turn and start back up the Avenue allowing this young lady plenty of room. I did not want to make her feel uncomfortable.
The rest of the walk was fairly uneventful.
May all your walks be free of people walking too close!
Don Ford
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