He is back in the neighborhood. It has been such a long time, since the halcyon days before the first Covid shutdown, since I have seen him ambling on the sidewalks, dodging traffic on the streets, and circumnavigating the cul-de-sacs. But the cold weather has returned and the Walking Man is back.

He once again wears his sleek black winter coat, the appropriate patch on the shoulder. A grey knit cap is pulled tightly over his head, Bluetooth headphones do triple duty–preventing the hat from flying away while functioning as ear muff surrogates and providing the musical cadence to keep propelling him forward.

In years past when the polar vortex gripped the streets a blue muffler wrapped over his face. Perhaps the less frigid temperatures of this year have convinced him to leave the muffler at home, at least for now. Surely he will wear it when colder winds roar in from the arctic before this Midwestern winter is over.

One other thing has not changed…or has it? The Walking Man always had a dog at his feet, sauntering, scampering, sniffing, but is this a different dog? The canine I remember was small, multicolored, a terrier of sorts. The dog trotting beside the Walking Man now is a larger specimen, curly-haired, a uniform brown color, and much more handsome. He struts like a Clydesdale as if he owns the streets and he is on patrol.

The streets that man and dog walk along have a pre-festive air. Glowing colored lights and blow-up decorations festoon many of the lawns, but some of those holiday balloons are deflated, laying like sleeping children on the lawn, waiting for a puff of air to fill them and put their full form on display. And while the people he meets smile and say hello, their words on not yet filled with holiday cheer.

Soon the snow will come. Vertical sticks will do their job guiding snow plows. And our Walking Man and pet will hunker down as they skitter on slick ice-covered concrete and asphalt. But for now, they march upright…and I am glad to see him back.

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