What I will miss most

There will be many things I will miss when we move from Tooele. I'll miss our neighbors and our ward of course. I'll miss living near horses, llamas, (yes llamas), sheep and Emus (yes, emus. . . not emos). Speaking of emos, I'll miss living in a town that does not have emos.

But the thing, or person I will miss the most is the man Josh and I have named "The Tooele Walker". Maybe if you've ever livind in Tooele you'll have seen this man. He's tall and lanky (not overly thin, but lanky). His shocking orange hair is always cut in a flat-top slash buzz. We call him The Walker because that's what he does, walks. No matter what time of day it is he's out walking the streets of the city. Where he's going I'll never know. Mostly I see him on Main Street, but often I'll be driving down some random street and there he is, walking fast up or down the street. He looks straight ahead. Never looks around. He walks fast, like he's in a hurry.

In the summer his skin is sunburned. In the winter he's white as a ghost. Often times, when it's cold he'll have on a large, warm parka that makes him look like Kenny on South Park. Other times it can be snowing and he's not wearing any winter gear.

I see him when I'm driving on my way to work in the morning, and I see him walking when I get home from work. Josh has told me that he would see him walking, all day, every day when he installed internet in town.

I don't know why this man feels compelled to wander the streets. It's creepy really. I always get a twinge of fear when I see him, grateful I'm safe in my car, and not walking past him on the street. Often I have wondered if he is on meth, but I don't see any other symptoms (like sores or him getting even thinner).

Maybe he's training for the Olympics Speed Walking event. If that's the case he needs to work on his form because those athletes appear to be swiveling their hips. He does not swivel. He walks fast and straight.

At any rate, I will be both relieved and sad to leave the Tooele Walker when we move. I am also grateful that we are moving far enough away that he won't follow us there, but I bet he could walk that far if he wanted to. I wouldn't put it past him.