The first individual I met on my morning ride was a well-tanned lady about my age, walking 3 dogs. "Good Morning!" she exclaimed with a smile, seemingly geniunely happy to see me. I returned the smile, the gesture, and pedaled on. It was interesting because her confidence and assertiveness was very attractive, although she was as normal as the proverbial "girl next door." I speculated that she might be a "local."
The next group of 3 ladies were focused entirely on themselves. They seemed to be discussing the woes of their lives and were oblivious to me or my "Hi." I couldn't help but compare them to a TV show of sisters entertaining bad marriages. The reason was obvious, I thought.
A man in his 30s jogged passed and managed a "good morning" even as he was panting for breath. He was apparently taken by the surreal surrounding of the island and was pushing himself pretty hard to get some exercise and private time. That was why I was out too, afterall.
At a narrow on the path I passed a girl in her 20s, quite well covered in clothing with a hat pulled down over her head. Her complexion was rather pale as you might expect of someone who is quite shy and reclusive in personality. My "Good Morning" was acknowledged and almost, barely, kinda sorta returned out of politeness. Wow, I thought. She should get out more.
There were also a couple of older ladies headed to the pool in their covertible VW bug, and others who made for interesting people watching, but my zen moment (or whatever JAY wants to call that) was already set in stone. While I could identify much more with the man grasping for air, I'd most like to be like the self-confident lady who was out enjoying her morning walk with her best friends. The primary thing differentiating her from the younger girl was attitude. Don't let people get you down--approach life with a positive attitude and you'll reap rewards (and smiles!) from people you don't even know.
