I salute you, Mr. Slowsky

Awhile back, I wrote about Stacey, a runner in my neighborhood who inspired me.  I wrote about how I didn’t know her name, but to make it easier to refer to her, we named her Stacey.  Of course, there are other runners in our neighborhood who we don’t know but have grown accustomed to seeing day after day.  Another one of those runners we dubbed Mr. Slowsky. 

Mr. (and sometimes Mrs.) Slowsky ran by our house on almost a daily basis.  The word “ran” might be a questionable verb here, since their pace was that of almost a walk.  But I use the word “ran” because they were moving in a forward direction, moving their arms, breathing hard, and well, running.  Day after day.  I’m not judging, nor am I ridiculing; but the Comcast commercials depicting the Slowsky turtles is what came to mind and the nickname stuck.

One day while on a run, I approached Mr. Slowsky from behind and, although I tried not to startle him, of course I did just that.  He apologized for his slow pace and even referred to himself as a “turtle”.  I responded, “Hey, we’re both moving in the same direction, so it’s all good!”  He smiled and gave me a wave and a “Have a good day” and I passed him to continue my run.

I just found out that he died suddenly this past week. 

I now know his name and, based on his demeanor on the road as well as his obituary picture, he seemed like a good guy.  He wasn’t a whole lot older than Scott and me, and word is he was exercising just before passing.  It’s sad to hear of anyone passing and it’s unnerving when their absence suddenly hits – even a stranger.  I will miss seeing him run by our house and I will miss his friendly wave – you know, the runner’s wave that says “we’re all in this together”.