One thing I love

is my nightly run down the old railroad bed in West Farmington.  I have been a regular there for a long time now (I think I have lived here about 8 years and have been running it consistently) and now I see people who walk their dogs regularly and we stop and talk.  There is Wilson the dog, Nutmeg the dog, Ruby the dog -- of course I know all the dogs' names and not the humans.  And this morning when I was out for my early morning run (yes, I am now running twice a day since getting the new little buddy) - by 5:15 or so I am out on that same trail with a headlamp and pepper spray and two dogs - I passed a man who had just left Madore's with coffee.  "Karolyn?" he asked.  Yup, it's me.  It was one of my neighbors that I met this past Spring - a true true local.  It feels good to be known by name.  This afternoon, one of my favorite Lit professors went cruising by on his bicycle - grinning like the madman he is.  It feels really good to be part of a neighborhood, a community.  I know one day, I will miss this exchange.  I NEVER see anyone in Peru on anything other than a motor.  But for now, I have my people here, and they make me really happy.