Chinese Version
10-10-2020， Saturday, Sunny

One afternoon on a sunny warm autumn day, I walked along a path between the Charles Riverbank and a dense forest in Waltham. I saw an unoccupied chair, on a flat quiet place close to the river, was alone under the sun. I went to sit on the chair and sunbath together with the chair. While sitting there, I watched a piece of wood which looked like an alligator in the nearby water. I also watched small boats on the far side of the river. I also watched a light blue water tank on the top of a hill on the other side of the river. I started to daydream …

Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me: “What are you watching?”

I turned around and saw a very tall big old man with a cane was slowly walking toward the chair.

I quickly stood up: “I am watching the alligator.”

“What are you watching?”

I rose my voice and said slowly: “I – Am – Watching – The – Alligator.”

The man walked with his cane to the front of the chair, tiled his head to look at the river, and said happily: “Ooh, the alligator is scary!”

I noticed his cane head has a camera and asked loudly: “Your cane carries a video camera?”

The man lowered his head and turned his ear toward me to carefully listen to me question and answered: “It is a binocular.”

He immediately lifted the cane up and looked through it: “I should have said it is a monocular.”

I thought to myself: He is very careful on using words correctly, and I said: “Are you walking alone?”

“Yes, I am walking alone.”

I looked around the river and the woods said: “Here is very quiet, it is better to walk with someone else.”

“I wish someone could walk with me here.”

Before I left, I said to him: “Enjoy the weather.”

I continue on walking along the riverside trail heading south, I bypassed a children’s playground and a wood with scattered chairs, I reached a main road, then I turned around walked back on the same trail. On the way back, I saw the tall big old man who has a cane equipped with a monocular slowly walking toward me, it seems the cane is a necessary part for his balance. I guessed he walked at least 2 to 3 kilometers to finish this journal today.

During COVID-19, we often heard the message: “Seniors please stay home”. This old man was not only walk outside alone, but also tried to chat with a stranger, very brave!

A Few Episodes

The chair on a flat quiet place close to the river and the alligator in the river.

The quiet surrounding.

The alligator in the river.