Dwight C.
I met Dwight C. at 2:34 pm on a Tuesday afternoon. I was about five minutes into my three mile walk when a man walked up beside me and asked: “are they filming a movie over there?” I looked over and saw a film crew shooting what appeared to be a commercial. I was still walking, and Dwight was now walking with me. He asked me how many laps I was planning to walk. I told him just one three mile lap today. I told him I typically walk it in 40 to 45 minutes. He said, “I don’t want to slow you down.” I told him as long as we’re moving, we’re good. I slowed down to Dwight’s pace.
Over the next 50 minutes or so, I came to know a total stranger named Dwight. His plan for this particular day at the park was to walk from the gym to the tennis courts and back. That’s maybe a mile total. He works out at the gym at the park because he’s cheap. Those were his exact words. He can work out at the park for $1.25 a day. He is 67, was married for 11 months in his 20’s, has a 52 yr old girlfriend he has been with for about 20 yrs, and was a lawyer but never practiced law. Instead he began successfully investing in real estate and is now retired. Dwight is indeed a republican as you would expect. We chat a little on politics and continue on down the path at Dwight’s pace.
A few other things I learned about Dwight are that he likes the Avalon Diner for the company but thinks the food is not that great and too expensive. He said: “you get the same size egg as you used to but now it’s twice the price.” As we’re walking we see one of the regulars from the Avalon named John. He asked if I knew John. I told him no but do recognize him from walking the loop at the park. He then looks down and sees my iPod and headset wire and cracks a little joke: “what’s that…your pacemaker.” We laugh a little, and we continue on down the path at Dwight’s pace.
Dwight tells me he has not been out of his house in quite some time and has been diagnosed as having depression as he put it and is on meds. This particular sentence triggered a number of thoughts for me. First I acknowledged on how debilitating depression can be on a person. From there, I launched into my talk on how we are all pack animals and must have interaction with others, then on to the subject of why solitary confinement in prison typically leads to mental breakdowns, and pulled it all together with one of my favorite subjects of how we are all connected at the heart and energy level. This is the point where he introduced himself.
He tells me he is terrible at names and has to do word association to remember people’s names. For the last 30 minutes, we had been talking and walking without knowing each other’s name. As we’re coming up on the end of the lap some 20 minutes later, he says “Rodney Williams, right?” I said yes sir and your name is Dwight. He said “thank you for letting me walk with you and listening to the ramblings of an old man.” I said “you’re welcome and thank you for walking with me and for the conversation Dwight…normally, I just put the iPod on and power through walk…it was a welcome change to have a nice conversation…I love meeting new people an sharing conversation…I’m here around 2:30 on days when the weather is nice…you’re welcome to walk with me anytime I’m here.” We shake hands and I drive off. A few minutes later, I hear someone on my side honking and waving and it’s Dwight. He continued on by at his pace.
Do you see all of the dynamics in play in the paragraphs above?
Why would a total stranger feel he could just walk up into my personal space and start walking with me? I projected openness and he felt it, even though he did not know it at the time.
Why did he continue walking with me when had only intended to walk to the tennis courts? I adjusted my pace to meet him at his pace. It goes back to Sally’s comment to me: “sometimes you just need to meet people where they’re at.”
Why did Dwight tell me his life story? He felt he could as I gave him the gift of the blessing of listening.
Two strangers gave each other one of the most valuable gifts we posses: our time.
I completed all three of my daily action items at one time.
1. Make a Difference in Someone’s Life. It can be something as simple as a smile, a hug, a kind word, a handshake, or a hand out.
2. Learn at Least One New Thing. Life presents so many opportunities to learn. Just keep your eyes open and listen.
3. Meet at Least One New Person. Say hello to a stranger. Ya never know what you will learn from that chance encounter.
Give someone the gift of the blessing of your time. Make it a point to meet your Dwight today.
Wrangler Rod - Roping the Good Things in Life
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