As I was out walking this morning on what’s purportedly the last dry day before the fall rains descend, I crossed the 28 million-step mark. In the last 7+ years of getting my steps on a daily basis, I’ve walked a total of 13,300 miles or 53.4% of the earth’s circumference. Believe me, no one is more surprised about that than I am. After all, as far as I was concerned, there was nothing at school I dreaded more than PE, and I’m not strong on keeping New Years’ resolutions, either.

But my determination to “get my steps” is something that stuck, and one of the reasons that happened is due to inspiration given to me by someone I never met and whose name I don’t know.

Early on, when I was still struggling to reach 10,000 each day, I’d find myself at 11:30 at night, marching around the kitchen island desperately trying to get the magic number before the clock struck midnight, and I turned into the proverbial pumpkin.

But it seems as though, whenever I drove through the neighborhood, I’d see a guy out walking. He was tall and thin, and usually wore a bright yellow reflective rain suit. There was no way you could miss seeing him. He walked along with the stiff-legged gait of someone who had maybe dealt with some kind of physical impairment. I called him Stick Man.

The Bridle Trails area is made up of glacial ridges. They don’t seem like much when you’re driving through them, but walking up and down those steep hills is quite another matter. Yet here was Stick Man, marching on those hilly streets without breaking a sweat or his stride.

I have no idea how old he was at the time—probably about the same age I am right now, but seeing him out there faithfully walking got to me. If he could do it on up-and-down sidewalks, I sure as hell ought to be able to do it on the flat surfaces of our driveway or pool deck! And seeing him out there walking day after day in all kinds of weather really spoke to me.

That, of course, was before Covid. I haven’t seen him for several years now. If he’s still walking, he’s no longer doing it out in public, but if someone reading this happens to recognize him or knows Stick Man’s family, I hope they’ll pass along my thanks. He made a huge difference in my life.

I wouldn’t be sitting here with 28,000,000 steps if it weren’t for him.