this morning as I played my flute I thought again about my walk yesterday.  Yesterday afternoon when I was out walking I saw a man who I used to see fairly frequently when I would walk my dog.  He would be walking with a black dog but today he was not walking a dog.  He was walking with a cane.  His gait had always been a little bit off and I had always known there was something wrong with him.  As I got closer to him he stopped and I realized that he didn't want to navigate the sidewalk while I was walking past him.  As I walked past him, we looked at each other and he smiled at me and said hello.  I was struck by how cheerful his greeting was.  I kept going and looking, he was walking steadily albeit a little bit slowly.  I confirmed for myself that he wouldn't have been able to handle walking with his dog anymore.  I thought of how my own walking has improved, and about the hands-free dog walking belt I just recently purchased online which I knew would make it possible for me to walk with our dog.  I felt sad for him that he couldn't walk with his dog, and wondered if he had the theories help and support that he needs – from my own experiences now I'm fairly sure he has some kind of neurological condition, maybe multiple sclerosis.  But I also felt really impressed not just watching him walk but because of how he greeted me.  There are many healthy people who I've walked past whose greetings aren't nearly as cheerful.  I wonder if they even pay attention to what they see when they are out for a walk – I certainly do.  I hope I'll see him again when I'm out walking and in addition to saying hello perhaps comment how nice it is to be out for a walk.