“Be ye not afraid!”

—Here she comes!
Another pretty jogger on Lehigh Valley RailTrail.
“Now do it! Strike up a conversation, even with a pretty girl. You’ve done it before!”
“I used to do that myself,” I said as she approached.
She stopped and pulled out her earplugs.
“Running?” she asked, as our eyes met and she smiled.
Yes, she attracted my attention, and I wasn’t being a creep about it. That made her happy.
We began talking, me thinking she might wanna continue running.
But no, she wanted to talk.
“I began running three years ago,” she said; “so my knees are still okay.”
I glanced at her pretty knees clothed in black running-tights.
“This one is fake,” I said, pointing to my left knee; replaced four or five years ago.
“At least here you’re on dirt,” I said. “Pavement is a killer!
Yada-yada-yada-yada-yada.” Enter Dale Carnegie, stage-right: “let ‘em talk” — and women seem to love talking.
And “be a good listener,” which apparently I am, since she’s liable to say something I wanna hear.
Another lady-friend tells me how men mostly wanna talk about themselves, taking over a conversation, and butting in.
We jabbered maybe five minutes, me thinking she’d wanna stop. But she didn’t!
Finally “I am so glad I said something!” I said to her.
“Striking up a conversation always works!”
“I’m glad ya did too,” she smiled. “You are perfect!”
“Four years ago I would have avoided you,” I thought to myself.
“‘No pretty lady will talk to you,’ but you are.”
“I run to the ballfields, then around the ballfields, then I run back,” she said.
We finally parted, her to the ballfields, and me to my turn-around.
But here she comes again, after I started back.
“There he is!” she shouted. I couldn’t help but notice it was her striking up our conversation instead of me.
After the childhood I had? A pretty girl wants to strike sparks — talk — with me?
“No pretty girl will try to strike up a conversation with you; you are despicable!”
“I am so glad I struck up a conversation with you!” I said as she jogged past.
“Me too!” she exclaimed.
“I hope we meet again sometime,” she said, as she jogged away smiling.
AMAZING!
I doubt she could replace my wife, but she did offset my childhood.