Gait Into A Stanger's World*

He walked with a slight limp in his right leg.

There had been a boy in his elementary school class who had dared him to jump over the school's fence and confront the crazed madman's whose property rested on the other side. Invigorated by the prospect of heroism and school-wide acclaim for encountering what most were almost certain was a wizard, he undertook the dare with a suspicious amount of eagerness that caused the classmate to doubt the severity of his choice. The aspiring hero then climbed up the fence with ease and sat at the top, preparing himself for the battle to come. Sure of his noble purpose, he jumped down from the fence realizing only a moment before touching the ground that the fence was much to high to be dismounted in this fashion. He should have climbed down. The next moment he reached the ground and felt the effects of this lack of foresight. He had broken his ankle. Now, some forty years later, the limp remains from that childhood accident. Now, some forty years later, he looks both ways twice before crossing a street. Now, some forty years later, he quietly tells disheartened children that being a knight is not for everyone. Selling insurance can be just as fun. Now, some forty years later, a girl is walking onto the train behind him wondering how he got that limp. Wondering if it had been the result of something heroic. Something bold. 



*The title is so wonderfully cheesy. Please take a moment to frown and lament at the humor.