There he was walking backwards down York Road. I was driving south, almost to the corner of Lake. And there he was. In. The. Road. He looked pretty fit; in his right mind. He also looked quite comfortable with the whole thing. As if it weren’t his first time. As if he were on his way somewhere. And, allow me to repeat, he was in the actual road – York is a residential thoroughfare with decent traffic flow in that section. It isn’t a road for walking in the road…

I will give him credit for facing oncoming traffic. That’s always smart! And you know what? This simple sighting of a man walking backwards down the road brought me huge delight. I laughed out loud with joy. People and places are full of surprises!

The simple of act of encountering the unusual while wandering about is something I love and one of the things that led me to my global traveling ways. See, I’m a traveler. I’ve bounced around the globe almost more times than I can count, both living abroad and on extended travel jaunts. I love the newness and peculiarities of experiencing a different place and culture. Culture shock plays no part in my traveling experience.

The culture shock would get me upon returning home, though. The sameness. The predictability. An abundance of the familiar. It used to get me down. Then I started playing a trick on myself…

I adjusted my mental frame. I asked myself, “What’s the difference in walking down the street in Tel Aviv or in San Francisco? Or in driving around the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland or down York Road in Baltimore?” Nothing. It’s just perspective. People are doing kooky things everywhere. There are creative road signs everywhere. Inventive shops and potato chip flavors wherever I go. When I look for amusement and curiosities, I find them. And I am delighted.

So walk on, backwards walking man. Walk on!