The Waving Walker

by Kay Heitsch

The following story was told to me by my friend Art Watts. This happened to him when he was about 17 years old.

Years ago, back in the middle 1970s, I used to see a young man about 16 years of age and a large dog walking along the road. When cars would pass him on the other side, he made eye contact and waved. I saw him almost daily, walking along the road waving at cars.

One rainy day I saw him and pulled over. I asked if he could use a ride. He said, "I'm not really going anywhere, just walking, thanks to the same, mister." I used to enjoy walks out in the countryside myself, so I thought it wasn't too odd. I told him if he ever needed a ride or help to flag me down, and I would do whatever I could. He thanked me and went on his way.

A few weeks later, I saw the boy walking; he didn't have his usual smile and was pacing that walking instead. He saw me and frantically flagged me down. As I got closer, I could see he was crying. I asked what was wrong. "My best friend just passed away. He was walking with me and just dropped; he's back by my house." He said through tears. I said, hop in, and I'll take you there.

The house was a small old farmhouse with a more extensive driveway. I saw a dead dog just outside the driveway. "There!! There he is, that's Randy!" He exclaimed. I checked the animal; he had been dead for some time. I told the kid his dog was gone, but he needed to keep him in his heart. We both cried. We took Randy to his house, made a marker, and buried him. I left feeling very blue.

After work that day, a friend came by. Odd coincidence, his female dog had a litter a couple of months ago. One of the pups named Randy, and he was the spitting image of old Randy himself. I explained the whole situation to my friend Jim. Jim said it was not a coincidence, and it was a sign. Jim said to take Randy to that boy and tell him to take care of him.

I took him up to the house. The boy must have spotted me driving up the long drive and went out to greet me. When I opened the door, little Randy came barreling out of the car. "Randy!! You came back to me!!" The boy said with tears of joy. Life goes on.