Mr. Walking And Reading

Sparky and I were saddened a couple of days ago when we heard that Mr. Walking and Reading had died. We did not know this man personally, but have seen him out and about Silverlake for years and years. We first espied him way back in the day when we were both employed at the Recycler Classifieds. He would walk briskly down the street in just a pair of shorts and tennis shoes while reading a newspaper. We saw him almost on a daily basis, and had no idea who he was so we called him "Mr. Walking And Reading." On cold winter days, Mr. Walking And Reading might wear a windbreaker. But on most days he was shirtless, and thus was deeply tanned. We saw him everywhere, and whenever we saw him we would say to one another, "Hey, there's Mr. Walking And Reading". Later, after we were both no longer working at the Recycler, we found out from a friend that Mr. Walking And Reading was a physician, and was well known around town. Apparently others had noticed him, too, and documentaries and murals had been made about him. We probably should have started calling him "Dr. Walking And Reading" but we never did; old habits are hard to break. R.I.P., Mr. Walking And Reading, you were a truly unique individual and we will miss seeing you walk rapidly thru the neighborhood while reading a newspaper and wearing nothing but shorts and sneakers.