Who Inspires You?

Who Inspires You?

When I moved to NYC six years ago I was obsessive about cycling in Central Park every single weekday morning before 7am. In going around a 6.2 mile loop every day you begin to recognize certain daily joggers (who generally run in the direction towards cyclists so they can avoid being hit). I started giving them nicknames for my own distracting amusement. There was Stroke Man (whose face and spastic arm told his story), The Troll (no explanation necessary), Muscles Hot Pants (a bit too articulated) and Butterscotch.

There was something about Butterscotch’s medium length light brown hair and yellowish/tan complexion that just reminded me of a piece of butterscotch candy. She was stick thin, but not in an anorexic way. And she had a slight but perceptibly strange gait, like she was in just a bit of pain and dragging her legs along with her. But regardless of the weather or the season, she was out there - - every day - - even (I deduced) when I was not.

I began looking forward to seeing her and would always wonder which part of the loop would she appear. I always wanted to talk to her - - to tell her how much I admired her dedication to running and how I thought she looked sweet. But I did not as I assumed she would think I was a weirdo or worse yet, a stalker.

This past week, after not having cycled in the park for months,  I spied her. But this time she was running in the same direction as the cyclists and as I came up next to her on an incline I slowed down to make sure it was really her (having never seen her from behind before).  Indeed it was Butterscotch, although her gait and the way she dragged her right leg seemed even more pronounced than I remembered.

I slowed to her pace, came beside her and gathered the courage to blurt out “I just want you to know you really inspire me. I see you out here constantly and I really admire you for your dedication”. She did not hesitate a second and yelled back “I run like this because I have multiple sclerosis.” To which I replied, “Oh. Well I just wanted you to know you are an inspiration to me” and I waved and pedaled away.

Some believe we all wear our burdens on our sleeves for all  to see. Sometimes we keep them inside. Sometimes we blurt them out. Here was a person who received a compliment from a stranger and the felt the need to tell said stranger about her medical condition. She assumed that I said what I said because she thought her malady was obvious to all. But all I saw was a dedicated runner - - fierce and devoted and pushing through pain. I had no idea she had MS. Nor did it matter to me.  But to her it was a billboard.

Perhaps the next time I see her I will let her know that her ability to inspire others is the only thing visible.

Who inspires you? Who do you inspire?