Friday 22nd May
Apparently, FOGO is now a thing. It stands for Fear of Going Out and replaces FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. I think I might have it.
I've only been out a couple of times since lockdown lifted slightly. This is because, being someone who doesn't watch the news and relies on other sources, I didn't know we were allowed to drive again. So last Sunday I drove to see Mum and we socially-distanced in the garden and yesterday I went to see a friend and we socially-distanced in a field. So now I'll get to my point.
(This is not me in a field. I do not run.)
As my friend Lisa and I were chatting, I noticed a man walking diagonally across the field in a somewhat purposeful fashion. He was a man wide of chest, fairly tall and wearing all black (albeit only t-shirt and shorts). He'd also donned some rubber sandal-type-things, with white socks. Now this man was probably perfectly innocent, but there was something that stood out about the way he was strolling with such purpose (possibly the fact he didn't have a phone in his hand). Anyway, he crossed the field and left.
My friend then perceived some much more real and apparent danger, involving some golf balls coming our way, which I hadn't noticed, so we moved across the field a bit and resumed chat. After a while, we got back to the topic of the Strolling Man in black. I should also point out that, before this, I also thought I saw a man turn into a Rottweiler. Let me explain...
A little before I saw the Strolling Man, I saw what I thought was a very large Rottweiler. It made me quite nervous, I won't lie. Then I realised it was actually a man, also dressed in black, who was inexplicably on all fours. From a distance, he was suddenly a Rottweiler. I didn't actually think he'd morphed from a human. It's just that I'd noticed him sitting with a woman, and then he suddenly seemed to be a dog. I think Paranoia adequately describes my emotional state. What do you think?
Back to the nameless Strolling Man. As Lisa and I were chatting and laughing a bit about this man who seemed to walk with such enigmatic purpose, we talked about the Stephen King film where a car is followed by a truck and how terrifying it would be to be followed by a Strolling Man, who eventually bore down on you, even if you were running. It was all very light.
It got funny, though - and a bit weird - when Lisa then said to me; 'don't turn around, don't look now, he's just behind you.' What? I mean, this was about 45 minutes from when we'd first seen him and at that exact moment of me mentioning him he was there. I think if Lisa hadn't warned me I might have let out a scream. Fogo?
Anyway, we both agreed there was something disconcerting about his walk. Lisa put her finger on it when she said he seemed to be 'patrolling' the area. Yes. He wouldn't have looked out of place in the security section of an airport. Lisa said if there were any reports of serial killings that night we'd know who it was.
Poor guy. He was probably just out for an evening walk and he's ended up in my blog. Well, that's my contribution to the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown, anyway.