You Are Now Entering The Early Morning Community

I have been bicycle-riding in the mornings for the past 3 months, usually between 6:00-7:00 AM during the week and 8:00-9:00 AM on Saturdays. I preface my latest entry with this information to solidify my humble (but accurate) opinion that there is a unique Early Morning Community (EMC) that remains hidden from the social radar that tracks everything from a celebrity's facial hair count to the inner workings of an athelete's nostril cavities. Part of the reason for this, I'm sure, is that the people who report on such banal topics are just getting to sleep about the time the denizens of the dawn rise from their slumber...It seems to me there are only 3 categories that these early birds fall into: 1) those who like to exercise to start the day for a healthier lifestyle; 2) those who are too stressed or depressed to sleep and find themselves wandering; 3) those who have dogs and do not wish to tempt fate by sleeping past the animals' toilet time. I would say, of all the citizens of the EMC, the majority fall into the first category (except on Saturdays, around 8:15, when over 90% of the EMC are from the third category!)...This morning, for example, I saw the usual handful of familiar faces, all designated by nicknames, given to them by myself, not so much to mock but to identify them instead of seeing nameless faces. This morning alone I passed all the usual suspects: Broken Wing; Hong Kong Phooey; Grandpa Walkman; Blondie; the Druid; the Pigeon Sisters. All the names reflect the outstanding feature of the individual. Broken Wing is a woman who shuffle-jogs with her right arm dangling; Grandpa Walkman is an elderly gent with a cassette player and headphones; Blondie is a young, athletic roller-blader with long blonde curls and a snow-white smile; the Druid is a petite woman on a huge bike that wears a sweatshirt with a hood so large she wears it over her helmet and I still can't see her face; the Pigeon Sisters are Irish women who walk quickly and talk twice as fast....But the one that really reinforces my theory is the Dog-Walker, a middle-aged man that I pass consistently in the same spot as he walks his dog. At first, it was a cursory wave of my hand; a few days later, it was a "how ya doin'?"; a few weeks later, it was a full sentence: "Looks like I'm running late this morning," I'd say. "No, I'm early," is the reply. Another time, he said, "I missed you yesterday." I replied, "It's every other day!" And on it goes. At one point, I thought to stop and ask his name, but I felt it would violate the unwritten law that basically states that all relationships in the EMC are cursory ones. Don't break the consistency. If you can fit a full sentence in as you pass each other, that's fine. Just do not alter your routine for the sake of social interaction. I could be wrong. Or it could be so early that my brain is not functioning right.