How far do you walk every day? Is it a chore, or a pleasure?
There's nothing like a stroll in the evening after dinner.
Also cool: hiking quickly over wet grass toward some kind of a bluff.
Going a mile-and-a-half up a beach that continues out of sight, then returning the same way, making up some nonsense lyric which, by the time you're back at the car, is a worthless scrap of verse that you write down and lose.
Walking after dark on a trail you know well.
Not so cool: Pavement in 90 degree weather.
Parking lots.
Having to walk, drunk & disoriented, along a dirt road in the dark. It's light enough to see most of the puddlesthey kind of shinebut on the corners there are shadows and you end up with wet feet. And it's miles. The person with you is a whiner, plus it was their fault. The walking is actually a good way to stay calm.
Or, losing a transaxle while struggling to get a load of madrone out of the canyon, and having to leave the truck precariously wedged against the bank while you walk ten miles just to get back to the forest service road. At least the countryside is pretty.
Not so bad: Walking through an orchard to your girlfriend's house. Your heart skips when you see the spot you took her to one afternoon. Quail are scuffling in the bushes. All is well.
And: the long walk when you know somebody is going to make you cry. Your feet don't want to make the trip, but you make those strings in your legs move and your shoes go slapping down the hall. Gulp.
Walking with the bases loaded. You trot.
Walking in a creek with your shoes off. You step in some sunken leaves and your foot sinks into cool dark silt. It's softer than that dimple above your hip bone. You don't move right away, because you're secretly enjoying the sensation. Oooh.
Walking home from work. There's sweat on your brow but your shirt has dried although your belt still feels damp. You swing along confident, stop at the store on the way home and buy something healthy because you want to keep feeling good.
Walking to the podium. Good evening.
Do you walk because you have to, because you want to, or because you can?
There's nothing like a stroll in the evening after dinner.
Also cool: hiking quickly over wet grass toward some kind of a bluff.
Going a mile-and-a-half up a beach that continues out of sight, then returning the same way, making up some nonsense lyric which, by the time you're back at the car, is a worthless scrap of verse that you write down and lose.
Walking after dark on a trail you know well.
Not so cool: Pavement in 90 degree weather.
Parking lots.
Having to walk, drunk & disoriented, along a dirt road in the dark. It's light enough to see most of the puddlesthey kind of shinebut on the corners there are shadows and you end up with wet feet. And it's miles. The person with you is a whiner, plus it was their fault. The walking is actually a good way to stay calm.
Or, losing a transaxle while struggling to get a load of madrone out of the canyon, and having to leave the truck precariously wedged against the bank while you walk ten miles just to get back to the forest service road. At least the countryside is pretty.
Not so bad: Walking through an orchard to your girlfriend's house. Your heart skips when you see the spot you took her to one afternoon. Quail are scuffling in the bushes. All is well.
And: the long walk when you know somebody is going to make you cry. Your feet don't want to make the trip, but you make those strings in your legs move and your shoes go slapping down the hall. Gulp.
Walking with the bases loaded. You trot.
Walking in a creek with your shoes off. You step in some sunken leaves and your foot sinks into cool dark silt. It's softer than that dimple above your hip bone. You don't move right away, because you're secretly enjoying the sensation. Oooh.
Walking home from work. There's sweat on your brow but your shirt has dried although your belt still feels damp. You swing along confident, stop at the store on the way home and buy something healthy because you want to keep feeling good.
Walking to the podium. Good evening.
Do you walk because you have to, because you want to, or because you can?
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