Walking My Way Back Home

Living in Oregon has made me notice walking a lot more than I did in the past. In my former home, New Orleans, it was often too hot to walk "for fun" or exercise. But Oregon has a good walking climate. It's more often cool or mild outside than it is uncomfortable. I see people walking in my neighborhood every day. Since I live on a small mountain walking is big here. When I retrieve my morning newspaper at 4 or 5 am it isn't unusual to see joggers or walkers already doing their thing.

I have noticed different ways people walk. Just as there are no two identical finger prints there here is no single way to walk. A walker might stroll, stumble, use a fast pace gait, walk with a smile or frown, walk in a straight line or wall on an angle. Some ;people walk and are happy to do it and others are walking reluctantly. You can see a grimace on their face that says) "I'm only doing this for the exercise". 

Then there is how age affects how we walk. Small children have trouble walking for any length of time. They naturally turn their walk into a run. Maybe it's because they are excited about life so much more than we older ones.  So they want to make their walk anything but boring. Women walk with dignity, like a ballet dancer moves. Men walk like a ballet dancer that has two left feet.  Bouncy walkers are annoying. They are showing off how well conditioned they are. They are not a pretty sight when walking. And oldies walk carefully, sometimes painfully. They often appear that they will fall and break a hip. Sadly some do.

Most people walk better when they do it alone. Walking hand in hand can be injurious to the walkers. They are not attentive when they walk holding hands. But one good thing about walking in a group is that the walk seems shorter and easier, given that the walkers are conversing and not thinking about how far they must still walk. That applies except when you are walking in a group protest . Protest walks are stressful and tiring. I have no idea how to caricature people who walk dogs. Really the dogs walk the people more than the former. I see a lot of people who walk dogs be dragged along by their pets.

Besides it being their form of transportation from one place to another or as exercise, people walk for many reasons, but perhaps the largest one is because it gives them separation from the routine, and  time to think about things apart from distractions. We appreciate our surroundings, those pretty tress and flowers we ignore when driving by in a car for instance, a little more when we walk. Next time you walk take a look at others who are also walking. You'll see a lot more than their locomotion.