Walking is Good for Everything

So today I go on my first serious walk, the first of many for the rest of my life. About 2 miles and one and a half hours with lots of stops along the way: 5 individuals, 1 dog and a group of young guys that caught my attention because they were lean and trim and looked like they were really active, like I was back in the day.

So in my new walking shoes with extra wide toes (see Amazon for most everything I buy now) and my new Dr Scholl's insoles designed for folks like me who have flat feet and sold in a size 8-14 trim to fit system that put you into a keep moving stance slightly pitched forward, I first run into Landon who is walking with a cane and in heavy sandals but he's out walking on what doctors tell him he must do everyday for an hour and a half. He just had a heart operation where he lost 40 lbs. while in the hospital, mostly because he hated the food--no salt, no mustard, just bland, bland and more bland.

I'm firmly convinced that all doctors are on a vindictive mission against everybody because they lost their best times to the long, restrictive and painful path to becoming a full-fledged doctor. Similar to the guys that invented golf. If I'm not going to have any fun, then neither are you, laddie! More rules followed by more rules with a dessert of more rules.

So, I finally find the path to The Coves, which is a path that recent best friend, Winter, suggested that I use. She rollerblades it regularly and says it's quite flat. The perspective of a 29-year-old and what a 77-year-old considers a flat path is quite different, lol.

So, I am walking up one of the steady inclines, and the rough texture of the old asphalt path is covered in small gravel, and I see a lady coming my way, and she doesn't understand my question:  Is there a bench where you just came from? Her English was very limited. It kind of reminded me of doing customer support with most companies via phone. That is why I use chat for that as much as possible. So I thanked her and said, "Nice talking to you," and kept moving up the path after my 2nd rest period of the walk today.

So, I see a younger guy, Richer (younger than me), walking his good-looking pit bull mix, and he doesn't hear my first question, but he does help with where a bench is available if I leave the path and go to the park that has several. Meanwhile, his pup Kratos (8 years old) is all happy to see his new friend (me), loving the neck rubs, and wearing a soft muzzle, which is so sad because it was preventing him from licking me to death. Pitbulls get such a bad rap. They are the sweetest dogs if you don't force-train them to be killers. So another rest stop along the way, and friendly, nice meeting-yours exchanges.

So, I find the park and the benches. However, they are still a ways to go, so I park my heavy butt on a guardrail in the expansive parking lot because there are several soccer pitches, a baseball diamond, and a community pool up ahead, which is where I want to go next. Interesting how the grassy area around the playing surfaces is quite uneven, which you notice at my age now.

So, I start walking over to a shady area where there is a plus-sized lady with her large baby carriage with its back to me, so I can't see what is in it yet. And I politely say that since you seem to be moving on, I will be the next user of this bench. I look into the baby carriage, the type you would see for holding twins, and there is a boy who looks to be 4 or 5 sucking on one of those squeeze pouches. He's going to be 300 lbs. before he is 20. He should be walking with his mother, not being wheeled around like a 1-year-old in diapers. Now, it is conceivable that the child here could have a disability, but I had no chance to get into that discussion with his mother as they were off to their own world.

Then, while on the bench, I notice what was obviously a lifeguard going on duty shortly entering the change room side of the pool, and then I look at a pool full of water that looks like it had been filtered with a spaghetti strainer. There is not a soul around in the pool other than a lifeguard. This is a Saturday in the first week of August, and it is sunny and around 80 degrees F. I remember as a child you could barely move in the local community pool for all the kids, and you never went into the kiddies pool because it got yellow real fast lol.

So, I left the park and started on a path that was now very familiar to me since it was part of the shorter one I used in the past two or three months trying to get my walking legs and body back in shape. I turned the corner, and there were like 5 or 6 younger guys (turns out they were all around 25 and good friends) kicking a soccer ball and loading up several SUV's to the hilt.

It turns out they were going camping to celebrate a friend's birthday, and it was a really short drive. They looked really happy and were even happy to chat with me for a bit, showing mutual respect to each other and me. Looks like they listened closely to parents who really cared about them and didn't feel guilty catering to every demand they gave their parents.

Now, I finally made it back to my apartment building and was talking to a lady coming out of the elevator describing the empty community pool, and she said it was packed when I was a kid and sort of had the same look of dismay as I did. Where are they? They are probably hiding in their rooms playing on the computer, eating and drinking way too much sugar, not getting enough meaningful social contact and making their future life shorter and shorter.

Well, what did I learn today?

• I'm on the absolute right track getting more exercise, drinking lots of water, cutting way back on sugar and fat in my diet.
• My combo of running shoes and insoles is really good. I need to work on stride and posture in my walking steps and also try the shoes without the added cushioning from the Dr. Scholl's foot beds, which later turned out to allow the shoe to fit much wider, lower one's centre of gravity, and reduce the forward pitch of attack quite a bit.
• Talking to people has multiple benefits in that you learn from them, you break up the monotony of longer walks and get physical breaks looking for shade on hot days and have a happier disposition.
• I probably will sleep much better tonight after releasing a lot of tension and working a lot of muscles and joints that were screaming pretty loudly but appreciative of the attention they are now getting.
• I am at the stage of life where walking is a new experience all over, similar to when you break a leg and have to walk around with crutches and a cast. You must take it slow and remember basic high school physics: center of gravity and bend your knees, not at the hip.
• I also reaffirmed that I talk too much, but if you learn how to temper that and use your ears twice as much as your mouth, people will be drawn to you. That's how you make meaningful friendships.

If you read this far, you are a better man or woman than me. I would have blown this story off after the 2nd or 3rd "So, I" lol. The experts say: 

You should never write in the first person. It is correct writing procedure to write in the 3rd person.

Kiss my large Canadian @$$ so-called experts. I write from the heart.

Y'all have a wunnerful day!