My Year of Walking

Originally submitted by: barcode 2x

The Green movement and the simultaneous rise in gas prices have forced many changes upon our culture. And it hits all of us. So I walk now, and fill up my car with gas only once every few weeks. A few years back, my wife and I moved to Ann Arbor's far-West Side, an up-and-coming neighborhood. It's the area West of downtown, and we like it for many reasons, but location was a big one. Before gas hit $3, we wanted to be closer to work. We saved money and hassle. And now, it is 2008, an historic year, and I am ripe for change. This summer I have begun walking to work. It takes me about 30-40 minutes, and I am going to try to keep it up all year. If I can do a year, I can go for the rest of my life. I make exceptions for emergencies, but I just leave a bit earlier in the morning and arrive sweaty but energized at my destination. I walk briskly. I share the road with other walkers, with joggers, and with cyclists. There is courtesy and tact involved. We communicate. We sometimes might share an umbrella, and we're perfect strangers. I use the time to listen to music, zone out, and think about what's ahead. I have networked on the walk. I run into people I know, and people I recognize. I bring a bag with water, a book, a laptop, which really strains my back, but it will get better, I'm sure. I put in a few miles each day. I am in better shape now than I was in my early 20s. I stopped to tie my shoe and make a phone call. There is nothing wrong with using the phone or text messaging while walking. There is no road rage. While stopped, I left my water bottle on a fencepost. I had a few extra minutes, so two blocks ahead, I turned aroud when I realized I had forgotten it. An old man was a block ahead of me. When I got back to the fencepost and the water bottle was in sight, I saw the old man take off his backpack and unzip it. He was going to scavenge it. I zipped ahead of him, grabbed it, took a swig, and tipped my hat, and he grumbled at me. It's a good water bottle, it's made of the right kind of plastic, I'm not going to lose it. About the hat. I wear a wide-brimmed Panama hat, which is very Ann Arbor. My friends think I look insane. It keeps the sun off my neck and shoulders. I like the look, actually. And it's a birth control device. Wear it, and nobody will talk to you. Cyclists are my main pet peeve. They use the sidewalk, even when they have their own lane in the road. I have never been hit, but they go very fast some times, and the other day I saw a biker downtown ram into the Chase Bank building on Main street. There is a buildup of foot traffic nowadays. An increase in bikes too. We have to watch out for each other, and we have to stick to the laws. I don't jaywalk. Cyclists, I think, should stick to their lane. It's called a sidewalk for a reason. The pollution is an issue. I feel like I shouldn't breathe on particularly still days. When there is a breeze, you get some relief from the exhaust. When the air just hangs there, you are walking through clouds of black smoke. It is social. It is active. It is involved. Walking is an activity that engages you in your environment. It allows you to admire and critique your surroundings. Last week I used my car only once. I got stuck in traffic in the rain and cursed like a maniac. I cursed myself that I had not walked. Today I saw a father and son mowing a lawn together with a newfangled oldfashioned whirlingblade pushmower. They ran in rows, grass flying, laughing, and I laughed too. The other son sat reading on a porch swing. I admire gardens. I watch houses go up for sale. I watch them sell. Or sit. I see the world broken up into blocks. I am a neighborhood watch, a guardian angel. The other day a DETOUR sign had been knocked over. I considered options. If I left it, motorists would get lost. It blew down over the sidewalk. It could trip someone in the dark. Kill a cyclist! And yet, it's not my fault that it fell over. It's the city, right? But how many city workers are there on duty, and don't they have better things to do? And aren't I a citizen? Walking to defend the right to choose the ethical life? I picked it up, sandbagged it, and walked on. I pumped a fist in the air. This is my year on my feet. My shoes are wearing out. I need to buy a new pair. But I need to find a brand that doesn't enslave children in the middle east to construct the shoes. So that's my current mystery.