Blogging about walking, 6.6 miles each way

I walk and I walk and I walk. Except for the occasional yahoo who thinks it funny to scream out of his moving vehicle at a random pedestrian and my fear of stepping on a snake, it's always pleasing to me to spend an hour or two on foot. That is, if and when this father of three little ones has an hour or two to spare.

The car's a mess yet again and, lacking the funds to even get it looked at, I'm happy to put one foot in front of the other and, in the words of Poi Dog Pondering, "get to know things better when they go by slow." I called one co-worker yesterday when I discovered that there was a car problem and she was kind enough to swing by and pick me up on her way in. Later that night, my shift ended two hours before hers and so I made the choice to walk home instead of waiting in the cafeteria for her to clock out and take me in her car.

I was maybe a mile or two into my walk when I heard a female voice offer me a ride. As I was approaching the part of the journey that has no street lights, I answered her invitation with a quick reply in the affirmative. She laughed and said that her friends would kill her if they found out that she gave a stranger a ride. I laughed back and shared that my family would do the same to me if they found out that I took a ride from a stranger. We promised not to hurt each other and had a nice time talking about life, kids, etc. for the rest of the ride.

This morning I had to be in at 8 a.m. and so I left home at six and got to see the sky at a time of day that I'm usually sleeping. I got maybe halfway there when another co-worker saw me and gave me a ride in. I clocked out eight hours later at 4 p.m., changed clothes in the locker room, and enjoyed a full two hours of iPod listening and walk-walk-walking.

One day I'll be in better financial shape and the walking won't be such a necessary thing. At least for now the weather is good, I get rides from time to time, and I choose to look at the walking as a positive thing (for my legs and heart). Now I think I'll check Craigslist and see if anyone's selling a bicycle for cheap.