Walking and Talking
March 3, 2010, by Christie Healey
From Christie Healey’s perspective, going on foot could be just the cure for what ails us.
Its Saturday morning and the winter is coming to an end. Although here on the tundra we are wary of any irrational exuberance until May. The phone rang and I heard Heidi’s voice say, “Want to go for a walk?” I cannot think of anything I would rather do at this moment than join her and her beautiful sad-eyed dog Sara on a stroll around the Lake Como in the crystal sunshine.
My mum and dad would take a walk every Sunday afternoon. They talked quietly while my sister and I wandered along with them, playing make-believe games and seeing who could run the fastest. In the past few years I have become a walker again. There is singular joy in strolling along talking to my companions or, when I am alone, talking to myself. It seems as if walking frees the tongue and the mind. Difficult topics can be broached more easily; old hurts can be mended, secrets may be revealed, sadness might suddenly find release, and laughter often comes unexpectedly.
You see and experience more when walking. Recently I was in Hawaii visiting my son. We took a long walk to a remote beach. Kerri, Fred’s partner, spotted the whales just off shore. We saw great splashes and spouts as they breached and slammed their flukes, two different worlds in joyful harmony.
Walking with Cathy once, we passed a man in obvious physical distress; he said his name was Charlie. Cathy called for help and we stayed with him until he assured us and the emergency personnel he was okay. As we continued on our walk Cathy said, laughing, “We’re Charlie’s Angels.” The next day we went for a long hike on the Northern California coast. Late in the afternoon we walked down a hill confident that we would see her car at the bottom. We must have been distracted by our conversation because when we reached the road we realized we had taken the wrong path and were a few miles from the car. Two young men stopped and asked if everything was okay. We told them the problem and they offered to drive us to the car. We dithered a bit because one should be cautious, but something in our senses, an echo perhaps from the previous day when we had offered assistance to a stranger, told us to accept the offer. One wrong turn becomes a good turn, and we know what a good turn deserves.
I wonder if the humans were nicer creatures when we walked more. The wanderer on foot has not always been seen as a threat. The great traditions of hospitality grew out of the possibility of the news and stories that would be imparted when a walker entered the camp. There was honor in sharing one’s food and water with travelers. My mum called tramps “Gentlemen of the Road.”
It is possible that if President Obama had taken all the politicians on a strenuous hike the other day instead of sitting in a room in Blair House for eight hours, we might have seen a different, more positive outcome. It is difficult to walk and pontificate at the same time. There is a risk of stumbling on. On the other hand one might just forget the path one was supposed to take and find something different works just as well. Should we demand that Congress walk first and pass laws second? Come on Washington, get out of those buildings and Nike-up. You’ll be amazed what you’ll see and learn.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:16 am
It looks like Spring here too today. However
there are still hidden patches of ice. I am itching
to get out though. Thanks for the carrot.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 am
A beautiful blog, Christie. I’m a life-long walker. I lived in LA without a car for years and pretty much walked alone, but when I moved to New York, I felt I’d come home. Everybody walks there. As for talking, well, lots of people do that there too, just cross the street.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:26 am
Yes and yes to both speculations, Christie.
Yes, humans would be nicer creatures if we walked–and exercised in general–more. Nothing makes us nastier than being hyped up on charbucks, cooped up in a car in bumper-to-bumper traffic, listening to horrific “news” on the radio (or worse, hatemongering by Rush, Sean et al), and realizing we’re late to work no matter how early we leave our homes. Double that stress and the resultant hostility if you have to stuff yourself in a urine-drenched subway with strangers who look as if they came straight from jail or beating their dog.
Yes again to your speculation about the Health Care Summit. Teddy Roosevelt used to force those who would meet with him, including foreign diplomats, to ride horseback to the Potomac, strip naked and take a plunge–no matter what the weather! They had to keep up not only with his brilliance, but his robust outlook on life as well. And those missing both those qualities were often too winded to oppose his vision, which was extraordinarily far-sighted giving rise to National Parks, workers’ rights, environmentalism and, ironically, a call for national healthcare, among other goodies that the Republicans would like to wish into the cornfield.
A thoroughly thought-provoking essay, Christie.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:33 am
So many great reasons to walk! Getting out in nature or shopping in urban areas; talking with friends or, as you say, to oneself. It’s a toss up: walking and talking, or eating, drinking and talking, which is my favorite way to socialize and catch up with my pals? Christie, I miss our walks!
My friend Nancy made a New Years resolution last year to visit the East Bay regional state parks on a regular basis. We’re fortunate enough to live a stones throw away from many of them and we’ve been doing that regularly. So good for the soul and the body! Thanks Christie for celebrating something so simple, free and freeing!
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Here here! to congress walking first and passing laws second. I can’t think of anything I’d rather see more than all those unfit (in so many ways!) white men having to huff and puff from walking rather than from all that hot air they’re always spewing.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Besides the obvious, that I’ve been “walking” since I was about a year old, I’ve been walking for my health for more than twenty years. It has always been my primary source of exercise, and when I lived in San Francisco for 3 years, I learned just how aerobic it can be, not to mention incredibly social and adventurous. I’ve written often about walking, but I must say, I thought this blog was wonderfully insightful. And I totally agree the pontificating legislators should get off their behinds! Way to go, Christie! Have you forwarded your suggestion to your Senators yet?
March 4th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Yes, those politicians should Nike up for some New Balance!
March 5th, 2010 at 7:27 am
Lovely post
.