DocAndersen
Over the years, my dog and I have walked a long distance. Dylan has walked with me for more than eight years now. We have averaged 2 miles per day (average, and he is older and can’t walk as far now) or somewhere between 7000 and 9000 miles. That is a lot of wear and tear on his feet! Dogs are great walking companions; the other people that walk with me are my wife and the twins. My wife and I use our workday morning walks (early) to get ready for work, exercise, and of course, a chance to connect before the workday. Often I head off to Virginia or DC, and my wife is off and about to the county in Maryland where we live. She drives a lot.
Before Dylan, the dog that walked with me was Gwen. Fran hurt her leg when she was young, and it never fully recovered. So she couldn’t walk more than about a ½ mile. Gwen and I used to walk five or six miles a day when we lived in Cincinnati. She also got older and couldn’t walk as far, plus I went back to running when we moved back to Indiana. Hurting my knee a second time convinced me to stop running, but by then, Gwen was too old to walk far. Fran, as mentioned, couldn’t, so I walked along for the last three years we were in Indiana. Walking is relaxation for me. Yes, it is tough when you walk, and the air temperature is so close to your body temperature (or higher) that it is hard to cool off.
But it is relaxing to me. When I was running and traveling, I always found it better to run. When I was in Shanghai, I ran on a treadmill indoors (the air wasn’t right for breathing outdoors). Over the years, as my knees decayed, I found great joy in walking. Yesterday I was thinking about the time I spend walking. Often I simply think. Sometimes I listen to an Audio Book. Rarely anymore do I listen to music. I used to when I ran to listen to music. Over the years I ran, I destroyed multiple AM/FM radios. I also went through CD Players (portable) and Tape Players (laptop). Lots of them, more than 10 I suspect over the years. The rise of digital means I only carry my phone with me now.
This work is Copyright DocAndersen. Any resemblance to people real or fictional in this piece is accidental (unless explicitly mentioned by name.)
She is beautiful. Sorry about her leg.
sorry fran was the dog – i try to avoid people’s names online for security…
You are the lucky recipient of random comment number 193 “There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”— Walt Streightiff
i use that one all the time – it is really true