You Wanna Piece of Me....HOLE?

Yesterday, 10 plus miles, 2 honks, 3 hoots/hollers, 5 CD dropping incidents, 4 blisters, a rubbed raw IUTA (i-oo-t-uh) [Inner Upper Thigh Area}, and soaking wet clothes ended my evening walk. After walking the 2.29 miles to and fro work (total 4.58 miles), I decided I hadn't exercised enough so off I go again. Of course, I over do EVERYTHING I take a hankering to. One of my friends started a new retail job down the road, so I thought I'd go visit her and benefit from the 90 degree sunny weather in terms of UV rays adding to my ever darkening skin and multiplying moles, which most likely will be skin cancer in a couple years. Anyhow, Columbus has a lack of sidewalks, so for a few legs of the journey(s) I'm forced to share the under-construction 2-lane roadway with motor vehicles, RUDE and obnoxious motor vehicles mind you.

I'm not sure if the honks were people being friendly to pedestrians, or if they were just trying to make me feel dumb for walking, but I know the hoots/hollers were for the shirt I was wearing. Sauza Tequila. On the back is a stop sign that reads "If it feels good, don't stop, Sauza Tequila". My deductions lead me to believe those hooters and hollerers were drunk drivers. Thanks for NOT running me over in a drink induced coma, Your Unlawfulness!

I walk the 3 miles to this place my friend works, and she's not even there. Which is fine, because the walk was for health. But it was slightly disappointing not to be able to say "hi". Oh well. The phone works. 3 miles back to my house. I pass a total of 6 people walking. 6. That's it. No wonder Columbus ranks amongst the fattest cities in America. It's pretty discouraging to discover the car oriented mentality of this region. It bodes badly for EVER getting a convenient public transit system in place.

Ok that was a lot of complaining. The many good things I've found other than the physical benefits:

1) Walking lets you take in the scenery and it actually puts things on a comprehensive human level. When you see the trees, flowers, landmarks, etc. for more than just a blur, as they are in a car. It gives a grounded belonging feeling. I think the isolation of always being in a car "bubble" is bad for my psyche. I like to feel a part of things, I love being in the now, not worrying about getting someplace. Walking removes the stress of always being in control of the 20k piece of machinery that a false move, or someone else's mistake can cost you tons of money. Just in the past couple of days my shoulders and neck are noticeable looser.

2) I find myself remembering and thinking about things I probably would never recall due to visual memory queues. For instance. It rained on Monday morning, causing tiny toadstools to grow. Naturally, my first thought was to pick them, eat them, and hope they were shrooms - what a fun day of work that would be - but I didn't. Instead, it reminded me of these enormous toadstools that used to grow in a pine grove behind my grandparent's house and how the neighbor kid and I would use them as GI Joe shelters/battlements. What a joy it was to smash that fungus when my army anhilated his, or vice-versa. Yup, there was a fungus amoung us.

3) It gives me wind down time from work (again, de-stressing).

4) There are a couple of sporty ladies that run past me every morning! I've smiled at them and said 'hi', but they're so focused they keep going. Actually, I think that's the impression they want to give me. But what they're really thinking is "oooo he's the hottest thing since sliced bread became toast and I want him, but he wouldn't go for a jogging girl. No, not with those love handles and man boobs. I guess I better eat some more to be in his league so he'll notice me".

Uh, perhaps too much oxygen is causing delusions .........or was it that toadstool that practically tore itself from the ground and jumped in my mouth when that hole in the ground grabbed my foot and threw me down. You wanna piece of me, ....Hole! Don't make me get some top soil and FYI (fill you in)!

Song of the day: "When My Ship Comes In" Clint Black (though instead of the Rockies and Colorado, insert Appalachians and Ohio).