The main activity in 92128 is walking, a solo sport – if your social distancing – and an available outlet for anxiety and cabin fever. In normal times, there are many fewer walkers and some of those are legendary, like Walking John and my wife who gets four to five miles in every morning. These storied walkers no longer stand out as they blend into the newly formed crowd. Today’s walkers span the spectrums of age, body type and style. Everyone from the obese to the nonagenarian is racking up the miles.
Thoreau once told us that, “an early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day” and the 92128 folks are buying in.
When I was a bit younger I destroyed my back in a series of overexertions and other stupid moves. Then I married a marathoner and knew that I must do a race now and then to be a part of the scene. Walking was my only choice for cohesive forward movement, so I started to train for half marathons. I read about pace, form, nutrition and training plans. In short order, I had completed nine races in three Western states. I learned to read the road, lean into the hills and persevere through eighteen weeks of training. I met wonderful people for whom distance walking was a way of life.
The type of walking I do today is less focused and much less intense. There is no point-to-point mandate …no finish line. Timing is also different because speed – other than maintaining a healthy pace – is not a factor. There are no medals. That is not as important as how long we remain upright and moving. What we walk away from and what we walk toward is, of course, the story of our lives in the most elemental way.
The 92128 walkers are blessed by stunning flowers, bizarre and beautiful succulents and the occasional coyote sighting. Friends who meet by chance, dutifully cross the road to maintain proper distance as they shout hellos and good wishes to each other. It is a SCENE. As you move in a way that mimics the firing of your brain from left to right again and again, a meditative state is not hard to come by. Time warps as pleasant sensations grow. We have some friends who own a running gear store and they tell us that the senior walker market is growing every day. No surprise given the benefits received.
So I sit on my porch and watch 92128 in motion. It is one of the few benefits we have from our current circumstances. We are all getting something out of it… a little peace, a deeper breath and if we go long enough a nice endorphin dump. In a real way we are achieving something even if it’s only a cure for cabin fever. You must go out and get it – it will not be delivered to your door. As Yogi Berra once said, ” I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.”
Don’t be late for class.
Olio Folio 