A Breath of Fresh Air

I walked today for the first time in a long time — just walked. Maybe it’s the weather, or maybe it was just time, but I got out there with no destination in mind — me and my camera — seeing what I could find, but really just to get a breath of fresh air. Now, I’m not an outdoors person by any stretch of the imagination, quite the contrary, but there’s something about mindless meandering that appeals to me.

There were others out, but no one else was just walking. I passed by a porch where three ladies were sunning themselves and chatting as if they had been sitting there all day long. Maybe they had. Porch sitters are pretty popular around here, especially in the springtime. An older man drove past on his motorcycle and waved to me. At least I hope he was waving to me because I waved back. And a teenager passed me on the bridge and said hi. He was definitely talking to me because I was the only other person around.

I’ve lived in this village for nearly 13 years now so it’s interesting how most people I ran into today were people I never recalled seeing before in my life. Maybe that’s testament to how often I simply drive through instead of taking it on foot. Or perhaps that’s because I honestly don’t get out much. A while back I used to jog, but that was probably 7 years ago, and the people who would have been sitting on the porch are probably inside by the TV while the next generation has moved onto the porch.

By the time I got down to Main Street my legs were tired, and I walk all day, but someone told me once that if you walk the same course every day your body gets used to it. So my walking a bit extra, at a different time, on a different tack, woke up my legs, and they were not very happy with me. But I breathed in the air, and exhaled it, and I felt good. I wanted to stay out there and soak up the sun some more. Don’t tell my wife because she will try to get me to do yard work, but you know what I mean. I felt ALIVE.

Maybe it’s all this talk of death lately, or maybe it’s just me getting older, but I savored the experience, and I took photographs of several spots along the way that spoke to me. I think I might do it again later this week, or I’ll talk the kids into doing it with me like we did on a nice day a few weeks ago. There’s nothing quite like it.

Sam