Walking With Bees

I took my walk again the other day and I stopped by the drug store on the way back to browse. After I left the store to walk the rest of the way home I saw a girl a little ways in front of me on a bike. She stopped at one point on the sidewalk and then crossed the busy street in the middle, then continued on her way on the other side. I wondered why she had decided to cross right there. I kept going and soon came upon a swarm of bees next to a wall by the sidewalk. It happened very fast so I just stepped to the side as far as I could to go around them as they were buzzing and flying in a big cloud almost out to the curb. A horrible thought entered my mind as I hurried along, "What if these are KILLER BEES?". I know that much of the southwestern US has been invaded by the Africanized Honey Bees that are very aggressive as opposed to the more docile European honey bees. I have read stories of the killer bees chasing people for blocks and stinging them to death. Well, I kept walking without looking back but I heard a buzzing around my head and a few of the bees were following me! I walked faster and soon they gave up the chase and left me alone.

No Pride, No Shame

I took a walk on Sunday. Sundays were made for walking. It always seems so quiet, especially early in the morning (though I usually like to catch CBS Sunday Morning first before doing anything else, it's one of my favorite weekend programs) and I think that is the best time for walking. I went by the canal that is near here. On one side of the canal is a paved road for pedestrians and bicycles and on the other side, where I walk, is a dirt path. Lots of dog owners take their pooches for walks on the dirt side. I don't know what it is about dog owners (and by the way, I do not hate dogs at all) but are these people more inconsiderate than the general population or what? Maybe the whole society has drifted so far from concern for others and into total selfishness that no one gives a damn anymore, so maybe its not just certain groups, but yesterday on my walk I had to leap over huge piles of steaming dog crap several times. Ever hear of a pooper scooper jerks? Or do you think the world is your doggy's toilet and to hell with everybody else? These dog lovers of course won't let Fido do his business in their yard, that would be disgusting and they'd have to clean it up. It's so much easier to force other people to look at it and step in it, isn't it? You have no shame, lazy dog owners!

Further on I finally saw some huge fish in the deeper water of the canal. They looked as if they were shadows, make believe fish created by an artist. I usually see some ducks on the water, but this time I didn't at first and I figured they must be up the other way where they would be out of view. Finally I did see a pair of ducks, a male and female and their two little ducklings. It was a traditional duck family, I guess. They floated away and I continued on until I reached the end of the path and came to a busy street. I walked down the sidewalk, heading for the local drug store to browse for a few minutes before going home. All along the street and the sidewalk I noticed trash everywhere. Soda cans, broken glass, paper fast food bags and miscellaneous junk. It looked like most of it had been there a while, though new trash continued to be added. I wondered why no one has tried cleaning it up. I also wondered again about people and why they just throw their garbage on the street. That is a habit I never picked up. I have too much respect for others and the community to toss my trash on the street or anywhere else outside a proper trash receptacle. The people who do such things have no shame and no pride at all.

Why I Walk

The following begins an occasional series on things I've listed in my Blogger profile.

I walked to the supermarket yesterday. A few days before I bought some pinto beans from the bulk bin and after I got the beans started I decided to add some ham to them. They have ham steaks at that market for just a couple dollars, so that's where I went. The walk takes 15 minutes or less, and it was a pleasant day out, not too hot but with lots of sunshine and a few friendly clouds. I didn't see any other pedestrians on my walk, just a few kids on bikes. Now, I always wonder why more people aren't out walking on such a nice day. The next door neighbor, for example, always gets in his truck even if he's just going to the corner convenience store for beer, just a block away. In fact, as I was getting back from my walk, he was pulling up to his drive with some more beer. Does beer make you lazy? I'll tackle that question another time, what I really want to know is, where are all the walkers?


Walking is listed as one of my "interests" on my blogger profile, and it really does qualify as such. I've always enjoyed walking, although I don't walk everywhere all the time (no one can) and I do sometimes feel too tired or just a bit lazy to the point that I take the car for even a short trip. But most of the time, when I can, I walk. It is an exercise I will be able to practice for the rest of my life (barring some unforeseen event) and that's one thing I like about it, you're never too old to go walking.

When I worked in San Diego doing customer service for DIRECTV I got in the habit of walking around the block (it was a long block, a half hour walk at least) at lunch time. I always felt better after, even if on occasion I was a bit sweaty as I walked up the final incline back to our building. Sometimes I would just walk to get something to eat and not walk the whole route. There is a food court down the hill from where we worked and most of my coworkers would hop in their cars for lunch, even if they were just going down the hill. I remember one time a young guy in sales walked down to the McDonalds and he complained when he got back about walking back up the hill and how he would NEVER do that again. These were young people, not over thirty in most cases, and yet to even suggest walking anywhere to them (as I sometimes did) would get you a look as if you'd asked them to fly to the moon. I still don't understand that. I got so much out of those walks, enjoying the sounds and the trees along the sidewalk and the familiar sights as I made trip after trip as the months wore on. I miss that walk, but there are, thankfully, an endless supply of great walks, and I'm just now starting to get used to my walks to the grocery store and when I move (as I will, its inevitable) I will find new walks to inspire me and to enjoy.

One thing I don't recommend is to stop walking for any significant amount of time once you've started. I did that at one point due to things going on in my life at the time and found that I quickly got out of shape. I regret my lack of walking then, because not only was I not getting the extra exercise, but I now realize my mood was affected also.

To stay in shape, to get ideas, to meditate, to think, to be alone, to feel better, to notice things you never will from a car, those are some of the reasons I walk. You should give it a try sometime.

I just wanted to add that walking is a great way to take a break as well. When I as selling Directv and depending on commissions for my income I would often take a break by walking. It really helped to relieve the stress when sales weren't going well (dealing with people who called about the service and asked you a million questions but refused to order until they talked to their husband or checked around or some other lame excuse got very frustrating at times) and this was even recommended by our sales manager, although no one but me took the advice. I did take it and walked with it and took advantage of it by taking more than one walk a day at times. Of course when I moved to customer service (a long story) I no longer had the freedom to take as many breaks for as many minutes as I could get away with. They never minded when I was in sales, though, because I always did well and they were paying by sales commissions, not hourly. So, go ahead and talk a short walk if you need to relieve some stress and improve your mood, it really helps.