Life is a Highway
1/09/24 – Day 232 – 1587 miles
I’ve missed you. I took the month of December off (Hey! Its Christmas dammit! Cut me some slack will ya). Actually, it feels good to be plodding the byways again, or to paraphrase Van Morrison
“Hark now hear the walker’s cry
Walk the street and feel the sky
Let my soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic”.
A few of you (very few) may recall I’d taken a sabbatical from the quest back in the fall to mend some fences, which of course I never got roundto. Well those fences got mended during the break. Specifically, I refinished the floors in my daughter’s bedroom in preparation for her first visit back home in eons. It was –one busy- holiday season. Somehow the joy seems a bit sweeter when completing a task thats been slid to the procrastination burner, rather than just hauling off and doing the thing the moment it’s recognized. Ms. Gulch was right when she said “These things must be done delll-i-cately“. The gratification of accomplishing tasks on yer to-do list is to know your limits and not loading the list to the point you hide from it like a Jehova’s Witness at the door.
Speaking of the holiday season, did any of you make a resolution? Easy to speak & Hard to keep. Counting the number of times on fingers (and toes) I’ve gotten only the talking part done, would require a Kafka dream and waking to find I’ve morphed into a millipede. Besides resuming my walk’in thingee, I decided to imbibe in Dryuary. While walking does make a man powerful thirsty, not partaking does put a petit mousse of effervescence in his step. Let us all raise an empty glass.
About the title of this post, it refers to those rural by-ways around the periphery of the County I’ve resigned myself to. As mentioned in the previous “Mystic Portal” post, I need to bump up the mileage a scosche to get to that magic AT number of 2200. What better way to get there than to circumcise the county. I began that in Dasher with a circuitous route that took me up the longest stretch of dirt road I’ve walked; the lower and upper Grand Bay Roads, through Naylor to Old State Rd (AKA, Knights Academy Rd.). From here out, I’ll be plodding only state and county super-slabs, the unpleasantness of which (for a pedestrian) closely rivals the environment of the Interstate. The one caveat is that I’ve been checked on several times by concerned motorist and law enforcement to make sure I’m “alright” (The verdict: not yet returned).
This week’s trek will carry me west from Walkers Crossing to the Little River. A fur piece for some, but for a walker, its only a couple of inches on the county map. It just takes a little perspective. One of the points I passed along the way this week was the entrance to The Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area. For too many Lowndites, its a 2600 acre free treasure yet to be discovered. Go explore that. It’s a day well spent. I’ve entertained the notion of walking all public trails when I run out of asphalt, and I probably will. Miles of walking trails within the Grand Bay are in my sights.
Quote of the Week:
Annabel Streets (yes that’s really her name): – 52 Ways to Walk-
“Yes, good physical and mental health are happy by-products . But the joys of walking are infinitely greater than clocking up steps. Think of it as a means of unraveling towns and cities, of connecting with nature, of bonding with our dogs, of fostering friendships, of finding faith and freedom, of giving two [middle] fingers to air-polluting traffic, of nurturing our sense of smell, of satisfying our cravings for starlight and darkness, of helping us appreciate the exquisitely complicated and beautiful world we inhabit”.
Lets go for a walk.