Walking

I miss walking. No, not walking from the car to the door at Wendy's or from the couch to the refrigerator. I miss walking that leaves me tired, wears down my heels, and lets me view the world from the sidewalk. In the United States, we only walk when absolutely necessary whereas in other countries walking is more important. In South America, people walk all the time. I wish people would walk more in the US.

I first noticed this phenomena in Lima, Peru about 10 years ago. Most people walk, because they don't have cars. They must walk to get to the bus stop, to get a cab, or to get to wherever they're going. Some people walk (or run) outside for exercise.

My favorite place to walk (and to watch people walk) was Buenos Aires. I would walk 20 minutes to school everyday and would walk to get to the bus stop, the subway, the internet cafe, or the ice cream shops....

The best time to walk in Buenos Aires was in the morning. I would walk the flooded streets at about 8am and see a wide variety of people. Some usual walkers included the businessmen (briefcases and all), dog walkers with up to 5 or more dogs (watch out for surprises on the sidewalk), men shouting out their piropos (flirty remarks), and elderly people inching their way down the side walk.

I realize that it is difficult most of the time to walk in the US. Without public transportation, walking is almost impossible. Places are just too far to walk. Our busy schedules and general laziness tend to eliminate any possibility of walking even short distances. Walking could, however, help the grotesque amount of obesity found here and help the overall health of our nation.