It is so easy to find excuses not to exercise that it is scary. My logical brain knows that the body needs daily exercise. I have read about several recent studies that link physical exercise with healthy minds in seniors. The studies say that it's not doing crossword puzzles and watching Jeopardy on TV that keeps people mentally sharp; it's physical activity. Yet, even though I believe these findings, my innate indolence is often overpowering.
We are planning a trip to France in September, and I need to get this aging corpus back in condition for lots of walking around. So, I have been making more of a concerted effort to get out on that "daily" walk -- instead of piddling around, reading the papers, weeding and watering the garden, checking our investments online (ie, anything that will keep me from getting out and sweating in the summer heat). For the past week I have been more disciplined, and have managed to walk everyday. I do what I call the "long walk" which is about 2 miles plus and takes between 40 and 50 minutes depending on factors such as people stopping me to ask directions and chatting with fellow health enthusiasts or dog-walkers who I might meet along the way.
I call the regular route "the long walk;" My wife calls it "The Bataan Death March, " on those occasions that I have inveigled her to join me - usually on a Saturday or Sunday. She is still working a 4 day week, which is effectively full-time. It is not practical for her to take a long walk every day. On weekends, she is more disposed to walk, but her aim is relaxation more than exercise. I confess that I am too usually impatient to wait for her to get ready and I am more predisposed to activity that involves sweat than she.
The amazing thing is when we travel she will be able to "keep up" with me, and moreover she will be out seeing the sights while I am napping at the hotel. She derives a mystical energy from travel, and draws magnetic stamina from the historical works of art and culture. These things make me tired.
We travel very well together - she decides what famous sights or museum we will visit; if I get bored or tired I just find a bench and entertain myself watching the other people.
So it happens that I usually take my walks solo. As I walk the familiar route, It is my job as a writer to notice things: I keep tabs on ongoing construction projects, whose lawn needs mowing, any attractive new females along the route, etc.
Some residents seem to be spending lavish sums on beautification - unnecessary and expensive ways to advertise one's wealth. Things like high end fences and stone walls. Or a detached garage made of granite blocks. Don't get me wrong, If I had a lot of wealth I - no doubt - would be as conspicuous as the next rich guy. I don't make judgements about how people spend their dough, as long as they earned it. I do make judgements about some of the things some people do to other people to earn money. (See previous recommendations to apply capital punishment to white collar crime.)
Modest personal circumstances allow me to empathise with folks who don't drive brand new cars, who cannot blithely start a renovation project, who worry about tax increases and inflation, whose only remote hope of experiencing a life of luxury is represented by a mega millions lottery ticket.
Invariably, one of the routine stops on my walks is the convenience store. I plunk down my dollar, and on the way back I enjoy the briefly held hope that I am carrying a winning ticket. I plan the Boston Whaler that I will buy and tie-up to my sumptious home with waterfront dock in Martha's Vineyard. I imagine myself dressed in a new golf outfit belonging to the local country club blasting bad shots into the woods and not giving a crap how much the balls cost. Hey for a buck, it's a cheap way of exploring an agreeable fantasy.
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