The Walking Begins...

Apparently I did not consume a proper ration of coffee this morning at 6:47 to ensure that I be fully alert. Because at approximately 6:49 I was nearly knocked down by an owl. Or rather, it seemed that way to my under-coffeed self.

The sun was yet up, and I was crossing a bridge over the creek by our house on my way to school (by foot) when a large object rushed past me not more than 5 feet away and alighted on a large tree directly to the right of me. After a few fractions of a second of jumbled awareness and limbs, I realized that perched in the tree was a large (1 1/2 feet tall) owl.

This was certainly an fantastic beginning to a quest that I have been long thinking about, and too lazy to endeavor, until this morning. It is a 10 mile round trip walk from our house to Cleveland State Community College where I am currently enrolled. There are more direct routes but I chose one that included a wooded trail following a creek and secluded alleys through the "historic district" of Cleveland.

While I am smarting throughout my body, I am very pleased with the experience. I've often read about(and experienced in short) the richer world of a slow walk, as compared to the speedy blur that is car travel. It is true, not only did I have plenty of time to awaken my mind and body before I plunged into study, but all around were things to been seen, the owl, abundant birds, people yelling at dogs, turtles, &c.

On my way home my mind began to relish its current purity and started considering all of the delightful amendments it aught to make to the pursuit of walking. Such is my foolishness, once I obtain something good, I set right about with disconnected want.

"I should get some nice walking shoes, I should get a good pack that won't rip open and strain my back so, I should get some proper walking pants and bloomers, I should get, buy, need, want, get.

I managed to fend off these thoughts and took joy again in the idea of wearing out my current collection of suitable pants, shoes, pack, in the spirit of Thoreau.

This is all a bit jumbled and I will save some of the other things to talk about for later walks.