ince I’m retired but ordered off the beloved bike because of medical reasons, I’ve taken to walking. I can venture out two miles from the house (giving me a comfortable range of operations). Given that most shops are a mile or less away, it’s pretty handy as well as a utilitarian way to combine exercises and errands.

So I needed a scythe. The weeds at the club are getting long and I need a way to mow them down (the grass, of course, is inert in winter). Walked over to the hardware store and bought the tool, then hooked it over my shoulder and walked back up Bumby Avenue along the mixed-use trail. Had a book under the other arm since I was going to grab breakfast at the diner on the way home.

So the people blowing by in their cars on Bumby, they aren’t looking outside their TV shutdown pinpoint of perception. They are focused on their thoughts and cell phone calls (and probably not on the car in front of them, and certainly not on simple pedestrians). But if they did notice me, what would they make of me?

Am I a scholastic agrarian walking out to my shared plot for my simple day of labor and learning? Or am I some modern form of the Grim Reaper, with my scythe and book of doomed souls (and yes, after lunch I bought a Get Well card for a friend – did that ever complete the image)? But I doubt they noticed me. Traffic and commuting narrows the focus.

See, I’ve seen so many things on my walks. Like where the new sidewalk loops around a middle-aged tree. Or the guy who cares for the peacocks (and gave me a merry hello and asked if I was looking for weeds to use my scythe on – no thanks!). Or the Oriental post lady who always is out in the mornings, having what sounds like an endless phone conversation with friends and relatives.

So many things to see. So many things to write about. Get out and take a walk. Eyes open!

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