Simple walk proves we haven’t ruined ourselves yet
I’ve become one of those walkers. Sad!
Seriously: If you told me … heck, even two years ago I was going to be a regular walker, that I was going to take my exercise by walking, that I was going to say things like “take my exercise,” that I would be the guy on the side of the road - walking! - I might’ve punched you in the face. Walking is so lame.
But when the lockdown hit last spring, I, along with about every other human being on Earth, decided I needed to fill some of my time with some form of exercise. I started by downloading a few apps, and that lasted for about a week.
One day, I decided to take a walk, probably in an effort to escape my family for a bit. I popped in my earbuds and away I went.
And I liked it. Was out for about an hour, felt pretty good, got some “me” time, what have you. So I kept at it.
Today, I still walk. Probably five days a week, I get in at least an hour-long walk. I listen to podcasts, and I walk. I take main roads, side roads, woods treks. I like it. It’s fun.
But it’s something else about these walks that consistently makes me happy, that gives me hope that everything is going to be OK, that we haven’t completely ruined our country with political divisiveness and just plain bad behavior: The move, the nod, the smile, the wave.
It happens every time. I’ll be walking one way, someone will be coming the other way. Once we spot each other and once we’re within probably 500 feet of each other, one of us makes the move. Maybe you go from sidewalk to street, or on to the grass, or if you’re going to pass in the woods, one pauses and steps off the beaten path and bides their time a little further into the woods.
And then, when the official pass happens, there’s always - always - a simple nod, a smile, and a wave of acknowledgement.
This is not typical neighborly behavior; this is like the 10 days post 9/11 when everyone let everyone else go first through the door. Of course, this is coronavirus-related behavior; it’s people - strangers - just assuming the other is sufficiently freaked out by the pandemic to do the right thing and step aside. No one is asking each other where they stand on politics; they’re just doing the right thing, every single time.
So the move to the side gives me hope. But it’s the next part of it all that really buoys my spirits. Everyone gives that same wave of acknowledgement, everyone smiles, and everyone gives that nod. Sometimes a “hello” is exchanged, other times a “how ya doin’?”
It’s so stupidly simple all of this, but it is also so incredibly huge.
I got news for you: I don’t remember this happening before. Usually you pass a stranger, you just keep walking.
But not anymore. Today, you step aside to show respect for their health, and you wave, nod, and say hello in respect for their humanity.
It’s a beautiful freaking thing, you ask me.
Here’s hoping this sticks around, post-coronavirus.