Not Idling In Traffic

This was my view as I completed my 100th mile in my quest to walk 100 miles this month. I managed to do it in half the time, and now I'm going to see how many miles I can add to my total during the next couple of weeks. I've gotten Willow interested in walking too, and she has already racked up 50 miles since she started keeping track. I think one of the main reasons I like walking, other than the obvious health benefits, is that I notice more of the little details in the world around me. Of course, walking in suburban neighborhoods, the details often end up being trash and graffiti. Not always though. There is a lot of wildlife and occasionally, interesting free things sitting on curbs. Personally, walking is a reaction against the laziness I see around me. Near the top of the list of things that irritate me are people who spend extra time driving around parking lots waiting for a space to open up right in front of the store, rather than simply parking at the other end of the lot where spaces are plentiful. The same goes for the long line of SUVs idling in front of every school at pick up and drop off time as lazy parents wait for their kids to run into traffic to climb aboard. There are always plenty of parking places within a block or two to the school too. Think of the gas people would save, and think of the positive change in local air quality if people left their vehicles of unusual size at home, or at the very least, parked them and walked a few extra feet. Irritation is a powerful motivator, apparently.

Speaking of irritation, or at least irritation coupled with amusement, while Jeanine and I were walking the other day, we passed a shopping center where a couple of major businesses, a video store and a grocery store (Blockbuster and PW, if you must know), had recently gone out of business. Next to the two empty storefronts was a tanning salon, its garish neon sign advertising that it was open for business. It's interesting to me that a grocery store, which provides something that all people need, would cease to exist while a tanning salon, which provides something you can get for free by STANDING OUTSIDE, would succeed while the grocery store next to it failed.

Go figure.

Currently listening to: Whip "Timesbold"