Walking Slowly

(Flowers in hollowed-out river birch, 11/7/08)
Yesterday I went for a walk. Not the way I used to go for a walk. This walk had nothing to do with making my heart pump faster so I could reap some aerobic benefits...No, this walk was just because the day was perfect and I needed to be outside to absorb it.

I tied on my running shoes, even though I knew I'd be walking in a manner that would not jeopardize either my comfort or my safety had I been wearing flip-flops. (Do little old ladies even wear flip-flops?)

(Pumpkin, the morning after, 11/7/08)

At the last second, I grabbed my camera, even though that usually turns out to be a waste of time and money. (Although I'm certain that even I could learn how to use one of those marvelous digital numbers that everyone has these days, I stubbornly insist that I love the mystery involved in having to wait for pictures to be developed -- even if it's only for one hour -- before I can see what I got. Kind of like not wanting to know the sex of your child before it's born, I guess.) Sometimes I get lucky, and I figured the absolute beauty of the day made it at least worth a try.

As I set out, I deliberately forced myself to walk in slow motion, knowing there was a risk that I would look ridiculous should anyone happen to see me. I figured that as long as I wasn't making large, flowing arm motions and gesticulating wildly with my face as they do in cartoons, no one should be frightened enough to call the authorities.

This new style of movement took a lot of concentration on my part, being used, as I was, to moving briskly and purposefully whenever I walk -- no point in missing an opportunity to get a good workout, you know. Eventually, though, it started becoming more natural...

That's when I was able to let my mind wander to other matters -- which comes completely naturally to me! I remembered my camera, and began snapping pictures of whatever captured my interest. The first couple shots I took were of slightly decayed pumpkins grimacing from front porches. However, since I apparently didn't have the right film and/or camera settings for the bright, sunny conditions, most of my photos were washed out. There were a few, however, that I consider worth including here...

(Red Tree/Yellow Tree, 11/7/08)

As I walked, now actually reveling in the beauty I was seeing (although failing to capture much of it on film) I started thinking about retirement. That struck me as odd, since I'm about to embark on a new career (albeit a seasonal career) as a book shelfer. But there it was. I have decided that if and when I do retire, I'm going to take a slow-motion walk every single day. (And after seeing the disappointing results of my photo journaling, I'm going to invest in a digital camera!)

Ok. So my photographs may not win any awards, and I may not have increased my aerobic capacity one iota. But I did make a new friend...

I was just getting into my photo-journalist fantasy when I noticed a man (of the little-old variety that I love so much) raking leaves in his yard. My first impulse was to just keep walking so as not to disturb him. Then I noticed a pot of purple flowers beside his driveway, so I threw caution to the wind and asked him if I could photograph them. I'm sure he thought I was from National Geographic or something, and he welcomed me cordially. He showed me around his yard, making other suggestions, and if not for him, I would not have gotten my two favorite shots -- the flowers in the river birch, and the red tree juxtaposed in front of the yellow tree.

And now I can add slo-mo walking to shufflogging on the list of things that I can do without making my blood oxygen level drop dangerously. Life continues to be good!