On Deciding to Walk

I just finished reading The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty about a fat man who bikes from Rhode Island to Los Angeles, along the way becoming physically, emotionally, and psychologically fit. Everyone ought to read this book, even those of you who have good health, because our tendency is to forget things that we once held close to our hearts. McLarty's novel is a metaphor for remembering all that's been forgotten, discovering anew all those things, the good as well as the bad, that make us individuals and yet join as a human family.

I've always wanted to make a cross-country trip. I've always thought I'd do so by car. At times, I thought I'd do so by bike or motorcycle. After reading The Memory of Running, I've decided to do it by foot. By car would not be a test of endurance and the trip would be too fast. My hands, I think, would be too traumatized by the lean into the handlebars. Even after a causual bike ride my hands become numb. But my feet and legs are in good shape.

I'm fortunate in that I have summers off, my health is fairly decent, and my feet and legs can take me forward without ill effect. I am therefore planning to walk from the Arch in St. Louis to Tor House in Carmel, California, next summer (2007). Between now and then, there'll be a lot of planning--the route, for instance--as well as a lot of thinking about the meaning and consequences of such a walk.

Here in this space you can follow my progress.