I have always enjoyed walking. It gives one a perspective on things we often miss while driving. I loved walking so much I once walked 2,184 miles along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. If you are one of the last remaining people in the world who I haven’t told about the hike, now you know.
When I walk, wherever I walk, I often play music in my mind as a sort of pace setter. On the trail—yes, that one—I developed some favorites depending on the weather and trail conditions. On those days when it was not too strenuous, the song Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull set a good pace. On tougher days, with more difficult terrain or the frequent downpour, Stay the Night by Jane Olivor would run through my head, setting a leisurely pace and keeping my mind off the misery.
The days of long trail journeys of several months’ durations are over for me. But walking is not. We still walk whenever we can. Be it a stroll along an Aruban beach, a Croatian city, a Moroccan Desert, or just along the street, walking is still a pleasure.
Another thing has changed, the soundtrack in my mind—brought about by our most frequent companion on our walks, our grandson Levi.
When it comes to pushing a stroller, it would seem the theme from the original Mickey Mouse Club—which Levi enjoys listening too along with the soundtrack from Encanto, La Bamba by Richie Valens, Bamboleo by Gypsy Kings, and Barbra Ann by the Beach Boys—is the perfect rhythm.
Where once my pace was set by “In the shuffling madness of the Locomotive Breath” I now walk this earth to “Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me…”
Why? Because I love it….
