A Tale of Two Winters

A Tale of Two Winters

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and it is the winter that will be remembered as the one that nearly defeated me…or perhaps it will defeat me. Winter is not over yet.

Whether it was “global warming” or “climate change”, the past few winters have been mild and very manageable. But this one has not been influenced by “global warming” or “climate change”. It’s a good, old-fashioned winter, the likes of which I have not seen since I was a child – and in those days seasons didn’t matter.

As many of you who follow my rants and essays know, I’m an avid walker. The main reason why I am so intent and focused on walking every day is because, my cardiologist says, it’s what keeps me alive.

I like being alive, although as Mark Twain once said, “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”

I rather agree with that. I mean I understand dinosaurs ruled the Earth when North America was a tropical jungle. I hear the Depression was an awful time. I read about the horse and buggy days before automobiles. But I was not here for those and I don’t remember feeling I was missing out on anything. I was perfectly happy wherever I was … or at least perfectly unaware.

Anyway, back to my walking. Every year, for the past 12+ years I’ve kept a calendar tracking my walking. This year, in January, I missed 6 days of walking – all six due to the cold, ice, and snow. Last year, I missed 6 days, four because I was sick, and only two because of the weather.

So far, I’ve missed 3 days this month because of below-zero wind chills, snow, and ice. Last February, I missed not a single day.

And I’ll tell you this – It would be very easy for me to make excuses to not walk this winter, but I know myself better than anyone else. Making excuses for not walking is a road that leads to bad places. I can slough off not walking for whatever reason, but for 12-plus years, I’ve been my own best cheerleader, urging myself to get up out of my easy chair, bundle up, and head out for a long four-mile walk – heat, cold, rain or shine.

But…

I’m afraid this winter is going to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. And I can’t let that happen – not if I want to be around next winter.

The weather has been brutal for the most part this winter. If it’s not bitterly cold and windy, there’s an ice storm, freezing rain, or a snowstorm that puts my dedication to walking to the test.

I could cave in and not walk, Heaven knows that this winter has provided me with never-ending reasons why I should just sit in my easy chair and read, write, or watch “Leave It to Beaver” or “M*A*S*H” or something else – ANYTHING but the news – heaven forbid! If I dared watch the news I might well find myself not walking and instead wishing to be with Mark Twain.

Missing six days of walking in January is not something I am happy about. But it could have been more. I would have missed 11 days had I not sucked it up and done something I dread – WALKING INDOORS!

We have a recreation center nearby. It has what they call a “walking track”. It’s an oval. Each lap equals 1/10th of a mile. Walking around that oval track 40 times is TORTURE. And then you have Grandpa Jones, the 65-year-old youngster, jogging and wheezing around the track trying to lap me and a couple of older ladies dressed in $400 fashion-trendy Nike sweat suits wearing $250 Nike Vaporfly running shoes putting on a show. And there I am in my dingy, old, gray sweatpants with several holes in them, $40 men’s Slip-in Sketchers’ GoWalk shoes, and an old oversized mauve hoodie (close your eyes and imagine).

I will never subject myself to that torture again. Cardiologists be damned!

My other days of inside walking included walking around in the huge Rural King farm store outside of town and following that up with 25 minutes of walking around inside Walmart. Walking around in Rural King and Walmart is torture, but not nearly as bad as the oval walking track with the fashion ladies.

So, now it’s time to decide what I’m going to do today. The ground is covered with six inches of snow, half the people don’t shovel their sidewalks, and the wind chill is minus 4 Fahrenheit (that’s minus 20 Celsius for those of you in other places), and the beautiful wooden boardwalk that winds through my favorite woods is ice-covered with a nice 6″ topping of snow – in other words, I’m not taking a chance of falling and breaking my shoulder (AGAIN!).

Yesterday I clopped around in the snow enough to rack up 3 miles – narrowly avoiding slipping and falling several times – and then I shoveled snow AGAIN. I figure 3 miles of walking plus 30 minutes of shoveling snow ought to equal at least 4 miles of walking – so I gave myself a star for the day.

Today, I’m going to drive 25 minutes to a mall where I will walk. I’ve always avoided being a mall walker but my son encouraged me to shrug off the moniker and walk in the mall. I have to admit it sounds better than trodding around and around in Walmart and Rural King, and it’s gotta be better than that 1/10th of a mile walking track.

I’m tired of this winter… it’s a tale of two winters – one where I try to deal with the challenges of walking through the wind and cold and ice and snow outside  – and one of trying to find inside places to walk that won’t bore me to death.

I shall trod on, wishing desperately for spring – or a least a break in this beastly winter!