Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Wobbly Walking

Wobbly balance and walking problems in people who don't show signs of cognitive impairment may be harbingers of the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a magazine says. Whoa! Does that statement include babies?

Joking aside, some of us are wobblers from birth on. My husband always complains that, while walking, I drift and step in front of him. On the other hand, he shoulder-bumps me from the side. Watching us walk together must be a sight to behold for other people along our way.

For all I have noticed, nobody walks like soldiers marching. If they did, that would be really ridiculous. Walking feels like the most normal physical activity, since one doesn't even realize one is doing it. If he did, he would feel self-conscious and then wobble.

Due to the abundance of the elderly in our region, walking is a major sport and a pasttime. I may drift and wobble along, but I, too, walk every day--not by choice but by doctor's orders. Since most of the time the weather here is intolerably warm, my walking takes place mostly in the mall, and I am a person who hates shopping.

One question about walking keeps coming up in my mind where walking is concerned. In fast-paced cities like New york and Chicago, people always walk to places and sometimes hurriedly. Shouldn't that make them the healthiest? But, no. The studies show that in cities where people walk the most, the heart disease rate is the highest.

One good thing about walking without getting distracted by the goodies offered so "reasonably" by most merchants is that one gets to watch people. Being a lifelong people-watcher, at least, I enjoy myself while walking.

While I enjoy looking at people, my husband loves to talk incessantly. I have a feeling he chooses his topics carefully, so we can vary our pace and slow down during the exciting parts of the conversation.

Most walkers, though, are not like us. They take their walking way too seriously. They buy walking shoes. They wear special clothing. They acquire a special persona by wearing headphones or talking on the cellphone; their walk is serious, fast, and goal-oriented. They act as if they are unaware of other people or the area they are in. They might as well be treading upon the red, sandy soil of the planet Mars.

The definition of a healthy walk is: "a purposeful, brisk walk undertaken on a regular basis." I have heard that phrase "brisk walk" mentioned so many times, as far back as I remember. Carol Burnett who always tickled my funny bone comes to mind. I wonder what brisk walk is. Is it something like tea? Because I remember a commercial on brisk tea, also.

Anyhow, my walk cannot be brisk, although I am a tea drinker, but I walk everyday. Maybe there exists a group of people who drink tea while they walk. Who knows!