Tuesday, May 03, 2005

6 Months Walking, Still at War, Still Fat

I decided the day after the US election last November to stop driving to work. I feel that this country, which consumes a full 1/4 of the world's oil consumed on a daily basis, is addicted to oil and this addiction drives many of the foreign policies which in my opinion are immoral. So today marks the six month anniversary of walking to work. It is about a 25 minute walk. What has it accomplished? Honestly, not much. This country is still killing innocent people in oil rich countries, plus I never lost any weight (I weight a supersized 200 pounds). Sure my calves are ripped, but was it worth it? On the positive side, I feel I have a much better sense of the neighborhood in which I live. I meet people while I'm walking all the time. I don't really get to know them that well, but we wish each other good morning or hey, and that I suppose is nice. I see many homeless people and that saddens me. New Orleans has a very high crime rate, and it would seem likely that if I keep walking that I will one day be robbed at gunpoint. But for now, I'm committed to keep on walking to work. I got an ipod and I listed to music as I walk, which is a nice meditative exercise before beginning and after ending a hectic day. We are leasing our second car right now. The lease will end about a year from now, and then we could go back to being a one car family. Then, my walking will really pay off, as with insurance and everything, we'll save over $500 a month. You see Therese, the ipod already has paid for itself... Therese is my lovely wife who did not approve of me buying the ipod.

1 comment:

Milton Stanley said...

I've found that walking doesn't help me lose much weight, but I'm a much healthier, happier fat man! Peace.