Getting Lost

Okay, I thought I was doing a "good" thing, going for a 2-mile walk on a holiday when I could be gelling out at home. Wrong. I started on my journey in the south side parking lot at Myers Park. I knew the trails were not marked very well, but I wanted to take the 1.27 mile trail. Everytime I would get to a fork, I would take the outside one because the last time I took the inside trail, I was back at my car in less time than it takes to make a three-minute egg.

So I am walking along with my protein water in one hand and my cell phone in the other. How boring. Oh, I should call someone to make the time pass faster, I think to myself. I call my friend V. We get to talking, and about 45 minutes later, I say to V, "I think I am lost. Nothing looks familiar. I should have been back to the park a looooong time ago. I have passed baseball fields, soccer fields, and several fishing ponds. The trail is too straight, not to mention that quite a ways back I went under a bridge at a major street. There WAS a park now, but it was on my left, not on my right, where it should be. I know about what two miles looks and feels like, as that was pretty much my daily routine for years.

V said, "Why don't you just follow someone, B?" I said, "Because they are all going the opposite direction, bikers, walkers, joggers. I mean, wouldn't you think that you would eventually end up back where you started, even if you took the "long way around?" Wrong. I finally asked a woman who almost walked into me while she was checking her Ipod, "Where does this go? Will I end up back at Myers Park?" She looked at me liked I was nuts. "No, you are a loong way from Myers Park. If you keep going, you will end up at Collins Park, which is where I started from." I estimate that I went about 2.5 miles total before turning around and following the woman.

On my way back, I found a map, which I had missed the first time around, because I was so involved in my phone conversation. I could not believe where I had gone. However, "Collins Park" is on the east side of I-45, miles and miles away, so I find it kind of hard to believe that the woman had started there. But, hey, maybe she had, but how was she going to get there without turning around? If she did start there, my hat is off to the woman, cuz it must have taken a long time walking it. I just can't see myself spending that long walking. Walking is just soooo boring to me.

I need to lose weight so badly, but that is not really why I am walking. I am more worried about my blood pressure and my mental health at this point. Exercise is really supposed to help with anxiety and depression, both of which I have. Although, personally, it never has really seemed to help me that much in those areas. If you have something in your life to depress you or stress you, that is the way it is. But maybe it will help me deal with those things in a more constructive way.

Above is one of my favorite parts from Benny and Joon. Smile and enjoy!