Take a Little Walk With Me

He placed his cereal dish and coffee cup in the sink rinsing them both. Time for his morning walkies. He tries to walk for forty minutes every morning, sometimes longer. At his apartment’s door he tapped a button on his watch and said, “Start outdoor walk”. His watch replied, “Starting workout”. And he was off. As soon as he left the building he heard the songs of the early birds. For a moment his mind wandered to the day's tasks but it didn't linger there long. He liked this morning routine 

On this particular morning's walk, he decided that he would walk on the opposite side of the broad avenue from where he lives. He also decided to turn whenever he came to a red light blocking his progress. This worked to a point. Eventually to keep the walk distance within reason he had to tap pause on his workout screen and wait until some lights changed. 

To get to the other side of the street he cut through the metro entrance that was a tunnel under the avenue opening up to the sidewalks on either side. The first thing he noticed was a woman coming up the steps of the Metro entrance he was entering. For a moment she stood at the top of the steps looking about. Shaking her head, she headed back down into the tunnel. Apparently she had come off the subway and had gone out of the opposite exit from where she wanted to be. He, because he was simply using the tunnel to cross the wide avenue while avoid waiting for walk lights, ended up following her. The woman had apparently been going to meet a friend at a coffee kiosk. When she emerged on the right side of the street, her friend sat at the kiosk. He rose to greet her with air kisses and a hug.

The walking man turned to the north. The day proved to be quite warm and muggy. Seemingly the rain wanted to come but couldn't.  People, almost everyone, carried plastic bottles of water. Some were durable plastic but most were flimsy, crinkly and disposable. He looked to his right to see a woman opening a drugstore. Codes were punched in and two separate keys were twisted. The clerk or pharmacist, he was not sure which, was so involved in the unlocking process that they never made eye contact. He walked on.

He tried to make mental notes of the things he saw that caught his attention like electrical boxes covered with posters of events coming and past. The posters were bright although some were faded. He had heard the electric company hated these posters and cleaned the boxes on a regular basis. 

The first traffic light of his walk turned red and sent him sideways down a different road. Looking ahead he saw tents being put up for the Friday Street market. This was not a market for the locals. This was a trinket and trash market for 'visitors’ wandering this far up the hill away from the really overpriced nonsense down where the cruise ships tie up. The market was a mishmash of used clothing, cheese and sausage sellers, plant vendors and occasionally a couple selling seconds of ceramic plates and vases. You could get better local cheeses and dried sausages at the supermercado across the street from these stalls and for less. But transients know no better. Locals had no use for this market. They seek fresh produce at the nearby mercado with its butchers, fish mongers, spice merchants and green grocers. Tourists, on the other hand, are drawn to the allure of colorful things in this market's stalls.

He found himself saying “I love living in this city” when he spotted a package delivery guy in uniform with shoulder length aqua colored hair coming towards him. Still chuckling, he saw two short well-dressed older women sharing tales, gesturing and pointing fingers. They talked with the authoritative tone of women who “know” what is what in their voices. A dog walker turned off heading into a small green park.

A scraping sound pulled his attention to the other side of the street where an old man arranged bright shiny aluminum chairs around tables outside his small restaurant. He seemed to pull the tables and chairs to a point where they were not tippy on the uneven sidewalk. It was a fool's errand really because as soon as someone sits down a knee or an elbow will push the table off that sweet spot. At the end of the day there will be folded napkins under various table legs.

When he saw parents getting kids off to school this morning, he realized his start was early. One mother stood on a corner and connected with another mother who left the first mother with two additional children to escort to school. A father walked two brothers to school carrying the younger brother’s backpack for him. 

As the walker approached the busy corners he noticed people with apps open waiting for Ubers, Bolts, and Lyfts. On this walk he observed the mundane day to day universe. He saw love for pets and children. He saw pride in the presentation of one’s business. He witnessed people playing their roles in making this world work. There were, however, signs that always refocused him on the world at war.

He felt sweaty and sticky as his walk ended.  But it was a fair tradeoff for refreshed, energized and renewed feelings.