Friday, April 28, 2006

Walking

"Werner Herzog was the only person with whom I could have a one-to-one conversation on what I would call the sacramental aspect of walking. He and I share a belief that walking is not simply therapeutic for oneself but is a poetic activity that can cure the world of its ills. He sums up his position in a stern pronouncement: 'Walking is virtue, tourism deadly sin.'" -- Bruce Chatwin, What Am I Doing Here.

"Well," said my GP, summing up the physical I'd just endured, "there's nothing of great concern, really. But you're drinking more alcohol than you should. And you really ought to integrate some cardio work into your routine."

Cardio Work -- oog. In the city this was never a problem: I biked and walked just about everywhere. Out here in the sticks, however...



I'm having trouble getting back into biking. I love the motion, but I can't quite persuade myself to bike for the sake of "cardio". I like to go somewhere when I bike. Walking, on the other hand...



Like any religious claim, I can almost buy into this "sacramental aspect" business. I'd dearly love to think my little strolls contribute in some tiny way to keeping Born-Again Christians from nuking Muslims, and Muslims from nuking Jews, or Hindus -- and vice versa. But the doubts, the doubts...



Reasonable People don't call them "doubts"; they call it The News. Fine. I'm still compelled to walk, and I'm still drawn toward things sacramental. Besides, when Werner Herzog says something, it's usually worth careful consideration.

4 comments:

Trent Reimer said...

Thank you for the pictorial of urban Canada in the post-modern era. How many rods from your house to the prime minister's homestead?

Whisky Prajer said...

Depends which PM we're talking about. If it's Lester B. Pearson, the answer is less than two.

Cowtown Pattie said...

Wow - those could be Texas scenes of bucolic farms...

Whisky Prajer said...

More than a few similarities, I'm sure, but you'd certainly notice a difference in scale if you saw these Ontario farms. Out here I can walk around the acreages of two farms within the space of an hour. I expect a similar expedition in Texas would require the better part of a day!