[pct-l] Why I Walk 3.0

[Bighummel at aol.com]

Three mornings a week I walk from Union Station in LA to my building, just  a 
measely two miles and a bit of elevation up Bunker Hill.  I have tried  and 
tried to encourage my co-workers not to take the free shuttle always and  join 
me, but so far no luck.  
 
In front of the museum of Contemporary Art the sidewalk is unusual and you  
would only see it if you walk by on it.  Clearly the contractor who  received 
the bid to pour the concrete for this sidewalk probably had poured  thousands 
of yards of plain, boring sidewalks in his career.  However, for  this one he 
must have been inspired, for he impressed the leaves and flowers  that have 
fallen from the trees nearby into the surface and now it looks like  they are 
there permanently.
 
On a corner wall sits a man every morning, covered in blankets, deep blue  
eyes, grizzled white hair, a haunting look.  Another homeless man lies  wrapped 
in a blanket on the sidewalk next to his wheelchair; I want to tell him  that 
sleeping on dirt would be warmer but I'm not sure he would  understand.  There 
are nice tents even set up here and there on the  sidewalks and they sleep in 
sleeping bags with no pad!!  These people are  TOUGH and they, and you and 
me, will survive, because we know how to live well  with little.
 
Today I was crosscountrying up a ridge through oak and fern covered land  
near Santa Maria for my work as a geologist.  It was tough going, covering  about 
a mile in three hours!!  At one point I had been fighting through the  thick 
bush for a while and came into a slight clearing and decided to rest and  fuel 
up.  Upon putting my pack down I realized that I was standing in the  middle 
of a HUGE manzanita with 3 massive trunks, each about 10 inches in  diameter 
and spreading from the ground under my feet.  The deep, rich  maroon trunks 
twisted like muscles was coated on its upper and northern  exposures with a coat 
of light green moss and lichen.  The manzanita called  to me and I replied 
that I understand and appreciate her beauty.  
 
The beauty is all around us, but if we would only have the eyes to  see!
 
Greg "Strider" Hummel