Facilitating Paradox

Four days last week and two so far this week I’ve walked the .7 mile to work and back home at the end of the day. It’s been good exercise--much more than I was used to getting. It’s been rough dealing with the temperatures below freezing. I now have an “Elmer Fudd” hat that keeps my ears warm. My ankles were sore from navigating the ice and snow.

Walking to work is also a stroll down Delaware’s main street. The three blocks I walk down Sandusky Street are the historic downtown with all the shops and banks and restaurants. I see which establishments have cigarette butts strewn about the sidewalk out front. I see what shops are placing in their storefront windows and how they’re advertising. Yesterday, on my way home, the cigar shop had its door ajar and you could smell the stogie down the rest of the block. I also see what’s going on at the recruiter’s office.

Walking to work is personable. I see people and we sometimes say Hi. I might see the workers from The Mean Bean or the owner of Amato's Wood Fired Pizza. I see the folks at The Hamburger Inn eating breakfast. I see the sky and the traffic. I see what people are doing as they drive themselves to work.

Delaware is a nice place to live and I’m glad to be getting to know it better.