34 - Sunday, February 6, 1994 - North Shore News aa bess walks THE VINTAGE YEARS C’mon, let’s go fora walk, eh? We can talk, if you like, or we can just be together. 1’s so doggone simple. You keep transferring from one foot to the other and you find you end up doing yourself a favor. If you're our age, it’s a pret- ty classic. way of getting around. How else were we going to get there? We'd walk anywhere to be able to dance, carrying our dancing shoes. We'd walk right across towni to 20 to someone’s tea-party. For that we'd carry a cloth with which to dust our shoes before the door opened. We walked to'school and walked our puper route and walked miles to bring the stu- pid-cows in, and if we were lucky, we walked our baby back home. There’s still lots of it going on, Im happy to tell you. ‘People are still doing it, delib- erately, cocking a snook at the bus, forgetting the car. And ‘there are all sorts ‘of organized walking groups for you to sample, if you’re new to the place or want to nail down a “can’t miss” part of your life. Just before I sat down to write this, I was talking to a lady who used to live in Pemberton Heights, where she ~ had the great pleasure of the company of The Streetwalkers. This is a loose neighbourhood ~ covey of women whose fegular morning exercise coincides with going-to-school kids, and men coming to work sites, Thus has grown the custom for all committed Streetwalkers to carry assorted cookies, just in case. They enjoy themselves so much, they fix up group trips once ina while, heading for some plaice they cunt walk to. Prior to that, I chatted with a dady in Comox who does “mall-walking™ on a steady basis — she had just come in from their sixth annual Mall- Walkers Banquet, which they have at noon because after dark is difficult, Sce? Walking can change your entire life, social and otherwise. North Shore Neighbourhood House has a couple of walking programs and since their place is downhill from my place it’s fairly easy to be there at nine a.m. I chose:the Friday one, (the other one’s on Mondays), and we filled all the seats in the van — we let the lone man sit in front with Lissa, our dri- ver-leader. Men like'the front seat. Stanley Park Seawall was slated to bear the beat of our feet. It wasn’t the very best. day, but not windy, not very cold. | was feeling a little trep- idation — I walk daily, but not for years had I tackled ten kilometres. What if f wore out on the way? It was not to worry. The whole path is flat, of course. that's lovely for old legs, and walking by the water perhaps has some special beneficence. | I had wondered if we would have to keep in step, like a proper crocodile, or whether this was a free-form journey. As the newcomer one likes to know the form. Tums out, it’s your move entirely. You set your own pace, and if you find yourself beside someone, well, that’s a little temporary bonus. Most of the time we seemed to be fairly well strung out which was con- venient for passing bicyclists and marathoners. The lady who had the pedometer announced a dis- tance of 9.4 kilometers when we finally coasted into the cof- Over 1,000 limited edition prints. Shop early for best selection. Open 7 days. 980-7216 fee shop on the edge of the parking lot, Phew, | think the last Gime EP had a walk of that length was in the spring of 1939 when I was teaching school in Pineview, As a rule, a family member would pick me up on Friday evenings, bit something had intervened, so next morning I walked home, some nine or ten miles. I did that only the once, and it was on gravel and went up and down, no basis for com- parison with the seawall walk. Also | was fifty-odd years younger. It’s those odd years that get you in the end. Actually, to our amazement, we covered the seawall in less than the two allotted hours, so Lissa threw in a bonus in the shape of a quick trip up to the ski slopes of Cypress. It was sort of a sea-to-sky | adventure, that day. Westham Island’s the desti- nation on Feb. 18, and the one after that is Derby Reach, which I’ve walked with my husband. There arc so many lovely trails available to us, and all you need is five dollars for the van and comfortable walking-shoes. Oh weil, if you have your grandfather's alpenstock, take it, by, all means. 1994 Saturn dons: rouge 8 wagons. Unquestionably North America’s best automative value! Drive this 4 door today for only ‘94 SAAB 900 S. The all new 900. Car of the Year by Autoweek, This car sets a new standard for quality, performance, sofety & value. "Celebrate Chinese New Year with "an 7 Asian dinner party. s,0s4 Baby Ginger $4 © 100 grams Exotic produce and ingredients. . 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