I get walking from my mother. I think she walked everywhere with us when we were kids; she would push me in the stoller and my brother Al would walk along side her to department stores, to playgrounds, to arcades. In the summer I used to wait for her to come back from the park where she would walk for hours; I remember panicking because it would be after dark and she still hadn't returned. I realized that tonight when I was on the phone with her that yes, this is in fact her trait. You don't need any money to enjoy New York, she says to me as I'm walking, making my grand trek from work (Hudson and Houston) to 59th and Lex, stopping off for some penne siciliana with Colin at Bleeker and Carmine (my favorite Trattoria Spaghetto_. A few weeks ago, I decided to regularly, or as regularly as possible, either trek down to work in the mornings or up to 59th and Lex in the evenings, the last subway stop before Queens. To some that sounds nothing short of insane, but really, without stopping to browse, as I sometimes do, it’s only about an hour. Depending on what path I take, the whole stretch is slightly over 4 miles, per Map My Walk.
The reasons why I wanted to trek to work? Exercise, of course. Lately I abhor even the thought of the gym; I’ve had it with the human hamster wheels. And mentally, of course. What better way to walk off , little by little, that detrimental excess of anxiety, guilt, and moments of self-deprecation, resting like a spare tire around my psyche, and replace it with if not inspiration, then at least the amusement of urban spectacle. Or exhaust myself to the point where I am too tired to think. And, those mornings where I do walk to work, be it from Lex or 42nd, or even 14th, my mood is a just a bit more balanced.
Really, there are few things that leave me as content as walking; nothing else brings me back to myself. And city walking---well, a walk through the city can leave me feeling like the most significant and insignificant person on the planet in a matter of five minutes. And that’s actually a good thing.
