Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

I carry a little notebook and pencil with me while walking. Here is a photo (right) of them sitting next to a coffee cup for scale.

I use a notebook from Moleskine, but just about anything would work. I use a little pencil like those that golfers use to keep score. I found the pencil at a rest stop somewhere. I think it says The Virginia Lottery or something like that on it.

The next photo (left) shows a couple of typical pages in the notebook. When I see something of interest or take a photo on the road, I jot a note. I also record times, weather information, mileage, odds and ends.

I find the notebook a necessity. At the end of most days I cannot remember what I saw or did at the start of the day. That is a combination of seeing and doing so many things and, yes, simple fatigue. I am too tired to remember.

I strongly recommend that people carry such a notebook and pencil or just 3×5 cards and pencil with them at all times. Then again, I am a writer and don’t have a great memory.