Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

Things go wrong out on the road while taking a walk. Here are a few of the things that happened to me.

Get bit by something – This occurred near Harrisonburg, Virginia. My lower leg turned red and swelled. Pain shot from my foot up to my hip on every step for two half days.

Sunburn – Yes, I wore a great big hat, a long-sleeve shirt with a big collar, and used lots of sun screen. Still, somehow I was burn on some days.

Cramps and diarrhea – This was no fun. You don’t know how relieved I was to reach the motel on this afternoon. I never understood why this occurred. I once thought that it was too much coffee or something like that, but I had much more to drink on other days without problems.

Blisters on your feet – Oh boy, this was a real killer. The outside of one foot develops a blister. I shift my walking to take the pressure off the blister. The shifted walking is unnatural and causes another blister on another part of the foot. Now I have two blisters and every step hurts.

A tooth falls out of your mouth – This happened 48 hours before starting the walk in earnest. See one result below.

Visits to the dentist – my dentist in Reston had to pull out the root of the tooth that fell out of my mouth. I had headaches for most of the ensuing week. I eventually read a piece of paper that the dentist gave me on my way out of his office. It explained that when having such a procedure performed, “plan on taking it easy for a few days.”

Blinding dust – A tractor trailer flies by, throws dust in your eyes, and you have trouble seeing the rest of the day.

Flat tires -These occurred on my bicycle (see a separate post on this one).

Caught in a thunder storm – I can walk in the rain. Blinding rain is another matter. It seems the only place to stand in heavy rain is under a big, tall tree, but there is this fear I have that the tree will be hit by lightening.