Tag: walk

Wally’s Great Adventures #84 (Free Bird! Free Wally!)

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Hello everyone. Wally here. Mom, Dad and I went for a walk to Cove Island Park this morning. You heard right, Mom & Dad & Wally. No shortage of tension here, with 2 opposite poles of the magnet pulling, and pulling mostly on me. Dad walks fast. Mom meanders. Dad doesn’t talk, NO talking. Mom chatters (and chatters). Dad walks off-road on rocks and beach. Mom sticks to path, paved paths only. Dad lets me run off leash. Mom chains me down and won’t let me get more than 3 feet from her. So, do you get the picture? Walks with dad are so great! And side note, this morning, after mom strapped the leash on me, I heard Dad grumbling lyrics to “Free Bird” (Lynyrd Skynyrd): “For I must be traveling on now ‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see…Lord knows, I can’t change…Lord help me, I can’t change…Lord, I can’t change…Won’t you fly high, free bird, yeah.” Free Bird! Free Wally!

Walking. So you’re telling me there’s a chance!

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4:15 a.m. A rare, deep REM zone disturbed. It’s Wally, giving me kisses, his signal for Dad to take him out. I look up at him, smile, scratch him under his chin. Sigh. An 18.5 lb bundle of pure joy, at any and every hour.

I bring Wally out and back, skooch him under the covers. He nuzzles up to Mom, makes 2 tight loops to find that perfect spot, and he settles in. I slide out of the room, shutting the door gently behind me.

Weather app reads out 98% cloud cover with 70% chance of rain, with more of the same for the rest of the day.. The likelihood of getting any worthy shots this morning are low (very), with gravity pulling me back to bed, the covers, and Wally. Go back to bed. Go back to bed. Go back to bed.

The moment takes me back to the movie Dumb & Dumber when Lloyd (Jeff Daniels) asks Jim Carrey if he’s got any chance to end up with Lauren Holly, and Carrey says he’s got  a one-in-a-million shot. Lloyd (aka Dumber), excited, responds  with “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”

There’s a chance.

Continue reading “Walking. So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” →

Walking. With Helen and Back.

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So, here we are. 1,229 consecutive (almost) days on this daybreak walk at Cove Island Park. Like in a row.

98% overcast, a sliver of sunlight slashes the horizon.

Audible is plugged in to Helen Garner’s “One Day I’ll Remember This: Diaries 1987-1995”. And the author narrates:

“A whole life can be spent quietly and patiently drawing nearer to something important. It can’t be hurried…”

Standing here at midlife (yes, I’m still calling it that), I ponder. 

And I walk. 

Helen continues.

“The story about looking. I want it to have a curve in it. To come right back and tie itself to the very beginning.”

No Helen. There’s no looking back. Not last week. Not to the middle. And certainly not to the beginning.

“As if I could change myself in any way, at this age. All I can do is try to know myself and apply discipline.”

Helen’s been reading to me all week on my morning walks, and I’m smitten. Rewind, 30 seconds. Play. Rewind, Play, Rewind, Play, Rewind. I’ve got vertigo.

Continue reading “Walking. With Helen and Back.” →

Morning Walk. With Chat GBT.

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I asked Chat GBT this question after my morning walk this morning: “Write a story in David Kanigan’s voice on his morning walks.”  Here’s what A.I. produced:

David Kanigan, a man of unwavering routine and gentle presence, embarked on his morning walks like clockwork. Every day, before the sun even rose, he ventured out into the world with a sense of purpose that only the dawn could bring.

His footsteps were a rhythm, a cadence that connected him to the world around him. As he strolled through the quiet streets, he noticed the subtle changes that only the early morning bestowed upon the world – the dew-kissed grass, the soft whispers of the wind, and the occasional song of a waking bird.

Each step was deliberate, as if he were savoring every moment of the new day. With every breath, he inhaled the crisp, invigorating air, feeling it infuse him with life and energy. The city was still asleep, wrapped in the comforting embrace of slumber, but David found solace in this tranquil oasis. Continue reading “Morning Walk. With Chat GBT.” →

Of course we believe in fortune cookies.

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Fortune Cookie Photo: Thank you Joan Perry. Thank you Ray for sharing. Pictures from this morning’s walk here.