The Rituals of a Morning Walk in an American Town

There are rituals during a morning walk. Despite the development of a hypercompetitive, “virtually linked” world, it is still proper and right to acknowledge someone as you pass them on the sidewalk or trail in small town America. Often this acknowledgement comes in the form of a wave, a greeting of “good morning,” or less formal, a “morning” or a nod of the head. The morning walk is an affirmation that people still read the newspaper, sit on the front porch and are friendly to strangers. My sojourns in Europe leave the impression that this is less true in Europe. On a recent walk in the Belgian countryside, less than half the people acknowledged us as we walked.

In small town America, it seems that people are more likely to trust us as we walk. Often I am stopped to render directions. We are more prone to practice common courtesies when we are face-to-face with our neighbors. On a recent morning a man was mowing the berm. He stopped his lawnmower as I walked past. I said to him that he did not have to stop just because I was passing; I felt bad that he was interrupting his work. He replied, “I still do.” I thanked him. It was unclear whether his gesture was mandated or a simple act of kindness. Regardless, he was cheerful in his actions and he did not begrudge me the opportunity to walk the sidewalk.

It is difficult to say the same of people who are driving cars. As a walker, I have become increasingly suspicious of drivers. Automobile drivers can behave erratically and capriciously. Drivers are on the outlook for other cars, but can often overlook pedestrians. The anonymity of an automobile gives some drivers bravado and a sense of security that can be dangerous to walkers. My vantage point, as a walker, affords me an opportunity to observe drivers has allowed me to see the bad behavior of many: texting, eating and general distractions are much more prevalent than one would initially suspect (or at least that is true in my town).

A couple of stories to make my point. I was walking one Sunday Morning and I saw a woman driving a minivan fully engrossed in her cell phone. She traveled a good 75-100 yards without ever looking up. As she went by, I noticed a car seat in the back and a sticker on the rear window proclaiming “Baby on Board.” I think if she really cared about safety, then her actions would have been much different.

Just last week, another incident made me more cautious on my walks. I was walking on a Sunday morning that on a side street that was not particularly busy. A pickup truck noticed that the light two blocks away was green and sped up to at least 45-50 mph in a residential area so that he did not have to wait at a light. The flaw in his logic was that the light in question is not on a timer, but is actuated by sensors. There was no need to speed up so long as no cars came to the cross street. Luckily, there were no kids, people, cats or dogs wandering into the street.

Walking builds community and good relations, but it can be a dangerous proposition as well.