THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “No man was ever shot doing the dishes.”
A cool front came thru last night and cooled the place down a little, that is nice. There is the hint of autumn in the air, but I know in my heart, that this is just wishful thinking on my part. There is still a lot of summer left, still some more heat to bear. I need to get out of the house and walk a little, get some exercise, but I absolutely HATE exercise.
Necessity is the mother of invention, so I am told. I have to work on my image in the community. I also know that in order to maintain my reputation as a vessel of masculine life force, it is necessary for me to work out. Be forewarned, I am not like all these happy-sappy-jerks you see on TV that are smiling and grinning like some kind of African Ebola Monkey, grinning from ear to ear.
For the record. I am not an enthusiastic supporter of this type of behavior.
Exercise is not fun … And … I am not a smiler.
I know that aging is a natural thing, exercising is not. Exercising is a lot like cleaning toilets, you know it needs to be done, but you always wish someone else would do it for you. Let’s face it, this wide-eyed boy from Oklahoma with a farmers tan, believes a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
So I suit up in my “walking attire” and I head out the door.
I have on my New Balance Tenny’s, white socks, shorts, ballcap, T-shirt. My trusty Sony Walkman and headphones, my pedometer (to measure the distance that I walk this morning, as if I actually care, but my doctor asks for the data), and my walking stick, to ward off the occasional stray dog.
I am walking around the neighborhood and I am doing my level best to get some kind of exercise other than bitchin’ about the Government or the Republican Party. I know that it is important that I get my heart rate up, I know that in order for me to burn calories at my age, I have to work “twice as hard” as I used to. So I begrudgingly walk on ….. At least it is cool today, that is a plus.
At the end of the block I see him appear.
He has on his walking attire, tennis shoes, white socks, ballcap and a pair of headphones on his head. He is heading straight for me, and I think to myself, “how is it that I should greet this fellow exerciser?” He gets closer and closer and I cannot seem to figure out what it is that I would consider a reasonable greeting.
This is one of those awkward moments in life you are often not allowed to avoid.
As he approaches me, he smiles a big smile. Another member of the herd has been recognized, things are going well. I reach down and pat my noticeable belly under my T-Shirt and shout out …… “Cheeze Burgers!” He returns the male salute, pats his enormous belly and yells back ……. “Pizza!”
We continue on our respective journeys. Two ships meet and pass in the night.
The only exercise program that seems to work for me is getting up in the morning and “jogging” my memory to remind me how much I absolutely hate exercising. The first time I see a jogger who is not perspiring and smiling, I may consider it.
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I hate exercise too! but there is a way round it – no there is, really!
The trick is to find something you enjoy doing and then it won’t feel like exercise. When I was younger I tried to force myself to go to the gym and quite frankly I’d rather give up chocolate than do that (and I adore chocolate). Then I tried to persuade myself that swimming was the right thing – because I’d had cancer of the leg bone and couldn’t weight bare. I hated both.
My savior is walking the beautiful landscapes with hub. We enjoy the view, I take photos, we take a picnic, stop off for a cool chilled drink on the way back – exercise done with no grim determination.
Of course if you can’t find anything you enjoy that evolves moving it is tricky! Some of my friends get their exercise shopping (but that would bore me to death) others take part time jobs delivering stuff through letter boxes so earn money as they walk. Whatever blows your frock up, huh? Or in your case Don, blows your socks off!
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I get a kick out of you J!
In America we say “Whatever blows your skirt up” but I got the drift of it anyway. Your life sounds quite idealistic (Idyllically perfect or something like that … how about simply marvelous?) I have seen the photo’s and I know of what you speak, one thing bothers me. “Why is it that on some days the water looks murky or muddy?” That is a mystery that only my travel agent and bank account could unravel.
Perhaps if I lived somewhere than where I presently live it would be a lot different, matter of fact, I am sure it would be different. It is nice to see someone read the post and get the message the first time around, usually something sparks the flames of unrest and I get flamed for it. Nice to win one every now and then.
DS
Comment by Author — August 17, 2008 @ 4:17 AM