How to Take a Walk

There was an HN discussion from 2010 which is closed for comment, it seems.

Not to be prickly about it, but as a multi-generational American I take some umbrage at this characterization of Americans. We do walk -- and I think the author is trying a bit too hard to paint us in a bad light.

"The closest activity to “taking a walk” that I encountered was two [non-immigrant American] people walking together and forgetting, for a moment, to talk to each other. The moment passed. One of them said something and they slipped back into talking rather than taking a walk."

And yet:

"Middle-aged eastern European matrons strolling."

Are we to believe that these "eastern European matrons" were not conversing as they strolled? Or is the plural meant to indicate multiple observed occurrences of matrons strolling by themselves, with the implication that one cannot truly go on a walk with another person?

The English author C. S. Lewis perhaps viewed Americans similarly to the author. He sniffed at Americans for using the word "hike" instead of "walk", as though we had to ruin the whole thing by making a big production of it. And I think that gets to the heart of it. I walk pretty often, but I do call it hiking, and rather than walk through my San Fernando Valley neighborhood, I take a 10-minute drive so that I can hike in the Santa Monica mountains or in the mountains on the north side of the Valley. Excuse me if I like to get out into nature on a regular basis.

And as much as I find America's obsession with dogs off-putting, it's not a zero-sum game: It's not as though because you have your dog with you you're not really "walking".

But thanks for the reminder to get out and walk for walking's sake.

Finally, see Rousseau's Confessions for a man who really got walking. (I only wish he had come up with better ideas while he did so.) One of these days I will visit Chambery.