PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

June 9, 2021

LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE (II)

Walk More

In Melody Warnick’s book This Is Where You Belong her first suggestion of becoming more attached to the community where you live is to walk more.  In her chapter, Lace Up Your Sneakers, Melody makes reference to a book by Jeff Speck, Walkable City.  Speck says that the only means of transportation that allows one to observe minute details is walking.  Warnick also quotes studies that indicate that walking helps one to become more orientated to one’s surrounding.

When I was the pastor of the Crescent Avenue United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I gave a class for an older adult program (LEAP) the church offered that focused on taking walking tours of the city.  Many of the places on the walks were easily missed if one was not walking. One of the more interesting places I discovered was the home of Chief Richardsville (1829).  It was a reminder of the Native American part in the history of Fort Wayne and the importance of the portage that once existed there.  The house where Carol Lombard was born was on the tour.  The two oldest buildings were the Edsall House (1839) and the Canal House (1852).  The Canal House is a reminder of the time when a canal was important to the city.

As it turned out I did not need to go much further than the front door of the church’s parsonage to get in touch with Fort Wayne’s history.  We lived on East Drive.  Just a block west was West drive.  At the turn of the last century the drives had been part of a half mile race track that was located in Driving Park.  On Sunday, October 23, 1910, Miss Blanch Scott performed in an air show at the park.  She was the first female pilot to do air shows.  When the church was purchasing the parsonage they learned that it was the boyhood home of Paul Helmke who was mayor of Fort Wayne from January 1, 1988 until December 31, 1999.

Many museums and Historical Societies across Indiana have walking-tours.  Some are guided while others are self-guided.  They provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of a community.  The museum here in Plymouth has a guided walking tour of down-town.  Shipshewana has a self-guided walking tour of 16 Walldog murals.  While viewing the murals one can also become familiar with down-town Shipshewana.  Auburn, Indiana, has two walking self-guided tours available: one is a historical walking tour of Auburn’s pioneers and visionaries and the other is a Haunted Walking Tour.

                My cardiologist has recommended that I do at least 30 minutes of cardio every day.  I get most of walking in at where I work out.  Recently, I started doing some of it where I live.  My home is located on a dead-end boulevard.  Four times around the boulevard takes 30 minutes.  As I make laps I check what is going on with my neighbors and wave at those who are out.  When I have more than one errand down-town Plymouth, rather than driving from place to place as I had in the past, I now park at one spot and walk to all the places where I am going.  A way to get 10 to 15 minutes of cardio!

When I am driving around Plymouth I have noticed that there are a lot of people walking.  This seems to be a popular way for people to put in there steps.  I would expect that most would follow the same route or routes.  I wonder if any of them have ever thought of doing what I like to call “Park and Walk.”  Rather than starting one’s walk from home, one drives to different locations and starts one’s walk from there.  If the starting point happens to be in an unfamiliar part of town, it has the added benefit of increasing one’s attachment with their community.

In her chapter “Lace Up Your Sneakers” Melody also talks about biking as way to become more familiar with one’s community.  Cycling helps one become familiar with a community’s topography and weather. Biking also has other benefits. One of the functions of The League of American Bicyclists is to designate cities and towns as being bicycle-friendly communities.  According to their website such communities “welcome bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for bicycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.  Making bicycling safe and convenient are keys to improving public health, reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality and improving quality of life.”  Auburn, Indiana, was designated a bicycle-friendly community in 2000.  Culver, Indiana, is also a bicycle-friendly community.

I wonder if there is such a thing as golf cart-friendly communities.  If there is, The Villages in Florida would be at the top of the list.  Many years ago Diane and I visited some friends there.  They gave us a tour of the town using golf carts.  They could use them for shopping, going to the hospital, attending church, or going to play golf.  Traveling on the specially constructed paths they were a leisurely way to go from place to place.  They helped to promote an unhurried approach to retirement.

For a week every year the part of Plymouth where I live becomes a Gator-friendly community.  Gators are utility vehicles made by John Deere for work and play.  They play an important part in the set-up, running, and taking down of the annual Labor Day Weekend Blueberry Festival when between 150,000 and 250,000 visitors come.  Might be something for The Villages consider as an alternative to their golf carts.

A good way to love where you live is to walk more.  Taking leisurely strolls will help you get to know where you live and will improve your physical, mental and spiritual health.  As you stroll about your community you are never sure what you might see or whom you might meet.