Update: I stopped today on a rather poor stretch of road in a poor neighborhood. I have been riding past a group of young school children for some time now and I had decided the other day that I should stop and give them a few words of encouragement. I shook all of their hands and tried my best to pump them up for school. Many of them had dirty faces and thread-bare clothing but were bright eyed like most children. One of the adult gentlemen who watch them until the bus comes said something to the effect of: “They (the children) always say you don’t stop because you don’t have time for them.” I’ll make myself available to them when I see them next. At least someone should have time for them.

Original Blog:

Instead of riding my bike to the gym at work at lunch, about a half mile away, I walk. It seems silly to ride over when it takes so little time to walk it. Many of my co-workers who also use the gym have never walked there. They get in their undesirable vehicle and drive the 2 minutes to get there. That seems doubly silly. On a beautiful Memphis day in January, I even saw one of my very fit co-workers, she’s ran marathons, driving to the gym. Shame, shame.

I don’t work in a very nice part of Memphis. Until a couple of years ago, the people at the building a few blocks away watched the prostitutes work the area in front of our main campus. I don’t worry about the area I work in. I’ve lived in worse areas. I am surprised at how useful I have been in the area just by walking.

When I first started walking, I had a lot of people stop me (they in their undesirable vehicles) to ask for directions. Since I didn’t live in the area and didn’t go to many places around it I wasn’t very helpful. However, since I was stopped so often I started to memorize the locations of places which people had enquired about. Now, when people stop to ask me directions, I promptly give them the most direct route.

Most of the people ask me how to get to the local temporary employment agency or one of the nearby career colleges. I am glad I can help and hope that I’ve facilitated their prospect of finding a job or getting a better education. Everyone has thanked me for my help.

Could I have done this if I drove to the gym? No. Good thing I make myself available to help others.