NO MATTER WHERE: WALKING IS GREAT!

No matter where, starting the day with a walk is like opening the pages of a new book.  Outside, depending on the season birds and animals, children, friends and strangers are encountered along the way. The smell of the earth whether pungent or sweet reminds us of earlier attachments to the land.

Recently, the changing weather has curtailed walking outside. Luckily, my new apartment building provides rides to a nearby shopping mall where dozens of  people take walking seriously. The before rush hour "traffic" is as colorful as I find in a park or on the streets of a neighborhood.

Once inside, mothers push their  children in strollers that overflow with heavy coats, sweaters, toys and, of course one or sometimes two children. Walkers, singly or with friends use shops  or indoor fountains as  mile markers.  Older people, some with disabilities, some with athletic physics smile or look grim in their task of keeping "up."

As the morning grows late, coffee shops fill.  Maintenance crews begin their jobs and merchants and sales employees ready shops and kiosks for customers.

The fresh outdoor smells are gone. There is no natural sound of birds and the first sign of crocuses will be in artificial pots instead of pushing their way up amid blankets of moss but walking here sure beats complaining about the weather which keeps us confined and listless.