Audio Walking

We're having a nice reprieve from our normal humid summer weather here. At 8:00 in the morning the temperature was 66°. It was sunny, and there was a light breeze blowing--too nice to go to the gym! I had to return some clothes I'd bought earlier in the week, so I decided to go to a park close to the store and walk there first.

The other day I found a CD a friend had made for me. It was a recording of a session she had led at a convention almost a year ago. When she gave it to me, I kept meaning to listen to it, but I wanted to do it in one session and never seemed to have the time. Then, it got misplaced in a pile of stuff until I unearthed it last week during a kitchen cleaning. If I'm walking by myself, I like to listen to something, so today I decided to pull out my old personal CD player and listen to the session while I walked.

I've had my "no name" CD player for quite a few years. It got a lot of use when I first got it, but I've since moved on to newer and nicer music delivery systems. The player was waiting for me in the coat closet, right where I thought it would be. Because it's too big to fit in a pocket, I usually carry it in a shoulder bag that Tony brought back from a business trip many years ago. The bag has a strap long enough that I can sling it over my chest, so my hands are free. I got the player out so I could check the batteries, and saw a sticker on the bottom that proudly proclaimed that the unit was manufactured in September 2004. The foam on the headphones (which were probably about the same vintage) was coming off, so I decided to substitute the ear buds I use with my MP3 player at the gym.

When I was using the player on a regular basis, I figured out that the buttons were easy to push...TOO easy. Inside a bag, the slightest bump would cause it to move to the next song, so I always used a case. Enclosed in a nylon and foam padded sheath, the player was bulkier, but protected.

I got to the park and got ready to go, putting the CD in the player, the player in the case, and the case in the bag. I reached in and hit the PLAY button, then started walking. This park has trails meandering all throughout it, as well as paths that veer off to nearby neighborhoods. There were a lot of people taking advantage of the nice weather: pairs of walkers, young mothers with baby strollers, and children were all using the park.

I walked and listened, not keeping track of the time, until I realized I was getting tired. When I checked the clock, I realized I'd been at it for a little over an hour! I went back to the car and got in, still listening to my CD, and drove the short distance to the store. When I got there, I sat in the parking lot until I'd reached the end.