Walking Is My Connection

I've always liked to walk.  As a kid I would hike in the woods surrounding our house in upstate New York. When I would tell my Mom I was headed out to explore with a PB&J and canteen filled with "goofy grape" she'd always say, "Just be home in time for supper!"  

In my teens, my best friend and I walked EVERYWHERE -- to go shopping, to concerts, to part time jobs and sometimes to even meet boys. (Happily one of those boys is now my husband) Yet at 16 I couldn't wait to get my driver's license and the freedom I believed it held....

A few years later I went to school in New York City. A great big walkable city and as a "New Yorker" that is how you naturally got around. Again I would head out to explore a different world on my own two feet. This is when I started to unconsciously learn that this was freedom. I could go in any direction -- the wrong way down a one way street, turn right instead of left, go up instead of down and open that door to see what was really behind it. 

On foot I am connected to my world. Everything becomes clearer -- multi dimensional. I am not living my life as an outsider looking through a pane of glass. I can feel the breeze, hear it play in the trees, smell what the day might hold. I become a part of nature.

At 3 mph, it is the human pace, the natural rhythm that around the world we all share. When walking whether in your own neighborhood or in a far away village, it is a way to connect to a place and its people. A nod, a wave, a smile...an invitation to share a cup of tea. It is where those serendipitous encounters lie. Though maybe only for a moment in time, but a cultural connection that becomes a part of who I am.

It is also a connection to within myself. As you walk your entire body is in sync. Your arms match the movement of your legs and your breathing matches your pace. It becomes a time that thoughts are free. Creative ideas emerge, problems are solved, bad moods are turned to happy, presentations are practiced or if need be I can JUST meditate and think of...

...nothing.

The Year Was 1989

The year was 1989...

the price of gas was only 97 cents per gallon.

And Gene and Jo Ann Taylor were ONLY 30 something.

It was the year 1989...

when the first episode of The Simpsons aired and Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" was one of the top 10 hits.

That same year the Taylors struck out on their own, leaving their well paying steady corporate jobs to spread their own wings. 

1989 was an up and down year for sports fans in San Francisco. The 49ers won the superbowl, the Giants lost the World series. 

      
As Gene and Jo Ann set out on their entrepreneurial adventure they too were about to learn about ups and downs.

The year was 1989...

when the first World Wide Web server and browser were just being developed.

Gene and Jo Ann were spreading their news with a paper printed newsletter. Sign sealed and delivered right to your mailbox...not your inbox. Postage was only 25 cents.

There was no google. No social media. No texting, friending or tweeting. And a cell was a basic structural, functional biological unit. Not a device that you couldn't function without. 

Together they were leading face to face walks, side by side throughout Arizona not sitting in front of a computer mesmerized by Facebook..

And the excitement of taking photos on a trip was dropping off your film cartridges at the local Walgreens then patiently waiting 3 days before you could relive the memories -- No sharing in an instant, no instagram! 

The world was changing...

Ronald Reagan uttered "Mr Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall"
And the Dalai lama won the Nobel Peace Prize. 
Good was happening --  yet sadly apartheid still existed in South Africa...

In 1989 the Taylors had only been to 3 countries on one continent not expecting that 25 years later they would have explored over 30 on 6.   

Many people set out to change the world...

In 1989 Gene and Jo Ann set out to share the world 

...and in sharing, their dream was to make a positive change...one step at a time.

Thank you for being part of this journey....

Come Walk With Us

What Did I Do? by Joyce Keinitz

Introduction: We have made many friends along the way that share our love of walking. In celebration of Walking Connection's 25th anniversary, we are featuring some of the people that we have met that have inspired us to keep on walkin'. The following was written in 2000 by one of our heroes! There are some people that cross your life's path that you can never forget... 

What Did I Do? It was April Fool’s Day. I started my walk at an altitude of 250 meters.  My destination seemed so very far away. And what were those little black dots?  What was that grayish mass? 

Was I really up for this challenge? I wasn’t sure, but I kept moving, putting one foot in front of the other.  I had to keep my eyes down to avoid tripping over the quartz and serpentine stones scattered everywhere. 

Soon, icy blue shapes came into focus.  They were bigger than I thought.  And the black dots became people.  As I drew closer, I saw water trickling down everywhere, creating new shapes as it went towards the stream bed. 

I didn’t want the group to stop and wait for me, so I followed directly behind our guide.   As she cut new steps into the ice with her axe, I climbed, sometimes holding the rope for dear life, and lifting myself with the walking stick.  The steps were at least 1/3 of my height. 

There was a man resting alongside the trail who the guide said, was a hermit who lived in a cave.  Sometimes he helped the guides clean up the trails.  We said “hello” and moved on, climbing at a slow pace. 

Finally, I knew I could not go on.  I told the guide that this was all I could do.  She looked at me and laughed, saying: “That’s all your group is going to do.  We’re going back down now.” 

Very carefully, we descended from our lofty plateau, placing our feet in newly chopped ice.  It was very slippery. Finally, we reached level ground again. The outing took approximately three hours. I was elated. I wasn’t sure I had the stamina...

But I did it. 

What Did I Do? Why, I climbed 70 meters on the Franz Josef Glacier in the South Island of New Zealand.

P.S. April Fool’s! Our guide did it to us. Remember the hermit? Well, he was actually one of the regular guides. He didn’t live in a cave.                 

More to the story: Joyce Keinitz is my hero. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1994 at the age of 55, she was determined not to let that slow her down. With a twinkle in her eye she set out on many adventures with the Walking Connection. 

In the year 2000 she traveled with me to New Zealand. Three days before we left she had a chemo treatment. Though one of the many side affects is fatigue, as you can see by her story, that did not stop her from living life to the fullest and challenging herself.  

Sadly Joyce lost her battle with cancer in October of 2001. Though many years have past, when I think of Joyce on top of that glacier, I miss her positive spirit that still makes me smile... 

"Don't cry when the sun is gone, 

because the tears won't let you see the stars." ~ Violetta Parra

Seeing Red in New Zealand

(In celebrating the Walking Connection's 25th year we are featuring some of the people we have met along the way that share our love for walking. This is the first in a series. Enjoy!)

John Dwyer is from Wellington New Zealand. He found us on the internet around the year 2000. In those days we had a membership that included a red T-shirt. John a keen walker, wore his proudly.

He has kept in touch over the years and always participates in our annual World Wide Walk. Though communication is much easier now with e-mail and Facebook, in the beginning he hand wrote letters to Gene and I about his walking adventures.

Here is one of those wonderful letters we received in February 2004:

Hello Gene and Jo Ann, 

A couple of weeks ago I went on holiday with my Sister and her family for a three day trip into the forest near Rotorua. While attending to our forest accommodation fees, a staff member at the Tauranga Department of Conservation, who are in charge of our forests here in New Zealand, tapped on my back and said... 

"Ah!! a well known overseas walking group this"!! He had seen the two boots that were printed on the back of your T shirt. Turns out he took your group for a hike when you were last here. 

Also he had worked in the same forest near where I had lived and worked. I had worked part time  planting pine trees and  have visited there since whenever I return to my old home town area.Of course the conversation was also about "The Walking Connection", so although you may have only been here once, your T shirt bought alive someone else's memory of you previous visit. 

John on the trail in January, 2004
"My red Walking Connection T shirt, a high visible object, on our walk."

Our two day hike in the Whirinaki forest, was great, alongside a river, in Native forest, with three steep rock gorges, a large waterfall and a limestone cave to explore as well. The 26 km hike, with a overnight stay in a forest cabin, of bunks, candles, sink and table, was a very peaceful place to rest for the night. Being next to the river and being able to see some blue ducks which are native to the forest, early in the morning, was a high light. 

We camped the 2nd night by a waterfall, and swam in its pool and its flow was a great back massage, when you backed up to it. It was cold water, however we were very much in need of a shower after hiking for two days in the forest.!! This  had a  very basic camp ground of a toilet  and somewhere to camp on. How we slept that night!! 

Next day we went back into the forest for a three hour walk to a fresh water lagoon, where there were ducks and frogs among the native trees, growing in the lagoon edges. The walk in warm sweaty conditions was well worth the effort. Summer time here in January. 

My red Walking Connection T shirt, a high visible object, on our walk.

Happy walking,
Bye for now,
John Dwyer

John still walking in New Zealand, May 2015

It really is a Small World!

"Fernweh" (n.): an ache for distant places

photo credit: Micki Clay

My ultimate favorite place to be is on safari in Africa, period.

Though we recently returned from a month long journey in Tanzania, 

I am longing to be back on the Serengeti...

photo credit: Micki Clay

I miss the adventure of setting out from our mobile camp to find where the migration is headed. Seeing a line of dots on the horizon and in moments being completely surrounded by masses of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle.

I crave the seemingly subtleness of Lamai
sitting high among the kopje with the tall grasses softening the horizon. 

What is out there today? I wonder. 

Looking towards the Mara River, hippos look back at me.

photo credit: Joanne Young

I yearn for the new day at Greystoke Mahale curious where the chimps will be. 

Around the corner or up the densely forested mountain? 

Either way I am ready and willing to do the trek. The payoff is worth the wait...
and the walk.

photo credit: Gene Taylor

And then as light fades on a day filled with nature's gifts, 

looking across Lake Tanganyika the sun sets over the Congo.

photo credit: Gene Taylor

A memory of a blue lantern with gentle light soothes my spirit 

and draws me into my dreams.

photo credit: Gene Taylor

Good night Africa...I'll be back

"Fernweh" is a German word with no English translation for it. It is basically the opposite of homesickness (Heimweh): when you feel like you have to leave your familiar surroundings to discover new places. It is the need for distance, the wish to experience something far away from home, the urge to escape from your everyday life by travelling

my MOM

My MOM just turned 90. On her birthday I took her for a 5 minute walk 30 feet down the hall. At 72 she walked all 26.2 miles at the Anchorage marathon as Gene, Dad and I cheered her on at the finish line.

My MOM doesn't know who I am anymore. She has Alzheimer's....

My MOM was my best friend, confidant, adviser, sidekick, cheerleader, sounding board, nurturer, therapist and sometimes critic. Now I am a stranger.

My MOM remembered EVERYTHING. Sometimes I felt she knew too much about me and my life. Now I just wish she knew who I was...

On a cool November day way back in 1999 I knew something was not right... 

                             she slipped away...a little piece at a time...for 15 years.

In her last week she looked at me softly without confusion and played with my hair. She held my hand tightly. I had missed her for a really long time, but for a moment my MOM was back.

My MOM passed away a year ago on March 26th, 2014.

Love you MOM -  I bring you with me wherever I go.

UNSTUCK

Have you ever been stuck?

Stuck in a rut. Stuck in the middle. Stuck like glue.

Well -- I have...To be stuck is to be static, motionless, immobile, inactive, still...I can't think, can't write or don't wanna walk...

I get stuck in different ways, at different times and all for different reasons; life distractions, lack of information, boredom, overwhelmed, frustration, fear or just NOTHING IS WORKING

When I've reached an impasse, I've learned that it's time to STOP, change my approach and look a little deeper.  

Sometimes it might be as simple as finding a positive mantra to play over in my head. My latest replay is,"She BELIEVED she could so she did."

Strong and confident words that help me push through what ever the road block may be...this time. It might not work forever, but for now I'm UNSTUCK so I'm keepin' it! 

Come Walk With Me!