K and I share many of the same interests. But moving, biped style, from one destination to another isn’t one of them. We can’t walk very well together because — despite her shorter gait — she outpaces me by about a foot every 30 seconds. So after just a few minutes, she is several yards ahead of me. She continues talking. I can’t hear a word she says. If she looks back at me, I nod as if I can.
Walking in the wilderness is even worse. It’s not just her natural speed. It’s the fact that she views such ambulatory experiences as a sort of sport, rather than relaxation. On flatlands, I can trail behind happily listening to TED Talks on my iPhone. But when we are in mountainous terrain, I’d get lost if I didn’t push myself. In her last life, she was a mountain goat.
This morning, I stumbled on the following quote from John Muir, the famous naturalist. I sent K a copy — hoping against hope that it will slow her down a little.
