On my way

Earlier today as I write to you, I was outted at the St. Luke’s Fitness facility on Commerce Way. There I was, trying to be inconspicuous, head down, intent, as if it were a matter of life or death, on the march of manifold numbers on the control panel, when out of the cacophonous slap-slap din of the fleet of treadmills, a hoary voice croaked, “Getting in shape for the Peace Walk, I see.”

Damnation, I thought it was my secret. But yes, I am hoping to participate once again next Saturday in the 66th annual 10-mile Nazareth to Bethlehem Christmas Peace Pilgrimage, symbolic of the journey of Mary and Joseph before the birth of Jesus, under the leadership of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches (peacewalk.org).

It was a secret because at age 85 I walk like I was assembled from random spare parts at a used body shop. My spine curves like Center Street from the Police Memorial up to Church, my tattered glutes are deemed too old for surgical repair, the warranty on the valve in my aorta lapsed long ago, and my toenails have grown long and curled like a hawk’s claw -- for a clipper in my sometimes tremoring hands is as dangerous as a meat cleaver.

In fact, prior to last week’s inaugural snow, my children stigmatized my cute but fragile 85-year-old bag of bones by lovingly advertising on Facebook for a compassionate (or greedy) neighborhood soul to relieve me of shoveling this winter season.

But I have a strategy, a gem of conscious self-deception. Listen to this and marvel. The Peace Walk is broken into three legs of approximately three miles each. I have convinced myself that if I am in shape enough to walk three miles comfortably, I can view the distance as three individual easily handled three-mile walks one at a time instead of one daunting 10-miler all at one time. And as of today I’ve progressed to walking two miles with relative ease. I’m on my way!

And I’m not alone. I have support. That was old friend Christy who outted me, there likewise getting in shape. And another Ed was there too. And Carol. And Rich. A creaky convoy of fellow seniors. All of us committed to walking for peace. All of us wishing world leaders as passionate in this cause as we are. Onward!