Morning Walks

I am a dedicated walker. In fact, I remember most of the places I’ve lived by the walks I took: Up and down the foothills of the Appalachians in Birmingham, Alabama with a jogging stroller; from North Beach to the fishing boats in San Francisco’s piers early on Saturday mornings (on weekday mornings, I climbed the Filbert steps from our apartment to my job at Levi-Strauss); and, of course, all the many walks I took in Brooklyn (Prospect Park!) and Manhattan (Battery Park! Madison Avenue!). These days, I walk Dolly, our hound dog, a couple of miles around our neighborhood. In the winter, our walks begin before the sun rises.

So, Dolly and I walk sometimes through Mercer Meadows, but we also have five different routes that we alternate. Today we walked through a beautiful neighborhood close to our house, and I particularly like it because of the many trees surrounding the houses. The trees pictured above are covered in ivy.

While we walk, I either listen to books, podcasts, or walk/run with Peloton Outdoor. This morning, I listened to a great episode of Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast. Joshua Weilerstein, the host, talked about George Gershwin, and, of course, I immediately thought of the incredible opening of Manhattan, the horrifying and yet extraordinary movie by Woody Allen. Such a dilemma. New York. Just like I pictured it.