"How We Walk"

 That haste has been known to produce waste is a two-thousand-year-old axiom, a lesson I neglected in my essay of a few days ago, when two correctible errors blemished what I thought a decent review of a book that deserved better. I have tried to be more careful in this short, light piece, which I hope will bring a smile on this rainy morning in Connecticut.

 

Sydney M. Williams

 

More Essays from Essex

“How We Walk”

January 13, 2024

 

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else.”

                                                                                                                       Attributed to Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

 

We are told to walk a mile in another’s footsteps before judging them. But that does not always work. “Walk this way,” says Igor (Marty Feldman) to Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) when they first meet at the Transylvania Railroad station in Mel Brooks’ 1974 film, Young Frankenstein. Of course Wilder cannot. He looks ridiculous – and the audience gets a laugh – as he tries to imitate the hunchback’s walk.

 

Apart from the military where one is instructed to march in 30-inch strides, with an arm swing of exactly 9-inches forward and 6-inches back, we each have a unique walking style, often identifiable from the rear.

 

Some of us walk pigeon-toed, others with feet splayed. Some take off briskly, with knees bent slightly, a confident stride; others walk stiff-legged, conscious of hazards, a hesitant stride. There are those who stand straight and walk with arms close to their sides, while others lurch forward and gesticulate as though hailing a taxi, even when walking through snow-covered trails in rural Essex. Some – mostly tall people – take long strides, while others take little steps, reminding one of David Suchet in the role of Hercule Poirot, who claims he simply squeezes his gluteal muscles to mimic the Belgian detective’s walk.

 

Perhaps it is because of too much time on my hands, but I derive pleasure in picking out individuals by the way they walk. Knowing that others may be doing the same should not make us self-conscious, for walking is one of best exercises we can do, especially as we age. And as Margaret Mead is alleged to have said, we are each unique. Once we depart, no one will ever walk exactly as do we.

 

So, keep walking, and worry not if someone is lurking a hundred yards back trying to decide who you are.