Wednesday, October 8, 2008

You did what?

The prosecutor's office I work in covers three counties. I'll call them counties A, B, and C for convenience. I live in County A but am assigned to the office in County B, about a 35 minute drive away. Yesterday, however, I had to attend some training on our new computer system held in County A, the county where I live. Our County A office is less than a mile from my house. The weather was nice and the dress was casual, so I decided to walk to the office. It took me about 15 minutes or so. Sidewalks the whole way.

People were amazed. You would have thought I was doing something remarkable. What have we come to as a people when the thought of a pleasant 15 minute walk to work is unthinkable to most people?

Look, I'm not posting this to make myself seem heroic or something. I'm as slack and lazy as the next person. And I certainly could stand to drop a few pounds. If the weather hadn't been nice or if I was wearing a suit, I probably would have driven. But we need to do something in this country to encourage people to get out and get some exercise. Next time you're out somewhere, just look around at people. We are becoming an obese society. People drive to places 5 minutes away in a big SUV and then circle the parking lot searching for a close parking space to avoid a slightly longer walk from their air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned store. I bet cardiologists are doing booming business.

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