I read at lunch.
Now, lots of people read at lunch, but I also walk at lunch. As I read. Or read as I walk, if you will.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been doing this, but I’ve been an inveterate reader for years, and I’m pretty sure the habit goes back into my childhood. But it’s certainly been decades.
Now, I also wear a hat as I walk, and I walk in a regular pattern around the city blocks around here. But those never invite comment. “Wow, that takes skill!” I get told. “Must be a good book!” is another common one. “Don’t trip!” says the occasional wag.
Fact is, I don’t trip. I have good peripheral vision. I stay alert. I look up at driveways. I certainly never read while crossing the street.
Certainly I navigate and negotiate streets and crowds better than most of the cell phone-yapping suits who I mingle with on the sidewalks of Denver. Maybe because I’m willing or able to be interrupted. I also seem more aware of those around me than a lot of people I see wearing earbuds and rocking out to their tunes.
The only risks I run are when there’s an uneven sidewalk, a seam that’s uplifted or something. That will, sometimes, cause a small stumble (but never, in all these years, an actual trip or fall — I try to lift my feet as I walk). It’s possible I am slightly less safe than I would be if I weren’t reading as I walk. But I’m certainly more sane than I would be if I didn’t. It’s part of my standard lunch time decompression. And I enjoy it.
Still not sure why it draws comment, though.
Why does it draw comment? Because it’s unusual! In all your reading-walks, how many other people have you seen doing the same thing? None? A unicycle rider on stilts would also acquire attention and remarks because nobody has seen such a thing.
Next time somebody stops you, make it a point to ask them how many books they read a month. I’ll bet a shiny new quarter that for most of them, reading at all is odd behavior, let alone reading when you could be talking on your cell phone or otherwise distracting your brain from actual thoughts.
Well, to be honest, distracting my brain from actual thoughts (about work) is the reason I do it. 🙂
And, yes, you’re right, it is unusual. Heck, given statistics on how many books people read, even sitting and reading would be unusual.
Oh, and i just saw the caption on the image. Belle, book, and candle. Well played!
😀
I used to read while I walked to school. I might have done it while walking to the school bus stop when I went to a school too far away to walk. I haven’t done it in years. I bet it’s a skill that most people don’t have, and that I’ve probably lost through lack of practice.