Walk This Way

On my old blog dashboard, I used this title once before. Since I've been unable to access it and update my old blog, I have to write it anew.
This is one of Aerosmith's biggest hits, but as of the end of 2007, it seems like very few people walk anywhere these days. This is evidenced by the huge guts and fat asses of kids still in high school, forget the adult population! I LIKE walking. It's a great way to see our world at a liesurely pace, I've found all kinds of neat things that I would have missed in a car, and it also helps me lower my blood sugar. As a Type 1 Diabetic, this isn't always an advantage, but nobody ever said that life is E-Z, and if they did, they lied! It never ceases to amaze me that people will drive around a medium sized parking lot for half an hour looking for a space close to the store, rather than just parking and walking fifty or sixty yards. We're evolving into a nation of lazy self-absorbed slobs. In the beginning of October I broke my ankle in three places, and had to wear a cast for seven weeks. Getting around on crutches was a nightmare. I developed huge sores under my arms, that wouldn't heal because I had to keep using them if I wanted to get around. Little things I took for granted became nightmares. In my apartment there is no kitchen sink, so I use a laundry sink in the adjoining room. Ever try to carry a stack of dirty dishes on crutches? After trying this out, I abandoned that strategy and would hop on one leg to and from the sink, which lead to the next difficulty. Filling up a pot of water and then trying to get it to the stove without all of it sloshing out. Do that for seven weeks and see how jolly you remain.
The winters here on Long Island have been milder than I can recall when I was a child. We haven't had a White Christmas in about five or six years. This year we got a cold spell earlier than usual, and I'm sure many people in this suburban haven don't realize it, but home owners and businesses are required to clear the sidewalks in front of their abodes and stores. The average Joe will only shovel a path from his front door to his driveway so he can get his car out, and then he's gone. Clearing the sidewalk is a thought that doesn't even cross Joe Averages' mind, because nobody walks. But lo and behold, here comes old dumb Tony hobbling along on his recently broken ankle trying to wend his way though the uneven mess of a sidewalk that Joe left unshoveled in his haste to get to work on time.
When I was in high school, the minimum wage was $1.72 per hour. So a big snow was a way for a kid to go out and earn some money. I remember after a "snow day" one kid coming to school the next morning telling us how he made sixty six bucks shoveling driveways. Snow blowers have all but eliminated that source of income for kids, but even if they hadn't, I seriously doubt that any of these fat-assed blobs would bother to even try it.
Getting back to my original thought, when the sidewalks aren't shoveled, people must slog through the snow. Once the temperature drops, it freezes into hard, uneven, irregular forms that are even worse if you're recovering from a broken ankle. Businesses are just as negligent as homeowners in this department. One of the worst cases is the local Home Depot, they're on a main road with a long stretch of sidewalk bordering their store, and they can run televison ads about how they help sponsor employees to the special olympics, but they can't get one of the snow blowers that they sell and clear their sidewalk. Good way to build customer relations! Of course as long as their parking lot is clear, that's all that matters, since I'm the only dipshit who bothers to walk to this home improvement emporium. I wonder if I boycotted them, if anybody would notice?