There are different paces and attitudes that come with walking. You've got the casual stroller, cruising along to Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." You typically see these people in the evening when they don't have somewhere to be. Because in the morning, you try not to get bowled over by the frantic walkers running late, accompanied by Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." (Don't lie, you've been that crazy person too!) But those people are no where near as fast as people who competitively speed-walk. They've probably truly walked "500 Miles" to train for the Olympics; and I hope they're having just as much fun as that song is while they do it! Then there are the people who walk with a little swag, a little attitude, and you are curious to find out where they're headed, but you don't want to get in their way. You know their "Boots are Made for Walking," and you wouldn't want to be the person who gets walked on by them.
This weekend, I'll be participating in an event titled the Walk. Six years ago my younger sister was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and every year since my family and dozens of our friends have participated in the MS Walk as "Team Alie," aptly named for her. We fundraise for months in advance and the day of, we walk a little over 6 miles, symbolically taking many steps closer to erasing MS.
The Walk starts out early in the morning with a little breakfast and coffee available to every participant. We meet and greet and schmooze, and then all of my cousins gather around my grandpa while he leads stretches to prep us for the trek we about to embark on. He's very keen on our arms, gotta make sure those arms are strong and ready for the journey ahead! Next is team photo time. Every team at the walk gets their picture taken as a wonderful memory of the day, and as we grow in participants on Team Alie every year, the photographer has to constantly move himself farther away from the setup in order to fit us all in. As everyone gets ready to go, representatives from the National MS Society gather attention to welcome and inspire the walkers.
So what song applies to this specific type of walk? The ever-uplifting tune of "Walkin' on Sunshine." This song forces a smile upon the face on anyone listening to it, and the day of the Walk that's what we are: happy. Those of us participating in the Walk are there to make a difference, to come together as a positive force, to honor all of our loved ones and have a great day. And don't it feel good!
If you'd like to make a donation to the Team Alie efforts, please visit: http://main.nationalmssociety.
