A Man Goes for a Walk
Directionless in Saldanha
He placed his cereal dish and coffee cup in the sink rinsing them both. Time for his morning walkies. He tries to walk for forty minutes every morning, sometimes longer. At the door of his apartment, he tapped a button on his watch and said, “Start outdoor walk”. His watch replied, “Starting workout”. And he was off. As soon as he left the building he heard the songs of the early birds. For a moment his mind wandered to the day's tasks but not for long. He liked this morning routine. Walking was mind clearing.
He used his walks to get a mental reset before diving into the day's demands. Each step unraveled knots of stress and anxiety. Sometimes the day's challenges were only given clarity by him looking away from them during his walk. These walks energized his body and mind, preparing him to tackle challenges with renewed focus.
On this particular morning's walk, he decided to walk on the opposite side of the broad avenue from where he lives. He also decided to turn whenever he came across a red light blocking his progress. This worked to a point. Eventually to keep the walking distance within reason he had to tap pause on his workout screen and wait until some lights changed.
To get to the other side of the street he cut through the metro entrance which was a tunnel under the avenue First climbing down one set of marble stairs, walking 200 meters, and then up another set of marble stairs his path opened up to the sidewalk on the other side. The first thing he noticed was a woman coming up the steps of the metro entrance he was entering. For a moment she stood at the top of the steps looking about. Shaking her head, she headed back down thetunnel. Apparently she had come off the subway and had gone out of the opposite exit from where she wanted to be. He, because he was simply using the tunnel to cross the wide avenue while avoiding waiting for walk lights, ended up following her. The woman apparently was going to meet a friend at a coffee kiosk. When she emerged on the right side of the street, her friends was seated at the kiosk. He rose to greet her with air kisses and a hug.
The walking man turned north. The day was warm and muggy. Seemingly the rain wanted to come but couldn't. People, almost everyone, carried plastic water bottles. Some were durable plastic but most were flimsy, crinkly and disposable. He looked to his right and saw a woman opening a drugstore. Codes were punched in and two separate keys were twisted. The clerk or pharmacist, he was not sure of which, was so involved in the unlocking process that they never made eye contact. He walked on.
He tried to make mental notes of the things he saw that caught his attention like electrical boxes covered with posters of events coming and past. The posters were bright although some were faded. He had heard the electric company hatesthese posters and cleaned the boxes regularly. Seeing the past and future events displayed on those peeling posters, he thought about how chaotic and vibrant urban life is. Lisbon with cranes in the sky seemingly everywhere was constantly changing and evolving. The new blends in here with the old on bustling streets. As he watched workmen refurbishing storefronts and people in blue suits walking fast and talking loudly on cellphones he sensed the underlying rhythm to it all. The was a grand symphony.
The first traffic light on his walk turned red and sent him sideways down a different road. Looking ahead he saw tents being put up for the Friday Street market. This was not a market for locals. This was a trinket and trash market for 'visitors’ wandering this far up the hill away from the really overpriced nonsense down where the cruise ships tie up.
The market was a mishmash of used clothing, cheese and sausage sellers, plant vendors and occasionally a couple selling factory seconds of ceramic plates and vases. You could get better local cheeses and dried sausages at the supermercado across the street from these stalls and for less. But transients know no better. Locals had no use for this market. They seek fresh produce at the nearby mercado with its butchers, fish mongers, spice merchants and green grocers. Tourists, on the other hand, are drawn to the allure of colorful things in this market's stalls.
The atmosphere of the Friday Street market will be lively and vibrant once it is set up and the stalls are stuffed with wares from socks to sausages. This street will be filled with the chatter of vendors hawking their wares and the curious murmurs of tourists exploring the stalls.
He found himself saying “I love living in this city” when he spotted a package delivery guy in uniform with shoulder length aqua colored hair coming towards him. Still chuckling, he saw two short well-dressed older women sharing tales, gesturing and pointing fingers. They talked with the authoritative tone of women who “know” what is what in their voices. A dog walker turned off heading into a small green park.
A scraping sound pulled his attention to the other side of the street where an old man arranged bright shiny aluminum chairs around tables outside his small restaurant. He seemed to pull the tables and chairs to a point where they were not tippy on a clearly uneven sidewalk. It was a fool's errand really because as soon as someone sits down a knee or an elbow will push the table off that sweet spot. At the end of the day there will be folded napkins under various table legs.
When he saw parents getting kids off to school this morning, he realized his start was early. One mother stood on a corner and connected with another mother who left the first mother with two additional children to escort to school. A father walked two brothers to school carrying the younger brother’s backpack for him.
As the walker approached the busy corners he noticed people with apps open waiting for Ubers, Bolts, and Lyfts. On this walk he saw and delighted in the mundane day to day universe. He saw love for pets and children. He saw pride in the presentation of one’s business. He witnessed people playing their roles in making this world work.
He felt sweaty and sticky as his walk ended. But it was a fair tradeoff for refreshed and energized.