Tue 5/12/09

A Daily Walk With DietPower

Walking is the best exercise for weight loss. And the things you see!

The Danbury police parked a radar sign on Middle River Road today, where the speed limit is 25 and motorists commonly go 50. This car was doing 27—and the sign rightly said something about it.

I don't carry an electric sign, but in 16 years of walking this circuit I've signaled many a reckless driver. Sometimes I shout at them—"SLOW DOWN!" Sometimes I make hand motions or tilt my head into a mocking, "Well, aren't you cute?" expression.

It's not just my own safety that concerns me. Fourteen years ago, on this very road less than a quarter-mile from here, a man speeding home from work struck and killed a 12-year-old boy who darted out of a driveway on his bicycle. The child had just finished selling candy to a neighbor for a school fundraiser. As I pass the spot where the impact occurred (a white X painted on the road was mercifully paved over a couple of years ago), I am often haunted by the thought that the boy would now be a healthy young man, perhaps with a wife and children, had the housewife who bought the candy only taken a moment longer to find her purse or count her change. I also wonder about the driver of the car. In many ways, his tragedy is more profound than the child's.

As the sign says, wherever you're going, slow down. Please.

About this page: Precisely at noon each day, I step out of my office for a 3.5-mile walk around my Connecticut neighborhood. I carry a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TX5 pocket camera with a Leica 10x optical zoom lens. My object is to make an interesting photograph of at least one thing that is different that day. I post the results here, hoping they will inspire you and your friends to walk, too.  —Terry Dunkle, DietPower founder and CEO.

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All My Yesterdays

Monday, May 11: What Lilacs Are For

Sunday, May 10: Mama Butterfly

Saturday, May 9: Gone to Seed

Friday, May 8: A Pack of Boston Terriers

Thursday, May 7: Underground Passage

Wednesday, May 6: White Violet

Tuesday, May 5: Singing His Heart Out

Monday, May 4: Kenny's Secret

Sunday, May 3: Monument to an Afternoon

Saturday, May 2: Gasoline Rainbow

Friday, May 1: The Duck and the Bashful Maiden

Thursday, April 30: A Poison Ivy Sandwich

Wednesday, April 29: The Very Picture of Spring

Tuesday, April 28: A Busy Bumblebee

Monday, April 27: Electric Pink

Sunday, April 26: Saturday Night Special

Saturday, April 25: An Old Oak Falls

Friday, April 24: How an Ant Sees a Daffodil

Thursday, April 23: The Nameless Brook

Wednesday, April 22: Weeding Time

Tuesday, April 21: Wet Apple Buds

Monday, April 20: Mr. Allen and the Crew Team

Sunday, April 19: Bloodroot II

Saturday, April 18: Green Jellybeans

Friday, April 17: Bloodroot

Thursday, April 16: Skunk Cabbage III

Wednesday, April 15: Find the Critter

Tuesday, April 14: Blessing of the Animals

Monday, April 13: The Crow Who Said "Wow!"

Sunday, April 12: A Quirky Church

Saturday, April 11: Self-Portrait in a Pothole

Friday, April 10: Easter flowers

Thursday, April 9: Dumb as a Squirrel

Wednesday, April 8: April Snow

Tuesday, April 7: Egg Trees, Connecticut Style

Monday, April 6: I Carry My Lunch

Sunday, April 5: A Tree in Spring

Saturday, April 4: Pigs with Drivers Licenses

Friday, April 3: Forsythia

Thursday, April 2: Skunk Cabbage II

Wednesday, April 1: Mystery of the Hanging Shoes

Tuesday, March 31: Downy Woodpecker

Monday, March 30: 300-Year-Old House

Sunday, March 29: The Broken Fence

Saturday, March 28: "You're Such a Delight"

Friday, March 27: Skunk Cabbage

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