Has the younger generation (not that I’m necessarily counting myself among the OLDER generation) forgotten how to walk? In the past two days I have noticed way too many kids walking, backpack slung over their shoulder, usually on the phone, dragging their heels so that their feet scuff along the sidewalk making WAY TOO MUCH NOISE! Not only are they wearing the soles of their shoes (or bedroom slippers or boots) away, they are annoying their neighboring walkers, especially me.

In the olden days when I used to run races, 5K’s, 10K’s and the such, I used to speed up or slow down to get away from noisy runners. Those people with heavy feet, shoes slapping the pavement, or bells on their shoestrings or other parts of their person, or people with breathing issues, gasping for air, or spitting regularly. All of those sounds annoyed me and made me more aware of my own problems, pains and weariness. Even Riley, the guy that dribbles three basketballs while he runs, made too much noise and I’d let him pass me. OK. So maybe he passed me because he was faster than me, even while dribbling three basketballs. But still. I was always glad when he was over the next hill ahead and I didn’t have to listen to the incessant slap of the basketballs against the pavement.

So this week, while I was stuck behind twenty-somethings with sagging jeans and sloppy shoes, walking slack-kneed slowly toward their destinations I went into runner mode and sped up to pass them. I felt like their mother as I thought…”pick up your FEET!”