{"id":31899,"date":"2025-07-16T15:09:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=31899"},"modified":"2025-07-16T15:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:24:24","slug":"what-i-learned-from-taking-58-walks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=31899","title":{"rendered":"What I Learned From Taking 58 Walks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">With friends new and old, I figured out what I really value \u2014 one step at a time.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was an odd scavenger hunt, to be sure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Four of us wandered Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, searching for tombstones of notable New Yorkers. With every wrong turn on our way to Jean-Michel Basquiat or Leonard Bernstein, we consoled ourselves with the knowledge that we were increasing our step count.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bob, the resident comedian of our group, cried out for \u201cLenny!\u201d when the paper map his wife, Hope, held proved useless. Eventually Bob, as well as Hope, my husband, Jay, and I found our way to Bernstein\u2019s tomb. We snapped a few photos, declared victory and laughed our way to Industry City, adding a few more miles \u2014 plus some delicious Korean food \u2014 to our outing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The day \u2014 exploring, laughing and talking with friends \u2014 was exactly what I\u2019d envisioned when I turned 58 and decided to take 58 walks with friends, each one at least 5.8 miles long.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">My dad had died suddenly, at 59, and our regular walks are a memory I cling to over 35 years later. As I approached a stage of life he never experienced, I wanted to honor him. But I had other goals, too. I hoped to pair two favorite activities \u2014 walking and talking \u2014 with small excursions around New York City, where I live, and during my travels elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some walks went much farther than the 5.8-mile goal. Sarah and Tony, longtime walking buddies, organized a breathtaking 12-miler, traversing the Hudson River on the longest footbridge in the United States. Sarah brought fantastic chocolate chip cookies. As a bonus, I learned how to spell Poughkeepsie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">I didn\u2019t hold others to the Sarah-Tony standard, though. A few people, because of injury or a lack of appetite for long walks, did their 5.8 miles in stages. Some were creative with the prompt: Patrick, an artist, took me to see a K\u00e4the Kollwitz exhibit at MoMA, where we visited the fifth floor, found Gallery 8 and snapped a photo. I wanted to widen my circle, not limit it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F16%2Fwell%2Fmind%2Fwalking-ritual.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F16%2Fwell%2Fmind%2Fwalking-ritual.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F16%2Fwell%2Fmind%2Fwalking-ritual.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F16%2Fwell%2Fmind%2Fwalking-ritual.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With friends new and old, I figured out what I really value \u2014 one step at a time.It was an odd scavenger hunt, to be sure.Four of us wandered Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, searching for tombstones of notable New Yorkers. With every wrong turn on our way to Jean-Michel Basquiat or Leonard Bernstein, we consoled ourselves with the knowledge that we were increasing our step count.Bob, the resident comedian of our group, cried out for \u201cLenny!\u201d when the paper map his wife, Hope, held proved useless. Eventually Bob, as well as Hope, my husband, Jay, and I found our way to Bernstein\u2019s tomb. We snapped a few photos, declared victory and laughed our way to Industry City, adding a few more miles \u2014 plus some delicious Korean food \u2014 to our outing.The day \u2014 exploring, laughing and talking with friends \u2014 was exactly what I\u2019d envisioned when I turned 58 and decided to take 58 walks with friends, each one at least 5.8 miles long.My dad had died suddenly, at 59, and our regular walks are a memory I cling to over 35 years later. As I approached a stage of life he never experienced, I wanted to honor him. But I had other goals, too. I hoped to pair two favorite activities \u2014 walking and talking \u2014 with small excursions around New York City, where I live, and during my travels elsewhere.Some walks went much farther than the 5.8-mile goal. Sarah and Tony, longtime walking buddies, organized a breathtaking 12-miler, traversing the Hudson River on the longest footbridge in the United States. Sarah brought fantastic chocolate chip cookies. As a bonus, I learned how to spell Poughkeepsie.I didn\u2019t hold others to the Sarah-Tony standard, though. A few people, because of injury or a lack of appetite for long walks, did their 5.8 miles in stages. Some were creative with the prompt: Patrick, an artist, took me to see a K\u00e4the Kollwitz exhibit at MoMA, where we visited the fifth floor, found Gallery 8 and snapped a photo. I wanted to widen my circle, not limit it.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31901,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31899"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31902,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899\/revisions\/31902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}