”Watch Your Step?”

~ Elizabeth

We first started using this large park in the neighboring town after I took a bad fall on a local sidewalk. I tripped over a spot where two sections met with one half an inch higher than the other. I went down so suddenly and so completely that I barely knew what had happened. Fortunately I had my hands in my pockets, so I didn’t throw out my arms and break my wrists, the most common injuries with such a tumble. Nothing broke though I had extensive bruising on my knee elbow and thigh. The outside of my head was unscathed, but inside of my head my confidence was shaken.

Nothing is less relaxing than walking on a sidewalk fearing another fall. After giving up walks for a while as my body healed, I wondered where else we could go. That led us to this park and its paths and walkways. The photo above shows one of the typical paved paths around the park. Unlike some sidewalks, this one is wide enough to allow two people to pass two people going the opposite direction. The paved surface is well maintained, plowed during the winter, and swept clean during the rest of the year.

Paved walks are perfect for walking but also for baby strollers and any mobility devices. Small children also try out their first biking skills on them. It is possible to do circuits just on paved walkways without looking out for cars. They allow an opportunity to be outside, near the river, walking without worry. They provided me my first optimism about walking outdoors again.

(The hanging banner features a poem, part of a poetry in public spaces project. That will show up in a later post.)

29 thoughts on “”Watch Your Step?””

  1. Glad to hear you found a pleasant place to walk. We have a lot of countryside around where we live in Beetley, but hard paths are rare, so we have to walk on grass. (Or mud in the winter. 🙂 )
    Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. My dear friend had the same when she tripped on a suitcase in Paris. She learned a lot about French medical care(all good) before she was packed up and sent home for the reconstruction.

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  3. Ouch! I’m glad you were not badly hurt.

    I fell on uneven sidewalk blocks when we lived on Long Island. I did not change my regular walking route, but I was careful at that spot until we moved.

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  5. I am so glad you have a new and safer place to walk!
    I know the feeling! Those little grade differences are extremely dangerous. I tripped on one that I didn’t even see, and pretty much face planted on concrete. Double black eyes just in time for catering a 120-person dinner for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Will never forget that, and now I’m feeling like an old lady when I attempt to stroll down a sidewalk!

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      1. Our inn did a lot of catering on the side, and in this one in particular I was one of the producers of the event, so it all flowed in together!
        That morning, I put a post on my facebook page telling everyone what happened so I wouldn’t have to repeat the story a thousand times while I was trying to feed a crowd! It worked, not a single person asked me how I got two black eyes and a bruised nose and face.

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        2. We did not reopen after Covid. After nearly 18 years, it was time for something a little different! I still do the odd class and will provide a bed for a musician, but other than that, I’m mostly catering to my own family and friends now.

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  10. So glad you’re okay, Elizabeth, though I understand the shaken confidence. One drawback to getting older is we feel more vulnerable.

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