How can anyone read a book while they walk? I’ve seen this woman in the Mount Avon Cemetery before, book held in one hand, eyes fixed on the page, as she winds her way through. She walks briskly, too, never looking up. I wonder if she ever tripped and landed on her face. I’m sure I would.
An avid reader
I almost hesitated to interrupt her, but she was all smiles when I asked if I could chat with her. She was reading a huge Stephen King book. Her name is Laura.
She said she’s read every King novel, but also enjoys the detective series by Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith. “Mostly those kinds of genres. I read several books at once, actually. I’ve been a big reader since the fourth grade, really. All my kids read, too,” she said, nodding proudly.
I asked why the cemetery. She said, “Well, there’s no traffic to deal with. It’s easy.”
“Yes. No sidewalk cracks, either. I suppose by now the path is pretty much mapped out in your head, so you don’t need to watch where you’re going. You kind of know what’s ahead,” I said. It’s like being on autopilot.
“Oh, absolutely.”
Laura walks in the spring, summer, fall and mild winter days. She’s been doing it for years.
“It’s not hard”
“It’s not that difficult, really,” she said, then shrugged. “I mean, I saw a woman once when I was walking here, and we started talking, and I told her she just ought to try it. It’s not hard. The next time I saw her, she was walking and reading a medical journal or something!”
A medical journal would be intense, not to mention it’s most likely a heavy book, too.
Laura is a graphic designer, but she admires people who have written a book. “That’s something I could never do. It’s an art, really.”
I mentioned I knew Jim Schaefer who writes a column called “A Few Minutes with ….” for the Free Press, and he might be interested in her curious pastime. I mean, I don’t know anyone else who reads a book while walking through a cemetery. I bet he doesn’t either.
“Oh, no, I’m not sure I’d like that,” she said, blushing a little. In fact, she only agreed to let me write about her if the picture I took didn’t show her face.
This is such an interesting hobby. I wonder how long it took her to memorize the walking path? The fact that the sidewalk is smooth and there’s no traffic definitely helps, like you said.
But I do wonder how she pays attention to people or pets who might be around her. I suppose she’d catch sight of them in her peripheral vision and change her course?
The cemeteries in my area have a lot of people walking their pets, jogging, or cycling around. It would be hard to walk in a straight line without bumping into someone if you did it regularly.
Or maybe her local cemetery isn’t quite so busy?! I’ve lived near some that barely had any visitors at all most days because they were rural or in out-of-the-way places.
Typically she and I would be the only two people in Mount Avon at the same time! No joggers, no bicyclists, very little traffic. It’s not rural or out of the way, just a small town with a small cemetery.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts!
You’re welcome, Linda. That sounds like it would be the perfect place to walk and read, then. 🙂