That first day we walked, we dreamed up THE WALK.
Of course we had taken a lot of walks together. But that day, we walked from our house to the grocery store. It was further than your average walk, and too cold, but we felt like walking and we left the car at home. We walked down the railroad tracks, and we saw the backs of houses of which we’ve only seen the front, and we walked through the big cemetery that got shattered in the tornado in the early nineties. We walked by the grave of the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, which I’d never seen there. It was home, but it seemed different, slower. That day, we added one more crazy idea to the list of crazy ideas that make up our general life plan.
What if we walked the length of the whole county? What if we stayed in the hotels we’ve only admired from the road, and we eat in the restaurants? We could walk the roads we drive every day, but home would be new to us because we’d be visitors. We could go to museums, and the houses of authors, and have picnics in every perfect place we can find.
Crazy.
But not impossible, it seems. Because tomorrow, we start walking.
Joey and I are walking from the Vermont border to the Connecticut border. Midway through the week, we’ll stop in on Melville’s front porch, the subject of one of my very favorite short stories. In The Piazza, everyone laughs at Melville because he builds his porch on the cold Northern side. He builds it towards Mt. Greylock.
No sooner was ground broken, than all the neighborhood, neighbor Dives, in particular, broke, too—into a laugh. Piazza to the north! Winter piazza! Wants, of winter midnights, to watch the Aurora Borealis, I suppose; hope he’s laid in good store of Polar muffs and mittens.
That was in the lion month of March. Not forgotten are the blue noses of the carpenters, and how they scouted at the greenness of the cit, who would build his sole piazza to the north. But March don’t last forever; patience, and August comes.
If you’d like to follow along, the best way is to keep an eye on instagram, where I’ll be posting both on my own feed and on this one. Or if you’re the hashtag sort of thinker, look for #slowberkshires and #patienceandaugustcomes. Please pop in and say hello! I’d love to here from you (and those are some LONG days with only Joey and I to keep our conversation going). Or if you’re in the Berkshires and want to do a little walking, feel free check in on us and meet up for a few hours. We’ll be happy for the company.
Till August, then. xo
Occasionally I teach workshops, and I have one coming up this fall. Join me and stellar novelist 
As someone who regularly walks to places most people consider definitely requiring of a drive, I think this is incredibly awesome and pretty inspiring, and makes me wonder if there’s anywhere cool like this my husband and I could walk to for a trip. I hope you have a great time, and I look forward to seeing/reading about it.
What fun! I’ll definitely be tagging along…
What a fun idea! I trust it will be quite the experience 🙂
The thought “Patience and August comes” has been on my mind a lot lately, but for a different reason. August for me brings a releif from the heat of July, dark before bedtime, cooler nights, but still warm enough days. Evenings where there is time to go out and look at the stars without staying up late. Cool mornings on the porch with a cup of coffee. Gets me through the heat of July every year!
Well said, Elaine. August does have that certain silence and cool to it. I wait for that too.
Sounds like so much fun! I always joke that I feel like it’s an adventure even if I’m just going to a neighboring town i’ve never been to before. You don’t have to go far, just change the perspective. Enjoy!
I love hearing about the genesis of this idea! I have been so enjoying your pictures along the way. So wish I were close enough to join you for a leg or two…xo
Thank you, Tara! I think a Washington state walk would be pretty nice…
When do you begin blogging about the WALK? I thought you’d write along with taking steps. So looking forward to vicariously experiencing your adventure.
It’s coming, Margit! Just getting my head around the whole experience. Hopefully today.:)
what a fantastic idea for a walk!! I might copy you in my county!
And I LOVE that line by Melville. So elegantly, sparsely written. Reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Carl Sandberg: “the people, yes.” It’s the title of a book and a poem.