Thursday, January 3, 2008

Fitness or Transportation? Dumb or smart?

Real cold this morning. Really, really.

One of the nice things about my daily commute is that it takes me by the water...the ocean...the Atlantic one. There are always people walking themselves, their kids or their dogs or jogging along the sidewalks. It's always nice to see the number of bodies out there increase and the layers of clothes decrease as the spring weather begins, then watch the crowds dwindle as leaves brown and fall.

Either way, from the comfort of my car, the ocean is always a pleasant view. And sometimes quite interesting. On a count of it's so big and deep and all, the water in the Atlantic Ocean is sometimes warmer than the air. In fact, on days like this, there's so much of a temperature difference that vapor actually starts to rise off of the surface of the ocean, giving it a really cool look.

So while I was enjoying this view this morning, it came as a stark surprise to see a portly fella rollerblading along the sidewalk bordering the beach. Sure there are always joggers--they're nuttiness can be left for another post someday--and there are the regular schmoes who have to walk the dog or walk to catch a train or bus. But rollerblading? With all the sand and mess on the sidewalks these days? On top of the aforementioned bitter cold?

I couldn't help but wonder* if this was a fitness routine or simply a way of getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Maybe it was exercise. But the guy didn't look like he was a regular rollerblader by the shape of his body or the skill in his stride. So if he was just starting some kind of New Year's resolution gambit he was a lot dumber than he was chubby.

So I was left to conclude that he usually has to walk, but figured that no matter how bad he was on the roller blades, they would get him to his destination and out of the cold faster than his sneakers.

And that made me think he was smarter than I initially gave him credit for.

But DAMN he musta been cold!


*Yes, I've watched Sex and the City with my wife many times.

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