Saturday, October 31, 2020

WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER EIGHT Part 2: Suggested Reading List and the addresses of many walking friendly organizations

CHAPTER EIGHT:  Suggested Reading List and the addresses of many walking friendly organizations


Organizations, Part 1:



        “I’ll rest,” said he, “but thou shalt walk”

        “So doth this wandering Jew

        “From place to place, but cannot rest

        “For see countries new.”

        - Anonymous (The Wandering Jew) 



Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Attn: Membership Department

2121 Ward Ct., NW, 5th Floor

Washington, DC 20037

https://www.railstotrails.org/

 

 

        This is a private, nonprofit organization that supports restoring life to abandoned railroad corridors as trails, while saving the same corridors for future transportation needs.

 

 

Accessible Sidewalks and Street Crossings

An informational guide to Accessible Sidewalks and Street Crossings

https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/accessible_sidewalks_and_street_crossings_boodlal.pdf

 

 

          “We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.”

          - Joseph Campbell, 1904 – 1987

 

 

        Walking Adventures International

“History, Culture, Scenery, and Walking... more than just a walking tour!”

Mailing Address

Walking Adventures International
PO Box 871000
Vancouver WA 98687-1000

 

Street Address

Walking Adventures International
14612 NE Fourth Plain Rd Ste A
Vancouver WA 98682-5030

 

Phone: 800.779.0353 or 360.260.9393
Fax: 360.260.1131
Email: 
fun@walkingadventures.com

https://walkingadventures.com/



          “Walks.  The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird.”

          - Jules Renard



American Hiking Society

8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 1100

Silver Spring, MD 20910

 

Phone Number (Toll Free): 1-800-972-8608
Phone Number (Local): (301) 565-6704

Info@AmericanHiking.org

 

https://americanhiking.org/

 

 

        In their own words:  “American Hiking is the only national organization dedicated to serving hikers and protecting the nation’s hiking trails.  From the halls of Congress to the backcountry, AHS speaks up for America’s hikers and the trails they love.”

 

 

          “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”

          - Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910

 

 

Safety | Federal Highway Administration

Office of Safety
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Safety.FHWA@dot.gov

 

 

          “Perhaps, the truth depends on a walk around a lake.”

          - Wallace Stevens

 

 

        The (Seattle) Mountaineers

        In their own words, “The Mountaineers is one of the oldest and largest organizations in the United States devoted to exploration, enjoyment, and conservation of the outdoors and wilderness areas.

Seattle Program Center

7700 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98115

Phone: (206) 521-6001

info@mountaineers.org



          “After a day’s walk everything has twice its usual value.”

          - George Macauley Trevelyan, 1876 – 1962

 

 

UNITED STATES ACCESS BOARD

Advancing Full Access and Inclusion for All

1331 F Street NW, Suite 1000

Washington, DC 20004-1111

Voice: (202) 272-0080 or (800) 872-2253

TTY: (202) 272-0082 or (800) 993-2822

Fax: (202) 272-0081

 

 

          “Only thoughts won by walking are valuable.”

          - Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844 – 1900

 

 

National Crime Prevention Council

NCPC’s public service ads let people know how they can identify suspicious behavior and protect themselves from potential crime.

1000 Connecticut Ave NW

Washington, DC 20036

        Phone: 1-202-466-6272

        Web Site:  https://www.ncpc.org/

 


          “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.”

          - Søren Kierkegaard

 


        National Arbor Day Foundation

        211 N. 12th Street

Lincoln, NE 68508

Toll Free: 1-888-448-7337 8 am to 7 pm Central Time Monday through Friday

        Web Site:  https://www.arborday.org/


WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER EIGHT Part 1: Suggested Reading List and the addresses of many walking friendly organizations

CHAPTER EIGHT:  Suggested Reading List and the addresses of many walking friendly organizations


        “I can remember walking as a child.  It was not customary to say you were fatigued.  It was customary to complete the goal of the expedition.”

        - Katharine Hepburn

 

       

        BACKPACKING

        The Complete Walker III by Colin Fletcher

        (Alfred A. Knopf)

        This may be one of the best all‑around guidebook on backpacking.

 

 

        GENERAL INFORMATION

        The Official Boy Scout Handbook

        Written by William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt

        (Boy Scouts of America)

This handbook is an excellent guidebook to the outdoors.

 

 

        GENERAL INFORMATION

        WALKING MINNESOTA

        Written by Mary Jo and Jim Malach

        (Voyageur Press)

        This is an excellent overall guide to Minnesota trail systems, as well as sections for community planners and citizens groups.

 

 

        GENERAL INFORMATION

        The Complete Book of Walking

        By Charles T. Kuntzleman

        (Pocket Nonfiction)

        An excellent guidebook to walking

 

 

        SURVIVAL

        The US Armed Forces Survival Manual

        (Times Books)

 

        “The Loose foot of the wanderer,

        “Is curst as well as blest!

        “It urges ever, ever on,

        “And never gives him rest.”

        Hesper Le Gallienne 1893 - 1970

 

 

        TRAILS:

 


        Minnesota Walk Book(s) by James W. Buchanan

        (Nodin Press)

        This is a series of books locating and describing the trails of the six tourism regions of Minnesota.


Friday, October 30, 2020

WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER SEVEN Part 8: The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life

CHAPTER SEVEN:  The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life


          Canine Physical Fitness

 

          According to the American Kennel Club, many dogs in the United States, like their human companions, have become overweight due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise.  The solution to this problem is simple:  First, feed adult dogs one or two daily meals of pet food, not human table scraps.  Second, take your pet on scheduled daily exercise walks.  Both humans and animals alike will benefit.

 

          “The mechanization of America, principally the invention of the elevator and the motor car, has reduced the majority of its population to a sedentary lifestyle.  This lifestyle has a great deal to do with the development of atherosclerosis ‑ the clogging up of arteries of the heart, brain, and kidneys ‑ the disease process that kills and cripples more people than all other disease entities combined.  What an irony that of our time that this scourge of the human race is self‑inflicted.”

          Dr. Albert A. Kattus 1974

 

          The Workplace

 

         For white collar workers computers, and other digital information technology, are now a necessary part of modern business life.  For blue collar workers power tools, robots, and powered industrial trucks such as forklifts have greatly increased the productively of workers.  This means that all types of workers make more goods and services than workers could in the past with much less physical effort in the same amount of time.

         However, physically fit workers are always preferred by management and co-workers, over obese workers.  Some major businesses are now becoming aware of the financial benefits of maintaining a healthy work force and are offering employee workplace company health programs that promote healthy lifestyles that include the prevention and cessation of smoking, as well as the promotion of a balanced diet and moderate exercise program to help maintain employee health and reduce company health care costs by cutting down on absenteeism, accidents, hospital admissions, and other health care costs.  Since these corporate fitness programs are now growing at a steady rate, American education institutions need to incorporate similar programs to prepare their students for future employment in an increasingly health conscious workplace.

 

         “If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.”

         - Robin Sharma

 

         It is an unwritten fact that a physically fit graduate often has better chances of meaningful employment over an equally qualified, but obese, graduate.  The best plan of action for obese students is not joining a fat acceptance group.  Instead of making irrational excuses for their unhealthy food addiction, obese students must exercise, eats healthy foods, to get in physical and mental shape.

 

          For business owners, these are ideas for creating and then maintaining a walking and/or biking program

 

          If you own, manage, or work in a business of any size you will find that scheduled weekly company-sponsored fitness walks can be a great way of generating ideas sessions between management and employees, if everyone can remember that they can walk, talk, listen, and think at the same time!  A fresh air, outdoors, walking and/or biking ideas session is generally much more effective in creating alternative ideas than inside the artificial atmosphere of an air-conditioned conference room that often seems to be more conducive to sleep than thought.

 

          “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”

          - Thomas Jefferson

 

          Moreover, promote employee physical fitness by encouraging muscle powered commuting and lunch period exercise breaks.  For example, buying bicycles, building secure and inside bicycle racks, while providing showers for washing up after such physical exercise will give your employees more options other than driving.  Office amenities, such as showers, prove that management truly cares for their personnel and is useful in both attracting and retaining experienced and skilled professionals.

 

          “I walked a mile with Pleasure.  She chatted all the way.  But left me none the wiser for all she had to say.”

          “I walked a mile with Sorrow.  And never a word said she.  But, oh, the things I learned from her.  When Sorrow walked with me.”

           - Robert Browning Hamilton

 

          The simple truth is that healthy employees are more productive, while having fewer medical problems than obese employees.  This is the way reality is and no amount of whining from infantile, greedy gluttons will ever change that reality.


Thursday, October 29, 2020

WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER SEVEN Part 7: The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life

CHAPTER SEVEN:  The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life


          “I’m addicted to exercising and I have to do something every day.”

          - Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

          In an article written by Linda Baker, titled “Sprawl: Soccer Moms’ Public Enemy #1,” echoes our thoughts.  Baker states: “The health of a community, says urban social critic Ray Oldenberg, can be measured by the number of amenities located within walking distance.  By this standard, the community is far from well.  Largely because walking has become both unpleasant and dangerous, the number of adults and children walking to school and to work has declined dramatically since the 1970's, according to Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse.  Although it used to be the most common way of getting around in cities and towns, today only 5.5 percent of all trips are on foot.”

          The article continues with, “Interviews with department of transportation officials in ten states revealed that kids are walking to school less than in the past, mostly because of parental concerns for safety and the location of new schools in outlying areas where lack of sidewalks makes it difficult to walk.  It’s no surprise, perhaps, that a study released last year by the Centers for disease Control links increasing childhood obesity rates to automobile-centered lifestyles.”

 

          “Exercise equals endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy.”

          - Anonymous

 

          Another idea in the article links wealth and walking.  “Today, traffic congestion has added a startling, new dimension to class-based travel problems.  Reversing a decades-old trend, walking, not driving is becoming a privilege of wealth.  Compare the rising poverty rates in the nation’s older ‘car-burbs’ with upscale new urbanist communities like Seaside in Florida or award-winning Orenco in Portland.  Or consider the gentrification that is claiming inner cities across the country, replacing affordable housing with premium-price condos located only a stone’s throw from work, shopping, and entertainment.”

          Therefore, this truth is as undeniable as the Earth revolving around the Sun.  All nations must adopt New Urbanism that is an urban design movement that’s based upon environmentally friendly and holistic neighborhoods where walking, biking, and public transportation is available.  In addition, our rebuilt neighborhoods must have a wide range of housing and job opportunities, as well as stores for shopping and social events.

 

          “There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

          - Alexander the Great

 

          This shift away from physical education, and walking to and from school, helps explain the poor physical condition of so many young people under the age of 18.  This lack of physical activity in senior high school shows up in the poor physical condition of military recruits.  A reporter heard that one army trainer remarked that some recruits look like they spent their whole life sitting on a couch watching television while eating and drinking their way into obesity.

 

          “Exercise as soon as you get up, you will see what a difference it makes to your life.”

          - Awaken the Greatness Within

 

          According to the latest estimates, in the 1990's almost five million children, more than double the numbers of the 1960's, were severely overweight.  They blame this condition on fast food, video games, too much TV, but much of it is due to the lack of physical exercise.

          The result seems to be that the United States population is now producing a new generation of couch potatoes.  These are children who often follow the unhealthy examples of family adults leading them into chronic adult health problems and premature death.  They reported that one child remarked that he didn’t know adults ever exercised, all the adults he knew of just sat around and watched television.  Far too often, obese parents raise obese children who grow into obese adulthood.

 

          “Exercise to have fun and be healthy, not just to lose weight.”

          - Anonymous

 

          The amount of time watching television is another important factor in children’s fitness.  In the 1960's and 1970's, the average child in the United States watched just two hours of TV each day.  This viewing time doubled by the 1990's, with one third of the children watching five or more hours a day.  With increased numbers of available channels on cable and satellite TV, along with an expanding Internet access, the number of hours our children sit in front of cathode‑ray tubes or computer screens will increase.  It has been found that children’s levels of obesity can be predicted by the numbers of hours each day that they watch television.  Some parents use the family TV set as a mechanical babysitter.  While children and adults derive benefit from the best types of programming such as Sesame Street or My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic; global corporations make most Network TV programs to market toys to children and teenagers, while titillating adults with subtle references that only adults would know about.  In brief, be it “G.I. Joe” or be it “Baywatch,” these programs have little or no positive value for young children or anyone else.

          In addition, University of Minnesota communications professor Jerry Pepper pointed out a major logic flaw in nearly all these programs, animated or live-action.  They nearly always resolve conflicts that the main characters have with each other, or with the villain of the week, within each half-hour or hour segment.  This leads to the false belief among gullible viewers that they can solve THEIR problems in the same amount of time.  This false belief in easy, fast, and painless solutions makes it harder for the obese to commit to a lifelong program of moderate exercise and a balanced diet.

 

          “Exercise is therapy.”

          - Anonymous

 

          In contrast to viewing T.V., any type of daily regular physical activity has both short term rewards as well as long term rewards.  Young people who take part in high school sports programs are three times more likely to graduate.  Girls who are active in sports are more confident, have higher self esteem, and take more pride in their physical and social selves.  Girls who take part in physical activities are 92 percent less inclined to use drugs and 80 percent less likely to have an unexpected pregnancy.  They also are less apt to drop out of school than their non-athletic counterparts and more likely to go on to college.  Later in adulthood they are less likely to develop chronic health conditions such as heart disease and high cholesterol.  Due to increased opportunities to participate in high school sports programs, more girls are now involved in athletics.  Nationwide in 1971 only one in twenty‑seven girls took part in high school sports.  By 1994, one girl in three was a member of a high school sports team.  Children who are active in sports gain superior motor skills, perform better academically, and have a healthier attitude toward school compared to their less active classmates.

 

          Note:  To live a long healthy life, daily, regular, consistent lifelong physical exercise is a necessity, not a luxury.

 

          With this in mind, we need to make certain that each new generation must become aware of the need for daily, regular, physical exercise combined with a low fat diet while avoiding the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.  To do otherwise is to put entire generations at risk for poor health and early death.  Every citizen who cares about the future of the United States should lobby actively for mandated physical and nutritional education programs in all grades from K to 12 in public and private schools.

          Information on the long term benefits of exercise, good nutrition and the dangers of using alcohol, drugs, and tobacco should be made available to children and their parents as part of every elementary school’s curriculum.  The major reason for promoting childhood physical activity is not only the short term goal of producing physically fit children, but, more importantly to start them off in behavior patterns that they will carry on into adulthood.  This will reduce their risk of diseases associated with aging such as cardiovascular disease, various cancers and diabetes.  These are all conditions that are easier to prevent than to treat.

          It is most important to start promoting healthy lifestyles early in the child’s life because it is well-known that mental behavior patterns that are set early in life are the most difficult to change.  So, if you want to establish a good diet based on healthy and nutritious foods and exercise habits in a child, start at the age of fifteen months.  Don’t wait to age fifteen years; then it may be too late for many children.

 

          “Fitness starts in your head.  You must choose to eat clean, exercise regularly, and treat your body with respect.”

          - Anonymous

 

          What to do?  First, set TV and Internet time limits for yourself and for your children.  Watch only what you really want to watch, and then do something else afterwards.  (For example, this author and his son regularly watch the History Channel, The Discovery Channel, or Anime such as “Attack on Titan,” “To Heart,” and “Sailor Moon.”  Then, we balance time passively watching with active exercise while talking with each other, or writing).  For every hour of watching TV, plan an hour of physical activity.  Parents can set a positive example by participating with their children in physical activities, such as walking, biking, dancing, outdoor games, nature photography skating, skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing.  These can be of great benefit to all participants.

          Also, plan to eat family meals at home for least three days a week as a way to establish good childhood food behavior patterns.  Children need to know by example that parents value getting everyone together for their family meals.  Children who eat their meals with their families tend to do better nutritionally and at managing a variety of foods than those children who mainly snack outside of the family circle on junk food.  “Parents influence their children's eating habits more than any other factor,” says Dr. Paul McGinnis, family practice physician.

 

          “Walking is the best possible exercise.  Habituate yourself to walk very far.”

          - Thomas Jefferson

 

          Parents need to take children along when shopping for food in order to indicate to them what food is acceptable for family meals.  To maintain a child’s natural growth process, do not put children on a low calorie deprivation diet.  That can be harmful because children who are on low calorie diets have less energy and slower rates of maturation.  Instead reduce the amount of dietary fat by replacing it with fiber rich carbohydrates such as potatoes, pasta, breads, cereals, vegetables and fruits.  Cut back on children’s consumption of sugar-based foods.  The goal is not to remove all sweets from children’s diets.  Instead a much more realistic goal should be to hold their intake of sweets to moderation by keeping candy dishes and cookie jars out of sight and by not making them available to create temptations.  These easy to make lifestyle changes help insure that your children come to the dinner table hungry.

          Grandparents should not use desserts and sweets as rewards, or as a substitute for affection.  Your time and love are more important to your grandchild than candy bars, soda pop, and fast food.  Instead of giving those types of sweets, take your grandchildren to places that are of interest to them and where they can combine physical exercise with a learning experience such as walking through a zoo, nature center, or a park.

 

          NOTE:  Make sure that all outing participants understand that they will be walking and that they are wearing comfortable shoes.  This helps insure that everyone knows what will happen and that everyone has an enjoyable experience.

 

          Make meals family projects by involving children with the planning, purchase, and preparation of the menu.  Create a new recipe from scratch once a week as a family project.  Parents should teach children to eat slowly so as to taste and enjoy their food and be aware of the feeling of fullness.  Family meals should be occasions of conversation and sharing of recent experiences.  Use these meals as opportunities to build children’s self‑esteem by sincerely listening to them, while respecting their point of view.  Children want to feel that they are loved, accepted, cherished, and important to the adults around them.  This is vital to their development into adulthood.  Parents should avoid using family meals times for scolding and criticizing, instead make these regular eating schedule mealtimes pleasant events that everyone will look forward to and afterwards is fondly remembered.


          NOTE:  Parents and legal guardians should remember to only fight for what is truly important for your children.  For example, it is better for your son to be trim, healthy, and wear his hair in a ponytail; than for him to be fat, unhealthy, and have a crew cut hairstyle.