Throughout history, people have
walked for exercise, for relaxation, or just to get where they needed to go. In this modern age, we've developed the
bicycle, which allows us to exercise without going anywhere, relax on bicycle only trails, and get where we're going faster than walking, or other antiquated means of transportation like the
automobile which is only slightly more efficient at navigating the Boston streets than the
horse and buggy they were originally designed for.
Despite the invention of the bicycle, walking still survives into our modern world. People
walk for hope,
walk for life, and even
walk for farm animals. Not only does walking still act as a means of exercise, providing hope for a longer, healthier life, like any other physical exertion it increases the demand for protein, provided by our slaughtered farm animals. Thus, walking has also lead to a great number--over 40,000 people in recent years--to
walk for hunger.
Over 40 000 people walked through the greater western Boston metro area today, through the windy streets originally built for horse-drawn carriages, through the organically developed system of streets and intersections that evict as much evidence of planning and daft skill as a child's first painting attached to the refrigerator. Those 40 000 raise over $80 per person to walk 20 miles. $4 a mile (or about £2). I said 40 000 walked, although in reality most of them are still walking, as the event takes the better part of the day, and thousands of volunteers, food, and water that itself could be going to end hunger directly.
Personally, I'll continue to sit around and wait to get hungry--no use exerting myself to speed-up the inevitable. One thing that has become clear to me though, is while this is a wholly inefficient means of fundraising to end hunger, and ineffective at preventing the consumption of meat from domesticated farm animals, a massive walk through Boston is highly effective at demonstrating what we already know--that
the road system around here sucks.