This is probably going to sound ridiculous to most of you, but what can I say, I’m an oldtimer set in her ways and not so savvy with new technology. I still use an LG flip phone from 2006.
It was around 1979 when Sony introduced a new way of listening to music with the Sony Walkman, known as 
the Soundabout in the U.S. Soon after, it was embossed with the name “Walkman.” The Walkman allowed people to walk around listening to their favorite music using lightweight earphones. I love music, but never really had a desire to walk around listening to it. To me, it was just a small cassette tape player. According to Wikipedia, “It will always be a symbol of the freedom and portability that Sony sought to convey among the younger demographic.”
Then, along came the Apple iPod and many more brands of mp3 players, including the Sony Walkman MP3.
Jump to present day…
I have always been inspired by my sister, Donna. She is the rock of our whole extended family, and she can walk rings around me, literally. She walks every day, something like three to five miles a day, and she walks fast. I can’t keep up with her, and she has to stop and wait for me to catch up. You’d never guess by looking at us that she’s almost five years older than me.
We moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in March 2010. My sister has been here four times since we moved here. It seems like the only time I venture out to see the countryside is when 
she visits. She inspires me, and motivates me. Well, she tries to, anyway. I hadn’t even been to downtown Knoxville until May of this year, when Donna and my oldest son came to visit. We drove all around Downtown and spent some time in Market Square. The next day, while I was still sleeping, my sister went back to the downtown area and walked around for miles. You can see the fantastic photographs she took when 
she was there at My first trip to downtown Knoxville.
You can see more awesome photographs during her Autumn visit at Autumn in East Tennessee.
The point is, she keeps trying to get me to walk. My doctor tells me the same thing every visit. I need to walk at least 30 minutes a day. I have diabetes and have a hard time controlling my blood sugar. Whenever I do go out for a few hours, or even to the grocery store, I’ll notice a 20-40 point drop in my blood sugar. That’s a significant amount, just from walking. But I can’t seem to do it regularly because it’s boring, and it hurts! I would only be able to walk around our townhouse complex because there are too many hills around here. During her last visit, again while I was still sleeping, my sister got up early and walked up and down the steep hills for at least two miles to the local shopping center, and then back again. We have two flights of stairs in our townhouse. One from the garage level (which I only
use when I’m going somewhere) and the other from the main level to the bedrooms (which I only use when I’m going to bed), and that’s enough exercise for me. 
About two weeks ago, I was determined to get out and get some fresh air. I put on my Nike’s and hoodie because it was a bit nippy outside, in the 40s. I walked over to the sidewalk and then started to walk around the complex. My intention was to walk completely around it. We live in a townhouse community that has two rows of five buildings, each with nine 3-story townhouses on each side, with little streets that go in between, so it’s a pretty good walk.
I walked to the end of our building (about five townhouses), turned left at the wooden enclosed dumpster, and by then I was huffing and puffing. I looked all the way down to the end of the fifth building and panicked. No way was I going to make it that far, and then back again. So, I cut through behind our building, to the next street over, and then back around to our townhouse. Total time, three minutes. Well, it’s a start, I guess.
It kind of reminded me of the time when my sister, her three grandkids, me and my son, went on a month-long road trip in 2007. That’s right, two adults, four kids, on a road trip for a whole month (that’s another story). When we were in Washington, D.C., we walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. One look and I was like, “No way can I walk that far!” But I did it, and we walked a whole lot more. Honestly, that was a trip to remember, and all thanks to my wonderful sister.
When my husband got home later, he told me that I should try it with his MP3 player and headphones.
Okay, the next day, after fiddling with my husband’s MP3 for a bit I learned how to play the songs. 
I had no idea how to lower the volume. He has the SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player. With my Nike’s, jeans and hoodie I went out again. I had the headphones on under my hood and the MP3 player in my hand in my pocket, adjusting it until I found something I liked. I can’t even remember the song titles, but the songs were mostly classic rock, which was okay with me. The music was loud, but that was okay with me, too. This time, there was a very light drizzling rain. I love cold weather, so it was still better than having to walk on a hot day. I walked to the end of my building, turned left at the wooden enclosed dumpster, and kept walking. Only this time, I made it past several buildings 
without even realizing how far I had gone. My calves were starting to burn, so after the third building I cut through to the next street and turned left to head back. As the music changed tempo I realized I was walking to the beat. Then it started to rain, and it seemed like the faster the music, the faster I walked, 
and the faster the rain came down. I was walking pretty fast at this point. I must have looked ridiculous bouncing down the sidewalk in the pouring rain, but I didn’t care, it was fun! Total time, 12 minutes. Not long, but much better than the first time.
Of course, the next thing I did was call my sister to tell her about my walk with Bob’s MP3 player. She said it makes a big difference and she couldn’t walk without hers.
I stopped walking because my legs were so sore, and with everyone sick with bad colds, and with the rainy weather, I didn’t get a chance to go out.
I’ve been receiving packages all week because of the holidays and yesterday, there was one for me from my sister. We had agreed not to exchange gifts this year, so I was surprised to 
see a package for me. Inside was a Sony Walkman 8gb MP3 video player. How cool is that? I called her and said, “What’s the deal, we weren’t exchanging gifts this year?” She said it wasn’t a Christmas present, she wanted to help encourage me to keep walking. I love my sister! I hope I don’t let her down.
After playing with my new MP3 player, and learning how to set up playlists, I’m hooked. I’ve already downloaded a couple of MP3s from Amazon for only $0.49! *Note: Prices are subject to change. I downloaded “Moves Like Jagger”, by Maroon 5, and “Sexy And I Know It”, by LMAFO. Other songs are $0.99 and $1.29. So far, I added a few songs from my Adele 21 album, and several of my husband’s CDs. He’s got so many it will take me awhile to go through them all. I said, it’s so much easier to download them from Amazon for only $0.49! Of course, that adds up and it’s only for some pop music and old favorites that we don’t already have.
So, armed with some of my favorite tunes, I went out again yesterday. This time, I made it all the way down, past the 
fourth building, then across two streets to the mailbox, where my husband usually picks up the mail after work, and all the way back. Total time, 14 minutes. My next goal is to walk around the whole complex twice. Baby steps.
There are many different brands and models of MP3 players, from the Sony Walkman to the iPod Touch. It depends on your budget and the features you want. I’m just glad to be entering the 21st century with my Sony Walkman!
Happy Walking!
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