When:  Throughout the day, 1/19/2018
Weather: Mid-50’s with blue skies
Observations/Thoughts

Because I did over 17,000 steps at work today, I opted NOT to take an additional walk.  What did I do to generate this step count?  I made multiple trips with pallet jacks and dollies to the new location of my work.  (It is within the same warehouse.) Sometimes my role was just a support role–I would make sure the furniture or boxes did not fall off during its journey.  On the unfortunate times when I had to provide the “motor” for the dolly, it was definitely the worst.  The 6-foot shelves easily transported with the jack.  You could use one hand and gently tug.  The real challenge was moving the 8-foot shelves.  Due to the doorways being too narrow to effectively use the pallet jack for them, the dollies were the best options.  Dollies don’t steer well–not well at all.  Pushing the dollies while balancing the shelving was like being a football offensive lineman.  You place your hands on the desk and just drive with the legs.  Making left and right turns is hard and if you get lazy and steer too close to the obstacles (i.e. warehouse racking), you have to correct while trying not to lose momentum.  Once while I was providing the propulsion, I had to tag team the guy who was providing support.  I could not continue to do that to my body.  My body did not appreciate my efforts at all.

The final challenge of the day was moving the server cabinets.  The cabinets just barely fit under the top of the door.  We could use the pallet jack if we were really careful.  At times you had to lean the cabinet back to clear the door top.  Once the door was cleared, the cabinet was righted.  At other times, the cabinet could only make it through the door when the muscles of the nearly 10 people available were used to move them by brute force.  The final challenge was squeezing the computer cabinets into a narrow doorway.  We traded out our standard pallet jack for a narrow one.  We rushed the door, hit the door lip, and peeled off bodies as the door prevented us all following.  The project manager covered his eyes when the computers were jostled within the cabinet.  It was a thoroughly muscle-straining day.  But, it did finish eventually.

The other thing today had nothing to with walking.  On a day in a nice little corner of Ohio 32 years ago, the freezing rain came in abundance.  There was a young father (I say young because I am a few years older than he was) who was coming home from an Army Reserve drill.  He hit the ice when very close to home.  As the car spun, an oncoming car struck the car on the rear passenger side.  The driver of the spinning car, my father, was a victim of a failed driver seat.  The seat did not hold, and he flew into the back seat where his neck struck the rear seat.  I received a dreadful call.  The drive to the hospital confirmed what the telephone call hinted at.  I was now a half orphan.  This happened 32 years ago today.  The space shuttle blowing up a few days later had little impact on my still numbed mind.

Not a normal walk today.  But, life and our memories are the parts of our walk we can share.