Mall Walkers - Tortoises or Hares

This year I have committed to being more consistent in exercising. I love to walk outside and was very faithful in the spring and summer and even walked regularly during one of the hottest Oklahoma summers. Then this fall I slacked off and didn't walk much the rest of the year. We have a wonderful Schwinn Airdyne bike but find that type of exercise kind of boring.

I had been contemplating walking at one of our malls so I wouldn't have any weather-related excuses.  So three weeks ago my husband and I joined this interesting group of people I will call, "The Mall Walkers."

The first few days I was quite proud of us as we sailed past the people on walkers and those who were in their 70's and 80's. But then the second week we were joined by some younger whippersnappers. One day we had a lady who was power walking with a backpack that probably had bricks in it and she flew by us and we never saw her again. Another day these two ladies in their 30's were walking along and added the two flights of stairs to their walk. There are two men, one very short and one very tall that walk together. The tall man walks at a regular pace and the short man is power walking to keep up with him. They are the Mutt and Jeff mall walkers.


In our short time of walking at the mall, I was reminded of Aesop's Fable "The Tortoise and the Hare."

One day a hare was bragging about how fast he could run.  He bragged and bragged and even laughed at the tortoise, who was so slow. The tortoise stretched out his long neck and challenged the hare to a race, which, of course, made the hare laugh.

"My, my, what a joke!" thought the hare. 
"A race, indeed, a race. Oh! what fun! My, my! a race, of course, Mr. Tortoise, we shall race!" said the hare. 


The forest animals met and mapped out the course.  The race began, and the hare, being such a swift runner, soon left the tortoise far behind. About halfway through the course, it occurred to the hare that he had plenty of time to beat the slow trodden tortoise.


"Oh, my!" thought the hare, "I have plenty of time to play in the meadow here." And so he did.


After the hare finished playing, he decided that he had time to take a nap. "I have plenty of time to beat that tortoise," he thought. And he cuddled up against a tree and dozed.


The tortoise, in the meantime, continued to plod on, albeit, ever so slowly. He never stopped, but took one good step after another.


The hare finally woke from his nap. "Time to get going," he thought. And off he went faster than he had ever run before! He dashed as quickly as anyone ever could up the finish line, where he met the tortoise, who was patiently awaiting his arrival.


The moral of this fable is slow and steady wins the race.


So I am not going to be concerned about the people that pass me at the mall because as my husband said we are in this for the long haul.