“I’m walking to New Orleans.”

— Fats Domino

Sometimes life throws you a curve. In the newspaper business, you have to be able to sit back and swing at whatever life throws at you.

And it’s not always waist-high fastballs right down the middle. (Hey, I was a sports editor for almost two decades.)

Wednesday morning, I was supposed to meet a guy in Bay Minette as he made his way on a walk from Atlanta to Guatemala.  The plan was to sit down for a quick interview and let him get back on his way.

The troupe called the Bay Minette Police Department as a courtesy, to let them know they would be heading through town on foot and had a pair of vans to protect the walkers. Police Chief Clarence Crook’s staff went above and beyond. Not only did the police provide one vehicle to follow behind the walkers with blue lights flashing, there were other officers dispatched to block intersections to keep traffic away from the visiting pedestrians.

I got some pictures of the walkers making their way through the courthouse square. I drove around the corner and set up a shot of them coming over the crown of the Highway 31 railroad viaduct, complete with a patrol car and blue lights in tow.

While making life safer for the walkers, the added police presence made it a little harder for me.

“Since we have a police escort we didn’t plan on, it wouldn’t be right to stop and make them wait,” said Equip CEO John Hull.

Uh oh. Instead of a slow fastball that looked the size of a pumpkin, I saw a hanging curve. As it approached my head, I decided not to give up on it and duck.  I decided to wait and swing for the fence.

“I’ll drive down the road, park, then walk a while with you and do the interview while we walk,” I told him. The man who was in the midst of a 2,400-mile hike liked the initiative.

So we walked and talked. We talked and walked. For the next two miles, we traversed the side of Highway 31 heading south toward the city limits.

It was actually refreshing to get to walk again. I knew I needed to resume walking on a regular basis. The 5K a couple of weeks ago only reiterated the need. So starting next week, I will reserve a 30-minute block each day to just hit the road and clear my head.

Ironically, that’s one of the things John and I discussed – the peacefulness of walking and the opportunity it gives you to think. I used to walk every morning. It gave me a chance to go over stories in my head and there are no telling how many leads were hashed out while wandering around in a weaving circle on a small community walking track.

He started walking about 2 years ago to improve his health. I started in January 2005 to improve my stamina after a hike to shoot pictures of a waterfall nearly killed me. I started off slow and built my way to 2 miles a day. Before heading to Europe to climb Croagh Patrick in 2008, I increased the distance to 4 miles a day.

Exercise does a body good. Not only does it promote better physical health, it’s amazing to me the change it can produce in mental health. When I walk, my mind feels more alive and sharper. Spring is normally a time for rebirth. And with spring officially starting a couple of days ago, I might need to take it as a sign.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers