Big River Crossing; or, Find someone to walk with

A nice little story with some morals ...

At a loose end on a recent visit to Memphis, I decided to walk the Big River Crossing that spans the Mississippi. I booked a ride to the foot of the bridge, having a good chat with Kennie, my driver, on the way. He lives in Memphis and grew up on the other side of the river in Arkansas, so I assumed this would be familiar territory.

As it happened, it took the two of us some time to find our way to the start of the walk, and it looked anything but welcoming as we drove up. Kennie said he wasn’t happy about me walking on my own. Me neither. The photos online had shown groups of smiling people walking, cycling, running the bridge, full of health and joy. I was ready to join that happy throng. But on this weekday afternoon it felt very remote, quiet and forbidding. Hardly a soul in sight.

As Kennie had said that he was signing off for the day, and that he’d never walked the bridge, despite having lived on either side of it, I asked if he would come with me. I said we'd only go halfway, because it’s about a mile long and I didn't want him to be late for his bible reading group.

He agreed and we set off.

We talked more as we walked, exchanging insights into our very different worlds as (improbably) we shared this experience.

In the end, we made it all the way to the other side and back, moving briskly but also pausing to take in the magnificence of the structure and the views of the river and the city.

I was being quite completist and enjoyed the satisfaction of reaching the other end as much as the views. I had wanted to 'do' the crossing because it was there to be done. For Kennie, it was just there and he hadn’t thought of ‘doing’ it; he had just wanted to help me. But in the process he was enthralled by seeing his world anew from that vantage point.

His wonder slowed my pace as well as his, and enhanced my experience of both the walk and the views. Meanwhile, he experienced the benefits of getting out of his car and walking, and of stopping and looking, and resolved to do both more often.

Thus we enabled each other to do something new and it was doubly rewarding because we did it together.

The morals of the story, should they need spelling out, are these:

If you stand somewhere different, you see something different.

If you walk with someone different, you learn something different.

If you go with someone, you can go further.

If you go further, you can see more.

(And there will be someone there to take a photo to remind you that you did it.)

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We can take a 'walk' together.