Today's walk was pleasant as Mark and I discussed all the important things of life.  Friends and helping where we can.    Water Street is becoming a mainstay on the journey.  The steam from the river and creek mushroomed up this morning as the sun came over the mountains.  The water is up and has more speed on its coursing.

We walked through town and headed to the town office to drop off a water bill.  So nice to walk and pay a bill.  Too bad our society doesn't allow us to walk everywhere and leave the cars behind.

Lately the thought of all the rushing we do seems to overrides our senses.  We get caught up in schedules and running.  Our exhaustion feeds on itself.  Lack of exercise only contributes to our fatigue.

Walking can help there.  It is easy, low impact and peaceful.  If you are just starting there is no marathon.  Do only what you enjoy.  Don't worry about pace or speed.  Instead enjoy the spring bursting into flame right now.  Look for the beauty that surrounds us.  Enjoy!

As Mark and I walked we both agreed that the trials we encounter help us to grow.  We don't understand that fully but believe it to be our experience.  Perhaps we go through situations so we can tell others how we made it through.   Maybe it only helps us to be better at listening.

I enjoy Mark because what you see is what you get.  He is honest and truthful.   I think Mark is wise.

Keep walkin,

Ron

Today's walk was great.  I was by myself listening to an ipod.  As the morning progressed I was struck by the sunrise.  It was to my back and then suddenly everything in front of me was illuminated with bright golden sunshine.  I was coming back from the dead end on Water Street and about to pass the purple house when it just popped.  Suddenly the new house across the river was lighted with an amber glow.  The road before me released a shadow of me and the warmth of the sun gently touched my back.  It is moments like these that make walking the treat that it is.  Everyday something new, something wonderful.

When I returned home I did my usual check on the internet and found the following article.  I hope you enjoy!

Keep walkin,

Ron

There’s Good Economic News; Here’s Some of It

A. BARTON HINKLE TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

Published: March 24, 2009

It is a well-established fact that bad news drowns out good.

You flick the light switch a thousand times, the lights come on a thousand times, and you never pause to thank Dominion Virginia Power for the good service. But flick the switch to no avail just once, and you head for the phone, muttering curses.

Tell your spouse a hundred times that he or she looks fabulous. Then ask, just once, if he or she has put on weight.

In a column on this page last week, University of Richmond professor Donelson Forsyth cited a study showing that the depression felt by basketball fans after their team loses is more intense than the elation they feel after their team wins.

In the military there's even an expression for the phenomenon: "One 'Oh, crap!' can erase a thousand 'attaboys'."

We tend to overlook the good things in life. So perhaps it's worth calling attention once more to the positive economic news that has been reported even in this hour of gloom and doom.

• AMERICA HAS lost a collective $13 trillion in wealth in the past few months, at least on paper. The Dow Jones average has fallen to half of its October, 2007, peak. Sounds grim. But remember that in 1996, when Alan Greenspan denounced what he famously called "irrational exuberance," the market was lower than it stands even now. Americans are currently despondent at being better off than they were when they were elated just a few years ago.

• Unemployment stands at the highest level since 1983. But an unemployment rate of 8 percent means 92 percent of Americans in the labor pool remain gainfully employed. Even to a tough grader, a 92 merits an A.

• The housing market has collapsed. But lower housing prices make homes more affordable for low-income earners. That's a good thing, right? True, the foreclosure rate has skyrocketed, but consider the context. Last month one in every 440 households with loans received a notice of default, auction sale notice, or bank repossession notice -- which means 439 out of 440 households did not. And that figure does not take into account the millions of homeowners who have paid off their debts and are living free and clear.

• Investor's Business Daily notes these recent positive developments:

-- February enjoyed a surprise 22 percent spike in housing starts.

-- Retail sales also made an unexpected jump.

-- Several major banks recently announced a return to profitability.

-- The dollar is enjoying a 4½-year high against other major currencies on a trade-weighted basis.

• Closer to home, this newspaper recently has reported . . .

-- Virginia agricultural exports rose 27 percent last year.

-- Virginia watermen are expecting a banner harvest.

-- Virginia's unemployment rate remains lower than the national average.

-- In the Richmond area, foreclosure rates also are lower than the national average: One in 741 houses went into foreclosure in February -- meaning 99.8 percent of homes did not. The foreclosure rate here also dropped 13 percent from January.

PEOPLE ALSO tend to overlook the intangible ways in which our nation has grown wealthier. Imagine, just 15 or 20 years ago, using a cell phone to refill a prescription after downloading some family photos your sister e-mailed you and ordering a book from Amazon that you Googled because a friend mentioned it on FaceBook.

For an even broader view, consider a recent analysis by University of Michigan economics professor Mark Perry. He notes that a teen-ager working a full-time summer job at 1949's minimum wage of 40 cents an hour could have, come autumn, bought the following items in the Sears catalog: a Smith-Corona typewriter ($84), an Argus 35mm camera ($52), a Silverton AM-FM radio ($33), and a three-speed phonograph ($25).

By contrast, a full-time summer job at this year's minimum wage rate of $7.25 will buy:

A Dell laptop computer ($549); an HP color printer, scanner, and copier ($99); a Canon 8-megapixel camera ($99); a portable GPS System ($89); a 32-inch LCD HDTV ($397); an 8GB iPod Nano ($149); a GE 1.1-cubic-foot microwave ($69); a Haier 4.1-cubic-foot refrigerator/freezer ($239); a Toshiba DVD/VCR combo ($78); an RCA five-Disc DVD home theater system ($174); a Uniden cordless phone ($27); an RCA AM/FM Stereo CD boombox ($29); an HP 10bII financial calculator ($30); a camcorder ($149); a Cusinart blender ($99); a KitchenAid toaster ($50); an Oster rice cooker ($40); a Rival slow cooker ($40); a Cuisinart waffle maker ($30); a breadmaker ($60); an Oster blender ($33); a Sony Playstation 2 ($150); a Nintendo DSi Blue ($170); a Weslo Pursuit 360 R exercise bike ($200); a Frigidaire 6,000-BTU window air conditioner ($180); a Honeywell Tower Air Purifier ($100); a Hoover Tempo Widepath upright vacuum ($75); and a Philips Sonicare power toothbrush ($100).

So, cheer up: Things are worse than they could be. But they are a lot better than they used to be.

My thoughts do not aim for your assent -- just place them alongside your own reflections for a while.

--Robert Nozick.