Forward - One Step at a Time

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My Uncle Milton is kind of a local celebrity. Not because he did anything particularly heroic back in the day (at least not in the eyes of others) but mostly because of the marathon walks he used to do for Multiple Sclerosis. Walks up and down main street for 50 straight hours. He did a few of those. A walk around the Montana Triangle. A walk across Montana. A Walk from Havre, MT to Chicago, IL. That one he didn't finish. I think he told me once that the police stopped him on the interstate and made him stop.

I remember walking with him on more than one of the 50 hour walks. I didn't have the stamina to make it the whole time, but I think I made it through one entire night on a Saturday into Sunday. I also remember on one of those Sundays, when he was done with the walk, doing an interview for the local radio station. One of the questions was, "How did you keep on going?" He just replied, "One step at a time." Man, there is a lot of wisdom in that simple statement.

Now that I am older I think a lot about him. Mostly because I think I'm a lot like him. Kind of a Black Sheep in the family. Set in his ways. More than a little stubborn. Haven't really held down a good job for a very long time. One of those people to whom life has dealt a bit of a blow now and then.

When my last car gave up its ghost and I decided that I really couldn't afford to have a car anyhow, I started walking a lot to get to work. I'd bike if I could, but in the winter and rainy days it was mostly walking. As the city streets laid out before me, I'd think about my uncle. And other things.

I have a very good memory. Sometimes too good. When I get frustrated at someone I tend to remind them of times they have frustrated me in the past. They will say, "You only remember the bad things." Not true. I also remember the good things. I remember every good thing someone has done for me as well as the things that have frustrated me. I do need to remember to mention those things a little more often. Not only that, however, I remember the things I have done. The things I've done to help people. My successes. My days of joy. It's all there – along with the other side. I remember every bad thing I've done to someone. Everyone I've hurt. My failures as a father and a husband. Things I've said that I shouldn't have. Times I've looked the other way when someone needed help. It's all right there in my mind's eye. Walking along the 2-some-odd miles of city streets, sometimes they all play in front of me. They can be hard to shake.

I wonder if, when Milton was on a long, lonely piece of Montana road, he would have the same "problem". Did he replay his successes (and failures) to himself? Who else would be there to listen to , and perhaps comfort him, except the Montana Sky? Thinking about this makes me think of his lesson of "One Step at a Time." Related to that is the reminder that it is best to walk in the direction you are facing. Forward. Whatever road is ahead of you, there is also road behind you and you can't see where you've been unless you keep on turning around and looking for it. That can be hard to do sometimes – remembering to keep my eyes forward - but I keep on trying.

One Step at a Time, indeed.



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