I would walk 5(00) miles

We lived in Las Vegas, so there wasn't any snow or much weather except heat, but when I was driving to school the other day, I thought of how my best friend and I would walk to and from each other's houses, which were pretty far apart, quite often. But we didn't care.

Why didn't our parents give us rides more often? Well, because it was the 80s and 90s, and parents (or at least my parents) were pretty laissez-faire in their upbringing approach. I didn't die, so it was all good. Also, my dad shouldn't/couldn't drive by the time I was in high school, so he was off the carpool list, and my mom was working like three jobs to keep us afloat since my dad became disabled.

I remember one time I was cutting through an open desert area instead of taking the sidewalks to save time, and I got feeling kind of paranoid about someone trying to steal me or a snake getting me, so I started speed-walking like a super freak to where my shoes got so dirty. That crusty desert dirt sticks to everything. I was so irritated at my weirdo self when I realized how encrusted my shoes had become. What a dork! is what I recall muttering under my breath or very loudly into the open air (not sure which) to myself as I hit civilization.

One of my favorite memories is when I went to my friend's house before a church dance. She had gotten in trouble for something or something like that, and she wasn't allowed to go unless she got the entire house clean. I was like, dude, challenge accepted. So I remember helping vacuum the untouchable sitting room and helping with one of the bathrooms at the top of the stairs. Not sure what else I helped with, but I was not going to let my friend miss out on our all-important church dance that Saturday. We cleaned and cleaned, and then we went to that dance. It felt so good to beat that system.

Another cherished memory of mine is how we used to walk to my house sometimes after school and eat my parents out of house and home. I swear they had to shop case lot sales for my friends and me alone. We were furiously hungry some days. And what's really surprising is that we were small. I'm pretty sure all that walking, miles and miles some weeks, kept us fit.

Now that my best friend and I live in different states, we still work to make time for each other—but we do not walk. We are way smarter than that now and have cars. Thank goodness.