Eating and Walking ...

I cannot believe my own eyes when I weigh myself these days.  As it shows above, after one full month on my diet I am down 16 lbs, and boy does it feel good!  Eating only lean meats, fish, sea food, oat bran, fat-free dairy and vegetables every other day is easy, and I am not hungry at all.

OK, enough bragging ...

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a fundraiser Walk in Toronto with daughter, Suzanne.  It was to raise money for Alzheimer patients.  Suzanne volunteered and participated last year, but we were in India at the time (was that really a whole year away?)  However, this year I made the effort to get there, and am so glad I did.  What a superbly organized event it was.  Over 1,000 walkers congregated in the magnificent downtown B.C. Place building, to be registered and entertained before setting off for the Walk, along the amazing corridors deep under the skyscrapers of the city.

Suzanne strikes a pose with 2 new 'friends'

 I had been down there a few times, but never walked it - there's another world down there!  One could live there and never come outside all winter!  (Phantom of the Opera springs to mind) Stores, restaurants, subways, it's all there in a very swish up-beat design.  As a long-time claustophobe I was afraid I might feel a bit 'closed in' but not at all, as the high ceilings and wide corridors disguised very well where you were.


Before we descended for the Walk itself, there were all kinds of entertainment to get everyone into the mood.  From Darth Vader to Batman, Mimes to juggling men on tall stilts, there was a festive feeling in the air as everyone took turns having their photographs taken with the 'celebrities'.  Lots of young children with parents, and I enjoyed just watching them, eyes aglow as they stared at the wonderland of characters around them.  The women dressed up as Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe fluttering their long false eyelashes at all the men were in great demand for pictures.

The Walk itself finally got underway and 1,000 people snaked down out of winter's reach, far beneath the world above.  At every turn there were bands joyfully playing, and volunteers waving yellow balloons cheering us on - I started to feel I didn't deserve such treatment, after all I was only walking 3km.  Then, at the end, as we ascended the escalator back into B.C. Place's main hall again we were greeted by Darth Vader and his cronies, plus throngs of volunteers all cheering us!  Wow, it gave me a tiny glimpse into how long distance runners must feel finishing a marathon!

We all wore the yellow shoelace tired to our index finger - a reminder of those we love who cannot remember for themselves.  Suzanne and I walked for my mum, who struggled so hard against this insidious disease.  I think she would have been proud.