We must include all of the the miles that Armand walked, to the total thousands of miles accrued as he traversed the earth. He walked up mountains "because they were there", walked back and forth on trails to determine his limits and often walked, merely to find himself.
Armand never struggled academically, but often worried about money and companionship in his college years. In times of struggle, he would walk.
Sunday, December 15, 1935.
Took a walk this aft to rid myself of a mental, moral, and physical case of down in the dumps. Admirable success. It was a rainy, damp afternoon, but all the better.
People who seek sunshine for their jaunts don't know what they miss by not having occasional bad weather. It gives a delightful sense of aloneness.
I could look into windows of the houses and had great fun wondering what was going on inside. I wouldn't want to know, or be a peeping Tom, like Lesage's Asmodeus, for usually people aren't doing anything very interesting anyway.
People, in spite of the word of students of human nature to the contrary, are on the whole pretty stupid, and it is a rare man that holds me spellbound. But then, taste does differ so.
I wonder whether it does not depend largely on the sum of our experiences. Let us say, Alto likes summer cottages (maybe she doesn't, but an argument is an argument, so let us suppose she does). I don't. If Alto had lived my life or I hers, wouldn't she agree with me or vice versa?
Of course, this isn't all. The mind is not so mechanically developed as all that, but it seems to me to be a major or critical factor.
By the end of his walk, Armand's train of thought would be switched to another track and the next day friends and movies would fill his life once more.
Photo: Jay Allison