Walking is noticeable in books I read. The value of walking, the many reasons people walk, the impact of this simple practice. I’m surprised yet I’m not surprised. Not that I’m looking for it or reading books about walking. Here I quote from Lea McInerney’s book The Wonder of Little Things about Vince Copley, a proud Ngadjuri man, a star Australian footballer and cricketer.
When Vince was forty-five years old: “The doctor said if I kept smoking and drinking I was going to die. That’s it, no more, I thought.
When I left hospital, I had to find out how to get well. The doctors had said, “Just walk.” So that’s what I did. Work gave me three months off, and I walked and walked and walked and walked, morning and night, and started to feel good. The heart attack seemed to go away, if that’s possible.”
In 2022, Vince passed away aged eighty-four.