On Good Mornings
On a good day, my day starts with a brisk walk in the morning.
It used to be jogging but I figured most of that was peer pressure and decided to stick with exercise I actually enjoy. It needs less motivation to keep up with things you enjoy.
The morning walk is a good time for enjoying great music. Or listening to good podcasts or good audiobooks. It’s also a good time for observing things that only happen at that hour.
First, it’s the people you meet jogging or running. There are some that are so consistent that they live in my mind rent-free. I know they are consistent because while I lapse in and out of consistency, these people are always there when I return. I even know the ones that have lost weight and gotten fit over time. They are in much better form than when I first saw them. I know my morning people and hopefully, they know me. The only greeting we exchange is a friendly nod or wave.
The other people that strike me are not fellow walkers and joggers; it’s the women whose goods must be sold that early in the morning. There are three different women at three different spots along my route. They are there every single morning I have passed by that route. Two sell mandasi and the other sells cooked cassava. There are people buying from them almost every time I walk past them. It’s usually the men rushing off to jobs — this is their takeaway breakfast. These women clearly understand their clientele. Their food is hot and ready each morning. They have a little plastic bag at hand to serve their food to each of their customers. Each time I pass, the basin of mandasi or cassava is on its way to empty. I suspect they manage to sell everything they bring on most days — most businesses do not achieve this every day. I am impressed with their consistency and even more so with how hard they work. To catch their customers, they must be by the roadside before their customers. That’s would be four thirty in their morning or thereabouts. For their food to be ready that early, they must have woken up and started preparing even earlier.
One morning I was out on these brisk walks with a friend. Two women were walking behind us. They looked like they were walking to work. One woman said to the other “If you see people walking on the road this early — they are security guards or maids”. We found this observation odd because we were not sure it leaves people like us.
But she had a point. There are so many people walking in the morning — the majority are carers — they tend to other people’s businesses and problems — security guards, maids, labourers. And then there are others that walk but you can tell from their dressing and demeanour that they walk for pleasure.
