New Thing #16-Against the Grain

You Kill Me was one of my favorite movies from last year. Ben Kingley plays Frank, an alcoholic hitman who goes to San Francisco to dry out. He befriends Laurel (Tea Leoni), a woman who might come in handy when it's time for him to return home to settle some old scores. In one scene, Laurel tells Frank to walk backwards on the hills in San Francisco because it's easier on his legs. In Laurel's spirit, today I walked backwards.

The weather was really nice, so Tony and I decided to walk to church. On the way home I tried to walk backwards as much as possible. I think I managed to do it almost half of the 30-minute trip. Some observations:

• A partner who walks the correct way can tell you when you're about to run into things.


• It's nice to be able to LOOK at your walking partner when you're talking.


• It's hard to walk on curves :-)


• Walking backward up hills is VERY challenging.