Sunday, September 4, 2011

The adventures of a Columbia pedestrian.

Columbia is a beautiful town to walk in. It is full of old Southern houses, friendly pedestrian districts, trees all over the place... and of course there is the beautiful State House in the center of town with all of the interesting monuments around. It looks a bit sad and forlorn, like a relic from a defeated and subjugated culture. And then the Confederate flag, still flying high, reminds you that it is.

I ended up living in Shandon, the residental neighborhood just east of campus, and so about a mile and a half from the statue of Senator Strom. I walk to work each day, covering a mile in about twenty minutes. Sometimes I'll go to Cool Beans (a coffee shop) or the Nickelodeon (an indie theater) afterwards, or stop by restaurants or a yoga studio which are directly on my way home. All on foot.

Now there's an amusing twist to this story. I thought I would save money by not renewing my California car registration (expired a week after I got here), but when I got here and went to the local DMV, my paperwork was not in order and so I have to wait a month while paperwork makes it through the mail. Until then, my car is parked outside and I can't legally drive it.

Some people would be really annoyed, and I seem to be surprising people with my Zen-like attitude to it all. Groceries two thirds of a mile away? Show up with a large backpack. (This earned me a visit from the security guard at Food Lion, and admiration from the cashier at Earth Fare.)

The drivers seem oblivious, and I have had a couple moderately close calls with careless drivers. I'm also a little bit annoyed with pedestrians who always wait for cars (no, you get to go first) and with businesses who put sprinklers out and drench the sidewalks. But nothing serious.

It's created some interesting etiquette situations too. I showed up to my yoga studio, which is in the middle of a busy neighborhood, is exactly between work and home, and where there is even a pedestrian shortcut across a rail line. I'll keep walking there even once I have my car. To my very pleasant surprise, I got invited out to dinner a mile away, and I so I happily showed up 20 minutes later, carrying my gym bag as well as my briefcase from work. I didn't see the issue, but when I mentioned I'd walked, my companions fell over themselves to apologize to me, and told me they'd worried.

I hate to cause concern, but really, I'm fine. This is a beautiful city, and walking around here is quite lovely. You might try it sometime.