You don't know it yet but this is a discussion about property values, fear, and the advice I didn't take from my Lakewood-area REALTOR® all those years ago.  Today is "Walk To School Wednesday" in our neighborhood-- the day when the 'Mommies' of Indian Valley Elementary School either leave the SUVs in the driveway for a day and walk their kids, en masse, up the block to the schoolyard or they carpool the gas guzzlers to a common meeting point at the neighborhood pool and walk the remaining 500 yards.  It's the one day throughout the school year when the near solo ride to school with junior and his "backpack" in the Suburban will get you at least minimal glares from your otherwise fellow global warmers who, for today anyway, have foregone the bumper-to-bumper grind up my street to the drop off area in front of the School Office. 

Now don't get me wrong:  WTSW is a national program and a worthwhile endeavor that has merit.  Walking is good for kids and their parents and this is a healthy and a social activity for the kids and the Mommies.  I know it will make junior appreciate his ride to school tomorrow.  And, it gives credibility to the "when I was a kid..." stories the Mommies and the kids will listen to the Daddies tell over their dinner tables tonight.  But "Walk To School Wednesday" shouldn't be a special event.  Walk to School Wednesday should be surrounded, each week, by "Walk To School Monday, Walk To School Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday!  When did it change and become OK to take the car three or four blocks instead of walking or riding your bike?  When was it OK for kids to arrive via chauffeur and queue up for 10 minutes in the circle driveway just to make sure they get dropped off 30 yards closer to the doorway-- the least possible distance from car door to the classroom door? 

I try to get up right about sunrise and walk from my house, past the school into the Open Space, and put in another 3-4 miles on the trails before showering for work.  Despite the crisp air and my tired knees, most mornings I enjoy the walk.  I confess there are mornings where I struggle with my conscience during those last five minutes of the second "snooze button" session and I confess, sometimes the snooze button wins.  But most mornings I make my doctor happy as she struggles to keep me off of the cholesterol medicine the old-fashioned way-- by having me drag my carcass up the block to walk some health into my veins. 

Mommies seem content to teach their children that driving 3 blocks instead of walking is perfectly acceptable.  Why?  I think it comes down to fear.  Fear of traffic, fear of the child predator, fear of not being able to shepherd and watch over their progeny all the way from front door to school door.  How sad is that?  In our mass media society, one child and one driver in Anywhere, USA has a careless but tragic moment and suddenly all children everywhere must avoid the sidewalks.  One child somewhere is victimized on the route to school by a predator and suddenly every bush along every street hides a potential boogie-man.  One mother loses a child so all mothers build deeper and deeper layers of insulation around theirs.  It's natural.  It's understandable.  It's just sad.

My neighborhood (and I'll bet thousands and thousands of others) used to hear laughter and noise each morning as the kids meandered their way to class.  People drove slower because there were always kids to watch out for along the way!  Same thing every afternoon... though the kids' laughter sounded a little more joyous with the prospect of an afternoon's play ahead.  Neighborhood kids walked by the houses and became acquainted with the neighbors-- friendly or otherwise and the neighborhood became a friendlier place!  The scary Mr. Wilson-type man at the corner who yelled at you for cutting across his lawn became known to the Dennis The Menace kids.  The elderly couple along the way that needed some extra help with the yard-work as they aged found a ready supply of labor walking past their house twice daily.  Kids got exercise, learned the value of hard work in exchange for cold cash, and developed a sense of community by simply running into their neighbors and making their acquaintence.  Kind of "Leave It To Beaver" I know, but it's true. 

When we bought our home, our REALTOR® tried to guide us off the street where we bought and onto the streets that bisected it.  Her logic was the traffic every morning at 8:00AM and every afternoon at 2:30PM as the Mommies dutifully drove up the block to the elementary school made our street less desirable.  From a property value standpoint, she was right-- homes on our street sell for substantially less than homes that cross it.  But I enjoy being along the route the kids take to class, in the mornings especially.  I enjoy seeing their smiling faces, clean and bright on their way to learn some new and wondrous things each day.  I just wish I could hear them laughing from behind those SUV windows....

Hey, Mommies!  If I'm 'mean 'ol Mr. Wilson I'll understand you trying to pad all the world's corners for your kids.  But to me, I'm just the guy with $20 and some weeds in the yard that would love to find a kid willing to learn the value of an afternoon's labor!

Chris Hendricks