Exercise anyone?
Oct 13th, 2009 by Perry
I have just spoken with Paul and asked him if he were getting any exercise. He said, almost none. I also asked if he agreed with me that it was probably not wise for him to go out to exercise alone, given his tendency to have spells of dizziness and falling. He said that he did agree. I then asked whether those who stop by periodically during the day ever take him for a walk and, to my surprise, he said they did NOT do that as a routine thing.
After one of his recent visits to help Paul with his computer Christian Steinhoff remarked that Paul was not getting any exercise and desperately needed to be doing so. I therefore must apologize to all of you there in Berlin for not having brought this need to your attention before now.
Here’s what I’d like to propose.
If you live in Berlin and can commit to doing so, go by Paul’s home on whatever schedule you can spare and take him for a walk while you’re there. He admits to being painfully slow, so you’ll have to take along an good supply of patience and use it liberally. It shouldn’t take the equivalent of the Berlin airlift to organize a dozen or so friends who live close enough to go by for an hour every couple of weeks and get him up out of his chair and walk around with him in the open air for a half hour or so.
We often say, please let me know if there is anything I can do. Well consider yourself notified of how you can help.
If you’d like some compensation for your help, then let me suggest you tell him you’re there to take him out for a stroll down memory lane and allow him to choose the topic he wishes to repay you with. Such strolls down memory lane have formed the bulk of the content of our conversations through the years and those talks are both unforgettable and priceless to me. They are yours for the asking … and the price of going by to take him for a walk.
This is, of course, a limited-time offer as I’m sure you realize.
Please don’t hesitate to comment below and support this effort in any way you choose. Let’s not resort to having to pay someone to do this, when giving a friend a little block of your time returns such psychic benefits and positive karma to the giver.
Thanks.
Dear Perry,
I have not forgotten Paul but my own physical condition isn’t such that I can commit myself on a specific day to take Paul for a walk. Of course, I will do so – and with pleasure – when I can choose the day and hour which makes it difficult. In general, I am free in the early afternoon hours when Paul takes his naps. And if something will happen to Paul, I am not able to help him up or to give him stability.
As you can see, I am pretty insecure whether I can handle this task.
Thank you for informing his friends.
Adi Jaenisch