Sophia Loren and my hips

My hips don’t look like Sophia Loren’s and nothing else about me does either but I read that when asked if she had pain in her hips when she walks she said that she just ignores it and walks briskly and acts as though nothing hurts. How does she do that? When my hips hurt, I can barely walk to say nothing of being unable to sashay like Sophia Loren. I am afraid that it looks as though I hobble instead. Somehow, I don’t seem to be able to mentally overcome the discomfort.

Youngest Sister and I spend a good part of every conversation talking about our hips and what we are doing to prevent hip replacement. I think we are leery of hip replacements since Second Sister (do I sound Chinese?) has had so much trouble with hers. She has actually had four hip replacements even though she only has two hips! I suppose when you get to the point where the pain outweighs the dread, you get it done. Youngest Sister is at a cabin in Japan on the beach and she plans to read and walk on springy wooden floors and walk on the sand. I am hoping that her hips will repay her by rejuvenating. Takayama by the Sea is a wonderful place for all kinds of rejuvenation. YS (Younger Sister) has spent so much of her adult life walking a lot on hard city surfaces and it has taken its toll.

Speaking of walking, Mark was a walker and walked up until he walked on into the Lord’s presence in April, maybe not exactly like Enoch but close. Miss Johnson used to say that Enoch, in Genesis 5:24 was out walking with God one day and then God said, “Enoch, why don’t you come on home with me?” The verse says that “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Isn’t that a wonderful thought?

When Mark and I traveled we liked to walk and we felt that you really couldn’t see a city without walking in it. In 1996 we went to Europe for 93 days and walked 749 miles, I believe. We averaged about 8 miles a day, sometimes up to 16. It was great fun and we had a wonderful time. I don’t think I could do that anymore. I think that relaxing at Takayama is more my style now, although when we were there we walked to the town of Tagajo and back, which was about 12 miles or so. Once we did it carrying backpacks with ice cream wrapped in newspapers and plastic – they were having a sale – and made it back with the ice cream only a little softened. Mark loved ice cream and we rationed it out over the next few weeks. After supper we would have tiny bowls of ice cream and a very tiny cookie. It was like playing house.

Sophia Loren once said “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” Maybe that is her secret. Maybe I will walk over to the Olive Garden tonight and try it out.

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