Carl Levitian
member
"I can't pull it off. Everything works too well on me still, and I'm in pretty obvious good condition from working out and Yoga.
Every once in a while, I get a twinge in my right ankle after backpacking too much pack weight for a day or so. Other than the days following that, I'm stuck on two legs with no cane."
__________________
I see answers like this all the time, and I think it's too bad. Here we are in a free country, and the political correctness police have us intimidated. The heck with them! Why do we need to justify anything we do as long as we're not breaking any of their insane laws.
wheelgunslinger, if you want, go ahead and carry a nice rustic walking stick like a blackthorn or hornbeam. If anyone does say something, just tell them an old injury from backpacking, soccer, rugby, golf, ping pong, or whatever is acting up a little, and giving you some trouble now and then. That's all you have to say. Okay, ping pong and golf is a bit of a reach.
But you don't have to justify it to any one. In fact, if you want, just tell them the truth, it's a head knocker. One of my neighbors, a really big guy named Terry, is about 6' 3'ish and easy in the 250 pound class. We walk our corgi's together as our corgi Pearl is is his family's corgi's litter mate sister. We live in a decent middle class neighborhood, but when out walking the dogs, Terry carries his headknocker as he calls it. He's very above board with it. It's one of those walking sticks with the big brass thing that's part of a horse harness for a knob on top. Not only does Terry not get any grief over it, but a few of the single women wait at night till they see him or I walking by, then they come out to walk their little flou flou dogs. They seem to like the idea of a couple of menfolk with big sticks close by.
If you want to carry a walking stick, make it one of the rough rustic looking ones, and play it off as an old injury if you feel a bit awkward doing it. After a few times of people seeing you with it, it becomes part of your persona, and people stop seeing it as something different. People adjust very quickly to new things. It's part of human adaptability. If you just do it, it becomes part of you.
I was just turning 30 years old when I had my construction accident while serving in the Army Engineers. Just halfway to my intended 20 year career, I found myself at Walter Reed learning to walk again on my right leg and foot. They gave me a cane with my medical discharge, and I hated the old fogy cane. My old Irish Uncle Pat, gave me a real Irish blackthorn, a knarley one with little nubs where the spiky thorns were and a nice knobby head. I loved that stick. I ditched the old fogy cane and never looked back. I healed up pretty good, and hardly had a wee bit of a limp, but the blackthorn b ecame my constant companion. On good days, I didn't really need it if I was on good even footing like pavement, but I carried it anyways. Over the past 3 plus decades, I think it actually kept me out of a few sticky situations. Having something right there in my hand was a very very good thing.
Go for it wheelgunslinger. Don't let the liberals stop you from doing something totally legal.
Carl.
Every once in a while, I get a twinge in my right ankle after backpacking too much pack weight for a day or so. Other than the days following that, I'm stuck on two legs with no cane."
__________________
I see answers like this all the time, and I think it's too bad. Here we are in a free country, and the political correctness police have us intimidated. The heck with them! Why do we need to justify anything we do as long as we're not breaking any of their insane laws.
wheelgunslinger, if you want, go ahead and carry a nice rustic walking stick like a blackthorn or hornbeam. If anyone does say something, just tell them an old injury from backpacking, soccer, rugby, golf, ping pong, or whatever is acting up a little, and giving you some trouble now and then. That's all you have to say. Okay, ping pong and golf is a bit of a reach.
But you don't have to justify it to any one. In fact, if you want, just tell them the truth, it's a head knocker. One of my neighbors, a really big guy named Terry, is about 6' 3'ish and easy in the 250 pound class. We walk our corgi's together as our corgi Pearl is is his family's corgi's litter mate sister. We live in a decent middle class neighborhood, but when out walking the dogs, Terry carries his headknocker as he calls it. He's very above board with it. It's one of those walking sticks with the big brass thing that's part of a horse harness for a knob on top. Not only does Terry not get any grief over it, but a few of the single women wait at night till they see him or I walking by, then they come out to walk their little flou flou dogs. They seem to like the idea of a couple of menfolk with big sticks close by.
If you want to carry a walking stick, make it one of the rough rustic looking ones, and play it off as an old injury if you feel a bit awkward doing it. After a few times of people seeing you with it, it becomes part of your persona, and people stop seeing it as something different. People adjust very quickly to new things. It's part of human adaptability. If you just do it, it becomes part of you.
I was just turning 30 years old when I had my construction accident while serving in the Army Engineers. Just halfway to my intended 20 year career, I found myself at Walter Reed learning to walk again on my right leg and foot. They gave me a cane with my medical discharge, and I hated the old fogy cane. My old Irish Uncle Pat, gave me a real Irish blackthorn, a knarley one with little nubs where the spiky thorns were and a nice knobby head. I loved that stick. I ditched the old fogy cane and never looked back. I healed up pretty good, and hardly had a wee bit of a limp, but the blackthorn b ecame my constant companion. On good days, I didn't really need it if I was on good even footing like pavement, but I carried it anyways. Over the past 3 plus decades, I think it actually kept me out of a few sticky situations. Having something right there in my hand was a very very good thing.
Go for it wheelgunslinger. Don't let the liberals stop you from doing something totally legal.
Carl.