Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1886-04-12
The Postman On Walking.

All but doctors and men who sell
liniment will be glad to read the advice
that follows about the proper way to
walk in these slippery times The adj
vice came from very old postman,
jogging home from his daily rounds:
"You've seen postmen climbing up
front steps, diving into Easements, and
Scooting across streets in the slipperiest
kind of weather." the old man said,
I'm sure you never saw poStman fall
down, unless he was very young and
inexperienced. Walking. you see, is the
most important part of a postman's
duty, next to ringing door-bells so as to
bring the girl on the first ring. can
tell you in two minutes how to walk;
and if you remember what / say you
will never fall any more.
"In the first place, you must 90 along
with your feet pretty far apart. That is
one important thing. Most persons
walk with their feet close together
very close. That's all right in summer,
but in winter it's all wrong. Your foot
is likely to land on round piece of ice
or snow and slip sideways toward the
other foot, which is going along all
| right If your feet are close together,
nine times out of ten the one that slips
will knock the other from under you,
and down you 90. If it doesn't it will
get SO thoroughly mixed up with it that
your ankles will curl all together, Just
like grapevines, and before you can get
them Strengthened out, down you 60
anyhow. If your feet are well apart, as
they should be, you have time to think,
reflect, and get ready before the crash
comes, and perhaps save bone.
| Another important thing is to land well
on the ball of the foot when you walk.
If you can't get the ball of your foot
down first, bring it down just as soon
as you do the heel, anyhow. Come
down fatfooted. That isn't fancy heel
and-toe walking, but it's business, and
it's safer. And this is why. You may
slip and fall million times, and every
time, if you notice anything, you will
and not the ball of your foot. 1t is al
ways the heel that slips. don't know
why, unless it is that the sole of the
shoe, being broader, gets frmer hold.
''These two rules, if you follow them
out carefully, will save you the price of
a good many bottles of arnica. There
are some others, but they are not so inn
portant. One is always to keep the
body timber as you 60 along; keep the
legs timber at the knees, too. 1t is al
ways a stiff, dignified sort of a man that
goes down, because he holds himself so
that he is not prepared to lean quickly
one way or the other and save himself.
| l don't want to see the nation get
round-shouldered, but to hold the shoul-
ders too far back in slippery weather is
not very good either; it fixes one all
ready to fall. The best way to mold
oneself is in imitation of those Indians
that you see pictures of going along at a
sort of jog trot, with their bodies stoop-
ing little forward. Keep your eyes
on the ground in front of you, as though
you were following trail, and look for
very slippery spots. and observe the
other rules; and if you are lady you
can dispense with the humiliation of
holding your muff behind your back,
trying to make folks believe you prefer
to carry it that way."-M Y San.