Over the summer, my husband and I went to see Jersey Boys at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. For you youngsters who might be reading this and haven’t a clue about what I’m talking about…Jersey Boys is a musical about the singing sensation Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons from the 60’s and 70’s. They thrilled people my age with numerous tunes, some they wrote, others were written for them, and showcased Frankie Valli’s unequaled falsetto voice.
Perhaps if I list some of their hit songs you may remember hearing them: Oh What A Night, Sherry Baby, My Eyes Adored You, Dawn Go Away, Let’s Hang On To What We’ve Got, Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, Working My Way Back To You Babe and Walk Like A Man. Do any of these ring a bell? Well, they were all sung during the performance in addition to many more.
The theater was packed with people not only my age but a younger crowd as well. The music was upbeat and the performers did a splendid job of imitating the renowned group. And there was a storyline, too. It was all about how the group was formed and the trials and tribulations that led to them becoming famous. We left humming the tunes on the way to the car and for days afterwards.
But this article isn’t about that, I just threw it in. This piece is actually about trying to walk like a man. In the song, Walk Like A Man, the following lyrics “walk like a man, fast as you can” are heard. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do for several weeks now!
Since exercise is supposed to be so good for you and since my husband and I tend to be sedentary, we’ve taken up walking every day for 20 minutes. This is really a big deal for us and we’ve been faithful to our task in any weather.
On all the hot, hot days we walk inside. We’ve found a mini-mall up in Flower Mound. It’s air-conditioned and has an upstairs which requires going up two flights to reach. It’s never anywhere near crowded, in fact there’s never more than two people sitting on benches when we go. These two are no doubt workers at one of the businesses housed in the mall and are on their lunch break. At first they looked up from their lunch boxes when we kept walking by. Now that they’re used to seeing us they pay us no mind.
One guy always has his guitar out and strums quietly while he eats. One time Ken said jokingly to the man (who had taken a potty break and left his instrument alone), “Good thing you came back for that, I was about to take it.” The dude didn’t crack a smile but said, “That would be the last mistake you’d ever make.” Needless to say we avoided any more attempts at communicating with him. (What a grouch.)
Unlike Julia Roberts I’ve never been known for long legs. So to keep up the pace with Ken I have to seriously remind myself to hurry along. There are the times when he holds my hand and sorta drags me behind him. But thankfully our hands begin to get sweaty after a while and he lets go. My husband generously always offers to let me set the tempo. Hah. I try to do this while looking at the back of his legs for most of the walk.
Since the mini-mall is locked up tight on the weekends, we go to Walmart and Target. Both have wide aisles and even though they’re somewhat crowded on Saturdays and Sundays they offer the comfort of air-conditioning and a vast amount of floor space to cover. Only problem there is we’ve run in to neighbors who cordially stop us to chat and that interferes with our timing. We walk to go and get it over with, not because it’s all that much fun. I think we’ve been rude a couple of times as we’ve yelled back over our shoulders, “We’re walking. Can’t stop right now.”
I just hope they take our rude behavior all in good stride!
Originally published in the October 2012 issue of The Cross Timbers Gazette.
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