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I wouldn't worry too much about wandering conversation. We are too few to be concerned about staying exactly on point. I can think of many examples of threads where we have sometimes strayed for several pages into such topics as electrical wiring methods or vintage outboard boat motors. And while I would not like to completely abandon the subject of walking, I find that if one creates a special thread to accommodate the conversation which has wandered away from the original subject, 99 times out of 100, the conversation dies very quickly, and usually in both threads. Therefore, I do not wish to stop the ball rolling, so to speak. Being a church musician is kind of a strange job in that you never have the time to get really good. Unlike preparing for a regular concert or recital, you've got to keep cranking out new material, week after week after week. Because of this, I sometimes have a difficult relationship with sacred music. I am familiar with about 90% of the hymns in the traditional hymnal, so if I don't have time to practice on any given week, those come last on the priority list. I know I can wing those for sure. What this means is that sometimes I find myself simply reading the words and not really thinking of it too much. It is not my preference, but it sometimes happens. I don't think it's part of the human condition to be "on" 100% of the time. There are times that we need to coast. The same goes for looking graceful and elegant. I think it's impossible to do it 100% of the time. I am made painfully aware of that on a weekly basis thanks to the church livestream. Not only do I have to play/sing five new songs every week, I have to be careful what I say in the background during the service (microphones are everywhere), and I have to be careful how I look and how I carry myself. That stuff is recorded and kept forever and ever, amen. If I have dropped my pencil and have to bend over to pick it up, a camera will see it. Potentially, the whole world will see it. This makes me think about things I never thought about before, such as how exactly am I going to bend over and pick up that pencil? How exactly am I going to walk in front of the altar to confer with my bandmates or to greet the organist? And why did I wear these stupidly high heels today? This is one of the several reasons that I have become much more interested in the mechanics of walking than I used to be.

I live within blocks of the Pacific Ocean, so quick stops for bikini clad young women is something to watch out for while driving.

Haha, jaywalking laws exist for a reason! Glad you were able to stop in time. Luckily, nobody rear-ended you in the process.

hear yeah for sure. The situations I'm referring to are where the cars are already stopped at a light and I am crossing with the walk signal. But yes, I do get frustrated when cars just stop for no reason to let me cross at some random spot in the road, I would much rather wait until it is totally clear in both directions to cross without holding up traffic. This reminds me of a close call I had a few years ago while I was driving. I came up on the rear of another car who was stopped on a bit of an incline, perhaps a bridge. Not knowing why he stopped, I went around him, only to see someone step out from the front of his car in my path! Fortunately, was not going very fast so was able to stop quickly. There is a point of where drivers are "too nice" and can cause a traffic/pedestrian hazard while doing so. I get really upset when someone on a local four lane road stops to let you cross/turn in front of him. You can not see if someone is coming up from the other lane, I usually just hastily wave the "polite driver" on, not going to chance it. Some folks can over use their signals as well. Nonetheless, you are correct, will start making eye contact with drivers at these intersections

You make many valid points… about hymns as well as this being far removed from the topic of gait while wearing high heels. This will be my last post regarding it, although I do appreciate the conversation immensely. Maybe I was overthinking singing hymns and songs though? That maybe rather than taking the singing of songs to be a vow before God, I look at it more like I do a sermon whereas the sermon can either be uplifting in that I realize I do some things well, or at other times, look to challenge me to do better. It’s something I will have to think about.

I know if you’re a cyclist you definitely want to be making eye contact with motorists at intersections - whether you’re in heels or not!

Oh goodness, I thought one was supposed to make eye contact with the driver, just to make sure he or she knows you're there, and doesn't run you over. That exact situation is usually where I run into a "problem." I'll be 30 feet away from even thinking about stepping into the street, and some driver at a stop sign wants to wave me through. I don't even like doing that when I'm wearing tennis shoes, but it never happens when I'm wearing tennis shoes, right?