It’s easy to find excuses not to walk this time of year. And I am as guilty as everyone else.

To prove something to myself, I took walking clothes with me yesterday with the plan to stop at a park on my way home. I walk in this park along the river all of the time and for the most part I feel comfortable because of the wide roads and the number of people who use the park.

I started walking a little before 5 thinking I had plenty of daylight. I walked out one mile and back, and felt pretty good. The sun was starting to go behind the trees across the river, but figured if I stopped at my car to put on my reflective vest and my headlamp, there was plenty of time to walk another mile. I didn’t really need either one of them, but because I was wearing a dark purple jacket and black pants I did it as a precaution.

I continued with the intent to walk half a mile on the side of the park with the most traffic, thinking it would be safer than heading toward the more isolated tree-lined street. I saw a couple of cars and a few walkers and joggers heading that way.

When I reached the half-mile mark to turn around, I started to get nervous. There were a couple of cars parked, but I didn’t see a single person anywhere. Ugh!

I stayed away from the parked cars and picked up the pace. I was aware of my surroundings and watched everything. It was getting dark fast — much faster than I had expected.

With a quarter mile to go, a vehicle started coming down the street toward me. It was moving slowly, and seemed to stop randomly. It was big, but because of the headlights, I couldn’t see the type of vehicle it was. As it was almost beside me, I could finally see it was a WHITE VAN! (Everyone knows that criminals drive white vans!)

After my initial moment of surprise I picked up the pace some more and crossed behind the van to the other side of the road because there is plenty of room for escape on that side.

I made it to my car without incident and even saw a few joggers and dog walkers after the van disappeared. When I got in my car I had a good chuckle about the van, then laughed when I realized that even though I was a little bit scared, I never ran — I just walked faster!

Needless to say, my plan to hit this park in the early evenings will be altered.

Odd conclusion: I’m not a big Oprah fan, but I remember one show that has stuck with me for years. The show was about the “gift of fear”. She said that humans have the ability to sense danger if they just listen to their feelings, but we are taught to ignore it. So, if you feel fear, there is probably a reason, and act appropriately.

Chances are, after today, I will not be ignoring my fear of walking in dark parks alone.

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