"Sometimes finding a key is not the start of a grand adventure, but the end of one." - Jon Mooallem, right now.

Friends, I bumbled my way into a high-intensity snafu while recording the walk this morning. A boatload of genuine drama ensued, relative to our typical walks together, at least. It was so bad that I felt obligated to initiate the WALKING podcast's first-ever "take two." And so, here it is: take two.

The other day, I heard Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed on fellow podcaster Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast. (Incidentally, both Dax--if I may--and I appear on Vulture's new list of 100 podcasts you should be listening to. Then again, not to be ungrateful, but I'm not sure how worthwhile that list is, being that all lists are sort of silly and that Mystery Show wasn't on it.) Anyway, in addition to confessing how much she loved a good walk, and extolling the emotionally curative powers of walking, Gwyneth (if I may) told Dax (if I may) something that stuck with me. She said that, as a public person, she feels obligated to share her foibles and insecurities and mistakes with the world; as uncomfortable as it might be, the alternative--to merely broadcast curated images of her supposedly poised, perfect lifestyle--would be dishonest and cruel. In that spirit, I decided to share the details of my snafu at the ad break. 

Also, this week: Squirrel chirps, a happy encounter with my friend Zach, barbed wire (inaudible), a rustic foot bridge.

This week's walk is sponsored by the always-fascinating podcast THE MEMORY PALACE , by Nate DiMeo. It's another of the hundred podcasts you should be listening to, according to the aforementioned list which, as noted, I feel some skepticism toward, even as I also feel great delight. It's complicated.