Is Hellertown the perfect small town to walk?

Is there a better small town to walk around? I don’t know. I think we’re lucky here.

Thoreau swore by walking as a healing balm for the soul.

“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day,” he wrote in 1840.

I have felt that in Hellertown.

Do you ever feel quietly amazed by that sneaking small-town sense that, yes, you can walk to excellent restaurants, to nice several decent parks, to an ice cream shop, to an incredible rail trail, to barbers and hairdressers and bakeries and a great bike shop?

There’s even a lawyer who lives above his work space—and you can walk to his law offices and get your will done.

I see neighbors at church and the grocery store to which I can use my feet to travel. I live a stone’s throw from artists, engineers, actors, craftsmen, doctors, dentists, master plumbers, social workers, psychologists, and at least one nationally ranked competitive shooter.

All within a five- or 10-minute stroll.

There’s a certain rhythm to Hellertown’s walking habits, too.

I’ve noticed that couples tend to walk in the early evening around Hellertown, when I walk with my wife.

Sometimes, whole families roll along with a train of strollers and gaggles of wandering kids and pets. It’s great. It reminds me of the even family seashore promenades you see in East Africa in cities like Dar Es Salaam.

I see a number of women (alone or in pairs) walking and running in the very early morning in Hellertown.

There are various loners of all who walk without flashlights in the deep of night. Maybe they enjoy the anonymity and privacy of night? It's actually an incredible privilege to live in such a safe place (and if you’ve lived in a high-crime area, you know!) where you can walk in the dark without real fear.

Sidewalks can be a problem in the inky dark. The kerfuffle that arose at Hellertown Council recently about raised sidewalk slabs made me think about times when I’ve stumbled on sidewalks in need of repair. If you walk in the dark, you have to be careful. It’s a fair point.

People usually say hi in Hellertown. When they don’t, well, I write it down to Pennsylvania’s Palatine German stoicism—and that’s all part of the charm, too, I suppose.

Of course, it’s good exercise. I used to prefer biking, but I’ve become a walker more and more. I don’t know why. I always feel better afterwards. Slightly uplifted. Right in Hellertown, as if given, as Thoreau put it, “a blessing.”