Boston Windtunnel

During lunch I needed to go to the post office on Stuart Street. It didn't seem too bad out there on Boylston-- overcast. Maybe drizzling a little. But eh, okay. I'll live.

Then I turned onto Clarendon Street, and the joy of my two block walking experiment started. It was gusting pretty hard up the street. I had to lean into the wind a bit to keep my footing.

Okay, I'll take it slow. No problems.

First block was accomplished. I was knocked a bit to the side, but nothing too bad.

As I crossed over St. James, I felt my glasses start to rattle on my nose. I held them in place with two fingers of my right hand as I continued across the street. Once I was across the street, I took my glasses and slipped them into my coat pocket for protection. I'd rather walk somewhat blind down a sidewalk than have my glasses fly off into goddess knows where. My eyesight's good enough that I can walk down a street and survive fairly well. Just don't let me drive that way.

I continued toward the buildings and the spot where Erich proposed to me last year. But before I got there, the wind got worse. Someone dropped an entire report of what must have been a hundred or more pages of paper-- the pages instantly flew up at least 15-20 stories and swirled in the air. Some pages landed in the treetops. Others looked like sea birds diving into the ocean for fish.

The wind gusted higher, and thud! I was on my ass. On the sidewalk. Just like that. And not just me-- by the somewhat fuzzy shapes I could see, so did several other people. I wasn't hurt at all. Fat ass=good padding. But I was stunned by the fact that I was literally just knocked down by the wind while standing still. I managed to get up and grab onto the nearest tree before the next gust came. I stood there, hanging onto the tree, waiting for the gust to die down so I could go to the next tree.

It didn't die down. It just kept coming. I waited for a few minutes-- through three changing light cycles. No breaks.

Fine. Great. Onward.

I took a deep breath, and carefully started forward, aiming to get to the next tree that stood approximately ten feet away. Got there. Grab on. Take a breath. Onward.

I finally got to the post office. I looked at the clock. It had taken me nearly 35 minutes to go two blocks.

Got the stuff I needed. Time to head back. Which took me 45 minutes. Now I had both wind AND horizontal rain to deal with. Plus, I was walking with the wind, so I had to be more careful in how I leaned as I went down the street. It was a routine-- get to the tree. Latch. Breathe. Take a moment to get a sense of how things are. Detach. Trundle trundle trundle. New tree. Latch. Breathe...

After that, I'm definitely awake. But I think I've gotten my workout for the day.

Me thinks I'll do the roundabout way of getting to South Station tonight-- Green Line to Park, Red Line to South.

Screw trying my normal route again today. Ugh.