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Walk #36, West Fresno

August 25, 2015April 18, 2016 By fmw

Reflection on Walk #36 in West Fresno. From Food Maxx, north through neighborhoods until bumping into Hwy 180 and Chandler Airport. (This may be the longest reflection yet.) On a beautiful Saturday morning, March 21, four FMWalkers started in the parking lot of Food Maxx. This was already a busy place at 8:30 a.m. Next to the parking lot behind a metal electrical box, there was a person sleeping in a sleeping bag with personal belongings piled on a wheelchair.We saw Rising Star Missionary Baptist church, but later learned this is the old location, with the new location just a few blocks away. The old location is locked up behind fences with gravel and potholes and weeds growing between the cracks. Is there a plan for this property?The stroll north along B street, we saw people sitting in their front porches and also a number of boarded up and neglected homes and old retail. One house was already blasting loud music from a car stereo. An older gentleman had a bunch of random stuff out on the street for sale. He didn’t seem fond of talking to us and said he didn’t want us taking pictures of the items. The Fink White park was open with four adults hanging out by a car with the trunk open and two dogs on leashes wrestling. Fink White has a small pool (which is empty behind locked fences,) and the sign for the Boys & Girls Club. No kids on the playground this morning, but a couple of men chatting while looking at a phone.A block away there’s lots of commotion at the corner with the Stay In School Bike Show. We meet Pastor Bruce Hood, his loud rumbling Vega, with Feed My Sheep and Jesus Saves painted on his car. This is a happy corner with families and laughing and a BBQ already smoking with chicken on the grill. Everyone talked to the FMWalkers and showed off their custom bicycles. This is their annual show. Pastor Hood told me his goal is to keep kids in school and out of gangs. His church is just around the corner.Walkers continue through neighborhoods and through a quiet subdivision of neatly groomed and fairly new duplex type row houses. Green grass strips with playgrounds, and grouped parking making it a safe place for kids.Leaving this division, we walk along a narrow strip/alley right along Hwy 180 and come out on a country road, no sidewalks, big properties, with houses set way back. Front yard fences keep dogs in and multiple cars locked behind.A large empty lot has an open gate, and two RV’s are set up far apart from each other, but are occupied. Walkers discuss later about whether these are ‘squatters’ or if they have permission to be living in RVs on this property.Peeking through fences, we see orchards in backyards, and one house has a koi pond. Large oranges hanging on trees. After leaving this street, a lady drives up in her car and asks me what we are doing. She said she saw me take a picture and has never had anyone walk on her street and take pictures. I briefly explain FMW, and the pictures are just of interesting details. As she’s talking to me through her car window, a pickup truck comes right up behind her and honks. A man yells for her to get out of the way. However, she’s pulled to the left of three lanes and there’s plenty of room for the truck to easily go around and no other traffic. She tells me that this guy is her neighbor and is always harrassing her. Walkers talk later about how frustrating and scary it would be to have a neighbor like this.We hear plenty of roosters, and see citrus trees. Wisteria is growing over fences. There are a couple of large businesses out here: Angelica, a porta potty Company, and a pallet company.We encounter two people arguing in the middle of the street — a man and a women. A gentleman, in shorts with no shirt, has walked with us toward the argument, and we talk to him. He’s making sure the woman is not in danger. Together with the shirtless man, we watch for a couple of minutes, and decide this is just a loud argument with no immediate danger. He tells us that he has tw

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UPCOMING WALK: Saturday, January 29, 2022, 10 a.m.

Fresno Mindfulness Walks will lead a Saturday morning walk on January 29, 2022, beginning at 10 am. at 271 N. Glenn Ave., Fresno, CA 93701 (the home of Craig Scharton).  
 
The walk will be about 3 miles, at a stroll to medium pace, occasionally on uneven ground, and take about an hour and a half. By walking mindfully and without talking, we will experience the Lowell neighborhood in new ways. At the conclusion of the walk, we’ll gather back at Craig’s yard and spend a few minutes talking about what we discovered about ourselves and the neighborhood. 
Walks are free and require no RSVP. Look for the Facebook event to share with your friends. For email notifications, sign up in the yellow bar at the top.
Lori Clanton
Lucky Leader to Fresno Mindfulness Walks

How FMW works —

Fresno Mindfulness Walks are weekly opportunities for people to walk together for a 4 mile route through a different Fresno neighborhood each week. Walkers practice active mindfulness by attending to the sights, sounds, smells, feelings.  Walkers do not talk to each other on walks, but we do greet people we meet along the way.  The walk location and exact start time are posted just a few days in advance. All walks are free, require no RSVP, and anyone is welcome to join one walk or many. To learn about upcoming walks, you can sign up for a weekly email in the yellow bar at the top of this website and/or LIKE and follow the FMW Facebook page.

 

To learn about the routine that begins each walk and read some of the resources that have inspired FMW, check out the resources page.

 

Weekly walks are about 4 miles and take about an hour and a half. Walks are at a medium pace, often on uneven ground, and sometimes take longer than expected because walkers see themselves as curious travelers lingering to observe or going around a different way.

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