formats

The other day I met with one of my friends and he started our conversation with the opening line “I could have used one of your hiking sticks the other day”.  So right away, my buddy grabbed my attention and I’m now at the edge of my seat.  I asked, “a walking stick or cane”, and he responded, “a walking stick”.  Oh yea, why did you need it?

He told me about a hiking trip that him and his girlfriend went on through the Ice Age trail in Wisconsin.  I’ve never been to Wisconsin, but I’ve been on many of a hiking trips.  I asked him about the terrain and he told me it was formed by the glaciers over 10,000 years ago.  Who would have guessed that glaciers moved and formed a ton of our now typography?  The glaciers tore through the earth to make incredible ridges, valleys, hills, and all sorts of creations that make it incredible hard to keep you balance on foot.

“That’s why I needed one of your hiking poles, my girlfriend even got a little hurt”, he said.  She stepped on what she thought was a pile of leaves, but it turned out to be a couple rocks covered in leaves and she kinda twisted her ankle.  I wish he would have told me he was planning a hiking trip before now.  That’s one of the best purposes for a long hiking shaft or hiking cane.  Whenever you’re unsure about the piece of terrain you’re about to step on, you need to test it with a tap or whack using your walking cane.  One of the easiest ways to get injured is to step on a rock that will roll.  I then thought to myself, “she could have even used the cane to help her get back to the car”.  I didn’t mention that, because adding insult to injury is never a good idea.

But that brings me to my next point.  A lot of people use walking devices to aid them in mobility when they do have an injury or a weakened joint.  The walking device acts as a type of third leg to balance your stride and take tension off of the injured parts of you body.

So my buddy and me finished up our lunch and I asked him what kind of outfits his girlfriend liked to wear.  He looked at me pretty puzzled, paused then answered, kinda Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift.  I asked him if he had an extra 30 mins. to stop by the store.  We got there, the first cane I showed him, he responded “perfect!” with big grin on his face.

The walking device he ended up buying was a bright pink derby handled solid beechwood cane.  I knew that this cane is going to be perfect for his girlfriend to gain mobility and rock some stylish clothes.

-Antonio Gio