Unfortunately, I do not measure up to Henry David Thoreau's definition of a walker. I heard “him” speak on June 28, when he was portrayed by Kevin Radaker in the living history festival of Chautauqua in Keene sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council.
I heard “Thoreau” say, “If you are ready to leave mother and father, and brother and sister, and wife and children and friends, and never see them again, if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk.”
“Thoreau” continued, “I have met but one or two persons in the course of my life who understand the art of walking, that is, of taking walks, who had the genius, so to speak, of sauntering.”
To emphasize how important walking is to him, “Thoreau” said, “I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirit unless I spend four hours a day, at least, sauntering through the woods. . . absolutely free from all worldly engagements.”
He added, “I believe that we should be gainfully employed one day each week and the other six days should be Sabbaths when we pursue the passions of our dreams.”
“Thoreau” was introduced by Brown University Emeritus Professor of Theatre and of English Don Wilmeth, who also moderated questions from the audience after Radaker's portrayal of Thoreau. Speaking for himself, Radaker said he started reading Thoreau's works when he was 16 years old and he learned that he has much in common with Thoreau's love for nature and the outdoors.
Radaker is a professor of English and chair of the English department at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. Since 1991 he has presented his portrayal of Thoreau over 400 times throughout the United States.
During the question-and-answer time I asked “Thoreau” to expand on the comment in his book The Maine Woods that the pine tree has a spirit that is immortal. He said that he made that statement to show his respect for all living things and that he still believes “it is the living spirit of the tree, not its spirit of turpentine, with which I sympathize, and which heals my cuts. It is immortal as I am, and perchance will go to as high a heaven, there to tower above me still.”
While I may not be considered a true walker as defined by Thoreau, I will continue by own style of sauntering through the woods to discover the reality that Thoreau sought in “raw nature.”
