Walking with a cane in old-time Phoenix


This morning, as I was out pedaling around Peoria (a suburb of Phoenix) in the cool of the morning, I passed someone who was walking along the sidewalk, using a cane. He didn't seem to have any difficulty walking, and a few minutes later I saw him twirl it, which made me smile. In a longish life I've been on canes, and crutches, and I've tried to keep a positive attitude, but of course I've done my hobbling in modern-day Phoenix, with nice flat concrete sidewalks, and asphalt roads, and mostly with ADA(Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant buildings. So of course I starting thinking about how much more challenging it would have been to walk with a cane in old-time Phoenix.

I have a photo in my collection of Washington looking towards 1st Street in 1905, and I remembered seeing the man catching the streetcar while using a cane. Doesn't look like the trolley did much but slow down a bit, no signs of a nice platform like the modern light rail has. I'll post the whole pic at the bottom of this post so you can see the whole scene.

Since Washington wasn't paved until 1911, this must have been a challenge for the man with the cane. The tracks were laid in dirt (I have no idea how they even did that - if you're an engineer, please tell me). and while dirt and sand can be pleasant to walk on, like at the beach, if you're hobbling on a cane, it's not very comfortable (I know!). It looks like it was nice and dry that day, and I see no evidence of any, uh, obstacles that might have been left by horses, but I'm sure these challenges arose. I'm hoping that he was wise enough to have a flask of bourbon handy!

I just love looking at my collection of old photos of Phoenix, and I love visiting them in my imagination. But when I need to hobble around on an ankle that will always hurt me a bit, I'm grateful to be living in the 21st Century.

Thank you for walking with a cane with me in old-time Phoenix!

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