6:15 a.m. Monday. Wispy clouds are turning cantaloupe orange over the clock tower of Howard University. Small clusters of people are gathering at the bus stop. The neighborhood dogs are just beginning to test their morning vocal chords, and the newspaper truck rumbles down the street distributing bundled Posts.
Cardozo High, its halls yet quiet, dominates the hill overlooking a panoramic view of the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the green dome of St. Matthew's Cathedral. The oval track behind the school glistens in the morning light as pale rays pick up the aluminum cans and tiny bits of glass strewn on its gritty, gray surface. Four figures in frayed sweatshirts are plodding methodically around its circumference. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. The early shift of the Sojourners exercise bunch is doing its thing.
Getting enough exercise is difficult enough when one lives in a community whose life seems glued together by meetings; but when that community is also located in the city, staying fit becomes a matter of literally bending over backwards to get opportunities for exercise. Mornings and afternoons filled with caring for children, helping tenants to organize, or putting out a magazine, followed by evenings spent cooking bean tacos for 10, capped off by a community meeting at night, can put a cramp in any exercise style. Not to mention the fact that doing jumping jacks in the living room may disturb the person who just sat down to read a Henri Nouwen article on contemplative prayer.
One community member has resorted to burning the midnight exercise oil, doing sit-ups and kneebends in the pallid blue glow of late-night T.V. Others momentarily throw their peace witness to the wind and squeeze out 10 minutes a day to run through the Canadian Air Force physical fitness program.
Read the Full Article
