Thank you to the person who wrote the Dec. 7-13 Sound Off “Winter Walking.” I walk because I have no other choice. As a retired senior, taxis are out of my budget. Don’t get me started on the effort to raise those rates. Yes, we’d prefer to stay on sidewalks, but, as was pointed out, they are rarely, if ever, “walk-able” when the snow and ice come in. Thanks to the businesses that shovel their own part of the walk, but that still leaves a long way to the corner. More often than not, there is also a giant, insurmountable mini-mountain of plowed snow led for us walkers to navigate. Please, people, walk a half-mile in our shoes. We aren’t trying to slow you down or create a hazard. We just have no other way to get from point A to point B. In a place that prides itself on compassion, please know that we navigate the only way available to us. A little compassion and understanding please.