Walking the weight away

Terry Jones walks Atlanta daily. Every day, except when it rains. For two hours and not less than 10 miles. If it does rain, he works out at home, perhaps five to six hours that day.

He’s by himself and doesn’t need or want a partner. He sees plenty of Atlanta folk in the downtown area. Store owners especially. They call him “The Walking Man.”

He wears the same black clothing. That’s black shorts and maybe a black tee-shirt with yellow lettering that reads “ARMY,” which he is or was. He’s a veteran. He 50 years old now but doesn’t look it. Ramrod straight, friendly, with smile, sunglasses and deep voice.

Terry does have one special partner on his walking journey... i.e. God. Let Terry explain it.

“I walk in peace. It’s a way of life for me. I do this with God’s help. It’s a definite gospel. I want other people to know it’s good for them and necessary to get outside. To see God’s world,” Terry says .... showing that he uses his good voice.

There’s a reason for his purposefulness. Every father will know and understand this following example.

“Two years ago, I weighed 349 pounds with a 50-inch waistline. My waist loss journey began when my 12-year-old daughter punched me in the stomach and said, ‘Dad, you look like you’re pregnant.’” That was enough. Terry’s at 215 pounds and dropping now.

He gave away all his sweet treats, all the sugar in secret places, and now walks daily. About 10 miles. He’s involved with just seeing the world.

He walks with six bottles of water, pouches, earphones, sun-glasses and ball-cap which suggest security, which was his trade in the army. But he’s not doing security. He’s exercising. He’s walking to remove weight. He’s has a web-site on which he is called “Mr. Polo.” It has 236,000 followers and 11.7 million likes. But he didn’t create that site. He just listed what he does. Others have taken up “Mr. Polo’s” interest, Terry tells.

Terry admits he’s following his personal star. It’s like an addiction but for the good. He’s 50 years young, 6-4 and 215 pounds, and of course he d played all the sports growing up, but his favorite was swimming. A native of Florida, it was always him versus the ocean.

While in the army he had numerous training opportunities. One was to be a courier of top secret mail. He served in Japan, Korea, Germany, Thailand and Turkey. Most of his military career overseas, in fact. “I learned ‘The Army Way’. Physical therapist, telec ommunication systems operator, chemicals, combat medic for a little while, then computers. The army gave us a lot of jobs.” He got to Atlanta and Queen City by meeting Tera Dowden from Queen City while they were in Tacoma, Washington, in 1996. Now he has a message for the rest of us. He’s thought about it on his morning trips around the streets of Atlanta.

“Don’t worry about your workout. You won’t even realize you are working out sometimes. Just go out daily. Move. See people and say hello. Walking is mental, you’ve got to start. Once you do, it will do more for you than get you in shape.”

Terry said he knew he was succeeding when he began paying more attention to losing waist inches than pounds.

And one more thing. It won’t be necessarily easy. One needs to have people to support and be supported by.

“I wanted to cry sometime, but then I went walking. A lot of praying, too,” said the Walking Man. He’s giving us more to think about than just himself.