Oh my, those looks I received as I walked north on Rexford Drive to an event at the Beverly Hills Hotel tonight. Was it my fresh blow-out and natural color from Shades? Hope not. It’s such a thrill when I flip back my silky tresses. Maybe it was the fishnet stockings and Thierry Rabptin boots. It’s true about shoes. Italian leather is sexy. No doubt. But really! A car zips through the crosswalk as I stride across Sunset. A close call. Remember: Even if you walk, carry ID.  WWS Walking while sexy. Time for bed. Will walk in sweats tomorrow morning.

On the 1.24 mile walk back from my bi-annual teeth cleaning by Dr. Howard Richmond at Wilshire and La Cienega, I popped into a shop that has always been closed when I’ve strolled by other times. AFK – which stands for Art for Kids – sells fine furniture for children - manufactured relatively locally in Orange County (a story perhaps for Patch?), and there were signed and numbered prints of Barbie fashions by Robert Best. Small world incident Number 1 - having been on a first name basis with Barbie for almost 20 years at Mattel Toys. Switch gears, and on the wall were some awesome authentic bugs framed in elegant shadow boxes. What better choices for art for children’s rooms than Barbies and bugs! Better yet, I was inspired to frame our collection of vintage plastic soldiers and sell as art! (Let’s see what else I can add to the already full plate, but creating and selling can be a productive diversion. Does Etsy beckon?)

Heading east onto Clifton Way back home, I fell into step with a salt-and-pepper-haired gentleman dressed in black, wool scarf and all. Was I in New York? After a friendly greeting, how could I not start chatting even with him while juggling my reference notes for the social gaming/”gaming for good”proposal for digital dollhouse in one hand and phone in the other?

He was in the area while waiting for his car that was being serviced. Why is this often the only time we explore other neighborhoods? Or even our own backyards. We agreed, for many, it’s true. And he quickened his pace to keep up with me. Deadlines beckon!

Long story short: he was the retired head of marketing and publications for UCLA and former boss of my favorite instructor at UCLA Extension. Tiny world example Number 2. Taking it one step further: his wife promotes luxury travel. Do I ever write travel? Luxury? But of course. I travel - by foot - in Beverly Hills.

Finally I am doing this and I helped promote it on Patch.

After announcements at 9:30 a.m., an anticipated 250 participants will leave Pershing Square promptly at 10 a.m., heading straight west to Santa Monica along our famed boulevard. Estimated time of arrival is about 4 p.m with a celebration at Border Grill Santa Monica. Rain or shine.

 Meet up with the trekkers anywhere along the great wide way. The fleet of feet should hit the Beverly Hills pavement at about 1:45 pm after the lunch break at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). (I’m not sure if they’ll have time to make a cocktail stop at our own The Boulevard while working their way west. Maybe on the way home.)

The pedestrian adventure returns to Wilshire after  exploring other cross-town consourses in previous years. At just 15.6 miles, this is the shortest they’ve ever organized. The first with rain in the forecast, so dress for comfort and the weather.

The walk’s main man is journalist and Franklin Avenue blogger Michael Schneider. He was moved to create the walks after reading the book Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles by Kevin Roderick (with research by J. Eric Lynxwiler.)

What’s their agenda? Simple: Walk (it’s not a race or walk for any cause) for the love of L.A. and all of the towns — like our own Beverly Hills — neighborhoods and districts in-between. Follow their Twitter to see their progress

Catching the sights at sidewalk level at a somewhat leisurely pace is the ultimate eco-way to see L.A.

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2010 is absolutely free, but make sure to bring money for lunch (gourmet food trucks near LACMA or the museum cafeteria or bring your own.) Sign up and check out frequently asked questions at their site.

What’s the smartest way to get to the start? Leave the car at home, and take the bus. Newbie bus riders should allow for a little extra time. Join me around 8:15 am at the southeast corner of Beverly Drive and hop on the MTA’s 20/720 bus; the header reads Commerce Center, driving east on Wilshire Boulevard. Our stop is 6^th Street/Hope Street and Grand Avenue - exit the back door – with a short walk to Pershing Square (6^th and Olive.) $1.50 each way. Exact change, please. Catch the same bus east to get back home.

So go on down the boulevard – the green way — with some of your new best friends on Saturday. It’s great walk!

Can you walk and laugh at the same time. Of course you can. View this - you’ll be linked over to YouTube - but come on back.  Just watch out when you chew gum.

I heard Dr. Susan Love speak last week at the Beverly Hills speakers forum about her Army of Women and how they are seeking to recruit one million women for research. That’s not so funny, although Dr. Love has a great sense of humor. She did made a big point that daily exercise - the breaking-a-sweat kind - is crucial to good health and keeping those awful cancer cells at bay. They loved the idea of NetWalkers!

Just a wish. But just imagine. Just bike riders and walkers. One our favorite green writers has the same dream: http://greenlagirl.com/celebrate-world-carfree-day-tomorrow/

Yep. My car has been in the driveway - all day and will remain all night. I walked this morning with our NetWalkers & Co. | Troop 90210 friends and throughout the day, I’ve been writing The Green Files about a waste-free lunch. That’s done. And editing the uSamp newsletter. That’s done. I am still aglow about my online portfolio from popslice: http://ellenlutwak.popslice.com/ Now I need to look around my 1-mile radius and see who I can work for in the neighborhood - and walk to work. Let me know who you know!

It doesn’t take long at all. After a few morning walks when your time is your own and a pay check is occasional, you start to recognize our city’s street regulars. The silent hipster ever attired in a beret and black winter jacket even in the heat of summer — as dark as the shadows where he sits. The immodest athlete in sports bra and bike shorts, be-bopping as she cycles and sings and circles the Flats.

And Mohammed. I’ve been told he’s been seen embarking on a bus with his wheel chair under his arm, but whenever we cross paths, he’s always ensconced in a simple chair, cup in hand. Unexpectedly cheery. My son never let station or situation stop him from speaking to strangers despite the D.A.R.E. sessions at El Rodeo. How he got to know Mohammed, I still don’t know. “He’s not homeless. He teaches me things. He’s a good man,” the kid tells me. And how I decided to trust him as well, I don’t know. Maybe it was utter desperation mixed with fear and sadness that I turned to Mohammed for answers. Will my son end up on the street if he fails another class or comes home at 3 in the morning bruised after being battered in a mosh pit or … who knows what. (At least, he is still working on his Eagle Scout, I comfort myself.) After one such conversation when I saw him at his regular spot on the corner of Rodeo and Brighton, Mohammed scribbled his phone number on a torn-off corner of scrap paper. “Have your young man call me. I’ll tell him what he needs to know,” he said.

Today, there he was again, certainly not on the list of attractions touted by the Beverly Hills’ Visitors’ Bureau. With cup in hand about to ask for something from another stranger, he recognized me. “How’s our young man?” he asks. With my own mix of feelings as a newly minted empty-nester, I answer mostly enthusiastically with some relief. “He’s good; he’s in college. In Chicago,” I say. “Aw right! Give me a hug,” he shouts. And in turn I bend over and get a warm hug from Mohammed. From the stranger. The con in a chair, perhaps, but right now, the good man. Who worried about a kid in Beverly Hills and his mom. “Thanks. It’s expensive,” I say, making that universal sign for money. Mohammed nodded his head. He understood. And today he didn’t ask for anything. Except for a hug.

Someone could get killed. From July 2009 to July 2010, 73 people were hit by cars in Beverly Hills. And with that, the city boosting Niketown and Jimmy Choo was bestowed the dishonor of being ranked number one in the state for the number of vehicles hitting pedestrians per population, according to the BHPD Motor Sgt. Brad Cornelius. Not something to write home about. Especially when your home is Beverly Hills. The findings received page 4 coverage in the Beverly Hills Courier which headlined the story “Motorists Caught in Web of BH Police Sting.” Ah, poor motorists. The news here is that our traffic officers stationed at the corner of Wilshire and Palm issued 53 citations in less than two hours to drivers who didn’t stop when someone - like your kid or your mother or me or you - was walking in a crosswalk. Here we are encouraging you to hit the sidewalks, and - watch out - we’re getting hit!

So what are we going to do about it? To start, spread the word. Get vocal. We suggested to the City Council that they encourage residents to walk to the big foodie soiree on 9-02-10. Let’s see what happens. We forwarded the link https://californiawalks.org/Home.html to one of our school board members. How will the board support walk to school? Get a group of friends and neighbors together like our @NetWalkers90210. Do an article for The Green Files for http://beverlyhills.patch.com More signage. How about more enforcement of the Cell Phone law. Become active in Streetsblog Los Angeles http://la.streetsblog.org/

Admittedly, the issue is a two-way street: pedestrians need to be careful as well. You know about looking both ways before you cross the street. Fahged about it! Take a second look at this one-time sage advice. Look both ways times two. Make eye contact with the driver. Don’t think that because you’re in a crosswalk you’re safe. Au contraire, mon ami. According to Sgt. Cornelius, you need to exercise even greater caution because those lines on the asphalt are just that, painted lines, and it gives people a false sense of security. Less accidents actually happen at unmarked intersections. Stop the texting. Hold that call. And speaking of calls, tell us about your close calls. Or have you stopped counting?

Hey, is anyone out there angry about this? Let us know.

http://bit.ly/adNQFd  Whilst most of us seem to be iPod walkers, my iPod appears to be on permanent loan to my son. But you know, I don’t seem to mind. I really can’t imagine trekking through Franklin Canyon without hearing the vocalization of our fine feathered friends. (I am remiss in writing about our birding hike. To come!) With the exception of the faint drone of a private plane buzzing the blue skies or a blast of a horn when a cautious driver turns a canyon blind curve, several moments in the earlier hours of the morning can pass with only the sounds of nature. Imagine that!

Do it in your neighborhood and then share your experiences with us.

Beverly Hills may not have a legendary walker comparably to the Walking Man of Silver Lake, but my husband recalls a tall, lean, deeply tanned woman of an indeterminate  age bounding down Coldwater Canyon and through the Flats. Raised in this city, he remembers seeing her in the 70s when he was in high school and until recently, we have spotted her on her unknown mission, wearing pastel tennis togs. A celebrated but forgotten retired tennis pro? An amateur with a court in her Beverly Hills backyard whose fortune allows her the luxury of leisure? This back story is simply speculation. I have no idea. Our paths never crossed whilst on foot. I would have tried to catch up and talked with her. But mostly I would only catch her out of the corner of my eye while I was driving over the canyon. Does anyone know who she is? Is she in good health? Does she continue her pedestrian adventure to this day?

Of course, as a walker, we followed the story of the Silver Lake Walker. If you didn’t know of him in life, sadly, you will certainly know his legend now after his sad and troubled death. Retired doctor Marc Abrams walked at least 15 miles through the streets of the neighborhoods of Silver Lake and thereabouts every single day while reading the newspaper. The memorial drew hundreds of people with their own memories: http://huff.to/96wZmu

This morning I succeeded in business networking without really trying. That’s the pleasure of walking. Even with Linkedin, I hadn’t yet connected with a very busy industry contact. Intently reading a local paper while walking - although not always recommended  -  I heard a friendly “Hello Ellen!” Almost a blur as we both power-walked in opposite directions, it was L, a former business associate AND a mom from the high school. “Yes. Email me. I’ll be here.” Stay tuned! And don’t forget to join us @NetWalkers90210