Gurnee Miles

By: Jonathan Jones 01/17/2013

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How quickly time passes. When I was a kid in the 1970s, my grandfather had what was then an amazing new medical procedure called heart bypass surgery. The doctor’s description of it at the time was downright frightening with all the cracking open of a breast bone like crab legs and all.

Gramps had the surgery, and it was a success. Part of his recovery was to walk several miles on a regular basis, and I was his chosen partner whenever I was available. Rain, snow or sleet didn’t matter, Gramps was diligent about those walks. Together, we braved some horrendous weather.

Technology has jumped light years ahead today, and heart bypasses are much more advanced. I talk to people who have had them, and it was nowhere near the ordeal Gramps went through. The walks are much easier too, especially with the advent of the enclosed modern mall. There wasn’t one around when I was a kid, and that’s why I appreciate a chance to walk in a great one now.

When I got my type 2 diabetes diagnosis a couple of years ago, I was told to set up an exercise program of regular walking. I immediately started doing it at the spacious Gurnee Mills Mall, as I’d seen others walking there when I was just a customer. What a difference a few decades make.

That’s got to be the best mall walk in the country. It’s wide open and there’s plenty to observe as one walks from one end to the other. One complete lap has me sucking major wind, but in an extremely good way. I’ve done as much as four laps in one day, even though I felt like I’d need my own heart bypass before I made it back to my car. Nevertheless, it’s my favorite walk place.

Gramps would have loved a place like this, and not only for the walking space. They have all kinds of great stores and low prices, and he was a bargain hunter par excellence as well. Gramps would have been a fixture at Gurnee Mills before and after they opened. I’m there a lot myself.