THE DART: Natchez resident walking her way around town

Published 12:01 am Monday, September 28, 2015

Lizzie Davis, 68, flexes her bicep while holding the walking stick. For the past 27-years, Davis has walked everyday around Natchez to stay physically fit. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)

Lizzie Davis, 68, flexes her bicep while holding the walking stick. For the past 27-years, Davis has walked everyday around Natchez to stay physically fit. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — If you live in Natchez and have a pulse, odds are you have seen Lizzie Davis out walking. For the past 27-years, Davis has been taking daily walks all around town.

When The Dart landed on Briel Avenue in Natchez on Sunday, Davis was watching television with her door opened to keep an ever-watchful eye on her neighborhood.

She had already taken her walk following church.

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During her strolls, Davis is the woman usually sporting a smile as she saunters down Canal Street as if she was floating.

“As soon as I start stepping,” she said. “I feel good.”

“I am like a junkie when it comes to walking. If I don’t do it, I start getting withdrawal,” she said.

One other distinguishing detail of Davis’ walks sets her apart, her walking stick.

“I am the lady with the stick,” she said.

It is not your regular walking stick, or cane, and the 68-year-old does not use it as such. Davis simply carries it in her hand not letting it touch the ground even for a moment.

“On one of my walks a while ago,” she said. “A stray dog came at me and got in my face,” she said. “It scared me real bad.”

This happened several other times.

“I guess I was in their territory,” Davis said.

A friend of Davis’ that worked at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola heard her story and got her the stick as a gift.

It was made by one of the inmates who carved into it a man’s face.

“I don’t think I could hit anything with it,” she said. “But ever since I started carrying it, I’ve been left alone on my walk.”

Now, she is left to enjoy her walks the way she always had.

“Natchez is so beautiful,” Davis said. “There is so much to see out walking.”

Along with allowing her to enjoy her walks carrying the stick has helped her build muscles, and she is quick to show off.

“Check out my guns,” Davis said, as she lifts up her sleeve and flexes her bicep.