High gasoline prices may not be good for our wallets, but they might prompt us to improve our physical health and our social connections.

The other morning I drove early in our neighborhood. Soon I was following a newspaper deliverer. His vehicle barely crawled along as he tossed papers right and left out the car’s open windows. With gasoline prices bouncing around the $4 mark and houses in this area not far apart, I reflected on the loss of human-powered newspaper delivery. It seemed to me that delivery via bicycle or on foot would not have taken much longer.

What about the health benefits of walking? My cousin’s children go to the same school I attended. My friends and I walked to school: my cousin’s kids arrive by car. The reason?

“Security,” my cousin said.

“But we walked in groups,” I countered.

Childhood obesity is a national concern; my cousin’s children are overweight – is this surprising? If more children walked, or bicycled, to school, the physical benefits could accumulate. Security might be provided by groups of four or more children going together, or by an accompanying adult or responsible teenager.

Would this require parents to coordinate? Yes; neighborhood parents might get to know each other.

Does anyone remember the old-fashioned home-cooked family dinner tradition? Instead of four family members dashing off in two or three cars to as many destinations, gobbling fast food en route, or stuffing themselves with high-calorie, high-cholesterol restaurant food, barely speaking to each other, why not a family sit-down meal at home? It could be less expensive, more nutritious and better-tasting. A meal at home may allow time together to overcome the misunderstandings that seem common in so many families today.

Another gas-saving project is gardening. Anyone with an apartment window ledge can grow a few herbs. If a balcony or patio is available, edible potted plants are possible. Established landscaping can be embellished with herbs and vegetables tucked in between existing growth: there is no need to lay out a formal row garden, if not desired. Fresh food grown at home can be fun and might even save a gas-guzzling trip to the grocery store.

Do I think high gas prices are “good for us”? Not really. They force up the cost of everything that must be transported – from the food we eat to the shoes on our feet. But, for now, we’re stuck with this reality. Perhaps we can squeeze some physical and social benefits out of those unpleasant numbers at the pump.

Joyce Lindsey O’Keefe lives in Bellevue.