gotta love them hills...

so, i was able to drag myself out of bed for the second sunday in a row this past weekend.  on a beaut of a sunday morning the usual line of suspects failed to show so it was just me, myself and I to carry on. i "ran" down wallace to west ninth and out west ninth to soncy. i marvelled at the quiet on this coolish morn, the only sounds i heard were my footsteps, my ragged breathing and the wind in my ears.  there was the distant hum of cars and trucks on the i-40 a mile away and the occasional car racing into and out of hearing on soncy but mostly i was lost in the vacuum between my ears.
i was alone, or at least i thought i was.  caught up in the meanderings of my feeble mind i was unaware of another runner until, a few feet off my left shoulder, i hear and enthusiastic "good morning".  of course i started like i'd stepped on a  rattle snake, levitating into the air.  they guy was most apologetic, all 6 ft. 4 inches of him, he with the 4% body fat and legs from here to there.  I watched him as he sped effortlessly away.

i intend to thank him, if we ever cross paths again.  that big shot of adrenalin rush was just what i needed to slog my way through the last leg of the hilly 4 miler. 

aio

shades of yesterday...

                                                                 

it's been forever since i've dragged my saggy carcass out of bed for an early sunday morning run.  i managed to do so today. 

back in the day, "red's raiders" gathered every sunday morning at 7:00 for what was usually a 10 miler.  rick, johnny, mike, tom, red and me; the cast of characters changed some over time.  in those days we all were running 10k's on saturday.  the goal for most was to break 40 minutes.  for some that milestone had already been reached.  for all, anytime we toed the line the goal was to set an new pr.

time.  it was all about time back then.  the goal-- to run the course in the fastest time one could coax from body and mind.

i remember those sunday mornings of thirty years ago; the six of us running shoulder to shoulder in lockstep.  six pairs of feet, the sound of our footsteps in perfect synchrony as six lefts, then six rights struck the ground as one.

time has changed the look of our merry band.  red and mike have passed on. tom has moved away. on this fine morning rick and johnny showed up for their usual sunday morning stroll.  as for the "runners",  it's dan and me.  dan first joined us for our sunday runs in the early 80's.  since then he has been there most every sunday morning. these days he is often the only "runner" who shows up. 

all of us are less than the lean, mean running machines we were in the old days.  time you see is, and never will be, a runner's friend.

aio

sun, sun, go away...

                                                                      

fair weather clouds, you are a friend of mine. i had my best run in a while, today.  the old thermometer was stuck on the century mark; that's right-- an even 100 degrees as i headed out the door. 

for the first half of the run old man sol was tucked in nicely behind a cloud and though the air temp was 100, without the radiant heat, with the sun in hiding i perceived the temp to be at least 10 degrees cooler. nice!

aio

Who needs Dad?

                                                        

we here at 7420 are slowly coming back to a semblance of "normal", gradually recovering from what I presume to be jet lag after our nine days in Hawaii. the mom seems to be doing better than me.  i still don't seem to have the energy to spit. 

tonight, i noticed an open magazine laying open on the floor. the title, "who needs dad?", caught my eye so I picked it up to see what it might be all about.  the gist of the piece spoke to the kind of dad the author had tried to be when his children were young -- you know-- involved, invested, interested, fair and so on. it went on to question what is the role of dad in their life now that they are all grown and gone, scattered to the winds, like the three of you.

that raises a valid point for me.  what do you see as my role in your life in the 21st century? more to the point, the author asked "what do you need from me" and so i ask the same of you.  what do you need from me? 

it's more than a rhetorical question.  i would like an answer and please make it as honest and frank as you can be.  i promise there will be no repercussion for your honesty; my feelings won't be hurt.  the will won't change.  i'm just curious to know what you see as my role in your life as you make your way in this cold, cruel world.

BTW, the magazine was AARP.

please favor me with a response.

aio

Heaven on Earth-- Hawaii

It has been a dream of mine for years to take those closest to me on a cruise.  About a year prior to my actual retirement date the dream began to take form.  After much discussion the destination was chosen-- Hawaii.  So it came to be that on the 22nd of June, from around the country, we gathered at SFO for our flight to Honolulu.  On the 23rd we sailed on NCL's, Pride of America, for a 7 night, 6 day tour of Hawaii's main islands, visiting Honolulu, Maui, Hilo, Kona and Kuaui. 

The above photo was taken on Maui on our "Road to Hana" excursion. I could sit forever soaking in the peace and tranquility exuded by the sight and sound of its' beauty.  In the corner of the picture is part of the one lane bridge over the stream of the falls' waters.  A one lane bridge over the stream and the one lane road on either side equalled a rain forest traffic jam. Our tour driver-- "Champ" was a veritable fount of information-- historical, botanical, adding humor throughout to keep all the info from overwhelming.

     

Pictured above is a painted eucalyptus tree, another of the wonders on the island of Maui. 

Over the week we were there I took hundreds of pictures and shot some amazing video.  In time, I hope to put the best of both into an album of sorts to preserve our time in paradise for an intermittent return, if only as a stroll down memory lane.

aio