Miss Mamie doesn't have cable. That makes it tough on an avid Braves fan, since so many games have been scheduled on cable channels. But Tuesday night, she decided to come watch with me so that we could also catch Barak Obama's speech after he clinched the Democratic nomination.
It was an exciting game. You always have to sweat it when Soriano comes on to close because he sometimes walks a lot of batters and can load up the bases. But he pitched a perfect 3-up, 3-down top of the 9th and wrapped it up. And just moments later, Obama came on to put on an even better performance.
Miss Mamie has seen a lot. Her dad died when she was 4 or 5, and she, her mom, some aunts and an uncle tried to make ends meet working a few acres of cotton they owned. She moved to Atlanta when she was 12. She attended school and did domestic work in some homes. As she put it, "I've worked my whole life." Her life also included living through the civil rights movement here in the home of Dr. King. She hasn't told me much about that yet.
But, about 10 minutes in to Obama's speech, she said it was late and she was tired and would go home. Before she left, she got just a little misty-eyed as she said, "no matter what happens after this, it's a moment he won't ever forget." I guess she won't forget it either. Nor will I.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Up Yonder on the Chattahoochie
I got my long run in after work - 7 miles. I ran on the 3 mile loop at the Chattahoochie off New Northside. It's pretty well shaded, pretty well flat, soft trails, and, most importantly, has water fountains along the way. It also has distance markers every quarter mile.
Math and I haven't gotten along so well since 8th grade when Mr. Coffee "lost" several of my tests and I almost failed and would go off on screaming jags and throw books at the class and stuff. But I digress. I have to be very literal about keeping up with miles and it usually takes way more thought than it should to figure out how to track 7 miles on a 3 mile loop.
On this trail, I go from the start marker around to the 3 mile marker - which is NOT at the same place as the start marker. So I turn around there and run the trail backwards. I planned, once I arrived back at start, to turn around and go back out for 1/2 mile and back. But it was a tough run, and I knew that there was no way that I would go back out for that last mile if my car was in sight at mile 6. So hang in there with me: I'm running "backwards" according to the mile markers. At the mile 1 marker (which was the end of mile 5 of the run), I turned around, ran back to the 1.5 mile marker, then turned back around to finish. See, I really had to think all of this through in just as much detail as I'm writing it to be sure I was figuring the miles correctly.
The deal with myself was that once I got to the 1 mile marker again (mile 6 in my run), I'd just try to keep running as far as I could back to the car/start marker. If I had to quit, it was okay. But I didn't quit!
Math and I haven't gotten along so well since 8th grade when Mr. Coffee "lost" several of my tests and I almost failed and would go off on screaming jags and throw books at the class and stuff. But I digress. I have to be very literal about keeping up with miles and it usually takes way more thought than it should to figure out how to track 7 miles on a 3 mile loop.
On this trail, I go from the start marker around to the 3 mile marker - which is NOT at the same place as the start marker. So I turn around there and run the trail backwards. I planned, once I arrived back at start, to turn around and go back out for 1/2 mile and back. But it was a tough run, and I knew that there was no way that I would go back out for that last mile if my car was in sight at mile 6. So hang in there with me: I'm running "backwards" according to the mile markers. At the mile 1 marker (which was the end of mile 5 of the run), I turned around, ran back to the 1.5 mile marker, then turned back around to finish. See, I really had to think all of this through in just as much detail as I'm writing it to be sure I was figuring the miles correctly.
The deal with myself was that once I got to the 1 mile marker again (mile 6 in my run), I'd just try to keep running as far as I could back to the car/start marker. If I had to quit, it was okay. But I didn't quit!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
no long run
I was supposed to do 7 miles as my long run today, but my knee is hurting. Hopefully I can get it in after work tomorrow. It may be time to have a follow up PT visit to see if I'm not recovering as I should or if my head is just messed up.
Nostalgia
Yesterday, I had a haircut appointment back in my old neighborhood on the other side of town. Truth be told, I really missed living over there. It just seemed so easy. A great little sandwich shop was out behind the hair salon. And no one asked me for money or looked at me like I didn't belong there. No one was obviously a prostitute either. I stopped by a furniture consignment shop - one that's actually indoors, not just a random collection of goods lined up along a sidewalk in a parking lot. The farmer's market was close by. I got fresh fruits and veggies and a couple of bottles of wine that all cost much less than anything near me. I stopped for gas that's at least 10 cents/gallon cheaper than anywhere near my house. Then I swung by a cute little gift shop for a wedding gift. I was even close enough to just drop by a good friend's house.
This move felt costly on Saturday. I'm a bit of an alien here, just a few miles from my old neighborhood that felt so familiar. I do not doubt that I'm where I'm supposed to be. But I guess I was just reminded that following a calling to something new means leaving some things behind. For me, it's the comfortable and familiar that's been left behind.
This move felt costly on Saturday. I'm a bit of an alien here, just a few miles from my old neighborhood that felt so familiar. I do not doubt that I'm where I'm supposed to be. But I guess I was just reminded that following a calling to something new means leaving some things behind. For me, it's the comfortable and familiar that's been left behind.
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