Confirmed

I got an email yesterday with this message. The surreal is becoming a little more real the closer I get to actually doing the Boston Marathon. I have my plane tickets and my hotel. Everything is in place.



This is neat. The Boston Marathon entry list is searchable. Click the link, and then put in Louisiana. My name is listed with the other entrants from Louisiana. Maybe someone is running the Boston Marathon from your hometown. Give it a look.



Speaking of sports, I am going to the New Orleans Hornets vs. Golden State Warriors game tonight at the New Orleans Arena. The poor Hornets have only won one game this year.



Until the next time

John Strain

The Big Chill

It is the first freeze of the year. Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30 degrees. Tomorrow maybe even 28 degrees. I can hear hearts breaking all over Canada and other points north for our chilly weather. I used to laugh at folks here too. I grew up in Kansas City and worked as a paperboy. My arse has been frozen off more than once.



The thing is, if it gets cold and stays cold, a guy can get used to it. Here in the south, it gets cold, then it gets warm, then it gets hot, then it gets cold. One never gets a chance to acclimate to the temperature.



Tomorrow, when I walk out the door in my shorts, it will be a bit of a shock, but once I have run about a half mile, the old blood gets to circulating and all is well.



As Mark Twain has said, "Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it."



7:00 AM update: It is 36 degrees, not so bad, now where's that sun screen?



Until the next time

John Strain

Press On

I must press on if I am to conquer the leaves. I must press on if I am to complete my gift shopping and other tasks. I have a six mile run to do after which I will go to the gym to start weight training my legs again. This week off has made me lazy. I have to push myself a bit to get out the door, but I will press on.



Yesterday I signed up for the Boston Marathon. I will not get a confirmation for a few weeks. That future glory will have to wait for some more leaf raking and other menial tasks. Life is much more menial than glorious. When you can enjoy the menial things in life you have found happiness.



Enjoy your Sunday folks.



Until the next time

John Strain

Battle Stations

With Christmas two weeks away, I need to get busy. Unfortunately, I did not take my own advice this year and start things early. Tisk, Tisk. The good news is the weather is nice, so I can get out in the yard and hit a couple of licks at the ever growing pile of oak leaves. They will some day be the death of me, but I have won every battle thus far. I attack them with rake, blower, lawnmower fitted with bagger, garbage can, and big black plastic bag. Their only weapons are number, wind, and rain. They allie themselves with the rain to become more difficult to pickup, but the wind betrays them. The wind is a double agent. It helps the leaves by blowing my piles about, but it helps me by drying the little devils out so they are easier to collect, muahahahaha. They will soon be mulching someone's shrubs. By the end of the day, I will have rows of bags lined up on the street. As if by magic, the bags disappear as passers by take them for mulch. I rarely see anyone in the act. Too bad the leaf takers don't rake and bag them their damn self. Now I know how the "Little Red Hen" felt.



As far as running goes, I have had a week of rest. After the marathon I was treated to three off days, one three miler, another off day, another three miler, today is off again. Next week I will run 20 miles total. My coach is starting me out low and building up again. I wind up running 40 to 50 miles per week at the most. It is still hard to believe I am going to run in the Boston Marathon. I haven't signed up yet, but I am only days away from it.



We have to buy a new car. The day before Thanksgiving, Barbara ran into the back of another vehicle. No one was injured. We were on our way to work. Anyway, our car was totaled and we are getting $4,700.00 from the insurance company. I hate car shopping especially when I need to come up with more money. Insert string of expletives here, __________________.



My dog Hobo is still hanging in there, but he is getting weaker and weaker. He is 13.5 and finds it quite difficult to stand and walk. In the morning, I have to help him stand up then walk with my hands under his ribs to keep him up until he gets his sea legs. He has no control of his bowels, but bladder control is pretty good. He is still happy and has a good appetite, so we are trying to make his golden days as comfortable as we can.



I'd better get myself in gear; I'm wasting good daylight.



Have a great weekend everyone,



Until the next time

John Strain

Motorific Torture Track

Growing up in the 60's, I did not get every toy I wanted anytime I wanted it. Today's children get much more. I mention this to state a fact, not to debate the difference. Christmas and my birthday were the two times a year I got something special. I could hope for a "big" toy. Much energy went into perusing the Christmas catalogs. In 1965, Ideal Toy Company introduced the Motorific line of cars and slot car tracks. They represented a "poor man's" slot car set. I knew the fancy electric slot car sets were out of the realm of possibility for me, but the Motorific Torture Track seemed to be priced right. I wanted one of them bad. I stared at the different Motorific sets in the catalog like a convict eyes a photo of his girl friend in stir.



The days before Christmas seemed to drag on forever. I would be so excited, especially when presents began to appear under the tree. We always got a parcel from family in Nebraska, Virginia, and sometimes Milwaukee. I could sing with Julie Andrews, "Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things." I shook, rattled, and squeezed my presents until the paper nearly wore off of them. So good I became at identifying the contents before they were opened, to this day, I do not even want to look at a present for fear of knowing what it is. Now I want to let the excitement linger. If you are wondering why, it is because one year, I found my big present before Christmas and it was then I learned the value of surprise.



Innocently enough, I was playing with a ball one afternoon. I threw it and it went into my parent's bedroom. The ball rolled under their bed and when I bent down to get it, I saw a brand new Motorific Torture Track. I was both excited and scared. Excited because I was getting something I really wanted, but scared I was in trouble for finding my present. The toy was aptly named; because I was tortured knowing it was in the house, but off limits.



During the coming days, I would go into my folk's bedroom to look at the box many times. I did not open it, I only looked at the outside. If I remember correctly, it snowed a lot that year. We were stuck inside and somehow everyone knew I knew about the Motorific Torture Track. I think mom allowed us three kids to open one present and I of course chose the Motorific set. My brother was 15 or 16 and we put the set together that afternoon. We had to slide the beds out of the way to make a big enough clearing for the enormous set. More fun could not have been had that day on our snowy street in Shawnee, Kansas.



When I look back at these days, my overwhelming feeling is gratitude. Thinking of them makes me smile. They live still, and quite vividly in my memory. I wonder what wonderful memories will be made this year? We'll just have to wait and see.



Here's to not looking in closets, car trunks, and under beds one week before Christmas. Be surprised instead.



Until the next time

John Strain