Marathon Part 1: My Non-Athletic Life

As I am working on my resolution to prepare for Ragnar, I thought I might publish my Marathon story I wrote some years back. This may serve as motivation for some or at least for me as it guilts me into continuing. (Four miles yesterday on City Creek!) Names have been changed for various reasons.

MY NON-ATHLETIC LIFE

James was right. Even though Brazil is still better than Korea he was right about the 50-year-old thing.  And I proved it at only 45.

He had it all figured out at 18. As college freshmen while living in the “jock” dorm we were about as far away as you could get from the athletic-type. James always resented the good-looking sports guys in high school with their cheerleader girl friends. He was smart enough to figure that by the time we were fifty, the jocks would have potbellies. His long range plan was to keep up basic physical exercise and then increase attention to a fitness program in middle age so he could be a good looking fifty-year-old and show himself off at high school reunions.

Iowa Scorecard

Well, Romney was only eight votes from getting Rick-rolled. (Sorry. Couldn't resist. Don't say I didn't warn you!). And I heard some punditry that Romney actually lost against his 2008 Iowa vote total by an even less whopping six votes! That does not bode well for the Republican Party to take back the White House.

The best part about being an unpaid pundit is that I can't get fired. Actually, I didn't do that badly with my predictions. I aced Bachmann quitting. And Perry is next, he just hasn't figured it out yet. And I said the winner would win it by a squeaker, I just had the top three all jumbled.

Santorum, Romney & Paul Win Iowa for Obama

This vote count is going slowly tonight because the top three guys are so close. I won't be able to check my predictions of last week for a while, but I'll be pretty close. I even fell asleep for a minute, and my son changed the channel to the Michigan--Virginia Tech game, which was pretty exciting when I woke up at the end of the second quarter.

Earlier, I had this exchange with my fourteen-year-old trying to convince him to watch CNN with me (and before I dozed off for him to switch the channel). We were watching the projections based on those entering the caucuses:

Son: "So, who do you want to win?"

Me: "Huntsman."

Son (thoughtfully watching the screen): "Dad, he's not going to win."

The Coming Amphibious (Amphibian) Assault on Romney

Whoever wins in Iowa tonight, it won't be Gingrich. And he's hopping mad. The negative adds by pro-Romney PACs have had their effect--not that they shouldn't have as Gingrich is a very bad dude and if the only two politicians left in the world were Romney and Gingrich, I would certainly have to go with Romney.

Watching Chris Matthews on MSNBC Hardball last night, the contrast between the good-looking, family-man Romney and the ugly attacks on Gingrich by Romney surrogates led even Chris to feel a little sorry for Gingrich. Gingrich is certainly feeling sorry for himself comparing himself to John Kerry, of all people, being "swift-boated" ["Romney-boated."]

"Tired Boys Is Good Boys"

Three of my boys repairing wind damage on the shed behind our house. (Note the yew shrubbery)

That was a favorite phrase of my maternal Grandpa who worked his boys hard, and occasionally his grandsons. He taught me how to set irrigation pipe. He enjoyed that too, because as a city boy, I had to learn the tricky part of the flipping my thumb in one end of the pipe to create suction while pumping the other end in the ditch before dropping it into the irrigation row. When that goes wrong, you get squirted with dirty irrigation water. Grandpa would laugh and I enjoyed it too. I did learn to do it smoothly without the squirting.

Federal Government Attacks Religion

Actually, not.

In Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class today, some rather typical comments surfaced about how the government tries to destroy religion. I was just about to say something, but then the topic changed and the teacher asked me to read a scripture on pride and riches. Fine by me.

But my response would have been some sense of befuddlement. I have been a federal employee for 28 years now and I can't think of a time when the government has in anyway prohibited my belief or practice of my religion in the workplace. I have prayed at work--a lot--if only silently (that whole praying in the closet thing). There have been times, too many to count, where I actually closed my office door and knelt in prayer like Washington maybe didn't even do at Valley Forge. (While a praying man, many historians maintain he wasn't a public kneeler).

Resolutions & Goals (Groan . . .)

It's New Years Day and my church meetings don't start until 1:00 p.m. So, I suppose I should take the time to set some resolutions and goals for this new year. The only problem is that I hate setting goals and always have.

Of course I have through the years because I know it's good for me, and I have my share of guilt and responsibility, etc. It comes down to one of those personality things. Not to make excuses based on psychological profiling, but it does fit the pattern of the idealistic INFP. I want things to be genuine without the artifice of organization. If I am to accomplish good, it should be because it comes out of me naturally, not imposed by a list. And, I understand fallen man well enough (at least this one) to know that anything good that comes out of me is not much of my doing anyway. It is the action of Holy Grace by the workings of the Lord in my life, and often through His use of others around me as intermediaries for my own good.