Why Doesn't Anyone Care?

Last Sunday I rode my bike over to Seattle and went to the Iraq war protest. I am not a regular protestor or peace marcher, but I have on occassion gone to a march or two. I wanted to go to this protest primarily because I am so frustrated that nothing is changing. No one, not Congress and not the general population, and least of all the President is willing to get some balls, stand up and end a war which will never be won, or maybe it has already been won? (I won't even try to explain this statement since the explanation has to be made for each of the President's reasons for war. Ask the President!). I am not sure if it takes a strong, intelligent and thoughtful person to start a war, but I am becoming ever more certain that that kind of person is definately what it takes to end one.

So I made up a little cardboard sign, taped it to my bike, and rode into town. The bike ride was great as the clouds lifted and the sun started to dry out the city. But the protest left me unimpressed. It seemed like a significant portion of the crowd consisted of the city's destitute and homeless. While the remainder primarily appeared to consist of far-left leaning pascifists. Now I realize that judging by appearances is the worst kind of generalization and that I don't exactly fit the mold of normal american consumer. I am not trying to sound elitist (it just happens when you have a strong opinion!). But I just wish I would have seen more average looking Wall-Mart shopping, American Idol watching, non-political party card-carrying citizens, either protesting against or for the war. So much of the war debate is framed by the extremes and not by the undecided middle. It is extremely tragic that middle America, whether literal (ie Kansas), or economic seems to refuse to participate. So many don't even vote, it shouldn't exactly be surprising that the vast majority won't voice their opinion in public. I could of course be all wrong. Maybe they are all writing letters to their representatives and making sure that the will of the people is heard. I just don't believe that this is occurring. The only so-called voice of the middle is from the numerous polls which always seem to tilt toward one side or the other, dependent upon who is doing the polling.

Whether or not I am on the right or wrong side, fighing against or with the will of the people, it would be nice to know that the rest of America actually cares about what is happening in Iraq. Based upon the lack of participation it sure doesn't seem like anyone cares. So for me the bigger and more disturbing question is why doesn't anyone care?

p.s. You have to click on the photo to read the bike sign!

Silence

Due to my recent running injury and resulting non-running routine I have alot more time on my hands than usual. So two weeks ago I decided I could finally try and ski in to Calvin's cabin this year. The decision was made semi-last-minute so I wasn't even going to try to find some partners. It still seemed like a decent plan for a weekend since I didn't have anything else to do and I was dreading sitting around waiting for my legs to heal. It is bad enough that I have a hard time sleeping when I am not running. Lately, I have been dwelling too much on my injury and spiraling into a mild funk when I think of how unprepared I am going to be for this summer's adventures! So a trip to the cabin seemed like a great idea for revitalizing my spirits and reminding myself of some of the things (other than running) which I like to do.

So I drove over to the Salmon La Sac snow-park and found one of the last parking spots in a huge lot full of snowmobile trailers. I knew going in that there were going to be alot of noisy stinky machines around but I was a little surprised about how full the lot was. The ski in was fairly uneventfull except for the 33 times a sledhead sped by me, revelling in unadulterated mechanical happiness. During these passings I cowered on the right side of the trail hopeing that the sledders hadn't yet drunk their fill and could still manage to avoid me, because there is no way in hell I could have avoided them! Later on the ski-out a few sledders slowed when passing and gave some waves. It was nice to know that they wanted to be courteous, but the funny thing is that I really didn't feel like there was much genuine courteousness! For one thing it is hard to detect courteousness from a shreiking mass hurtling by at 30 miles per hour. But more importantly, I am not really sure how a wave and a slight slowing is going to improve their reputation when seen from the eyes of a non-sledding trail user. I can't imagine any normal person (including sledders without sleds) actually being able to enjoy the company of sleds on a multiple use trail. At least to me it seems like multiple use trails for sleds and others are totally inappropriate. But we live in an imperfect world, so what are you gonna do?

Anyway I got to the cabin and truly enjoyed some solitude once the hornets(sledders) had left for the day. Sitting on the deck with nothing but snow, trees and mountains around did wonders for my attitude and my spirit! It was a little lonely being at the cabin by myself but it was extremely rejuvenating to build a fire, make some dinner on the camp stove and do some reading, surrounded by perfect silence.

On sunday I did a little bit of skiing on the mountain above the cabin and then quickly returned to civilization a little more relaxed and alot less frustrated. I am going to take my time and try to heal from my injuries. There is no point in doing some half-ass workouts and hopeing that my leg will heal. I will slowly build-up the miles and the fun. Probably before I know it I will again be trying to run back to back 20 mile trail runs!

I should have posted a long time ago!

I have been meaning to post about my Orcas Island Fat Ass race and nephew/neice weekend for awhile now. I am primarily posting because I wanted to put up a couple of great pictures of my neice and nephew!

So way back in February I went up to Orcas Island and ran the Orcas Island FA 50K (really 33miles) with a big group of the regular crazies. Once again this was a really fun race, made even more exciting by the high winds and heavy snow at the top of Mt. Consititution. The conditions really weren't too bad as long as you kept moving. I had a great time and managed to take at least 45 minutes off my time from last year. Of course some of this is due to the fact that the course was shortened and last year I got lost near the finish! I finished in 7th place with a 5:35. I had a great time seeing and hanging out with a few runners who I hadn't seen for quite some time and meeting many others.

The bad part, the part which I could write an entire whinny post about, is my resulting injury (or injuries). It appears that my legs are taking an early retirement! I won't go into details in this post. But this has got to be the worst injury I have ever had considering that I haven't been able to run much more than a few miles (total) for the last 2.5 weeks!


After the Orcas race I took advantage of the fact that I was near Bellingham and drove up to see the family. I spent bit of time at my dad's and then spent an entire day with my brother's family, including my neice, Hazel, and nephew, Lucas. I had a great time getting to know them since it seems they change so much from one visit to the next. Hazel spent a great deal of time perfecting her screaming skills while I was surprised to see that Lucas has become quite the trickster. I think his parents may be in for some hard times since he was fully revelling in the attention he could get by doing exactly what I told him not to do! Of course it may just be that his parents would never stand for that and he knew he found a sucker when I came to visit! Anyway, I can't wait to return and see how these two will surprise me some more.