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memories

Things and the swing thereof

Mondays are Mondays. Mine are usually pretty great. Got in some important work and emailing.

Purchased and mailed a birthday card. (Happy Birthday to all the timely readers!) At the grocery store where I picked up the greeting card I saw this. I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but the championship trophy is shrinking.

I know because I had the pleasure of holding the trophy two years ago. It was the day this happened:

You see, Aubie “stole” the football trophy during the offseason, which led to a series promotional videos. (Happily the Trooper Taylor one is still on the site.) It all led to that home opener. Before the game we ran into someone we knew from the athletic department who was carrying the trophy in his backpack. He let us palm the trophy, Waterford crystal valued at over $30,000. It was bigger than this mockup.

Made a few business calls. Did some other work things. Work things? Yes, it is getting to be that time again.

Took a quick ride around town, one of those days where it didn’t feel especially good, but the time was an improvement. Looked down and the speed was faster. Only a mile per hour faster, which isn’t much given my baseline, but is enough to make the entire, familiar ride seem frantic. And even still I noticed new things in the textures of the road and the signs alongside it. I think that slightest increase of speed came from attacking a few hills a bit harder.

Then, on Red Route One, one of our speed segments where I just go as hard as possible for 10 minutes, I added some nice distance to my personal best. It is almost entirely downhill, I must confess, but it is great segment with one little roller and then a 90-degree righthand curve that lets you dive and accelerate for the next 500 meters. The last mile and a half is hard in the drops or in the ridiculous aero position.

I want to go ride it again just thinking about it.

Did I mention that this weekend I found another rode where I can break the speed limit on my bicycle? I think that makes three. Moving up in the world.

Not really. I’m still a terrible cyclist.

Chinese for dinner tonight. This was my fortune:

That might be my favorite one yet.

And now back to the emailing. I’m sending out varied tips to students who’ll run the newspaper and website this coming year. Lots of details. So many words. They’re just falling out of my fingers like rain.

Hey, rain. Told you we’ve had a wet summer. Some places on the coast recorded more than 20 inches. In July.

The two weather stations nearest us recorded a comparatively arid 8.8 inches and 10.10 inches in just the one month.

collarbone / cycling / links / memories / site / Tuesday — Comments Off
16
Jul 13

Have you noticed?

It is slow here. Have you noticed? July is slow. I am doing other things, like catching up on old posts and catching up on email — there’s a special filter in my email called “You thought you were done, but no” — and catching up on other important things.

Plus, none of it, so far, is terribly exciting. I’m riding and running, but that’s about it. So July is slow. (Not unlike my riding and running.) Have you noticed?

But I did want to say this: One year ago today I was having surgery, getting titanium and screws, thank you very much, because 53 weeks ago today I was falling, destroying my collarbone, hurting my shoulder and whacking my head on asphalt.

So after a year of that: six months of fuzzy memories — and some periods I just don’t really recall at all — and lots of travel for work and pleasure, physical therapy, impatience and somewhat starting to feel like myself again, finally starting to ride again and wondering, for months, if I was ever going to really feel like myself again … I kinda do.

I still have some muscular issues in my shoulder, but I carry stress there anyway. I have, on occasion, finally started to notice the absence of pain in my collarbone. The surgeon said six months to a year, but I’d given up on all of that.

Last month, though, for about an hour one day while snorkeling, I realized that nothing was hurting. And it had been 11 months since I could say that. Nothing. Hurt. (It is hard to pry me out of the water anyway, but I almost willfully got left behind that day. The absence of pain is a pretty incredible feeling on its own.)

This week I’ve noticed a few times where I have to willfully turn my attention to my shoulder and my collarbone. Are you still there? I don’t think I notice you right now.

This dawned on me last night. Delightful progress.

Of course right now that section of my upper body is singing the tune I’ve come to know so well this year. It has been that kind of year.

But it is getting better. It isn’t perfect, but it is better.

adventures / family / food / memories / Thursday — Comments Off
4
Jul 13

Eight Fourths

Our Fourth of July tradition involves going to Dreamland, which we visited in Montgomery this evening, enjoying some ribs and pudding and then settling in for an evening of fireworks.

Of course it has rained all day, canceling the fireworks. It has also been the coolest Fourth in memory, which has prompted many remarks, but no complaints. The Yankee wore a sweater for a few pictures today.

Anyway, below is a running collage of wonderful summer memories, reading left to right, top to bottom:

Happy Fourth of July. Hope yours is as good as mine.

adventures / Friday / memories / photo — Comments Off
7
Jun 13

Friday throwback

I just made up a reason not to write a lot this week. My reason: June. So this week is full of older pictures. Some of them have been in this space or elsewhere on the site or in some of the regular social media places before. So they might be old to you — and bless you for still visiting — or they might be brand new.

Enjoy.

We were travelling somewhere, Boston I think, in 2011 maybe, when she reached over and grabbed my sunglasses. She looked far better in them than I ever have. And so I seldom wear them anymore:

Come visit on Twitter and Tumblr.

adventures / memories / photo — Comments Off
6
Jun 13

Throwback Thursday

My site, my rules, my lazy excuse — June — for a very light post. This is a week of older pictures. Some of them have been in this space or elsewhere on the site or in some of the regular social media places before. So they might be old to you — and bless you for still visiting — or they might be brand new.

Enjoy.

We saw this heading north back into Montgomery one day early last summer. We’d just been to a wedding. We’d discovered a new barbecue joint. We explored undiscovered backroads. We visited with friends. Everything was lovely. And then there was this crazy cloud:

Come visit on Twitter and Tumblr.