FINAL COUNTDOWN

COUNTDOWN TO SUNDAY-2 Days 22 hours + change

HUMMMMMM
Dum Dee Dum Dum

A LITTLE STORY

Yesterday being the king's birthday sent me to thinking (BC does hate to hear that I have been thinking). I've written a very short story about a king that I am posting today. Though we do not have kings in our democracy, we have those that perceive themselves as kings. When you read this, see if you can think of anyone that you would think might fit this scenario. We all have kings of one sort or another in our lives. Hopefully most of those kings are good and righteous rulers, but then there are the others-------



KING HUMPTY DUMPTY

On the highest hill, in the tallest building, on the top floor of the Kingdom of Innocence lived the King, the most powerful man in the realm. The King had been appointed to his position by the people of Innocence, but only after a bloody war with many victims. The war for the kingdom had been a long and protracted affair with those that opposed the ultimate king proclaimed as life long enemies of the new king. The King did not allow any discussion of forgiveness or grace, but spent the years of his reign seeking revenge in a constant and ongoing manner. The people of Innocence had thought the King was sincere when he declared his love and interest for all his subjects and never dreamed he was anything but what he declared.

Once the King began ruling his kingdom, he felt righteous in all of his rulings and justified in every attack upon any citizen. The King did not abide with anyone questioning of his words or his actions and took any opposition as a personal affront. It was not a good thing to publicly disagree with the king as punishment and reprisal were swift and exact. The vast majority of the citizens were unaware of the king’s dogmatic approach to his rule, and knowledge of his cruel actions had not spread. The king was careful to walk the line of prudence when it came to the citizens and avoided at all costs the knowledge of his harshness to be spread. The king desired to reign for life and knew he must play the role of a good and just ruler, or the citizens might choose another.

As the years passed and the king grew more self assured, he began to grow careless with his authority and looked with disdain upon those that questioned it. The long reign with little question led the king to believe that his opinion and his alone was the correct opinion. Without regard for subject or staff, the king ruled with an iron fist and no compassion. If you dared to disagree with the king or if the king felt that you had slighted his authority or reputation, his retaliation was swift and exact. No matter what the intent, the king felt every disagreement was pointed toward him and he would not tolerate it. Those that dared to question the king were called to the high hill and up to the top floor to feel the king’s wrath. With little interest in any defense and certainly no tolerance for another opinion, the king would lash out at the offender. The king’s words were harsh and attacking and his eyes shot daggers at those who dared to oppose his great wisdom. The king would loose control and rant and rave at the citizens and with a vengeful spirit attack those very citizens that had given him his rule. With no regard for decorum or manners and certainly no concern for any rebuttal, the king set loose his angry tirade lambasting those that dared to question him and his rule.

The king would continue to rule but the word of his tyranny and vengefulness would spread. The many years had mellowed the king and fattened his ego’s perception of his wisdom. The citizens were watching and the citizens would choose the next king. There were those that would be better rulers in the kingdom and the day would come that one would rise up and oppose the king. The day would come when the king would be overthrown and a new and righteous king would take his place. The ex-king would then find himself exiled to the Outerland of Has-Been and the power he so coveted would have been depleted to a whisper. The Outerland of Has Been will prove to be a very lonely and bitter place to spend the remaining days of eternity. This was the very place the ex-king had headed all those long years ago, when he lost the ability to listen with graciousness and tolerance. The citizens of Innocence watch and wait knowing the day will come when once again they will be free from The King and what he had become. The days of righteous rule were coming and just as Humpty Dumpty found all those years ago, “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will not be able to put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

THE KING

CALL ME NOODLE HEAD!

In an effort to make sure and be appropriately carbo loaded, I seem to be having pasta every night this week. Now I am not a HUGE pasta fan, but carbs fuel the muscles that makes the legs run down the road. Since I have been training for this marathon, I have completely changed my eating habits. I am really not a huge bread fan, but in an effort to fuel the training runs I ate a sandwich everyday for lunch. In the past I was having a roll up for lunch with lean turkey, but I have gone to wheat bread with peanut butter(my favorite vegetable). I stopped eating 1 low fat granola bar for breakfast and started eating 2 pieces of toast. In short, I have really picked up the number of calories ingested everyday. By the night before the marathon, when we have reservations to eat "pasta", I should definitely have noodles coming out of my ears. NO MORE NOODLES for Lora for sometime-Sunday night will NOT be pasta!

This morning when we were taking our short 3 mile walk (not even a blip on the screen) I felt a twinge in one of my ankles. I have reached the stage just before the big day when every twinge, cramp or ache sends cold chills down my spine. I become obsessed with possible injuries. To get to the end of the 18 week chart and have an injury crop up is a big time nightmare. I went to the massage therapist this afternoon and he hit upon a definite problem. In the first marathon I ran, I had a cramp in the upper part of my leg which lasted for the last 13 miles. I had to do a lot of walking and was very frustrated with a cramp that I had never had before. When Jeff was working on my legs today, he found that muscle and I almost levitated. He was not able to work out the golf ball size knot in that same muscle. It was in the other leg, but that same leg had a very tight ham string. Time will tell, but this did not make me a happy camper. Stretching and biofreeze are the prescription and hopefully I can get some of that knot worked out before the LONG run. Aren't you people sick and tired of hearing about this marathon and all that surrounds it? Next week the subject will change and I know you are all heaving a huge sigh of relief.

I saw on the new tonight that the "People's Choice Awards" or something like that would not be held this year because of the writer's strike. I am not a fan of striking, believing there has to be a way to settle disputes other than strike. I believe it was Reagan who when the air controllers would not go back to work and negotiate while working just hired new controllers. Now that is a great answer to strikers. If those writers are not careful, people like Camille and me will come to New York & Hollywood and start writing shows. My first pilot will be for a series called "Trailer Trash". Since I have lived in a trailer, I feel well qualified to write on the subject. With what we have on TV today, I think this should fit right in. We seem to all love to watch the sordid details of sinful man bent on self destruction. I pretty sure I could write about that! I need to run work on my resume and then see if I can live with the salary they offer. When I move to New York or Hollywood, you all are invited to come for a visit!

By the way, today is "The King's" birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Elvis!

BRAIN CRAMP!

The Baptists next door are outside with what must be a "Big Screen TV" and a loud speaker which is reverberating into our back with the LSU ballgame on. Now we also have the ballgame on in our house, but this give the effect of a delayed echo of the sound from the ballgame. THOSE BAPTISTS! You know this is the same group that cut ALL of the trees on the hill behind our home. The once beautiful forested hill where the birds and critters lived and roamed which is now a barren and ugly red clay wasteland. Supposedly this is the national championship game. Now how they arrive at the fact that these two teams are the very best in the nation, I might question. There is no REAL playoff system where teams from across the nation are in a tournament-like in basketball. How in the world could you really determine the two best teams from a point system? Whatever! I am not much of a football fan anyway-so if all of you REAL fans out there are satisfied-then I'm happy too.

Camille called me today during her lunch time. She was sitting outside of her office in the sun with the temperature in the 60's. She was loving it! She went to Erie prepared to be buried in the snow all winter and it really has not been that bad, much to her relief. I told her about running this AM with it 67 degrees. The only bad thing about our spring like weather is the humidity. Our garage has been wet for 3 days-YUCK! The fireplace that I so dearly love when it is cold has the old ash smell from all of the humidity. I have a candle burning to cover the smell.

I am on an eating binge this week trying to be sure I have plenty of fuel for Sunday. LOTS OF CARBS! I am trying to stay off of the decongestants this week since they dehydrate me. My sinus problems will have to be solved with saline spray and alleve.

Do you ever wonder if the lives we live and what we think we are doing with our lives is what others perceive us to be? Are we the person that we think we are or are we living in denial of the person we really are? Are we living in a fantasy world of who we are? What is real about us and what is just our futile attempt to fool those around us? DEEP QUESTIONS TO PONDER.

Bobby has always laughed and said that while I was trying to figure out the origin of the universe and our purpose in life; that he was trying to figure out how they got that white stuff in the middle of those twinkies.

I am beginning to get a brain cramp-ENOUGH THINKING FOR TONIGHT!

THE SAINTS UNDER FIRE

Bobby & I have just returned from a visit with "The Boersma's". Bobby was not very happy with me when I said we would just "drop by". The wonderful thing is that I have never found anything but a welcome mat out when I popped in on Dogwood Street. Today I think I probably interrupted Helen's nap and Dale was napping, but you never hear anything but welcome in their voices. We have purposely stayed away for the past couple of weeks knowing their entire family was here and then not daring to take a cold germ over there. Having turned the corner back to good health and knowing the company has all departed, I knew it was time for us to "eyeball" our sweet friends.

Dr. Dale is now confined to his bedroom unless someone is there to help bring him downstairs. They have a lovely home and a spacious bedroom, so we just go right in and make ourselves at home. We had such a wonderful visit and Dr. Dale is still teaching me and stretching me as he has for the past few years. They both are wonderful examples of grace under VERY difficult circumstances. As Bobby & I were driving home, we were discussing how difficult it would be to loose the independence we all so dearly love. Dr. Dale has met the challenge with dignity, grace, and his typical good humor. We spent the time talking of past experiences including the years of his residency and their lives during that time. With the wonderful twinkle in his eye, he made some remarks about Helen and stubbornness and learning to live life together. We all laughed and joked and enjoyed each other's company.

During the evening, Helen helped Dale get to a sitting position in bed. She has quite a method worked out. When she began climbing into the bed and was hovering directly over him, I offered to leave the room. Dale told me that some things were better left in the room, but I just could not resist.

When it came time to leave, Dale, just as he would have pre illness, does not want us to leave. "Why do you have to leave?" When I said we would be back, he said, "Tomorrow?" The closing exchange was me telling Dale that just like running a marathon, he needed to conserve his energy for the important things. He reply was quite glib, and better left between the four of us. What a man and what a wonderful sense of humor.

God is using Dale & Helen to teach us all some very important lessons. Dale is continuing his study of the scriptures having friends read to him from The Bible. Helen is serving with a smile and gentle touch and never complaining. They are a living example of never abandoning your faith and living in the shadow of Jesus. We all are watching and learning and growing. I pray for a miracle for Dale, but I pray in thanksgiving for the wonderful gift of their friendship and the powerful witness they are to our Lord. Dale and Helen truly know the meaning of "running the good race." As in marathons of old, they truly deserve the laurel wreath of victory.

LOUISIANA WINTERS

Well, as the national weather service predicted and the local weatherman promised, we ran in the 50's this AM. We have run at 7 AM the past 2 Saturdays since the race itself will start at 7 next Sunday. Actually the confirmation email says that the "elite" runners will start at 7 and the rest of us (including many really good runners) will start at 7:10. This is an effort to let those that don't need to contend with running around slower movers get off and out of the way of the masses. The race has 17,000 runners which includes the whole and the half. That sounds like a mass of humanity until you know that we ran with 30,000 at the Marine Corp in Washington. That was like running in a parade. There was NEVER a time that other runners were not around you. I wish I could adequately describe what that is like, but it defies description. The real problem with this mass of humanity is that you cannot run in a straight line. You end up having to do lots of weaving in and out which means more energy expended. Not the best of circumstances, but I don't really have an answer.

The race has water & energy drink stations every 1 1/2 mile. Think about the number of volunteers this requires. Each and every station is manned by at least 10 volunteers and many times more. There are also medical tents along the route, race marshalls, and traffic directors. Every intersection has a policeman or two as well as crowd control officers at the spots that spectators can view. It is REALLY quite an operation. The only reason the race would be called would be weather and that would mean excessive heat & humidity or lightning. If it rains-you run, if it is warm-you run-if it is cold-you run. So much work has gone into the prepartions for the final day that it would take a calamity of sorts to stop the process at this point.

We made our final plans for the trip after our run this AM. All is on go. The 13 in our group going including 7 wholes & 6 halves are as ready as we will be. We have a couple with knee problems, but for the most part-everyone else is healthy. The day of the race and the state of your bio-rhythms that day will determine how you do. At this point in time-what will be will be.

As I was chilling and flipping channels earlier, I came across an ad for a show where ladies of above average size are convinced that their size is not a problem and they should pose nude for photos. Where in the world do they get these wierd ideas and most important WHO in the world would agree to be on this show. Are there people out there so desperate for attention that there is no low level that they will not stoop to? Is it just me and my old age prudiness or are some things left better behind closed doors? The other thing I find amazing is that anyone would want to watch this program. Well I guess there are perverts and sleezebags out there that would find this entertaining or maybe enlightening. What in the world happened to "Andy Griffith" and all of the wonderful shows of the past. Perhaps we have TOO many stations and too many options today, but some of the programming would not offend me to be taken off the air. It's not all bad. I do love HG TV, Discovery, TLC, History, & other informative networks, but some of the rest-WELL just take it off the air!