At the crest of the hill, looking down the other side...

Tomorrow, I have my last bit of work to complete to finish up my first semester @ CSU, a final exam on propositional logic. The last week or so has been hectic between trying to finish everything up for my classes and trying to enjoy the consistent 70 degree, sunny days by hanging out with Amaterasu. The last couple of weeks have been pretty steady base building in preparation for some high mileage rides this summer. I spent the better part of the last 3 or 4 months without a lick of spinning, indoors or out. So far, I feel great. The 20 to 30 mile rides @ around 17 mph aren't taking much out of me. This weekend I'm planning a 50 miler or so and then next weekend it's Pedal with Pete, and with my commute to and from the ride and the metric century it would put me at around an 80 mile day. If the 50 miler this weekend goes well, that will be the plan. Thus far, not one mile of running since the calf strain, and I'm thinking the Cleveland half may not be in my cards. Besides, it will be a joy to peddle around downtown and cheer on all the other runners. Daisy Duc and Charlie will be rockin' the streets of Cleveland!!!! For the sake of a bit of foot pain, I sure hope that their blazing speed doesn't melt the bottom of their sneakers and force them to run barefoot....which some crazy people say is beneficial.

Last weekend I spent May 4th in Kent, to commemorate the tragic events of that day in 1970. One of the most interesting aspects of the commemoration was the hostility that many students had towards the event. I walked by 2 fraternity houses that flew giant banners voicing their opinions. One read, "I support our troops, not the hippies," and the other read "Bring home our troops so they can beat up the hippies." Here's my idea: maybe our troops can come home so they quit dying. Not too far back I met a local triathlete who will be competing this year with one leg because his other leg was blown off by a suicide bomber while he was on tour in Iraq. I've always wondered why people often make the assumption that just because someone is opposed to war, or in this case the Iraq war, that they are not supportive of our troops or our country. Here is my feeling on the matter: There are young men and women over in Iraq that are risking their lives to bring me cheap oil, national security, or whatever else they may be fighting for over there. The bottom line is that there is no way I can repay those that lost their lives, or have been injured, or even those that come home alive, but have put their life on the line. Nothing I have to offer will suffice. I am extremely thankful that someone would make such a sacrifice, But, THEY SHOULD NOT BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!! I'll leave my ramblings on the subject at that.

As I sat at Taco Tonto's eating a sweet potato burrito (yum!!) and sipping on a Tecate I watched the anti-war protest across the street and tried to imagine what it would be like to experience something so tragic as occurred in 1970. I thought of myself in my early college years, and the difficulties I faced while trying to find my path in this life. I thought about the scars that would have been left, if during my turbulent young adult years I set out to try and make the world around me a better place only to find a friend of mine lying dead at my feet on the campus that I called home. I found that I cannot even fathom such a fate.

I enjoyed listening to Gene Young speak about his experience at Jackson State shortly after the events in Kent in 1970. Mr. Young's booming, powerful voice trembled as he moved his speech onto the topic of civil rights from war protests. He spoke of Martin Luther King Jr. and I seethed with admiration for Dr. King. What strength a man must have to continue to live in the public spotlight knowing he has a giant bulls eye on his chest and many willing hands holding a trigger. After Mr. Young was done speaking I realized that May 4th was a terrible and tragic event and I realized that it is only one of many such events in the history of the great United States of America. We do live in the greatest country in the world, but we are not free from tragedy. Teach and Unlearn.