You go Hank!

Back up and runnning

Actually, just walking really fast up hills these days. The bouncing of running is a killer on the shoulder but I'm 75% back to well thank God! I should be ready for Opening Day in my back yard with the boys in mid April.

A funny thing happened this morning while quickly walking up a set of steep inclines. I just started counting my steps for a while. It gets my mind off how bad my calves and hammies hurt. I walked at a pace of 20 steps (sometimes 21 but never less than 20 or more than 21) per 10 seconds. Not counting a brief warm up and cool down I walked like this for 45 minutes. 17 years of private school education helped me figure that in 45 minutes there are 270 sets of 10 second blocks. At 20 steps per block, I walked a total of 5400 steps. I do this 5 times a week so that's 27000 steps a week.

That's a lot of times to do anything in a week other than breathe in or blink eyes. I don't think I do many things that often in a normal week. I've flown 27000 miles in a week before but that's not something to brag about in most crowds. I've probably eaten 27000 calories before in a week in a previous time of my life. I bet I've not expressed my love to Christ or my wife or my kids 27000 times in a week but I'd sure like to try. That sounds kinda fun actually.

Anyway, just thinking this morning about the number 27000...

Ouch! That Hurts!!!

Friday night in Athens, GA, I separated my shoulder working out. I actually fell into a perfect jujitsu roll got up and kept running the drill I was doing. About ten seconds later I knew something was wrong. The picture you see here is a pretty good description of what happened. It's not dislocated but it is separated. I'm in a sling for 4-5 weeks and will learn more from a surgeon tomorrow of what all more I'll need in order to heal up.

With all the conviction I've been under the last 3 months about working out, healthy eating and so on, I am reminded that I never separated my shoulder while eating chips on the couch watching football. Hmmmm....

4 years ago today

Well today is a day that will always, for the rest of my life, be bittersweet. Bitter in that my dear father died 4 years ago today but oh so sweet in that Nate was born 7 years ago today. I'm glad Dad is where he is but I just miss him a lot. At 40 I could sure use a 70 year old dad at times.

Nate is all the a 7 year old truly should be - funny, curious, busy, skinned up knees, into sports, loves his mommy and is a bit of a clown too. Dad would love Nate no matter how he is but he would love him especially as he is.

Less of Ann is Better for Me

After watching Ann Coulter on Today this morning, I am just about sure that I now understand why so many people find her so annoying. I know I now do.

Going Old School in the A-T-L

If you are from Atlanta or now live in Atlanta or have any nostalgia at all towards Marthasville/Terminus, check out this site: www.atlantatimemachine.com. It is chock full of pictures that are priceless. Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Ponce, Grant Park, Hartsfield, and on and on will be revisited both in photo and in word. I just spent 2 hours on Christmas Eve of all things looking through it.

And, in regards to the picture above, the first few episode of the CBS Friday night at 8 p.m. eastern classic, "The Dukes of Hazzard", were filmed just south of where I now live. Conyers, GA, is where that odd show that has created a sub culture all its own (of which I am not part but that's beside the point) began. The cast even stayed at the old Holiday Inn at Exit 82 off of I-20. That's from my own mind by the way. I don't think you'll get that kinda insight from this site but,then again, you might!

So, check it out. If you give a rip about the ATL and are older than 30 you will love it.

Merry Christmas to all by the way...

Crisis Humor

In these financial times, we MUST have a sense of humor. My friends in Russia are masters at humor amid dark and dangerous times. These have appeared recently in Russian newspapers:

If you had invested $1,000 in Delta Airlines a year ago, you would have $49 today; $1,000 in AIG a year ago, $33 today; in Fannie Mae, only $2.50 today. But, if instead you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer a year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for a recycling refund, you would have received $214. Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called a 401-keg.
===========================================================================================
The wife of a banker decides to surprise her husband and stop by his work to see him. She gets there and sees his secretary sitting on his lap. Without blinking, her husband begins to dictate: "In conclusion, I must affirm, gentlemen, that even in the midst of this financial crisis, one chair for two people in my office is not enough!"
=========================================================================================
A spring day in 2010, 6 a.m. Two street sweepers meet outside. One looks fixedly at the other.

"You look so familiar!"

"I think I've seen you before too ... which bank did you work at?"
=========================================================================================
Since American medicine couldn't stop the fattening of the nation, the American economy came to help out.
=========================================================================================
The economic situation has become so bad lately that women are now marrying for love.