Seen and Heard Along The Merry Path

One of my favorite places to exercise is an outdoor paved track located right next to our community fitness center. It's surrounded by parks, baseball fields, a high school and homes. It's stunning view of the mountains and the sunrise are inspiring and seem to fuel my workout. At night, it's the ideal setting for romantic strolls and frolicking...although, He-Man would not admit to anything resembling frolicking.

It is along this half mile track that I have observed some rather interesting, if not comical, epiphanies...

*As I was walking home after a run, a young boy (who couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old) and his grandmother were walking a few steps in front of me toward a baseball game. At one point, the grandmother said, "I'll bet you want to be a famous baseball player when you grow up, don't you?"

The boy replied, "No, not really grandma. Actually, I want to be a doctor...except, I have to get used to other people's blood first."

*On Saturday I was walking (since running at this point would almost certainly induce labor and probably permanently displace my uterus). I was being passed up often by runners and walkers alike. At one point, I looked back, as what looked an awful lot like a really short Elvis impersonator, was passing me up. He had the sunglasses, the hair, and a Hawaiian shirt, along with jogging shorts and sneakers. I half expected him to say "Thank you. Thank you very much." with the signature lip curl at my efforts to make room for him on the track. Instead, he gave me an endearing wink and a thumbs up. I'd have given good money for him to say, "I'm all shook up." But instead, I had to settle for knowing that I was Elvis' roadkill (Roadkill for runners, by the way, are the people runner's pass up along their run).

*One afternoon I began my run just as the high school was letting out it's students. Floods of highschoolers were hightailing it as far away as possible and heading to various destinations that would enable them to enjoy at least 18 hours of freedom from their studies.

As I was running, I noticed up ahead something I couldn't quite make out as normal. Whether it was my brain not registering what I was looking at or I shouldv'e been wearing my glasses, I couldn't be sure. For whatever reason, it took me several moments to figure out what I was gawking at. That is when it registered.

I was looking at two hormonally enraged highschool students; a boy and a girl completely absorbed in each other's gaze and oblivious to the fact that they were surrounded by people. The girl was draped around the boy and looked totally morose, perhaps at the prospect of leaving her goth boyfriend for the day...or maybe theirs is the tale of forbidden puppy love. Maybe she has parents who are adamantly against boys wearing black nail polish and guyliner...or maybe her pet iguana met an untimely demise.

Whatever the reason for the melancholy farewell, it lasted for over 3 miles. Every time I ran up the line, the girl continued to find new and interesting ways to drape her arms around her boyfriend while sighing long lovelorn sighs in his direction. The boy stood prostrate and didn't move the entire time. He looked slightly uncomfortable. To be young, in love and goth again! Wait a sec, I was never goth...but plenty young and 'in love'.

For whatever reason, I find these observations to be quite humorous. The outdoor track never ceases to fascinate me with it's running Elvi and tweenagers chanting cheers for baseball players in decibels shrill enough to have every stray cat and dog in the area howling. With regular displays of polka dancing parties, napping mailmen and drunken BBQ's, there is never a dull moment there.

So hats off to all the people that add to spice of my exercising life! You make my workouts much, much more entertaining!