Running into People

Funny, that expression! "I ran into her at the Park." Sounds painful, and it could be! A few years ago, I was out at the Park getting ready for a run. I was parked in a sorta secluded place and clearly was not noticed by a couple that were having a "meeting."

A guy pulls up first and sits in his car, and then a couple of minutes later, a woman pulls up in her car. They get out of their cars and embrace in a rather passionate way. I was sitting there awkwardly in my truck, waiting to go run. All of a sudden one of them notices me. They immediately stopped their embrace, jumped in their cars, and sped away. I think they were probably not supposed to be together. It made me wonder about their stories and all the lives that could be crushed as a result of what they were doing.

Wow, I don't know where that came from! Well, it's sermon day, which means ADD day for me. Distractions. Easy. Hey, look a squirrel! We have a cat that roams the neighborhood. It likes to get in my garage and rips open trash bags to look for food. It makes a mess, so I want to kill it. Kedra won't let me. Now the stupid cat has, yet again, given birth to kittens. There are 4 little fuzz balls living in my wood stack, right outside my office. They are cute, but they will grow up.

OK, the reason I started this post was to mention that I ran into some people yesterday morning at the Park. I was finishing my run and was pressed for time. As I came back to my truck, I saw 3 people, and one of them was Charlotte Gerkin. I had not seen her for years. She used to be quite a runner, recognized nationally, I think, for her participation in ultra-marathons. I remember seeing her in one of the Smoky Mountain Marathons I ran.

I heard a few years ago that she was really sick and nearly died. It was great seeing her! We talked for a little while about her desire to get back into running. She has had both knees replaced and a bunch of serious health issues. She mentioned that she "was dead" at one point. Wow! Here's hoping she'll be able to get back into a wonderful sport!

What was I doing? Squirrel!