Tuesday a.m.

Good morning! I hope you are doing well this morning. I'm up and at it, but I didn't sleep that great last night. We didn't get back from the track meet in Loogootee until after 10 p.m., which pushed my bedtime back some, which seems to affect the quality of my sleep. Of course, the terrorism in Boston was on my mind as well. I had a few friends and acquaintances running yesterday. Rand was qualified and entered but chose not go. Good decision. All the people I know are accounted for.

The closest one to the explosions was Karen Rusch. According to a post from Jerry, she finished just 5 minutes before it all happened. I was concerned about her, because I thought the timing was about right for her finish. Other people from this area are all OK.

I picked up the track team last night in the bus to head to Loogootee. When Coach Moffatt got on the bus, he leaned in and asked quietly if I had heard anything about Boston. I said, "no." He told me that he just had a call from his wife about a couple of bombs going off. Then someone else said something else about it.

When we arrived in Loogootee, I checked my phone. It was full of text messages from various people wondering if I was in Boston and/or if I had friends running etc. Others were just commenting on the tragedy. My phone is not smart (kinda like me), so I was pretty much in the dark (kinda like me) about what was going on.

The world's longest track meet then took place. I parked the bus so I could watch the meet from it. I decided to walk to Subway and get something to eat. When I got back, the meet still had not started! Crazy! During the meet, I read 3 commentaries on my next preaching text, started two other books, knitted a blanket, did a chainsaw carving, cooked a gourmet meal, and a few other things. Some of the above is true.

After the meet, everyone was hungry (except me), so we stopped at McDonald's. It's really true: bus drivers eat for free! I didn't want anything, so I asked one of the coaches what she wanted. She ate for free for me and she now thinks I am nice.

While everyone was getting their food, I camped out in front of the TV in McDonald's. Wow, watching all that was not pleasant. When I finished last year, I ran right down that side where the bombs went off.  I cannot imagine the chaos of being in a situation like that. We all need to keep praying for all the lives that have been forever changed.

As Coach Moffatt, after watching some of the TV coverage in McDonald's said, "You never know what is going to happen, so you need to always be ready." So true.