Well, Cal.E. is in Ad. Seg until her case is heard, but she does get out for one hour per day. I had a brief conversation with her during her free time today. Here is how that conversation went.
C.: d.c., I heard some disturbing news about your book: Precision; The Original Magruder Mystery
D.: What did you hear, Cal.E.?
C.: I heard that the name was changing in a few weeks from the original name to: The Magruder Mysteries Precision; A Crime of Passion. Is that true? D.: Yes Cal.E. It is. I just thought that the new name was a better description of the book. I talked to my publisher today. He said it will take two to four weeks for the change to go into effect. How did you hear that, since you are locked up, and why is it so disturbing to you? C.: You know the old saying, d.c., the three fastest means of communication are: Telephone, Telegraph and Tell and Inmate.
It is disturbing because the books with the old title will be rare, and I shredded mine that you gave me for free! I was upset because Dad put me in rehab. Do you have any of the free books left? I am bored in here. I need something to read to keep my mind occupied.
D.: I do have one or two copies left, Cal.E. IF you will promise not to shred it, I will give you one.
C.: I promise on my ninth life, d.c.
D.: Okay, then, I will mail you the book. In the meantime, I am releasing the first book I wrote in pieces to my readers. Today, Chapter eight of Beyond the Thirteenth Mile; The Iron Man Chronicles
CHAPTER 8:
NOTHING EVER BELONGS TO YOU UNLESS YOU ARE ABLE TO GIVE IT AWAY.
Bike Leg; Mile eighty: I am over one-half way done with the bike course, but most professional triathletes say that the run is one-half of the race. I guess that I
should save some energy for the run.
I know that I definitely will NOT place in my division or in the overall rankings in this race, even if I hit my goal of 13 hours. That is okay. I just want to finish. A finisher’s medallion will prove that I did. THAT would make a good cover for my book!
I will NOT be giving this medal away. Wait, what was it Earnest Hemingway said about that? Well, THIS finisher’s medal is something that I will keep for the rest of my life,
unlike the first medal that I ever earned for placing in my division..
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Ernest Hemingway (my favorite author) said that he believed that nothing ever really belonged to you unless you are able to give it away. That is why, every New Year’s Day, Hemingway would take his prized possession and give it to the person he felt would most enjoy it.
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In my entire life, I have never received a medallion, ribbon, or trophy for my individual athletic prowess.The closest that I have ever come to winning an athletic award, is to share a team trophy for a conference or divisional championship or to be given a token award such as "most improved" on a team. Add to this the fact that I considered myself to be an average distance runner at best, and you will begin to understand how strange the following chain of events seemed to me.
After recovering sufficiently from my injury, I resumed running, to push on toward my goals. Since my shoulder had been damaged in my accident, swimming and cycling were not yet comfortable to me, but running didn't seem to bother my upper body much. That is the part of my body that had taken the brunt of my fall.
A brand new 10-K fun run was born that year, and several people with whom I ran and socialized expressed interest in doing the run or the accompanying 10-K walk. I reasoned that, with enough effort, I could at least finish the run. That, in itself, would be good enough for me. A big plus to me was that part of the run course would be a cross-country type of run, which suited me fine. I grew up on a small cattle ranch in Mississippi, and I would run the hills on the ranch to strengthen my legs for playing football and running track (not well enough to wrest a trophy away from a faster, smaller city boy, though).
An unusual thought had occurred to me on the ride to the run with Gabe and Joseph, my friend and mentor when it came to both exercising and life in general. "If I do win a trophy, I thought, I know what I'm going to do with it." This was a strange thought, since only the top three in each age group (With male and female categories) is awarded a trophy.
My strategy for the race was to "pace" on Joseph (pacing means following closely in someone's footsteps without intending to pass him or her). I stayed on Joseph's heels until the third water stop, or about one-half of the way through the run. Joseph is an experienced marathon runner, and I knew at that point, there was no point in me trying to keep up with him any longer. I let him disappear out of my sight.
With a 20 mile-per-hour wind blowing in my face on the last part of the course, I realized that two other smaller runners were using me to shield them from the wind. This strategy helps a runner to save his/her energy for a last-second, frantic sprint to the finish line.
This did not sit too well with me, and I felt the anger beginning to build up inside. I used the negative energy to fend off the “dynamic duo" for about another mile, until the smaller one passed me. Seeing the finish line as well as my rabbit (a woman in a Houston Marathon jacket that I tried to pace on after Joseph left me,) I gathered all my strength. As I started into a blind sprint, I heard the slower of the now not-so-dynamic duo shout, "Run Roger, run.” I passed "Roger" just before hitting the finish line and finished two steps behind my rabbit.
Since both Joseph and I were not impressed by our own times, we decided to join our friends for the 10-K walk, playing "Lewis and Clark " for the other walkers, marking the path along the way.
Upon our return, Gabe informed both Joseph and me that the race officials needed to see us. Gabe had been gracious enough to drive us to the run. And, since the run was in a rustic setting, he took the opportunity to hone his blossoming photography skills.
Gabe informed us that we had both placed in our division, with Joseph taking first in his and me third in mine. Knowing Gabe as well as I do, I knew that he had a tendency to be a bit of a practical joker. My first inclination was to ignore Gabe altogether, and go on about my life. However, pride got the better of me, and I decided to check with the officials. They confirmed what Gabe had told us, and I knew just what to do with my new prize.
I made a quick telephone call to Nicole, letting her know that I had something that I would like for her to have. I took my trophy to her house that night, handing it to her as I walked in the door. I quoted Earnest Hemingway's words as I did this.
(Aside: Her son, Seth would commandeer my prized possession from his mother, apparently thinking that it was one of his youth sport’s trophies. Perhaps, he thought that I had intended it for him. In any case, the sentiment was still understood and appreciated by Nicole.)
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