I love getting getting comments on my posts and thank all of you who participate in the conversation. I found a new tool to recognize (and encourage?) the most active commentators. In the right sidebar under the most recent comments, you should see the five most frequent commentators over the last 60 days. You guys rock!
I also tweaked the Recent Comments area by adding an excerpt from each comment and the Other Sites area to make the list collapsable.
Now that my leg seems to be improving nicely, I’m looking for new races to run, mainly for charitable causes. My next race is scheduled for May 15 at 3:00pm: the Andrew Esparza Memorial 5k. Esparza was an Irving police officer who was killed on duty in 2007. This race raises money for a memorial scholarship fund in his name. It will start near Irving Bible Church, and a children’s carnival will follow. Jenny and the boys are planning to do the one-mile walk while I run. Want to join us? See below:
I posted an update on Brenden’s page with the latest news.
This month, to honor our existing Florida Customers and the upcoming debut of service to the new airport in Panama City, Southwest unveiled its latest themed aircraft, Florida One. Like all our state-themed planes, it bears a stylized version of the state’s flag. Luckily for me, Florida One terminated in Dallas Tuesday night and went to the maintenance area for a bit of minor work. Naturally, some of us had to go see it up close.
On Saturday I ran my first official 5K race since October, and it felt great! This was only my second attempt at running that far since I began my new rehab program. My stamina still needs improvement, but I was able to meet my goal of breaking 30 minutes on a tough, off-road course with numerous hills and unstable footing. A bit of knee pain appeared toward the end, but I hope to prevent its recurrence once I start running in my new orthotics this week. Just being able to run a 5K again makes me happy.
The weather was gorgeous – mid-70s, clear blue sky, and a nice breeze. A beautiful field of Indian paintbrushes grew beside the course. About 175 runners finished the course this year, a record for the event. I was pleased to meet The Bartman, who posts comments here on occasion, and his family plus a few other mutual Internet friends for the first time. A surprising number of fast runners competed this year. By “fast”, I mean low-20s or better. The winner finished in about 19.37. He is 55 years old. I barely beat a man who was at least 65. He and I took turns passing each other for much of the race. If I make it to 65, I’ll be happy if I can run at all!
I plan to keep running three times a week for the foreseeable future, provided my legs hold up. I haven’t registered for any other races but will be looking. Thanks for all your support and prayers, and thanks to God and my medical team for helping me run again.
If I had more talent, time, experience, training, and other advantages, I would love to perform in the Ensemble for an area production of Les Miserables, my all-time favorite musical by far. I’ve seen it twice and listened to my recording of the original London cast countless times. The movie adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel that starred Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, and Claire Danes was also excellent.
I love the story largely because it’s a fantastic picture of grace and its impact on our lives. Early in the show, a kind bishop shows grace to Jean Valjean, a recently paroled thief. Receiving grace instead of justice radically transforms Valjean’s view of himself and of others, helping him become an honorable, loving man. Javert, a police detective who pursues Valjean for most of the show for violating his parole, has no concept of grace and cannot accept it when offered by Valjean. His inability to accept grace ultimately destroys him.
Honestly, my chances of actually performing in the show are slim to none. I certainly don’t have the voice to play Javert, the role that best fits my voice (bass-baritone). Even for a touring show, I probably don’t have the talent and experience for the Ensemble or Chorus, which is the collection of random, nameless characters in a musical who sing group songs. But my, my, my, would it be fun. Barring a Matrix-style infusion of goodness, I will be content to sing along in my car alone at full volume, thanking God and the creators for such an amazing story and musical.