Bruiser

Yesterday afternoon I decided to go for a bike ride. Many times I’ve ridden to the opposite side of town and jumped on the Kiwanis Trail and ridden the first small leg of it. Well, I found out yesterday that the part that I’ve been riding is by far one of the smaller sections. For those of you who don’t know, the Kiwanis Trail is a blacktop trail that leads from Green Highway in Tecumseh to Tressle Park in Adrian. It’s supposedly 7 miles total.

So here I go…riding the trail. I decided to keep going past the first section and see what’s ahead. Well, I found lots of stuff ahead. Three young deer, a couple of chipmunks, plenty of birds and one of those extremely rare forms of wildlife…the pussycat. Oh yeah, there were some people, too, but I don’t think they were wild. They looked pretty tame and domesticated to me.

So now I’m riding and riding, wondering when this thing is going to end. Finally I get to the first crossroad and say to myself, “self, let’s go a little farther”. So I did. Then I got to the next crossroad and said to myself, “self, let’s go a little more”. So I did. Then I got to the next crossroad and said to myself, “okay, who are you talking to, moron? Just ride”. So I did. Next thing I know, I’m at Tressle Park! It took me about an hour, but it was a wonderful hour of wildlife, quiet riding through trees and behind neighborhoods, friendly people and fresh air.

Then I had to turn around and head home. Fortunately, the Kiwanis Trail is relatively flat. No big hills or anything to deal with in either direction. I was thankful for that. An hour later, I was home again. It was a long ride, but I had a great time and learned a few things.

1. Don’t take nature for granted. Enjoy it, protect it.

2. Give thanks to God for all the wonders of this world. He deserves it!(I already knew this, but it’s a good point anyway!)

3. If you’re not a person who rides distance regularly, get off the bike at the halfway point and rest! Your legs and back will thank you for it!

Another fantastic night of softball last night! We had a great time and we won both games! Of course, those of you who read this probably already know that. Come to think of it…why am I bothering with this? Only 3 people read it.

I had to laugh a lot yesterday. My good friend and brother Pudgeman put a link on his site to my site and he called it “Out In Left Field”. This may not be funny to those of you who don’t know the story, so I’ll tell the story. Then if you don’t see the humor, then I guess it was one of those “had to be there” things. So here goes…

Back in 1999, I joined a great group of men to play softball. I love playing ball, but I’m getting older, so I’m starting to slow down a little (okay, quite a bit). At that time I was 38 years old. So I was slowing “a little” back then. Anywho, the coach at the time, big Mike G., asked me what position I played. I said, “I like right field or right center field.” Well, apparently he was hurting for a left fielder at the time, so that’s where he put me. That whole first year I kept saying, “I’d really rather play right field.”, to which he’d reply, “oh yeah, okay, next week”. Seven years later I’m still playing left field. So I guess you did have to be there to appreciate this story.

For me it’s a reminder every time I play of the good times past, the laughs we had over that whole left field thing, and also a reminder of how blessed I am to have the ability to play left field at my age, to have the ability to run faster than most men my age, and to have the friends that I have in these guys on the field.

This wasn’t much of a story, but hey…I’m still new. Get over it.

Yep, thought I’d put up a new blog, wait a day or two, see if anything hit me,put a couple links on it, then somehow, within hours somebody finds this place, leaves a comment, and puts a link on thier site! Thanks, Russ. It’s good to be back.

For some reason I decided to do this blogging thing again. How long will it last? I have no idea. But I’m back.