God forgive me when I whine!
I try not to, but once in a while it gets the better of me. This morning started out that way
It was damn cold when I got up, thirteen below zero, and I was scheduled for my long run. The cold in itself doesn't bother me that much because I can prepare for it, but I also knew that it was gonna warm up considerably, and quickly, once the day wore on. I was anxious to get going but I knew that if I dressed for the current temperature I ran the risk of getting seriously over heated as the temp climbed. With this in mind I actually took my wife's advice, (she thinks I should whine less too) and decided to drive to London first to do some errands.
It was this same cold weather that motivated me to pick up a hitchhiker at the edge of town. Once he dragged his way into the car and thanked me profusely I got my first good look at the guy. He was probably close to my age, wore a scruffy beard, and had dirty long hair sticking out from under his hat. He was dressed in several layers of thrift store rags, and I'm pretty sure that the horn rimmed glasses he was wearing were the very same pair that I lost when I was fifteen. When he spoke it was impossible not to notice that the few teeth he had were all busted up and rotten. Despite his bundle of clothes he was obviously frozen stiff. This was doubly obvious once he started to thaw out....that's when he started to smell. Aside from the rather sad physical state of the man, he also seemed to be a little mind addled. Well actually more than a little. Perhaps as a result of mental illness, or long term substance abuse, it occurred to me
He was headed to downtown London and I told him that I was only going to the south end so he would have to get another ride from there. I realized quickly that hitchhiking through town wouldn't work very well and suggested as much to him. He said, no problem he could take the bus. I asked him how much that would cost, totally expecting that his response would be one of asking for money. His actual response..."Three dollars, I have that much"...
Throughout the ride he was totally polite but not overly talkative. When we arrived at the drop off point for the bus I suggested that I could just drive him the rest of the way, since it wasn't really that far. He once again expressed his gratitude and agreed to my offer only on the condition that it wasn't gonna "inconvenience" me too much. It took him about 5 seconds to get that long word out.
We arrived downtown where he once again offered his thanks, wished me a good rest of the day, and climbed out of the car. I watched him briefly as I drove away. His first stop was a garbage can!!
All of this extra driving may have saved him 3 bucks, but it took 20 minutes out of my day. Fortunately when I arrived at my destination (Costco), they hadn't run out of the mattress toppers that I wanted for the bed in my motor home!
What does all this have to do with painters tape you may ask? Simple. The right arm of his 40 year old glasses was held on with a filthy, sticky glob of what I am sure was once green painters tape!
God forgive me when I whine!
After my tough bike test yesterday my effort was a bit rough for the last half hour. Never the less I survived the 30 kms without a walk.
God forgive me when I whine!
(30 km run, 2:40)
Love
Peter
I try not to, but once in a while it gets the better of me. This morning started out that way
It was damn cold when I got up, thirteen below zero, and I was scheduled for my long run. The cold in itself doesn't bother me that much because I can prepare for it, but I also knew that it was gonna warm up considerably, and quickly, once the day wore on. I was anxious to get going but I knew that if I dressed for the current temperature I ran the risk of getting seriously over heated as the temp climbed. With this in mind I actually took my wife's advice, (she thinks I should whine less too) and decided to drive to London first to do some errands.
It was this same cold weather that motivated me to pick up a hitchhiker at the edge of town. Once he dragged his way into the car and thanked me profusely I got my first good look at the guy. He was probably close to my age, wore a scruffy beard, and had dirty long hair sticking out from under his hat. He was dressed in several layers of thrift store rags, and I'm pretty sure that the horn rimmed glasses he was wearing were the very same pair that I lost when I was fifteen. When he spoke it was impossible not to notice that the few teeth he had were all busted up and rotten. Despite his bundle of clothes he was obviously frozen stiff. This was doubly obvious once he started to thaw out....that's when he started to smell. Aside from the rather sad physical state of the man, he also seemed to be a little mind addled. Well actually more than a little. Perhaps as a result of mental illness, or long term substance abuse, it occurred to me
He was headed to downtown London and I told him that I was only going to the south end so he would have to get another ride from there. I realized quickly that hitchhiking through town wouldn't work very well and suggested as much to him. He said, no problem he could take the bus. I asked him how much that would cost, totally expecting that his response would be one of asking for money. His actual response..."Three dollars, I have that much"...
Throughout the ride he was totally polite but not overly talkative. When we arrived at the drop off point for the bus I suggested that I could just drive him the rest of the way, since it wasn't really that far. He once again expressed his gratitude and agreed to my offer only on the condition that it wasn't gonna "inconvenience" me too much. It took him about 5 seconds to get that long word out.
We arrived downtown where he once again offered his thanks, wished me a good rest of the day, and climbed out of the car. I watched him briefly as I drove away. His first stop was a garbage can!!
All of this extra driving may have saved him 3 bucks, but it took 20 minutes out of my day. Fortunately when I arrived at my destination (Costco), they hadn't run out of the mattress toppers that I wanted for the bed in my motor home!
What does all this have to do with painters tape you may ask? Simple. The right arm of his 40 year old glasses was held on with a filthy, sticky glob of what I am sure was once green painters tape!
God forgive me when I whine!
After my tough bike test yesterday my effort was a bit rough for the last half hour. Never the less I survived the 30 kms without a walk.
God forgive me when I whine!
(30 km run, 2:40)
Love
Peter
Good story! We all need reminding of these things once in a while.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience. Perhaps as you were asking God for forgiveness when you whine, HE was thanking you for giving his son a ride. Food for thought
ReplyDelete