Andy & I Ran a 5K Together

Last Saturday I ran my first race since last September's marathon. Never mind that I was wheezing up hills and that packs of runners breezed by me as I felt like I was running in sand up to my knees. Or that I felt like a fish out of water running trails instead of roads. Forget the fact that it took so much out of me to run a 10 minute pace for 3.1 miles.

The reason it was truly significant is that I was able to share the experience with my son Andy who is heading to the Army in 2 weeks. We had dreamed about running a marathon this fall but time and injuries to my foot made that impossible. Knowing we were running out of time, we registered for the Camp Mowana Run Through the Woods 5k.

When the horn sounded Andy darted to the front of the pack. I had a great view of him reaching the top of the hill as I was climbing the first 3/10ths of a mile. In the end he received a 3rd place medal in his division and finished 7 minutes ahead of me! I was proud of the race he ran and was thrilled that he received some hardware in this shared moment.

I will have plenty of opportunities to run better but on that day my position and time took a back seat to a great dad/son event. I am proud of him and how far he has come and how far he will go in the next chapter of his life.

Too Many Byes

I'm saying good bye too often this year. This time I write as I reflect the passing of Duane Bates. He was my step father during those wonderful teen years of my life. Affectionately known as "Pa" not only to family, but to the whole neighborhood. If you ever saw Pa from the Waltons, then you would know a little of the nature of this man. Duane was as earthy as they come. He modeled a strong work ethic and was a lineman for the New York State Electric & Gas. He enjoyed a simple country life, loved John Wayne and enjoyed fishing. He was quite good with a harmonica too.

A few memories I recall with Pa include riding to Canada in the back of his old Chevy pick up to spend a week on the lake. It was the same truck that I would learn to drive a standard with shift on the column. This was also the same truck I got stuck during a late winter snow.

We lived on a farm with a few animals. I remember how amazed I was when he'd yell "Ka-boss!!" which was followed by cattle heading to the feeding troughs. He loved dogs, especially a dog named Poochie. He would talk to it like a baby as it wagged it's tail in delight at the lavished attention. As I mention this I am realizing that I picked up this mannerism from Duane.

He had a hilarious sense of humor. One joke in particular was quite effective on me. With absolute solemness he told me how he had this puppy he loved that was out in the garage while he was repairing a gas tank on his truck. He had drained the tank and had left the pan by the truck when the little cuss jumped in it and then started to run in circles until it just slowed and quite. His voice broke off as he told how awful it was. I was caught up in the story and asked what happened to the dog. He looked tearful and then said, "He ran out of gas!" which was followed by him slapping his knee and roaring in laughter.

While I definitely had a good relationship with my dad through my teen years, the miles between us certainly made it hard to seek his daily guidance in my life. For this I was grateful to have Duane as my step dad during this period in my life. I'm glad I got that Kelly got to meet him when we got engaged. I'm thankful for the family Bible he gave us on our wedding and for the visit we had shortly after we got married.

When I went off to college Pa no longer was my step dad as things changed during my freshman year. Yet I look back at that span from 1974-1980 and was grateful for the man who worked hard to feed us and keep us warm through the long winter nights in upstate New York. I read his obituary which reported that he died at 80 years old. It was hard to imagine because I was thinking of him as he was last time I saw him and maybe that's the best way to keep him in my mind as a post the tribute for yet another person whose life left an impact on mine. I hope this will be the last one I need to post in 2009.