Friday, July 18, 2008

In which I contemplate mortality

In reviewing my mileage for the year (a worthy activity for a Friday afternoon in the office) I come to the realization that I haven't been on a Hiawatha ride since April 19th.  Nearly a full calendar quarter.  Egad.  I won't be going tomorrow either.  I'm going to attend a memorial service for a high school friend's father.  I find myself somewhat conflicted about how I'm to feel.  Even though he was one of the teachers at our high school I never took a class from him and didn't know him well.  He was just one of many incarnations of The Enemy, parental authority, from the perspective of a 17 year old.  Somebody who would spoil our good time if our plans were discovered.  Not that our plans were ever all that nefarious.  We were basically a good bunch of kids with our fair share of ill conceived ideas.  I remember he had a lot of remote control cars and planes in the basement and took his son, my friend Steve, hunting.  Then, and now, he seemed like a good father and a decent guy. 
 
In high school I had a solid core group of 6 friends, including myself.  There were others who were at various places on the friend/acquaintance scale but these 6 were The Core Group.  Steve was the oldest of us and the first to get his drivers license.  First to be able to legally buy beer.  Also the first to be able to illegally buy beer, due to his ability to grow a bitchin' beard at age 18.  And now, unless I've missed one, he will be the first to lose a parent.  I also found out this week that another friend from the group's father has been diagnosed with cancer and has about 6 months to live.  So this may mark the transition from seeing friends only at weddings to seeing friends only at funerals.
 
Funerals are for the living, not the dead is what they always say.  So even though I was not emotionally attached to the deceased I will attend the funeral for my friend, and feel for his loss.

Date:  June 20
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  282
Year to Date Miles:  1849
 
Date:  June 23
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  306
Year to Date Miles:  1873
 
Date:  June 24
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  330
Year to Date Miles:  1897
 
Date:  June 25
Distance:  34
Ride Type/Bike:  Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  364
Year to Date Miles:  1931
 
Date:  June 26
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  388
Year to Date Miles:  1955
 
Date:  June 27
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  412
Year to Date Miles:  1979
 
Date:  July 1
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  24
Year to Date Miles:  2003
 
Date:  July 2
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  48
Year to Date Miles:  2027
 
Date:  July 7
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  72
Year to Date Miles:  2051
 
Date:  July 8
Distance:  31
Ride Type/Bike:  Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  103
Year to Date Miles:  2082
 
Date:  July 9
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  127
Year to Date Miles:  2086
 
Date:  July 9
Distance:  4
Ride Type/Bike:  Family/Suburban
Month to Date Miles:  131
Year to Date Miles:  2086
 
Date:  July 10
Distance:  29
Ride Type/Bike:  Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  160
Year to Date Miles: 2115
 
Date:  July 14
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  184
Year to Date Miles:  2139
 
Date:  July 15
Distance:  21
Ride Type/Bike:  Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  205
Year to Date Miles: 2160
 
Date:  July 16
Distance:  24
Ride Type/Bike:  Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles:  229
Year to Date Miles: 2184
 

1 comment:

rigtenzin said...

You did the right thing, of course.

You'll have lots of Saturday's for HC rides.