Outdoor Music and Working with Percy

The best part of yesterday, which mostly stunk because of the lost glasses incident, was going to the Juneteenth Celebration at Rosewood Park. It was 101, so finding shade was critical. Fortunately this blues band was also in the shade. Good times, and it's not too often that my presence adds to the diversity of a crowd listening to live music.

This morning before seeing Dr. Melanie about a new prescription for glasses, I went down to Threadgills, where they were raising money for their "fan drive" for the elderly and disabled. They had good musicians, but they did not play more than three songs each, so there was lots of sitting around time. Still, a good cause, and donated time, so I cannot complain much. Below are Paula Nelson with George Devore on guitar, and writer of famous songs, Bruce Robison.

Summer gives me time to catch up on chores I've been putting off, sometimes for months. In January, I usually clear out all the leaves from the yard and driveway. 2008 was a record year for procrastination, so that finally got done this week. Only five months late. I decided to get some help, so for the first time ever, I went to the city's day labor site and picked up Percy, whom the site coordinator told me was a regular. Percy told me he got the first pick of jobs that day because on another day when he did not get work, he stayed at the site and cleaned up. He wanted to make sure that we would be working a full day so that it would be a good job to take. We had plenty of work, and I did about four hours in the heat. Percy, with no noticable breaks worked his ass off for seven hours before we were done. He told me that some of the workers will turn down really hot outdoor work like roofing, but that he never minds the heat. We talked about the NBA finals as I drove him to a random corner in East Austin at the end of the day. He had not seen the previous night's game, as he gets up at 5:00 am to walk downtown so he can catch a bus to the labor pick-up site.

Quick impressions of the day:

1. The city runs a good operation for laborers, easy to access for employers, and helping to ensure that workers are not exploited.

2. I didn't do a head count, but the place is clearly not exclusively for the undocumented. Percy hails from Dallas.

3. For me, it further humanized the faces I see when I drive by the day labor site or other gathering spots where guys wait for work. Dignity to all who do legal work, except maybe telemarketers.

Good runs this week, despite the heat. Tomorrow's 15 will get me 48 again for the week. I did 3 miles at "summer tempo" pace (@7:30/mile) on Wednesday. I gotta start those earlier in the morning. I'm slower right now, but I'm hoping the added mileage and stamina will pay off later.

Saw a great quote on the Runner's World website the other day:

If you can't do sports, become a runner.

If you are slow, just run really far.

So the reports are that Tiger Woods tore his ACL while jogging. Really? Unless he was dodging alligators in Orlando, I don't see how jogging would cause this injury. Do reporters just not ask?

A few people have forwarded me suggestions of places that I should go for lunch. Unless you are buying, forget it. Just kidding, I like trying new places and appreciate any suggestion, and comments on the blogs, too.

Peace,

js4