New, and About Time

Carrie and I headed to Arlington/Ft. Worth for a day, and Longview for this past weekend. On the drive up, we were reminded that you don't have to travel all the way to the Ozarks to find comedic religious marketing. Near a McDonald's in Waco (surprise!), we saw this bench. Bonus points for anyone who calls the number and reports back.

Before our trip to Silver Dollar City in June, it had been 15 years since Carrie and I had been to an amusement park. Now it feels like this is "Thrill Ride Summer." We took My sister's kids, Courtney and Zach, to Six Flags on Friday. They were great fun, and we had ice cream, just $7.00 ice cream, for lunch. Zach wasn't sure about bigger roller coasters early on, but Courtney and Carrie really worked on him. He rode The Shockwave for the first time ever. Then he rode it for the 2nd and 3rd time, declaring it his favorite. The picture was taken just before that 3rd ride. He angled for a 4th trip, but settled for the traditional Pink Thing on the way out of the park.
The last time Jo Carolyn took them to 6 Flags, she did not ride any rides, which is the norm for her. She instead completed several hours of CPA continuing education while the kids did their thing. How's that for time management? Classic.

In Ft. Worth we went to the Bass Concert Hall for the first time. Terrific building, but it is worthy of some open space in front, rather than facing a restaurant and a Barnes & Nobles across the street. We saw "Avenue Q," a musical with puppets. Think Sesame Street with an "R" rating. If you think puppets that end at the torso can't do explcit things that make you blush, think again. It was a good show, and obviously there was more to it than puppet sex. We will be imitating the "Bad Idea Bears," (cute, fuzzy things that encourage reckless behavior) for weeks. Being in downtown Ft Worth, I was struck by how much it feels like a small town. Some good and bad in that, I guess.

We had a relaxing couple of days in Longview with Mom an Jim. Too hot to do much outdoors, but we swam a bit, and Carrie went with Mom to help feed the horses. There is a pretty high quality Shakespeare Festival in nearby Kilgore every summer. We were in town for the "Non-Bard" portion, but went anyway, to see "1776." It was a musical history lesson for me, full of good performances, and more comedy than you might expect from the Founding Fathers.

So the best way to not go for a run when your body says it needs rest? Go out of town for several days and leave the shoes at home. Removes the compulsive temptation. I ran 5 miles very slowly on Sunday night, took yesterday off, and did 10 today without any trouble from my leg/hip. I've been doing a lot of stretching, which I had neglected for the most part. This is week 1 of training for San Antonio, so I'd better be ready to go.

Good to be back home.

Peace,

js4