a harry anderson sort of day

harry anderson was once the right fielder for the phila phillies. he was rookie of the year and he hit 17 home runs that year. and way back then in my own little version of fantasy baseball- i called it infield-outfield- he was my right fielder and as a phillie, he was of course, an idol of every kid in my neighborhood. and he wore number 9 when he played. and that number has resonated with me ever since. like 36-that was robin roberts, but i digress.

so when i see number 9 it becomes somehow associated with harry. that's the background. now for the day.

so at 6am i was up after what seemed like a little nap and not a night's sleep. after gail's morning call i headed out the door and down to the river trail. a beautiful morning and the sun was the classic orange ball as it came up over ft washington and reflected on the potomac. headed north for a bit knowing i would turn around and see if i could find my friend steve who usually would be out on wed. morning. coming down the trail was a guy i know as "the hand" because as i would say good morning he would flick out whichever hand was closest to me, but never say a word. this has gone on for about the 12 years i have seen him out here. never a word...

about a mile and half up the trail i turned around and headed south. down the river and the orange ball was turning yellow as the day warmed up a bit and passing
ft hunt i ran through cardinal alley. the cute little red birds were out in force chirping away and i was feeling pretty good. off to the left an eagle was flying just close enough to be enjoyed. the pair nesting at ft hunt are always a treat to see and then i ran over the harry anderson, number 9 bridge. as you may know the bridges on the trail all have numbers. that works for the park service and for me it gives me an opportunity to make the trail more personal. harry's bridge runs over the swamp where the beaver's like to make dams and the herons hang out looking for meals. and the tall yellow flag irises are always really pretty. it was here i got the idea to grow them at home in the wet part of my garden. works well there also.

a little past there i ran into adrienne out with her little collie. for whatever reason i have always had a good feeling knowing that runners are such creatures of habit that in every past place i have lived at this same time right now they are out running so that if i were in horizon park today i would see the same people i saw there when i lived in tampa and in oxford the same people are out on the thames that i saw last week and will see in two more weeks.

adrienne's husband is from oxford so we talk about the rain in england and the lack of good food and the high cost of everything and she gives me the name of a cafe to try and a bed and breakfast to stay at in cambridge. good to know things and i run her back to her car and i head on down still looking for steve, but it is becoming clear he is not out today. steve is almost never late.

up the hill to mt vernon and i say good morning to joe, who seems lost without diane, who has moved back to canada. i miss running with diane as well as she was a real sweetie and always pleasant company for some miles down the trail when i was going through my cancer surgeries at the same time as her husband. she was always willing to slow down for me also.

i type this as deanna carter is singing on some late night talk show at 1:30am. a roy orbison tune -crying- more fun to watch and a sweet voice, but not roy orbison. it's hard to understand but the touch of your hand can start me crying... you get the idea................. thank whoever for music and it's joy.

grab some water at the fountain at the top of the hill and back down i go. no steve but i run into air force john and he says he thinks steve has finally moved to richmond. another trail friend gone and i suddenly remember that carol was not out either. i worry when carol is not out. she has had cancer a couple of times and we all like knowing she is ok and worry when she is not out for a few days.

and now the tv has gone from beautiful deanna back to talking about spitzer and the prostitute. can the media only cover one story at a time? hard not to rant about what should and shouldn't be a crime here but i will move on .

at 8 miles i start to do short little pickups to test the right leg. it is obvious to me now that the bike is the cause of the Pf problems on my right side and which will require more stretching. the air is cool, but still has a humidity we don't see in england. up the last little hill to the mile marker and headed home. a good enough 10 miles and a nice way to start the day.

did some yard work and made quick trips to the bank, post office and safeway. hit 120pitch shots in the backyard. put four of them in the bunker. clearly i have lots of work to do. then headed over to hilltop to work on last night's lesson thoughts.

but again with nobody on the first tee i took advantage and went out to play. asked jim for a cart number and he gave me n umber 9. perfect. jim is from philly and i say- the harry anderson cart and he laughs. at the same age as me he grew up with the same phillies and we reminisce about pudding head jones and del ennis and stan lopata-we throw in chico fernandez as a joke and i head out and play. jim heads home as his shift is over.

the course is crowded and i use the service trails to go around and through people and end up playing 16 holes with two birides. still not good but getting more comfortable and i did work on doing what i was shown last night. also on my visualiztion which i am getting better at and truly helps me.

then i hit a bucket of balls and chipped and putted some and headed home to do some laundry. a fast ending to an overly long description of today's run. a relaxed day though with little driving. now if i can get some sleep i will be ok.

heads up thought. tomorrow will be 40 years since i shipped out to viet nam. time does fly as we get older. and timer went by too fast today so i will do taxes tomorrow i hope. nice to know that everyday here counts as one less to spend in england get home. 139 to go. funny now that i know i will be in ireland in sept. if you play golf, you have to try link's golf. more than once. it takes time to get over how hard it is so you can see the beauty in thinking about where you are going to play every shot. wouldn't that be a great way to live in the uk-just touring around playing link's golf?

2:05 am - i am not meant to get sleep ever again am i? how long does jet lag last anyway?

so why do woman stand at the podium with "their cheating man" ? don't they just want to beat the crap out of them? sheryl crow is singing now. her last man left his fiance for another woman also. but he won a bike race so he was forgiven. and she has gone green. she would do well ikn the UK. they want to recycle the world amnd find a better place to put the 3oo million plastic bags they hand out. if they cannot get china, india and africa to join in their little island is in trouble.

but i digress... maybe someone will edit this for me as i head off to sleep. peace.