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Passing On Your Left

Passing On Your Left

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It’s Belmont Stakes Day.

Kim and I got up early and walked five miles along the Sugarland Run Trail.

After lunch, we decided to keep moving and ride our bikes, so I loaded up the bikes and drove to downtown Herndon to jump on the W&OD bike trail.

Today, not feeling the cycling cool, I opted not to wear my bike shirt, just a sleeveless tee-shirt and I put my bike pants on under my shorts.

Besides being more practical since I could carry my wallet and phone, though not my goal, the bike pants under my shorts made my butt look bigger.

When you are me, that’s a plus.

 

I have never been to the Belmont. I have been to the Kentucky Derby, I have been to the Preakness, but never the Belmont.  Growing up in New Jersey, not that far from Nassau County on Long Island, I had plenty of opportunities.

I remember a bunch of us watching the Belmont race one year at my friend Ricky’s house back in the 70’s.  As we watched the winner being brought into the winner’s circle for the photos and the interviews, there on our TV screen was another good friend and classmate from Oceanport,  Chris Nagel smiling and wildly waving his tickets, winners I guessed, while pressed up against the winner’s circle fence and on national TV.

Since I am not normally that lucky when it comes to betting on these races, the 2008 Belmont Stakes is another memory.  A long shot named D’Tara won the race at odds of 38 to 1.  A horse named Dennis of Cork ran second.  Anak Nakal and Ready’s Echo ended up in a dead heat for third.  I had all four of those horses boxed in a trifecta (the first three horses) and the exacta (the first two horses).  As a result, I landed two trifectas, one with each third-place horse, and the exacta.

Kim got some new patio doors and a front door out of that one.

 

The problem with biking along the W&OD bike trail is there are beer stops.  Heading towards Reston the first stop was The Bike Lane, a bike shop that also brews their own beer.  They had a great Kolsch and we sat outside at a picnic table.  I asked the guy pouring my beer if Tommy, an awesome young man who attends my church still worked there.  “Tom Brown?” he asked, “yeah we call him ‘T Bone,’ he is off today for his sister’s graduation party, I’ll tell him someone was asking about him.”

Another four miles and one very large hill later we stopped at The Caboose, a brewery in Vienna, Virginia adjacent to the bike trail. There we had a Czech and a Citrus Pilsner.

Then it was eight miles and that one big hill back to Herndon, ending at the Green Lizard, our local bike shop, for one more draft beer.

Then home to watch the Belmont Stakes.

It was a good race, though I didn’t get as lucky as I did in 2008. The horse Rombauer who won the Preakness beat my pick, Known Agenda, for third place knocking my trifecta out.  But I did have the exacta.  Not bad since I just played my birthday numbers and threw in Hot Rod Charlie because he had a good story.

No Triple Crown winner this year, some unneeded drama, now we look forward to next year.

 

At one point on the way home on the bike trail, Kim and I had gotten separated a bit.

I was riding slow, now tired from the long day.

A bike rider came up behind me and gave the courtesy warning before passing me, “passing on your left.”

Only this guy said, “passing on your left, ma’am.”

I had to laugh.

 

It was a nice relaxing day.

Lots of exercise.

Lots of sun.

A few beers.

Lots of racing.

And the question,

Was it my hair?

Or my new butt maybe?

That earned me a…

“Passing on your left, ma’am?”

Guess I will never know.

 

Postscript:

Our feature image is a selfie taken at The Caboose Brewing Company and Tavern in Vienna, Virginia.

My Three Little Chickens

My Three Little Chickens

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I guess I should be a little embarrassed.

Approximately a year and a half ago I was celebrating National Meatball Day.  I didn’t miss that one.

But this week I apparently  missed National Daughter’s Day.

National Daughter’s Day, how could I have not seen that one?

I blew a perfectly good Dad opportunity.

Because you know, I have three of them.

Daughters that is.

Maybe I should have known, but since I haven’t been paying too much attention to social media lately when I did, I saw all these nice photos with my friends praising their beautiful daughters.

So I felt guilty.

I had no photos…I had no praises.

I do love my daughters…even more than I love meatballs.

Therefore I thought it only fitting to give them some blog space too.

So I had to Google this Daughter’s Day thing.

And apparently National Daughter’s Day is:

 

Celebrated September 25, but some celebrate it on the Fourth Sunday in September. In some countries it is celebrated on October 1, and World Daughters Day is September 28.

 

Okay so after reading that I think I am good.  I don’t really think I messed up at all because it sounds like you can pick any day near the end of September and call it Daughter’s Day.   So in my world, today is Daughter’s Day,  I am going to celebrate it today.

 

 What is the reason this day was created?… In developed countries Daughters Day is a day to celebrate the joy and wonder of having a baby girl and raising a daughter.

 

Though sometimes I wonder lately if I live in a developed country, I have definitely experienced this joy and wonder thing with my daughters.

Like the time I wondered what one of my daughters was thinking trying to go out dressed like she was?

And all the nights I wondered why they weren’t home when they were supposed to be or why they weren’t in the place they were supposed to be?

And sure there were joys too.

Obviously so many joys it’s hard for me to list them here because that would take a book.  And I am sure all my joys are also being celebrated this week by Bank of America and Citibank who recognize the importance of my daughters in our lives and in theirs.

I particularly liked the:

How to celebrate: Dads should consider taking daughters out on a date, whether to a park or for a meal. Moms should share words of encouragement and wisdom. Every parent should make their daughter feel like a princess or the little angel they are! Of course, moms and dads can spent joint family time together with the goal of celebrating what makes daughters so unique and special in a family.

Yes of course, the little angels they are!

Moms sharing words of wisdom and daughters listening? Hello…Is there anybody out there? This is the real world…I don’t think that part of the country has developed yet.

I also liked the idea of dad’s taking their daughters to a park.  Maybe I could relive the experience of trying to teach Alexa how to ride a bicycle on the W & OD trail that ended with me literally throwing the bike into the woods in frustration after multiple attempts of having her peddle while I was pushing her and then as soon as I would let her go she would stop peddling and fall over just like the routine on the show “Laugh In” over and over again.

 

I often have fun writing about my kids and I have said before they are all good sports.

The truth is my daughters have taken their share of lumps in life but they continue to rise up.

They have had some life experiences probably shared by many daughters.

And then they have had some I hope no child ever has to go through.

They have lived through their own marital and relationship traumas and in some cases abuse.

And they have lived through the death of a brother.

Yet they are resilient.

They are women now, some with their own kids (though no daughters thank God).

And they are happy.

And they are princesses.

And I suppose they are angels too, though maybe not so little anymore.

And unlike the rest of the daughters out there, they have to put up with me.

And they do a pretty good job at that too.

So happy National Daughter’s Day to Alexa, Hayley, and Savannah…my three little chickens.

 

I love you more than meatballs.

 

Who is Smarter? Me or My Samsung S3 Classic Smart Watch?

Who is Smarter? Me or My Samsung S3 Classic Smart Watch?

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My new Samsung Gear S3 Classic Smart Watch

Sunset in Herndon, Virginia…7:23 pm.

Daylight Savings Time, time to start working out again.

After a gluttonous six days of traveling we returned from our trip to Florida on Sunday.  Our excursion included an unexpected drive and a night in Richmond as a result of the one inch snowmageddon that cancelled our Tuesday Southwest Airlines flight out of Baltimore  causing us to be unable to reschedule a flight out of a DC area airport until Friday at the earliest.

Now back, with the extra daylight, extra few degrees, and the some extra pounds, I parked my truck and headed out at my favorite mile marker on the W & OD trail and began my second run of the week.

 

“Warm up for five minutes” a woman’s voice said.

(Wait, who is talking to me?  Wait…it’s my watch?)

 

“Three minutes left until the main exercise starts”

(Main exercise? I am dying here, this isn’t the main exercise?)

 

“Walk briskly during the warm up”

(But I am running, I can’t get any more warmed up!)

 

“You’ve reached the next stage, speed up”

(Next stage? What next stage? Should I fire up the booster rockets?)

 

“Slow down, you’re going too fast”

(So I slow down)

 

“Looking good”

(Hey…Looking good!)

 

“Great pace”

(Great Pace?)

 

“Slow down you are going to fast”

(So I slow down more but I am walking now, and I don’t want to walk, so I start running again)

 

“Speed up for 4.0 miles per hour”

(Wait, I am at my fast pace and I am only doing 15 minute miles?)

 

“Slow down a little”

(My wife bought me one of those Samsung S3 Smart Watches…)

 

“Speed up for 3.8 miles per hour”

(This is the first time I am wearing it on one of my runs…)

 

“You are running too fast”

(Can you make up your mind?)

 

“Try a little harder”

(Okay that’s it! I am walking out the rest…she’ll probably call me a wimp next)

 

“You have reached your target”

(No, actually I think I may have found my target, and I will hit it as soon as I find my hammer!)

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Samsung S3 Classic Smart watch.  When I was growing up, the only person who had a watch that you could talk through was Dick Tracy, so this is the stuff of comic books and imagination.  And, when someone sends you a text message, it provides you with really short to the point responses so you don’t have to fuss over it.

Kim text message:  Can you pick up the dry cleaning.

Me and my watch responding with canned response: Roger that

And it’s done.

 

But can you imagine it’s a Saturday in July and you have a laundry list of things to do, and the watch on your wrist keeps reminding you:

“Hey that garage isn’t going to get any cleaner with you sitting here on the deck.”

Or…

“Move faster, we still need to cut the grass.”

Or…

“Slow down, take it easy, you are hot, maybe have a cold beer.” (Well, that might be okay)

But seriously, who wants to be prompted and reminded of what you are doing or not doing in real time, especially while zoning out on a nice run?

 

So I have a great idea.

Since I love to run and I love the relaxation that running brings to me;

And,

I love my new watch, that bought for me by wife, who I also love;

I think I am just going to be old fashioned and keep my new watch for communicating like Dick Tracy did, and use my Fitbit for running!

 

Looking good?

 

Roger That!

“I picked up the dry cleaning honey”