Sunday, February 03, 2008

The Super Bowl 5K Run

Greetings Readers

Super Bowl 5K – As I took this picture early this morning it was a pretty cold morning (14 degrees at 7 AM). The first mile or so I was feeling the cold and thought to myself for a nanosecond – I should go back home. The comforter was most likely still warm from my body heat. The TV would still be warm from being on this morning.

Yet, this was going to be my first official run of the year. I decided that yesterday when I remembered that every year there is the Super Bowl 5K run in Washington Park.

I arrived at Washington Park a little after 8:40 AM and the weather I could feel had not change if perhaps by a degree or so. A few people had showed up already, but not a lot. By the time 9:50 arrived quite a few started to show up. Perhaps those people were waiting in their cars while I was just standing and sort of stretching in Washington Park keeping the blood flowing through my body.

I was not really that cold, but cool.

Fast forward to the end of the race. Well, my time was 7:51 unofficially until the time gets verified. The course was generally clear of snow and ice, but in the shaded parts of the course there was ice and snow. I did get warmed up pretty good. I ran a good time considering the non-training I did and the few places on the course I had to slow down and be mindful of ice. Oh yes reader my number was 597. May that number be the launch of a great year.

If any of you local residents in my area did not see me early this morning doing my Sunday Morning ritual well that is my excuse on why I did not go out early this morning. Washington Park doing a run that benefits the Prostate Cancer Education Council. It was not until 11 Am or so that I finally was able to get my Sunday paper.

I have been holding off on telling you readers this, but I guess now is the time to tell what you what has transpired at our ranch.

About three weeks ago there was a massacre at the Ranch. The winter has brought the cold air and it is cold. The weather is so cold that that water/well lines have frozen and burst along the windmill and water storage tanks. The pipes are about three feet in the ground, yet the cold has penetrated the ground and was able to freeze the water in the pipes, which in turn caused a rupture along the line – somewhere.

With that we have been hauling water to our Black Angus Cattle, sorry readers, when I write “we” I mean my parents since I am here in Colorado. Hauling water means that we have to haul water from our windmill and haul in a water tank that we have put onto one of our vehicles and haul the water about 25 miles or so.

This is not funny, but we are not the only ones affected by the windmill out of commission. We have neighbors and somehow they are under the impression that the snow that is on the ground will suffice as a water substitute. Our family and the rest of the “educated world” know that you cannot survive on snow. You have to melt the snow to water in order for you/anyone to survive. Yet, our neighbors, who are Native American Indians also, believe that their cattle are okay. Naïve. Yet, we have told them that you need to have water and the snow on the ground will not be a substitute as water.

As I learned on at Discovery Channel Program – Planet Earth – I think there is only one animal that can eat snow and that is the Camel that lives/roams in Siberia.

Sorry readers, I guess I have deviated from the massacre. But that is the background that leads to the massacre.

When we left for hauling water apparently two dogs showed up in our area. Wild or reservation dogs we do not know. At first we thought that they were are Grandma’s sheep dogs. So we did not really pay attention.

One evening after coming back from hauling water my mom saw one of the dogs around the house, kind of lurking around. I think she said the dog took off after that. In morning while feeding the dogs she noticed that there were no chickens. Gone. Apparently this dog killed all the chickens. My dad got a gun and then shot the dog dead.

Fast forward another day when my parents got back in the evening once more they saw another dog and this time there was a Ginny in its mouth and it took off into the night.

I am not sure how the story goes from here, but my dad was ready this time. The dog did show up the next day and sure enough my dad was ready with the gun. No more of those dogs.

In all, we lost all the chickens and two Ginny’s (two of the newborns). All we have left are the mom and dad Ginny’s and the other two Ginny’s.

It was a sad story to hear when my mom told me, but deep down inside I said to myself “well look at I this way there are less mouths to feed.” Then, my mom had said that my brother had said what I thought and was going to say to her. I know reader - the chickens/Ginny’s are not much trouble to feed and really only require feed and water.


By the way - My back gray/black tire finally gave out now so I now have a gray/black front tire and a blue/black tire on the back. And to top that off I have Hutchinson on the front and Michelin on the back. It is messed up world for me.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

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