Downtown Running Route #1

I love to run. I am very slow but I can run a long ways. I’ve run two marathons (full disclosure, over 10 years ago), two half marathons, a quarter marathon, a 20 kilometer run, 14 Tulsa Run 15K’s, and a ton of 10K’s down to 5Ks.
If you are going to wait for me at the finish line and I didn’t tell you what my expected time is. Wait until the old ladies start showing up. I’ll be about five minutes behind them.
Oh yeah, Downtown running route. With the cooler weather I change my running time from 5:15 am to noon. I love running at noon when the weather is cool.
Most people in Tulsa don’t realize how much the trail system has been developed. Its not just the river trail. Many new trails have been built all over the place. Including downtown. There are nice trails leading into downtown from the River. The following are pictures of my current favorite route. It is only about 4 miles long.
If you have a better route than this. I want to know about it. Because this one is great.
Alongside the Inner Dispersal Loop
View of Downtown

Maple Park

The Family’s Previous Church.

My favorite view of downtwn
Alongside Highway 75

Tulsa’s Newest Park – Centennial Park
I always loop around it.

Centennial Park – cont’d

The trail to Centennial Park

There is nothing better than a great run at noon.

Beatitudes Wordle

Fellow blogger, Baloney, from whom I shamelessly copy all the time posted about Wordles. It is a site that takes text from any source and makes into something like the following. In this case I used the Beatitudes from Matthew.

And below are the lyrics from one of my favorite songs.
This site is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on the web.

Downtown Exorcism

For several months now a group of 20 or so people have been picketing in downtown Tulsa right on the sidewalk in front of the Mayo Hotel. Right at the door of Topeca coffee. I see them several times a week when I go in for my daily Americano. They are protesting the contractor working on the Mayo renovation project. To me it looks like the picketers are trying to do an exorcism.

Based on the book and movie, The Exorcist, I always thought that you had to be a priest to be perform an exorcism. Apparently it is not true, carpenters can do if led properly. That’s right its a bunch of carpenters doing this exorcism. I don’t know if they are ordained carpenters or not. They don’t look like carpenters to me. They look like homeless people and also needs roofing repair services to all their homes in their locality.

The head exorcist told me that they were all members of the carpenters union. I didn’t argue with him. He didn’t have the air of a man who really wanted to debate the difference between being a carpenter and being a member of the union. He did assure me though that they don’t have a problem with the coffee shop.

They might need to rethink their strategy. These men and women have been at this almost every day for at least two hours a day for months.

And the rats are still there. Yep, that is what they are trying to do is get the rats out of the Mayo Hotel. You have to admire them. These bunch of carpenters can chant loud.

“Get the Rats out, get the rats out,
Rats gotta go, Rats gotta go”

Over and over again.

Tagged Again

My fellow blogger Baloney tagged me in her blog so now you get to find out even more about me and I get to know more about you because by reading this you are tagged.

Here is how it is done.

A) People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs & replace any question that they dislike with a new question. (note, you’ll need to pull the list of questions from Baloney’s post above if you want to see which one I switched out)

B) Tag 8 people to do this quiz.

1.How many songs are on your iPod? I have 173 songs on my ipod.

2. What music would you want played at your funeral? Hey funerals are not for the dead guy, they are for the survivors. So as long as its not sentimental or maudlin I’ll be ok with whatever. Of course I’m assuming that people will show up. Softly and Tenderly is my favorite hymn. If that could be worked in appropriately that would be great. Also, the Door’s “Break on Through (to the Other Side)” would be lovely and would fit the theme, but I don’t see the pastor of our church going for it.

3.What magazines do you have subscriptions to? I love magazines! I get Scientific American (pushing close to 40 years with that one.), National Geographic, Wired, New Yorker, US News and World Report, Outside, and Sports Illustrated. In addition Sweetie and I fight over her Southern Living magazine. I read the online editions of the Wall Street Journal and the New York times.

4. What is your favorite scent? Pinon smoke.

5. If you had a million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it?

I would buy a nice house and property out in the country somewhere.

6. What is your theme song? Invisible Kid by Metallica.

7. Do you trust easily? Yes, too easily but I have learned a lot over the years. Tuition for the school of life is very high.

8. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? I generally think before I act. People think that I’m very analytical but I make decisions based on my gut feeling. I have very good analytical skills and I use them but I have to make the analysis fit with my gut before I am comfortable making a decision. Sometimes that takes some time. The scenarios I run in my mind involve trying to figure out how I would feel about the various possible outcomes. It is hard to explain.

9.Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days? The energy business is going crazy so work is very demanding. I love my job but I am running way behind.

10. Do you have a good body-image? Yep I have a great image of a body. Oh, you mean the image of MY body. What can I say, it ain’t pretty but its mine.

11. Is being tagged fun? Yep, I think it is interesting to read other people’s answers. I think it is chicken though to change the questions you don’t like. (just kiddin)

12. How do you spend your social networking (Facebook, etc.) time? I read two blogs faithfully, Baloney’s because she is a good writer and has something every day. I have a niece in Australia who blogs infrequently but it is about life as an expatriate there so I find it interesting also. I have two other nieces in Colorado who are on Myspace and I like reading what they have to say. I have a myspace page also so I check n what is up with them. Plus I like writing in my blog. I have journaled for close to 38 years so blogging is an extension of that.

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately? The blogging, geocaching, reading, running, lifehacker.com.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is? Baloney brings a lot of focus to whatever she is doing.

15. What’s the last song that got stuck in your head? Cyanide by Metallica.

16.What’s your favorite item of clothing? Carhart henley shirts and cargo shorts. Convenience, comfort are tops.

17. What is the perfect birthday cake? Sweetie can make several killer chocolate cakes. She is the best birthday cake cook of all time.

18. What cartoon character is most like you? The pointy haired boss in Dilbert.

19. What items could you not go without during the day? My Palm Treo.

20. What should you be doing right now? Paying Bills.

I think that I have only two people who read my blog on a regular basis, one is Baloney, Sweetie doesn’t blog but I will put her on the list. I’ll also see if my three nieces will participate.

Those who participate, please tell me in a comment where to find your responses.

Fund Raiser Sucker

If your organization is having a book fair or a silent auction as a fund raiser call me. I can’t resist them.

My employer had their United Way silent auction last week. They do it online kind of like ebay. They didn’t have that much good stuff this year. Mostly the items of interest to me were logo shirts. I bid on a few then a few more. So for some reason I ended up with three identical white golf shirts and two identical navy blue golf sweaters. Nice stuff but one of each would be fine. Oh and I also purchased a long sleeve khaki colored oxford shirt.

Sweetie ran the book fair at SuperPizzaBoy’s school. I love book fairs, always have. I went a little crazy this year. Sweetie had a pile of stuff for her and SPB. It is a lot easier just to add to her pile than take a double armfull of to the cashier. Hey look a fiberoptic circuit experiement kit, always wanted one of those, now I have one. Hey look a book with fancy lettering templates, colored pencils, and instructions, got to have that also. Hey a funky looking mechanical pencil that looks like a regular pencil, and so inexpensive, and it has a matching eraser! Hey a book by Max Lucado, its bound to be good! I know that it is a good cause.

Brennan’s Burns Down

I was surfing the net this morning reading about and saying silent prayers for the 20,000 morons on Galveston Island who had decided to “ride the storm out.” When I noticed that Brennan’s Restaurant near downtown Houston had burned down completely last night.

The story is here. Their web site including the menu is here.

That was the best restaurant in Houston and was a great place to take a date. The waiters were very old school and professional. They were more interested in making sure that you enjoyed the experience than being your buddy. The food was very rich and very good. Dinner took a long time to complete. Their signature desert was banana’s foster. It was quite a show. They prepared it on a cart at your table and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything better.

Pre-Sweetie, when I was still single back in the mid 1980’s I was dining at the restaurant with a date. We had a great meal and had just finished the banana’s foster and their strong coffee when all the sudden I passed out and fell out of my chair. I was not out very long and when I came to I had quite a crowd around me including a couple of physicians. (No, I had not a drop of alcohol.)

The staff had called an ambulance but I was feeling quite well. So I got up and walked out of the restaurant. The manager of the restaurant although very nice was glad to see me go told me that the dinner was on the house. What a deal.

My date, who was a nurse at one of the hospitals at the Houston Medical Center drove me to an emergency room. Never did find out what happened although rich food and caffeine and stuffy air can make me light headed.

Long Road Out of Eden

After the Eagles Concert here last weekend, Sweetie bought me their new cd. It has been out for a while but I don’t remember hearing any tunes from it until the concert. Their new songs were actually quite good so it got us interested in their music.

The new album ( I know that dates me, but hey I’m old potbellied fat guy so I’ll call disks albums if I want to) is called “Long Road Out of Eden.” It has two disks (discs?) and has 20 songs (are they still called songs?)

They are very good. I’m not much of a Joe Walsh or Timothy Schmitt fan but even their songs are not that bad. The very best song of the group is “No More Walks in the Wood.” It is only a two minute acapella song, but it gives me goosebumps. Those guys can harmonize! Also notable are “Waiting in the Weeds”, “No More Cloudy Days”, and the title track “Long Road Out of Eden.”

I give the album a solid four stars out of four and myself a good kick in the butt for not buying it before. Sweetie wants me to give it to her so she can listen to it, but I’m not ready to part with it!

“The Women”

Friday night, SuperPizzaBoy had an overnight at his friend N’s house. So Sweetie and I had a date night. We went to see “The Women.” I had seen the trailers and thought it had the potential to be a great movie. After all it had a great cast: Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Carrie Fisher, Cloris Leachman, Bette Midler, and Cloris Leachman, among others.
It is not really a Romantic Comedy it is more of a female buddy movie. It is about a group of women friends and their trials and tribulations. It is also about betrayal, and forgiveness. The move also talks about the price of success and making choices.
I loved this movie. The actresses do a great job. Meg Ryan especially gives a great performance. Candice Bergen plays her mother and almost steals the show. Bette Midler does great in her two scenes also.
I think that Meg Ryan does a wonderful job. This will go down as one of her classics like “Sleepless in Seattle” or “You’ve Got Mail.” She is just so cute and bubbly. She may be a real hag in real life but she is very likeable in her movies.
I give this movie a four out of four. It is a chick flick sure but it speaks to everybody and is very well done.

FORREST GUMP GOES TO HEAVEN

The day finally arrived. Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven.
He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed, and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.
St. Peter said,’Well, Forrest, it is certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, and we have been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The test is short, but you have to pass itbefore you can get into Heaven.’
Forrest responds, ‘It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir. But, nobody ever told me about any entrance exam. I sure hope that the test ain’t too hard. Life was a big enough test as it was.’
St. Peter continued, ‘Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.
First: What two days of the week begin with the letter T?
Second: How many seconds are there in a year?
Third: What is God’s first name?’

Forrest leaves to think the questions over. He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up, and says,

‘Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers’
Forrest replied, ‘Well, the first one –which two days in the week begins with the letter ‘T’?Shucks, that one is easy. That would be Today and Tomorrow.’
The Saint’s eyes opened wide andhe exclaimed,
‘Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but
you do have a point, and
I guess I did not specify, so
I will give you credit for that answer.
”How about the next one?’ asked St. Peter
‘How many seconds in a year?
Now that one is harder,’ replied Forrest, but
I thunk and thunk about that, and
I guess the only answer can be twelve.’
Astounded, St. Peter said,
‘Twelve? Twelve?Forrest, how in Heaven’s name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?’
Forrest replied,’Shucks, there’s got to be twelve:
January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd … ‘
‘Hold it,’ interrupts St. Peter.
‘I see where you are going with this, and
I see your point,
though that was not quite what I had in mind … but
I will have to give you credit for that one, too.
Let us go on with the third and final question.Can you tell me God’s first name’?
‘Sure,’ Forrest replied,’it’s Andy.’
‘Andy?’exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St Peter.’
Ok, I can understand how you
came up with your answers to my first two questions,
but just how in the world did you come up with the name
Andy as the first name of God?’
‘Shucks, that was the easiest one of all,
‘Forrest replied.
‘I learnt it from the song,
‘ANDY WALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.’ ‘
St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates, and said:’Run Forrest, run!’

Popcorn Time

It is Cub Scout Popcorn sales time again. I went to the District Kickoff Meeting last Monday night to learn about this years program. The products to be sold, the sales commission we earn, prizes, dates, deadlines, websites, delivery times. The whole deal.

I am the Pack Popcorn Colonel. This is my third year. I run a pretty tight ship. Kids, you don’t say what you want for a reward, I’m picking it for you. Also, you don’t get it until I see the money!

Parents, if you don’t come pick your popcorn up on the designated day, I’m calling you, and calling, and calling, so you better come get it when you are supposed to get it.

Turn your money in on time also. Deadbeat coworker? Not my problem dude. Ordered too much popcorn and want to sell it back to the Pack? Hey we are in the popcorn selling business buster, not buying. Will the Scout office buy it back from us? I don’t know, call them and see. Your payment is due now.

The popcorn costs too much, its cheaper at Walmart. Hey I bet you are right, go buy it at Walmart. Can you spell F-U-N-D R-A-I-S-E-R?

Really though the kids and the parents do a great job. Some of the kids will sell over a $1000 worth this season. The stuff is pretty good and I have a lot of fun with it. I was a miserable Den Leader but I’m a good Popcorn Colonel. I’ve built the spreadsheets to keep track of it all and I don’t mind addressing little problems before they get to be big problems.

The money is what drives the Pack programs and the people that run the pack are very frugal with the money.

So, buy some popcorn if some kid in a uniform knocks on your door.