I just actually saw this ad on TV

WTF  This is actually a 30 second ad that is being broadcast on MSNBC.

Can someone please tell me what they are trying to say.   Here is what is says

Male voice:  This is Amy, she lives in America.  She free to smile to show she is happy.  Everyone is OK with this.  Amy is a christian, she is also free to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to show she is happy, but not everyone is OK with this.  We are on nation under god [said in anger], No man owns Amy's happiness, no man can define how she show it.

 Amy:  Scream

 sound of broken glass




WHAT THE FUCK, I am an Atheist and my background is Jewish, so Christmas really never meant anything to me.  I am also a viewer of MSNBC so I figure this ad was aimed and me.  But I really don't give a shit if Amy shows her happiness by celebrating the birth of Jesus, or  Muhammad, or Thor, or Jim Jones or any other mythical or historical figure..

She can be happy all she wants.  Just don't take up any time in my kid's school with this mumbo jumbo or redirect any of my tax money to make her happy.

Apparently this ad was paid for by St Mary's At Large. https://www.facebook.com/StMarysAtLarge.  The production cost was probably $0 but it cost them a lot to make me see it.

Why?  Why did they show it to me?  This is certainly not going to convert me.  It is not going to stop me from "owning Amy's happiness", because I don't.  I think they made it and paid (a lot of money) to show it to me so they can tell their flock that they are fighting the "War on Christmas".  Good luck with that.

Most Taistless Sign of the Day

Really?

Other than that, Mrs Kennedy, How did you like Dallas?

There is a house on Union St that has a rotating display of stupid signs in the window.  Stuff like "It's nice out,  I think I'll keep it out."  The Street view below the sign says "The best things in life aren't things"  Then there is this

Anyway, I know where I was 50 years ago today.  That afternoon I was being pushed down Ocean Ave in a stroller by my mother.  She remembered that because all the cars on that busy street came to a stop at the same time.

My wife's older brother was still an only child.

Being twins, my kids thought it a odd that there was a time that one of their parents was alive and the other was not.





View Larger Map

This is how you show your love for parks?

By vandalizing one.

I hope who ever did this does not actually have any actual human relationships. 

Below is that bench as it is meant to be used.

View Larger Map

Anybody home?

?

When it's ok to touch strangers.

Thanks Ernest Hershey's Flickr

Two weeks ago was the NYC Marathon.  Up until two weeks ago the worst part of the race was the
minutes after the finish.  There used to be this "death march" for us mid pack people.  After you crossed the finish line there was human gridlock as everyone had to pick up their dry cloths and whatnot from the trucks that brought it from the starting area.  Even if you didn't have a bag you had do deal with the crowd.  Starting this year they encouraged people not to bring a bag by offering us a lined poncho.

But this was still not so easy.  It was still a quarter mile walk and I was already wearing my tin foil blanket and clutching the back of crap the NYRR wanted me to have after running a marathon.

As I approached the wall of ponchos I was wondering how I was going to put it on.  my hand were full and my brain was beginning to solidify from both frost and the fact that I had moved my own body through 5 boroughs.

Suddenly, I was wearing a poncho.  Some angel (who had been there already for many hours) just put it on me.  Then, just as fast she was making another person not freeze.

So, yesterday I was course director of the Brooklyn Marathon.  Our race was very different form the event I participated in two weeks ago.  VERY DIFFERENT.  It was 1/100th the size so every runner had the personal attention of the crew.  Also, the staff and volunteers had the flexibility to make the runners experience better, not just follow the playbook.  On raceday my job began at 5am, I had to set up the mile markers and then organized the bike marshals.  We assigned a bike rider to each of the first 3 runners in each gender.  There were cash prized involved and me had to make sure the winners actually won.

Thanks Megan D.

I knew leading a marathon would be a challenge on a bike.  I was actually proud of the fact that I was able to get up the hill as fast as a person can run all 6 times.  It was also the only way to see the race.  The top 2 men were tied through mile 17.  The were both experienced marathoners.  One was Ben Leese, winner of last year's race.  The other was Oz Perlman, winner of the Yonkers Marathon in September.    At mile 17 Oz took a seemingly unbeatable lead. He held that lead for the next 9 miles.  But, there were 9.2 miles to go. Ben was as much as 3 minutes behind and stopped to stretch many times.  But his friends on the course always let him know how far back he was.  At mile 26 Ben mowed down his only competition and earned his second Brooklyn Marathon victory by 12 seconds.  I got to watch that in my bike mirror.  Then I got to swing around and lead in the female winner.  That was extra cool because I have know her for years.

Then my fun began.  I parked my mike and supervised the finish line.  It did not need much supervision.  All the volunteers knew what to do, but I got to add one special touch to make the finishers happier.  Ya see, as soon as they finished they were given their medal a Mylar blanket and a warm hat.  It had rained during the race.  They were all cold and wet and dazed.  They were also all holding their hats because it took two hand to keep the blanket on.  I just got right in front of them and said "Give me your hat", they complied and I put it on their head.  It is a rare treat that you can stand inches from a stranger and put a hat on their head.  Many of them did not have the strength to thank me.  But I understood, I was just there.

Thanks Kristen

It was fun to put hats on cold wet people but I had to do more.  There was this guy who ran all 26.2 mile juggling.  When he crossed the finish line he had no idea he could stop.  Kinda Forest Gumpy.

But not everyone had to be told to stop.  I watched one of my running buddies finish and just stand limp.  I put a hat on him but I was not sure if he was OK.  When I walked him over to the med tent so he could sit, he really did not know how do deal with a chair.  Once I got him to sit to told the medics "This is my friend, he is usually not this stupid.  Can you take care of him"  I saw him an hour later, he was fine, but he did not remember even being in the medical tent.

Stay tuned for some more photos, but I am gonna hit publish.

I wish I knew what I will forget

Tomorrow morning I have to be in Prospect Park with my bike at 5 am so I can be Course Director for the Brooklyn Marathon.  I hope I don't leave anything on the night stand.

But I am glad there will be a full moon.

Just tow me

Last night I was channel surfing and started watching an episode of White Collar.  It happened to be Episode 5 of Season 5.  And boom, is see the house that is diagonally across the street from my own.  I did not bother taking any photos last May but The Park Slope Stoop did..  In the show there were a lot of shots of the block.  But of course when they left the house they were on the Upper West Side, not Park Slope.  There was even a bike / car scene  that included shots of Riverside Park.

As I have pointed out before they make a lot of movies around my house.  It is not the end of the word.  (Even when they filmed War of the Worlds),  They do their best to keep traffic moving and they Production Assistants who deal with taking my spots away are very nice.  When they were filming Whit Collar in the Spring I actually timed my driving errands so I could return just after they wrapped up so I could get a spot.  When I returned they were behind schedule and there was no parking.  In fact they took over some spots where they did not have a permit.  When I complained to the traffic guy, he said, "I know, but we need that spot, so the trucks can make the turn.  We will be gone in an hour".  "But, I live here, what am I supposed to do for the next hour!"  "Ah!, I will get you a spot."  He stopped traffic and had me back up a one way street an squeezed me in between 2 movie trucks.  Cool!

An hay, just a few weeks ago, I was on a run and encountered an out of order water fountain under the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park (shocker).  But, just feet away there was a craft services truck. (shocked again).  I just looked and the guy and asked for a bottle of water.  He handed me one and one for my friend..  So, do you get my point.  The people that make movies all over my world are my neighbors and they are nice neighbors, I don't want to take their jobs away.  They don't really ruin my life anyway.

Ahhga, But then there is this week.  It seamed all I did was move the car in circles.  Monday was a holiday, but the car was parked in a Tuesday spot.  (That means that on Tuesday they were going to clean that part of the street so the car can not be there.)  So at like 10 am I went to move it any not-Tuesday spot.  Notsoeasy.  I am not exaggerating when I say it took me over an hour to do that.  During that period I actually took a break from looking for a spot and parked at a meter so I could pee and buy some groceries.  But it took me 70 minutes to do all that.  An hour of driving around.  Then I found a Friday spot.

Ahhaha.  Tuesday morning I see the pink sign of doom.  The spot I thought was good till Friday is not gonna work.  Gotta pull out by 7pm because they are making a movie.  Another 30 minutes of driving around just to find another parking spot.  I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO GO ANYWHERE.    Then on Wednesday my wife has to work late so she takes the car.  At 11pm she had no choice but to park in a lot.  $23!!!!!

Thursday morning I drive to a place that would have been easier to take the subway to because I had to GET MY CAR OUT OF THE LOT and WHEN I GET BACK THE ONLY SPOT I FIND IS GOING TO BE USED FOR FUCKING CRAFT SERVICES THAT EVENING.

Bahaahahaia

I was so ready to put a sign in the window that said FUCK IT, JUST TOW ME.  Instead I drive to the track for my workout and found a nice Tuesday spot when I got back.

Here is a link to the parking mess I was in.

I don't think you can really see the map without clicking on the link

Oh and they are filming The Knick.  It tack place in the early part of the 20th Century.  My car is old but not that old, so it wont have a cameo.




This sign note did not make me feel better.

Your doughnuts are so good they helped me lose weight.

Today I returned to the Doughnut Plant and said that.  Yea, I said."Your doughnuts are so good they helped me lose weight.".  The first time I was there I decided that life is too short to eat bad donuts, so I decided that I would no longer let crappy Duncan Donuts or Entamin's pass my lips.  They are just not worth it.  Yea, if you are trying to stay fit you should not eat any donuts, but if you are going to eat just a few they should be good donuts.

I am down about 20 pounds in the last 4 years.  In part thanks to the Doughnut Plant.

$37.00 for a dozen donuts.  Brought them to my wife's office and had a feast.  Click this for all the photos that I did not take.

Back in my undergrad days (a few lifetimes ago) one of my friend's girlfriend worked an the local Duncan Donuts.  They had some sort of rule that if donuts were not sold after a certain amount of hours they had to be tossed.  She worked till about 3am.  So at like 3:30 in the morning after a long evening of $%^@$%@# she would sometimes walk in with a big black trash bag over her shoulder  It would be full of hundreds of donuts.  Just donuts, in a sack.  She waked a mile with a sack of hundreds of donuts over her shoulder..

They were not donuts by the time she got to us.  It was a sack of pudding,

We ate with our hands.

Yea, the last thing we were worried about was gaining weight.

Those were the days....

I like these days too.

My Father In Law was the real deal

He served in the infantry in France. He never really spoke about his experiences, not directly.


I recently had the honor or organizing his army records.  The letter below was dated 30 December 1944.  It describes his actions that earned hes first Bronze Star

Which is a worse memory? Watching your buddy get blown to bits, or killing the man who just did it?

When can we stop asking that question?

Be nice to a Vet.

Best Job Ever

My life overlapped with the NYC Marathon in many ways this year. Maybe more than anyone else.

First, forth and eighth as part of the leadership of the Prospect Prospect Park Track Club, I helped organize our "NYC Marathon Activities."  That started 8 days before the race with a group run of the last 10 miles of the route.  We also rented our own buses to get to the start and had our own post race meet-up at a public school only a block and a half from the finish. I was the face and voice of these events, but the volunteers were really the backbone.

Second, as an employee of NYCRUNS I got to help set up their booth at the expo.  I got to see this in in packing crate marked PORT-A-POTTIE


Third, sixth and seventh I was an official pacer in the race.  That meant that I had to spend a half a day at the expo explaining what a pacer is.  We chose to run the race significantly slower than we could, but carting a little sign that says our goal time.  It the past 2 years I completed three marathons in about 4:30 so I was assigned the 5:00 pace group.



At the expo we didn't only help people learn about the pacing program, we helped them deal with all the stress of running their (mostly) first marathon.  Most of the other pacers were members of a club I just joined.  The Marathon Maniacs.  I am am member at the Bronze level because last year I ran 2 marathons in 2 weeks.  Getting to hang out with members at higher levels was a real treat.  Some ran marathons in over 35 states, some ran over 100 marathons.  I gave the man the right of the photo water at mile 80 of the  The Great New York 100 Mile Exposition.

He looks much better in this photo.

I did not just get the hang out with the other pacers at the Expo. We all got to the start early.  But it was worth it.  Below was our home

One of the biggest negatives about the NYC Marathon is that you HAVE TO get to the start early. 50,000 people have to get to the start, and the majority of us have to get across the bridge that is the first 2 miles of the course. So we have to get there early. In November it is never very nice out at 7am.  Once I saw this HEATED tent with its own bathrooms it told the person organizing the pace teams that I will do this every

Yea, Click to enlarge.

year.  He said that I will only be asked back if I do a good job.  He will be tracking me and I have to run (lead) and an even pace. Well here ya go.  Every mile between 11:15 and 11:30, finishing in 5:02.  I think if I were allowed to go out a little faster, we would have come in just under 5 hours.

But for me it was not just about running at an even pace.  I got to talk as much as I wanted without looking like an insane person.  My partner in pacing, Pauline, kept everyone together and on pace.  But I (hope) that I kept everyone sane. Giving a tour that ranged to making sure people knew what Borough we were in to all the places I threw up over the last 20 years.

Once in Central Park I realized that I had used up all my mental powers because I heard someone yell nice skirt and I actually looked down at my knees to see if they were talking to me.

My only regret was that I can not remember the name of the women from Scotland that I spent most of the 26.2 miles with.  My regret is that I did not get her email address (or can even remember her name.)  It would be great to become pen pals.  .

Fifth: For the past 3 years the NYRR has considered me a "Streaker" because I have run more than 15 of their marathons. Every year they give me an extra piece of swag.  Every year I tell them (in their official feedback) that streakers have more than enough t-shirts.  What we want is a party.

This year I got it.

No beer, but coffee and a lot of cookies.

I do think I might be the youngest person in this club

So, looking back up at the title of the blog.  I don't want anyone to think that I am congratulating myself for doing a good job.  I am saying that I had the best job.  I got paid in a free race entry, a heated tent and hugs.  Totally worth it.

My only regret is that because I was a pace team leader I could not stop and pick up the 2 MetroCards that I saw on the course.  It kept me up all night.

But I still have this.