The Day Just Kept Getting Effing Better (updated with eclipse)

I'm starting to write this at only 5 o'clock and it's been a very good day.

thanks Nicoletta

This morning, I participated in my second 5K race since my comeback. Back in August it took me an hour and 40 minutes. Today with my new hinged ankle fort orthotics I took 20 minutes off that time. It wasn't just that they set up a finish line tape for the last runner. It wasn't that I did it with my new friends from Brooklyn Achilles, and my old friends from Music That Heals.

It was nice that they put the tape out for me. I probably finished a half hour after anyone else, but I like that kind of race. In a bigger race everyone would've packed up and gone home by the time I was done. In these small, local races, people care more. It's nice when everyone knows each other and has a history. I knew four out of six of the top finishers for over 10 years. That makes it even nicer

Thanks JP

It's also not the first time I finish last in race. Two months before my kids were born I started a marathon with nine people. Two of them dropped out and all the rest of them finished before me. But they all waiting at the finish line for me. As I laid on the grass basking in the fact that I finally broke four hours, the race director handed me a trophy. He said, "Congratulations you finished fourth in your age group". I said, "But I finish last." He looked right back at me and said," I said, congratulations you finished fourth in your age group." 

But all that was nothing. It was really that my son was there at the finish line. That was a great hug.


Then the day got more fun. My son jogged over to the Prospect Park zoo do have a volunteer shift. I got a ride home and jumped into my electric chair to go visit him at the zoo. On the way home I hit a roadblock. Half a block from my house there's a parking garage/car rental agency. They routinely, use the sidewalk to conduct their business. They parked cars on the sidewalk, the rental agents even use the sidewalk to show people how to use their cars. They also continually causes gridlock by leaving cars in the street before they can put them into the parking lot. Below is a street view very quiet moment. Around 3 o'clock today it wasn't quiet and to make things a little tougher to navigate the entire façade is covered in a street shed




So one of the Hurtz employees put a car on the sidewalk that completely stopped my ability to pass. It was a few minutes but I waited patiently in my wheelchair. When the people who are renting the car got in, they backed up so I could pass without rolling into traffic. Then I watched them shut their big metal gate on the trunk of the car. Taillights were everywhere. Victory for wheelchair users!

Then I had another reason to find this day great. I decided to tool around the neighborhood in my electric chair and on the way home I was waiting to cross the street. There was a woman walking parallel to me on the other side of the street who put her groceries down and was also waiting for the light to turn green. But then she started doing some weird stuff.... Running around the little circles standing on the other side of the lamppost not going near her groceries. My first and fleeting thought was that she was some weird terrorist and had a bomb in her groceries and realized that it would go off early. But then eye saw it; she was afraid of a bee.

She was kinda doing this but it was cute

I instantly knew that I could rescue her. First of all I've already been beed and it wasn't the end of the world. I also know I have the toughest immune system in Brooklyn. My immune system is so tough it attacked my nervous system.  So I rolled across the side of the street and chased the bee away. She was almost in tears. She said she's never been stung and would know what happened. I told her this be wasn't gonna bother her just want to be yellow thing in her shopping bag. So, I rolled along side of her for half a block to make sure the bee went the other way. She sincerely thanked me for my chivalry I told her no problem. I had to help because her actions on that street corner were the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. I knew my job was done because she told me she couldn't think of a way she could be embarrassed more until I said that.

Well, it's about 630 and I'm in a post this blog. I might have to update it because the day might get better. I'm told I have to go out at 10 PM tonight to see an eclipse.

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The actual eclipse was slightly underwhelming. But the best part was spending time with all family outside at night. I don't think I've done that a long time. I also really enjoyed mixing it up with the other random strangers and neighbors who also came out to stare at the clouds.

But it did remind me of the last time I went out of my way to look at a lunar eclipse. Coincidentally, I was also in a wheelchair. About 30 years ago I was the night manager of the student center at my college. A big part of my job was calling the emergency phone number for paramedics or police. About a half hour before my shift ended I twisted my ankle and went down the stairs. I call the emergency number and asked him to pick me up after I locked up the rest of the building and take me to the ER. I got there at 1 o'clock in the morning and at about 3 AM I heard people talking that they can see an eclipse. I hopped into a wheelchair and rolled myself out onto the loading dock. I honestly don't remember seeing anything and then I went back inside.

At about 8 o'clock in the morning the paramedics that drove me to the hospital came back to the ER to return their ambulance. They were a little shocked that I was still waiting, I thought that's just the way it is. It turned out they had called my name while I was on the loading dock looking for the moon and they thought I left.