Bits and Pieces

Happy Halloween! And, a chilly one at that! These frosty mornings make for great running weather, though ... the cold gives a nice spring to the step!

I thought long and hard yesterday about where I wanted to run today, and I couldn't resist taking the route that let me check on the status of that Hot Tamales wrapper from last week. I really didn't want to take that route because it also takes me by a dead opossum that was hit in the street more than a week ago; it's still there, and I knew it because I drove by it yesterday ... But, the wrapper status was important to investigate. Besides, it's this route that allows the friendly exchanges with my Good For You lady!

I was very intrigued along the way by Elly ... there are piles of leaves up against curbs that are taller than her belly. She not only wants to spend a lot of time getting in them and investigating them, she also chooses those very places to take care of business. Really? I think that's weird. She's belly deep in the leaves! It's particularly funny to see this when just three years ago, she was petrified of these piles.  Perhaps this is her way of saying to them TAKE THAT!

On we went, and I am here to report that the Hot Tamales wrapper was nowhere to be seen. I looked in the vacinity to see if it had just scooted off to the side, but it was gone. The opossum, however, was not gone, and its smell is even more dominant than it was last Thursday. You have to love those moments when you're going along, getting a whole mess of clean, crisp air into your lungs when cough!*hack!*nasty!*gag! Well, the odor was a good backdrop for Halloween I suppose. Road-kill smell is a tough running hazard ...



My WalMart trick or treat on a backdrop
of our chicken nuggets in costume ...
yes, we are that cool!



It took about a half mile to fully recover from the effects of such an encounter (I'm totally not kidding), but we persevered. No pennies today, but the door greeter at WalMart gave me a Halloween treat ... mmm ... perfect after running, right?! (Indeed, it was, it was delicious. Mmmm ...)

So, tonight, exercise will be put to the test. What test is that? The Trick-or-Treat endurance test!! I mentioned it about 6 weeks ago because I've noticed a difference in my ability to take charge of the neighborhood ever since I started running. It's funny to see how exercise translates into random areas of life ... like Trick-or-Treating! Everyone's been doing his or her own thing; that's going to pay off tonight! (next unintended exercise payoff: Sledding!)