Category: Life

Posted in Life

5K

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Last Saturday, I ran my first race in about 4 or 5 years.  Not my fastest time, but OK for an old guy.  25:49 was good enough for 12th overall (out of 66) and 2nd in my age group (50-59).  We ran 5,000 meters out and back on the beach from the pier in Daytona Beach in a race to raise funds for Parkinson’s Awareness.  Now I’ve got the running bug again and know I can recapture some of my previous speed.  My best 5K ever happend about 30 years ago when I finally broke 18 minutes at a 1981 race around Lake Takanassee on a Monday night in NJ.

Funny, I don’t feel  that much different than I did back then.  I certainly don’t feel 51.  But I ran across my birth certificate the other day and I can’t deny that the years have passed.

Posted in Life

Halloween

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Boring.  That’s all I have to say.  No one has come to our door, and it’s 7:15.  We might get a few, but I think the Trunk or Treats around town now rule the day.  The picture is the pumpkin I carved for our front porch this year.  You must pay for the best pumpkin patterns online, so this is an example of what you can get for free.  The really good pumpkin carving patterns — presidential candidates or movie stars — take several days to finish.  Maybe next year.

Just had three trick or treaters.  A witch, some kind of ghoul, and a tiny batman.  If I remember correctly, batman was popular when I was a kid, too.  The classics never go out of style.  The one thing we had going for us:  big candy bars.  Sizes you can’t hardly get now.  Real candy bars, not the mini version.  Yes, we knew how to do halloween.

Posted in Life

Timber

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Sable our Bassett howled, gazing out the window at a big black dog — mostly Rottweiler — cruising the neighborhood.  It was Timber, from a few houses down who had gotten out of the garage on Monday morning, just looking for something to do.  When I went out to corral him he snarled, but wagged pathetic stump of a tail to let me know his heart wasn’t in it.  I had grabbed the retractable leash, rated at 10 lbs., to help take him home.  I clipped it onto his collar, but he promptly bit through the cord like a piece of spaghetti.  Note to self:  take higher rated leash next time.  After he slobbered on my pants, Timber let me escort him home, and I haven’t seen him since.  But a man drove by the other day, asking if I had seen that enormous black dog who scared him “s***less” one morning.  Chuckling inwardly, I acted concerned, but knew that Timber really hadn’t intended any harm.  My neighbor Stan thinks I’m a hero for saving the neighborhood.  I think I just smelled enough like my own dogs that Timber knew I was OK.

Posted in Life

Go Phils!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Suddenly, October’s an exciting month since the Phillies are in the World Series for the first time in fifteen years.  I’ve paid little attention to baseball this year until recently, and now my mind is swimming with memories of games I’ve attended in the past.  I attended my first games with my Dad, making what seemed like a very long trip up to Connie Mack Stadium.  Then, Veteran’s Stadium opened only minutes from our home.  I got to see every home game working concessions through high school and college, including some of the 1980 World Series games.  Recently, I got to take my Dad to some games at the new Citizen’s Bank park, and enjoy attending the games as much as ever.  I know he’s enjoying watching the series, too, and he’s still right there near the action!