Why did the beetle cross the road?

I don’t know.  I didn’t stop to ask him.  Instead I kept right on running, careful not to step on him.

But if you want to know why Rambling Runner Girl crossed the road, it was to stay in the shade!

However, I got so much more than just a break from the sun.

Let me explain…

The saying goes that lightening never strikes twice, right?  Well, I’m not sure I really believe that, but I can assure you that tornadoes DO strike the same place.  I know this because as I pulled into Babler today, I encountered a sign indicating that parts of park were closed due to storm damage from tornadoes that rolled through last month.  This was the same sign I came across in February of 2011 when I was one of the first people to enter the park for a run after tornadoes had done some major destruction.  In fact, there was a news crew there that day.  They filmed me, interviewed me and gave me about 20 seconds of St. Louis fame.  A few weeks ago, the park got slammed again.

For whatever reason, I chose Babler as yesteday’s location for an easy 12 mile run.  Ummm, yeah, there is nothing easy about Babler, especially on a day where humidity is at a high for the year so far.  Typically, when I run at Babler there is a 4 mile loop that I stick to, mainly because I know it and I don’t usually have enough time to run the 5 mile loop that I’ve heard exists out there.  Well, yesterday, I finally chose the road less traveled, at least by me.  I ran the big loop twice and added a little out and back stint down a side road that I had never been on to finish out at exactly 12 miles.

When I ran the first loop, it was overcast and I thought for sure I was going to get rained on.  I didn’t.  But I did meet a turtle on my way out of the parking lot.  And I found what was, quite possibly, the world’s longest hill.  I’m still not sure why, after a short break at the car to refill my water bottle, I decided to do it again.  On the second time around, the haze had lifted and the sun was shining.  It was humid and hot.  As I crested the world’s longest hill, I started to seek out shade where ever I could find it.  So I crossed to the other side of the street.  It was at that point that I saw some of the damage done by the most recent tornado to rip through Babler.  I had seen several trees down already, twisted and destroyed by the wind, but when I crossed over, I could see down into a ravine of pretty severe devastation.  I was shocked for a second that I hadn’t noticed it the first time.  How could I have missed that?!  But the truth was, I couldn’t see it from the other side of the street, just a few steps away.

That got me thinking, sometimes I get so focused on what is right directly in front of my face, that I become oblivious to things that really aren’t that far away.  I am guilty of being so intensely interested in my phone, or my laptop, that I don’t notice Silas getting into the fridge and pulling out the pitcher of fruit punch until it is spilling all over the floor.  (And then I get mad at him for not asking for help.  He probably did, and I just zoned out.)   Likewise, sometimes I get so focused on my Garmin that I forget to enjoy the path that I’m running.  Fortunately, yeterday was not like that.  It was hot, and a tough run, but I enjoyed it and appreciated it.  And I was thinking about another time recently that I was glad that I looked up to see what was going on around me.

The other day at work, I was sitting on the floor, fitting a customer for some running shoes, when an elderly couple walked in.  I greeted them with a “Hi, Welcome to FLEET FEET” and a big LJ smile.  Then I continued with my customer while Cole assisted the woman who strolled in with her walker, and her husband.  After several minutes, my customer had gone outside to run to try out a different pair of shoes, and I looked up from my fit app, to see this old man, on his knees, gently putting his wife’s stockings back on her feet.  I caught Cole’s eye, and we clearly had the same thought about how sweet it was that this man was humble enough to get down on the floor and do this for the woman he loved.

I’ve never been one to live life behind a camera.  In fact, at lot of times, I’ll look back at various events and think… I probably should have taken more pictures.  But something I have always made a point to do, is take mental snapshots.  I’m glad I looked beyond my fit bench the other day, to take a mental picture of that sweet man and his wife.  It was a good reminder that there are people who will do things like that for each other.  I’d like to think someday when my fingers are too arthritic to tie my own running shoes, that someone, whether it’s my kids or my friends or whoever, will be there willing to do it for me.  And until then, I’d like to be able to return the favor.

So, courtesy of yesterday’s run, I hope I will do a better job of remembering to look a little father outside of myself.  Run a different route, cross into unknown territory, take a look around and remember that there might just be something bigger and more extraordinary ahead, if I take the time to look up and see it.

Warning at the entrance of Babler