{"id":347,"date":"2013-07-04T20:31:34","date_gmt":"2013-07-04T20:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=347"},"modified":"2013-07-18T19:05:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-18T19:05:09","slug":"ode-to-mayberry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=347","title":{"rendered":"Ode to Mayberry"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s funny that I consider myself a city girl at heart, when I really could not imagine a more perfect setting for my run this morning than Mayberry USA.\u00a0 It\u2019s the 4th<\/sup> of July, Independence Day, and I\u2019m spending it with my kids in the town that I spent so many of the Christmases and Thanksgivings and 4th<\/sup>s of July of my childhood.<\/p>\n

Quincy, IL is nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, just across from Hannibal, MO, home of Mark Twain.\u00a0 It\u2019s about halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, so it\u2019s one of those rare places where Cubs and Cardinals fans can set aside their differences, focus on their mutual love of baseball and actually be friends.\u00a0 This is a town where people decorate their houses for the holiday like it\u2019s their patriotic duty, large flags flying and small flags stuck in the ground lining the sidewalks.<\/p>\n

As I set off on my run this morning, I wasn\u2019t really sure how far I would end up going.\u00a0 I was hoping for 6, but I wasn\u2019t sure if my hip would let me go more than 3 or 4.\u00a0 It\u2019s still giving me trouble and I\u2019m just hanging on to hope that it will hold out another couple weeks to get me through that half marathon at the end of Racine 70.3.<\/p>\n

I left my Grandma\u2019s house and headed west on Payson Road over to 24th<\/sup> street.\u00a0 I turned north at Niemann\u2019s Horse Farm, which holds a secure spot in my earliest memories of this place. I ran past the entrance to my Aunt and Uncle\u2019s neighborhood and I waved hello to a man driving a tractor down the road. \u00a0I ran past homes with freshly painted porches and manicured lawns, well maintained, showing the pride these folks have in the lives that they\u2019ve built here.\u00a0 \u00a0I continued north on 24th<\/sup> all the way to Maine St.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, Maine, with an \u2018e\u2019.\u00a0 As I stood at the corner of 24th<\/sup> and Maine, waiting for the traffic to clear, I nodded hello at a couple cyclists and I smiled at the driver of an old-school Ford as he cruised on by.<\/p>\n

I ran west down tree lined Maine, past all the old mansions, toward the heart of downtown and the river.\u00a0 At some points the brick sidewalk showed the age of the town, you could see how the roots of the huge trees had grown over the years, breaking the bricks and rippling the sidewalk.\u00a0 It got a little treacherous, but it was well worth it for the nostalgia of the day.\u00a0 I thought of our trip out to Camp Point last summer to see all the sights of where my dad had lived in his earliest years before the Jacobs clan came to Quincy.\u00a0 My Uncle Tim drove us out there last year for the Camp Point 4th<\/sup> of July parade (be careful not to blink or you might miss the whole thing).\u00a0 We went by the cemetery to pay homage to my Grandpa Wayne who fought with the Navy in World War II and my Great-Grandpa Issac who fought with the Army in World War I.\u00a0 We drove past my Great-Grandma Winnie\u2019s little pink house\u2026or where it used to stand anyway.\u00a0 We stopped by the park and got root beer floats and elephant ears, at 10am.\u00a0 Breakfast of champions.<\/p>\n

I snapped back to present day when I got to 12th<\/sup> street.\u00a0 I briefly considered turning right and bailing on my run with a stop at Maid-rite, but instead I went left and headed back in the direction of my Grandma\u2019s house, knowing that my kids were probably chomping at the bit to get over to swim with my cousins.\u00a0 They adore my cousin Jerrison, who is the youngest of 3 boys my Aunt Jane and Uncle Tim adopted from Haiti a few years ago and is the same age as Ally.\u00a0 I ran down 12th<\/sup>, past the Governor John Woods mansion on my left, and Mr. Bill\u2019s Bar and Grill to my right.\u00a0 I ran to South Park, established 1895.\u00a0 I ran on 12th<\/sup> until it turns into Cherry Lane and leads back to 24th<\/sup>. I ran over the Curved Creek bridge and up the hill by Niemann’s, past the long white fence lined with American flags flapping in the breeze.<\/p>\n

At this point I realized I was going to top out just\u00a0shy of\u00a08 miles for the day. I guess there is something to be said for sentimentality carrying me through and over-riding the pain.\u00a0\u00a0The sun was high and it was warming up, I probably should have brought water (I usually try to practice what I preach with this one).\u00a0 I started wondering if I should have headed out on the bike before my run this morning since I need more practice with transitions.\u00a0 I did get in a decent brick workout yesterday, a ride out through the country roads with surprisingly more rolling hills than I would have thought, followed by a short run.\u00a0 But today, was about getting back to being who I am. \u00a0Before I was a triathlete, I was a runner. \u00a0Even before that though, I was a Jacobs.\u00a0 That\u2019s the thing I really love about being here in Quincy.\u00a0 Even time I come back, I am always reminded of who I am.\u00a0 And even with all my baggage and goofiness and geekiness, here\u00a0I am completely 100% comfortable with all of my weirdness.\u00a0 That\u2019s the thing about the Jacobs family; we\u2019re all about the more the merrier.\u00a0 We quote lines from the National Lampoon Vacation movies.\u00a0 We help each other.\u00a0 We love baseball.\u00a0 We share stories about the good old days.\u00a0 We take a lot of pleasure in the over-the-top fireworks display that my Uncle Jerry puts on.\u00a0 We take naps on Norma\u2019s couch and we cheer on our beloved Cubs without fear of ridicule.\u00a0 We eat a lot.\u00a0 We put together jigsaw puzzles and watch reruns of Andy Griffith and Cheers.\u00a0 We\u2019re not extravagant, we just are who we are.\u00a0 We\u2019re loyal.\u00a0 We\u2019re accepting. We\u2019re not perfect, but we love without judgment.\u00a0 We find comfort in family and traditions, and we know how to celebrate life without holding back.<\/p>\n

I used to declare that I\u2019m not sentimental, because I don\u2019t keep a lot of \u201cstuff\u201d, but today proved that might not be entirely accurate. \u00a0Maybe I don\u2019t keep the \u201cstuff\u201d but I keep the memories and I remember the traditions, and that\u2019s what really matters.\u00a0 Being a Jacobs is near and dear to my heart.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud to be who I am, and I\u2019m proud of where I came from.\u00a0 And obviously, I\u2019m not completely averse to keeping the \u201cstuff\u201d because my Great-Grandpa Issac that I mentioned earlier\u2026well, his old\u00a0trunk from when he headed off to the war has found a home in my living room.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I got this\u00a0picture of my niece from my brother, with the caption: It\u2019s like she wakes up every day and says\u2026what is something awesome I can do today?<\/p>\n

\"Brooke<\/a>

Brooke Love Jacobs…being awesome<\/p><\/div>\n

My text back to him was: Well, duh.\u00a0 She\u2019s a Jacobs.\u00a0 Would you expect anything else?!<\/p>\n

Now if you\u2019ll excuse me, I\u2019ve got a burger and some strawberry pie to eat before we head off to a small town baseball game and fireworks.<\/p>\n

Happy 4th<\/sup> everyone!\u00a0 I hope you are all enjoying your families today, as much as I am enjoying mine.\u00a0And I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t take the opportunity to say a heartfelt thanks to those who have given their lives and fight for the freedoms that we enjoy and celebrate on this day.\u00a0 Thank you and God Bless America!<\/p>\n

\"Mama<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s funny that I consider myself a city girl at heart, when I really could not imagine a more perfect setting for my run this morning than Mayberry USA.\u00a0 It\u2019s the 4th of July, Independence Day, and I\u2019m spending it with my kids in the town that I spent so many of the Christmases and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,10,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-bringthetears","category-memorablerunningmoments","category-randomthoughts","category-uncategorized","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-5B","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=347"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions\/383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}