I know you have been waiting with bated breath to find out what happened when I finally got out of my chair last week to partake in the “City Chase”, a local event best compared to the “Amazing Race”. And even if you haven’t been waiting, or worse still, completely forgot that it was even part of my recent life, I’m going to tell you about it. Because that’s what shallow people do. They focus primarily on themselves. As a matter of fact, the other day someone asked me why it was that all of my blog posts were about me which made me think that in some small way I had failed because I would have thought that the answer was pretty obvious. And while it did give me a moment’s pause to question whether I was doing the best job I could at helping people understand the life of a shallow person it was, at the same time, somewhat reassuring to know that at least I was doing something right on this blog. And that’s why, whether you have asked for it or not (and I can’t honestly say that anyone has), here’s my recollection of the race. And I say “recollection” because more than a week has passed since the big day and things get a little fuzzy over that period of time. But for what it’s worth, this is my story.
It was much too early on a dark and gloomy morning when the alarm sounded to let me know it was time to rise up to the challenge I had committed to in an apparently weak moment a few weeks prior to this day. As I wiped the remnants of a broken night’s sleep from my eyes my first thoughts were to pull the covers back over my head and wish the day away. But I had made a promise, one that I could not break given the heartwarming support that had so recently been pledged on my behalf. And so it was that I arose with an overwhelming sense of excitement, perhaps wonder, and a kind of resolve I hadn’t felt for some time, one that I knew would help me find the strength I needed to make it through to the end. There had been much anticipation leading up to this moment and over the past weeks I had undertaken a rather strenuous training regimen encompassing both physical and mental preparation. I was ready and yet, for just a moment, there was a certain hesitation, a sense of impending doom, a fear perhaps, of the adventure on which I was about to embark. But as I pulled the race shirt I had so carefully prepared the evening before over my head, a lightness fell over me such that I had never felt before.
Yeah right! It wasn’t like that at all but it sure was fun making you think so. The truth is our little team of two, “Fast in the Past” was just that. Over 6 hours we walked 10 miles in the wind and rain, made our way through obstacle courses, searched for obscure artifacts, kissed a stranger, beached a canoe, made the rather easy decision to not eat a cricket (live, no less) and with mere seconds left, managed to get across the finish line. Which was just about the last move I was able to make for the remainder of the week-end.
Will we do it again next year? I’ll let you know once I figure out how to get myself back out of my chair.
Thanks again to all who contributed to “Right to Play” on our behalf.
Shallow Be My Name 