Well, I’m slowly getting my legs back under me – been a while since a run has knocked me this hard. It has been said the recovery period after an ultra is just a forced sanity check to reconsider recent decisions. Note, Linda always sends me off with “Make good choices” knowing good and well I’ve probably already made 5 bad decision in the time it took her to tell me that. On the bright side, there is a comforting sense of knowing I could probably outrun any “breathing” danger that might await me on my runs (assumption roots do not have noses). Just in case, there are always friends around I could kneecap if I needed extra get-a-way time. Don’t feel bad for them, they are thinking the exact same thing – I imagine the amusement a Bear would have if it walked out onto our trail and saw the lot of us whacking each other with hiking poles and making overt suggestions regarding who might be tastier. Speaking of humor and unexpected wildlife encounters, I know the perfect post for today and it comes courtesy of Brad’s recent drop of new adventures. While I continue to rest and ponder some of those recent decision, we’ll let Brad lead us down the trail.
Remember…”Make good choices”…
There were two old guys, probably Wildlife Intrigued retirees, sitting on the porch at a retirement home. Each had a quilt on their laps and a shawl around their shoulders, happily rocking away in the August sunshine. There was a long-forgotten elbow brace sitting nearby. Nothing is said for what seems like forever. Then Old Guy (OG) #1 says, “I saw a bear once.”
“Where did you see a bear?” OG#2 asks somewhat incredulously.
“One day when I was hiking in the woods. It just jumped out of the brambles and stared at me,” says OG#1.
“It just jumped out of the woods? What did it do then?” questions OG#2.
“It went Grrrrr!” replies OG#1. (imagine a menacing growl)
“What did you do then?” quizzed OG#2.
“I s#!t my pants!” says OG#1 sheepishly.
“I would too if a bear jumped out of the woods, looked at me and went Grrrrr!” says OG#2 sympathetically.
“No, I mean right now when I went Grrrrr!”
(This joke was brought to you courtesy of my father-in-law. I think it’s one of his favorites.)
Well, that nearly happened to Jan and I. Except for the old guy part, the rocking chairs at the retirement home, and no quilts or shawls were involved. Our pants stayed clean, too. We were in the woods though.
Hit the jump to read more details about this Sequoian sized encounter!
Continue reading Grrrrr!…by Brad Marks
Life Intrigued 