Country Roads
I met Hubby #2 in the late ‘70s. I worked in the small x-ray department at a rehabilitation hospital in downtown Denver and he was working as a Physical Therapist between premed classes. We knew each other for a year but there had never been an indication that he would like to go out with me. And, I didn’t have the nerve to ask him. Finally I asked a mutual friend why he didn’t seem interested and she said, “Do you really want to know the reason? It’s because you smoke. He would never go out with someone who smokes.” I took my cigarettes out of my pocket and threw them in the trash and said, “Tell him I quit!”
I knew he ran after work sometimes over at Washington Park, so I bought myself a pair of cheap running shoes and headed there on my way home. It wasn’t too long till we were running together and soon we were dating. We moved fast. It wasn’t six months and he asked me to marry him. I wanted him to meet my family in West Virginia first. Since he was starting med school in the fall, we went home in August for a visit.
We went on a twenty mile backpack trip up the highest peak in West Virginia. We wandered around and visited with family and friends. And finally, we stayed a couple of days out at the farm with my grandma and my Uncle Bob. Grandma had the measles when she was pregnant with Uncle Bob so he had some special needs. He was smart and funny, but he had a lazy eye and a bad stutter so when the kids started making fun of him in school, Grandma just let him stay home with the family. He was a hard worker and a total angel unawares. He loved everyone and everyone loved him back.
Late one morning, Hubby #2 and I changed into our running gear, had a good stretch, and headed off for our run. It was great running at sea level after living in Denver for so many years. I could run and run and run and not get winded. We finally came back and as we ran up the driveway, I could see my Uncle Bob sitting on the front porch laughing like crazy. We came up the porch steps and he was looking at us like we were some delightful oddity he had stumbled upon.
“What’s so funny, Bob?” I reached for my water bottle, still cold and sweating in the humidity.
“Well…” he paused and chuckled. “I never seen anyone run on purpose before!” Then he let out a belly laugh and slapped his knee.
We laughed along with him, realizing this was absolutely true. Bob was trim and fit because he worked hard on the farm. He pushed a plow in the garden. He mowed the grass. And he pounded rock with a sledgehammer from a place on the side of the hill up by the barn. Then he filled the wheelbarrow with the resulting gravel and toted it down to line the driveway. He walked the hill to check the television antenna line. He fetched and carried for Grandma. The man earned his supper every day, but to go outside and run? On purpose??? Maybe if he had a bear chasing him, but that would have been the only thing to get him out of first gear. My Uncle Bob was slow and steady and that wins the race every time.
I remembered that story last night when we stopped at the park after our once or twice weekly trip to town for a small ice cream. We walked a couple of laps to work some of it off. Who am I kidding…it only burned off, like…a spoonful or two. I haven’t run in decades. I really need to exercise more…you know…
On purpose!
?
“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
1 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV