Know Your Place

Gonna take a moment here to vent. So I'm working with this young guy and he somehow starts telling me about how the Gov of Kansas is in hot water for spending $50,000 or so on a new piano for a well-to-do school and only spending $10,000 on an inner city school piano. I remarked how that does seem lopsided. He then proceeded to inform me how things work. Rich suburban schools get more money because they have higher property taxes. So they are better. Inner city schools get less money because their property taxes are lower which is why they are not as good. He follows this string of enlightenment with "and who wants to waste money on inner city schools?" He kept on talking trying to validate his point but I couldn't get past his "waste money.." statement. I then began forming a retort in my head citing a number of historical figures that have come from what he seems to think of as lower society. Then it hit me. It would be a lost effort.

My family is neither rich nor poor. My kids have and do go to a Title 1 School due to where we live. When a former art teacher at my kids school remarked that none of the kids would ever win a talent contest because of where they came from. I was pissed then too. I have little to no patience for people that feel their class makes them better than others. Take that away and you truly have nothing. To bad money can't buy character.

Nice night for a run.

I told my wife I was going to finish a run and she said run to the craft store and get some yarn. I said OK and grabbed my huaraches and camelbak while she was gathering the scraps I would need to pick the correct skeins. Wife followed me out commented on how nice the night was and asked me if I had shoes. As I turned around and showed her the sandals strapped to my camelbak the question struck me funny. I've been running barefoot for coming up on two years now and that question seems less outta place now then when I first started.

I took off and I must say the evening was very nice. The roads and sidewalk were not hot and traffic wasn't bad at all. Typically when I run in the direction I was going today I run along the south side of East/West road which usually has a lot of debris. Today I ran on the North side and I must say it was quite a difference. I run barefoot on roads and trails and when you hit a section of debris covered roads or sidewalks it is more painful then when running on dirt so a clear running path is a blessing on pavement.

The trip into the store proved quick and easy, only one guy asked if the pavement was hot today on the way in. The route back was going just well but I managed to get a thorn in my foot. I went for a little bit and tried the little tricks to brush it off without success. The stubborn little thing was a 16 penny nail masquerading as a flower thorn. Not just any kind of thorn but no sliding through grass won't get it so stop and put down what you're holding. Sit down so I can get this thing out. Crap I hope it doesn't break cause I don't have tweezers thorn. A thorn. From running the streets. Crazy. I've seen more broken glass on the last two trail runs then in the last four weeks running the streets. No surgery was needed, shoot didn't even a band aide.

Thorn removed the rest of the run home was uneventful although it took a bit to get the momentum back. Starting up hill will do that so I don't feel bad about that part. All said and told it was a nice five mile run to the store and back in just under an hour total.