Mad Bomber

This weekend, I made the trek down to Iola, Kansas (no, you shouldn't know where that is) to visit a college friend, Kara (she's in the "something blue" picture from yesterday) This is a trip I've made a couple of times in the several years she has lived there, but this time I was going, not only to spend some time with Kara, but to participate in a 5k race they have down there each July. Now, this is a long way to go just to run a 5k, but this one caught my attention for one reason: this race starts at 12:26 am. Yup, a midnight 5k. And naturally, because it's something most people would call crazy, I had to do it.

So, I went down to Podunk, Kansas, thinking I'd do this 5k with about 50 other people, and that would be that.

It wasn't until after I got there that I realized that this was actually a huge deal in this town. They had an entire festival set up around this: bouncy, blow-up thingys for the kids, a car show, a "drag race"...that involved local businessmen racing down the street, dressed in women's clothing, snow cones, cotton candy, a outdoor movie on the courthouse lawn, etc, etc. I'm pretty sure the whole town was there. As well as everyone from the surrounding counties. The kicker: a few hours before the race, they called people to the gazebo on the courthouse lawn to hear the story of Charley Melvin, inspiration for this event.

As told by a barbershop quartet.

And this guy.

It's all about how this guy couldn't sleep and so he tried drinking but that didn't work, so he finally just decided to blow up a bunch of saloons in the town. Used, like, 150 sticks of dynamite on one and then 220 sticks on the joint next door. Pretty much destroyed the entire town square. So, now they commemorate it with the
Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life

So, anyway. Not only is it this whole big festival thing, there were way more than 50 people running this race. Try about 1o00. Here are a few pictures from my night: (you'll have to excuse the quality on some, they were taken with my cell phone)

the runners

before the run


how I was REALLY feeling



and after

Day 11: Something Blue

Day 10: A Bad Habit

Habit (noun) 1. an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. (Dictionary.com)

So, as I started taking pictures for my bad habit, another one became screamingly obvious in the photos (not that I didn't already know it was a problem). The obvious one is that I don't always keep my office straightened up and filed away. As we started the summer program, all of the paperwork and hand-outs and books and stuff landed in my office. And stayed there. And then the piles got added to. And just kept stacking up. And this bad habit trumps the other one.

Luckily, I have a stellar intern

(his official title is "the man")

who has taken charge of this project. (I tell myself it's because he likes me so much, but mostly I think he just likes telling the other kids that are around for the day what to do.) This week some of the kids' worksites were closed for a few days, so we had to find things for them to do around the office. I had lots of ideas. Most of them having to do with the state of my office.

Listening Skills

So, I work with some very intelligent teens. But just like everyone, they have their moments. I asked one of my kids to make me a quick copy yesterday, gave him the code and told him "just lift the lid, turn the book over (face down) on the glass and hit the start button" While I was telling him this, I was also demonstrating. A few minutes later, my coworker walks into my office, cracking up, and shows me this picture:
Amazing.

Day 9: A Childhood Memory

You'll have to excuse the lighting in these pictures. I was taking them as I left my parents' house at 5:45am yesterday. This is a maple tree that is next to my parents' deck. It was only a little tree when we built the deck and we (Kim, Zach and I) always talked about how cool it would be when it was big enough to climb into straight from the second story deck. The tree is taller than the house now and I'm not sure I would trust it enough to climb into. However, it also represents all the trees on my parents' property. My mom loves trees...evergreens, maple, apple, etc., etc. When we moved onto the property, there weren't that many there. So my mom and dad planted them. And we all helped. Helped plant them, helped water them, mow around them, replant them when we (the kids) mowed over them. I spent a lot of time with my family working on that windbreak.

These trees and I have grown up together-as I've gotten older, they've gotten bigger. Now when I come home, you can't even see the house from the road. There are hundreds of trees, all loved and nurtured by my mom. Just like me.