Chicot Eve

I have them. At last. When I was the swimmer, they always came a few days before the big day and built as the event drew closer. Now as a crew member of the Chicot Challenge, I am starting to feel the butterflies. I like that.

Late in the afternoon of Chicot VI

At the moment of this writing (10:00 am, Friday morning) MJ is making her drive from Atlanta. She will be staying in Greenville. Wilson and son and wife are spending the night with kinfolks on the beautiful Lake Chicot. It is looking more like Penny and I will be staying home and driving over in the morning. That means we will miss the evening before meal that has become a ritual of the swim. We meet at Fox's Pizza in Lake Village for a gorge out. That make the perfect pre-swim meal: lots of carbs, fat, and sodium. With a shorter route this year, maybe we can all get together afterwards. In the past, I have always found a high gear and headed east after my long day on the lake. This time I think I will feel a bit different.

A happy crew member during the 2017 swim

Gerald Johnson is at work as is Trevor McLean. I am at home trying to get my Sunday morning sermon together so I can relax Saturday night when we get in. When I finish this post and my sermon, I will start getting stuff together for the swim. I am planning on packing a pair of goggles. I hope to swim some, but I am simply not fit and can only swim a little. Maybe we can all swim in together the last half or maybe even a mile. I think I can do a slow mile.

I heard from Rob Spiller the other day, and he is talking about bringing a crew over with his boat and hanging out with us. Great. Everyone is welcome. Come see what it is all about. If you have a boat come on over. If you don't have a boat, we plan on launching around 8:00 am at the boat landing at the Lake Chicot State Park. You can search that on Google Maps and find it if you are not familiar with the area. Also, a couple of hours in we should pass under the Causeway Bridge. That is a good place to watch a bit if you don't have a boat. Two or three hours after that and we will be going past downtown Lake Village, Arkansas which has some beautiful lake front areas open to the public. You can also get a good view of the lake and us from the Visitors' Center. I will make periodic postings on my Facebook page, and you can call me at 662-897-0020 to check on our progress and find out where we are.

The weather looks good, Team Centerville is making final preparations, and tomorrow we face an adventure. If you haven't donated, please do so. I only ask people once a year to give. And please, do more than make a donation. Get out and take a walk. Find a way to move your body. Eat a more healthy diet. Try to prevent yourself from developing diabetes. If you have diabetes, take care of yourself.