A Real Good Day

Where's the blogpost already? someone asked me yesterday. That's not an exact quotation, more of a paraphrase. What happened was my day got off skewer. Penny wanted to hang out so I did that after I came back from the pool. What did I do at the pool? Thanks for asking. I swam 3,000 straight, and then did 50 back to celebrate our new backstroke flags. Yeah, Santa Claus came to Twin Rivers. The old flags were partly destroyed and partly biodegrading from the sunshine. Lots of sunshine penetrates the little pool at TR.

But I missed a day. Thursday, I swam a total of 2,300 yards. I watched some football and shuffle an easy, short 2.5 miles. That's all, thus I didn't have a lot to write about anyway. 

Friday morning, I did the 3,050, which was my longest practice in months. Then Penny and I hung out and drank coffee. CC? She nudged her way in there and joined the fellowship. As usual, she had to be closest to me. 

Then my brother and his wife, Rebecca, came to town. We met at Crystal. Penny stayed home because of her illness. She is better but not totally well. We had a nice lunch and then took to riding around. First we went by Twin Rivers to see the little pool. Then it was off the McCool Street to see the childhood home of someone. I remember working that neighborhood when I was a termite man. It was a nice place then, not fancy, but nice, populated by working class people who painted their houses, mowed their lawns, and refused to throw trash on the ground. Now, it looks like a bulldozer razing the whole place would be a mercy killing. There are burnt-out houses here and there, nothing seems to have been painted in a decade or two, trash is everywhere, roofs are ruined, windows are boarded up, and grass is scarce. Cars, however, are not scarce. I lived the life of a poor man once, and when I did, I had lots of cars. Most of them would not run, but I had them nevertheless.

After that, we drove out Highway 82 to the east and then went up Airport Road to Centerville Baptist Church. This was the first time my brother had seen our church. Next, we rode by the Barrentine Empire and I narrated that history the best I could. We drove by Carrollton and Pine Hunting Club. You read that right: Carrollton and Pine. What a clash of words and lack of parallel structure. This is just one reason English class is important. 

We were headed for the old Hodge Ski Lodge, and we got there. It was a nostolgic slow drive past the land that filled our childhoods with hunting, camping, fishing, and hard work. I miss it now most as a parking place for long Friday runs on the gravel roads in the area. We did some general driving then made a run through Orchard Drive and back at last to Crockett Ave.

Back home, my brother and I hugged, said our goodbyes, and he and Rebecca headed north to our sister's home near Ruleville. It as a real day. It was a good day. It was a real good day. But it wasn't over for me. I took and nap then went to Plate City. I did my push workout, but this time I added the bench press back in. Why? My swimming times have been really poor. I know I am not in top form, but I should be faster than I am. In the past, I noticed a correlation between my bench press numbers and my 50 free time in the pool. I kept the seated overhead press, but I did the bench first. Oh yeah, I did a tiny bit of shuffling on the treadmill while I was out there.

I went inside, and Penny cooked me a steak. What a woman. What a day. What a blessing from Jesus.