EVENT FOR REFLECTION & REMEMBRANCE

December 7, 2018 on the crest of the hill start. Taken by PKSenagore. All rights reserved.

4TH ANNUAL EARNED RUNS HONOR SERIES: 2018

THE FIRST PORTION OF THE TWO-PART SERIES is the "11k Race to Remember 9/11".  7K PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY is the series SECOND EVENT, run several months later on December 7th. 
 
Since 2015, these September and December events have been solo ‘competitions’ for me (see the HOME page). I so very much enjoyed the quiet of the pre-dawn hour sessions that first year that going forward both have been planned as individual efforts.

I’ve used Earned Runs bibs, to design events on occasions that are meaningful to me, yet at the same time observed by a much greater number of people.  In effect, regardless of everyone's location, we remember together. On these days I am able, 'in spirit', to join with the entire country in honoring the heroes without traveling to New York City, Washington DC, or Pennsylvania in September, or in Oahu HI in December. And in solitude, personally remember loved ones and past events.
 
DECEMBER 7, 2018 The morning was cold, cloudy, and dry. No rain or snow was falling but it was dreary. There had been a few moments of a pink dawn blush on the southeastern horizon that I rushed to capture in a picture, at the start of this personal event.  

As in 2017, I walked the 7K distance because I'm no longer running. This day was very near the first-year anniversary of the NYC orthopedic visit that convinced me to forego my favorite sport of 42 years to preserve knee function.  For the first time as a walker, I used a short down jacket and running shoes rather than a cumbersome knee-length coat and snow boots.  
 
The difference in apparel resulted in a new attitude; I felt like I was ‘back’ to being an athlete rather than a plodder. My outerwear was comfortable and lightweight. Not exactly sleek and streamlined but not usual, everyday outerwear.  At the crest of the hill starting point only one good picture was captured that morning to record the day's event. My phone battery quickly shut down in the cold.
 
This annual memorial might seem silly. Who am I to be personally commemorating such huge turning points in the lives of most families? That’s what goes through my mind beforehand, so it’s likely readers would be thinking this as well.  
 
However, without music playing, a phone conversation going, or an audible book electronically delivering content into my ears (not allowed in my ‘rules’ for these 2 walks) there is an opportunity to remember my parents and the other members of their generation.  Recall those times in history.  Acknowledge the daily courage needed to go to war, work at vital and non-vital jobs, conduct the business of the country that allowed survival in spite of persistent fears. Not to concentrate on dreaded outcomes. 
 
The November 30, 2018 death and widely televised memorial services of ‘41’, as former US President George HW Bush is nicknamed, two days before had stirred feelings and memories in heart and mind days in advance.  
 
Much had been said about his life, and the times in which my parents had shared similar experiences. However, my quiet December 7 walk allowed me to sort the sentiments, life lessons, and messages of those public remembrances and find personal meaning in them. To move forward, bolstered rather than saddened by newly-gained perspectives on his and other lives, well-lived.  ‘41’ had been an athlete and had taken pride in his athleticism as long as was possible. He loved the ocean as seen from his Maine retreat. I get him.
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_George_H._W._Bush
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/us/politics/george-hw-bush-funeral.html