04-MAY-B-2

THE NEW MAY-B-SERIES STARTS INAUSPICIOUSLY

BY A FLIGHT CANCELLATION AND A CHOICE

OF AIRPORTS TO SIT IN OVERNIGHT:

I LEAVE FOR MICHIGAN FOR FAMILY VISIT

AND THE RIVER BANK RUN, BEFORE THE NEXT SERIES OF ROAD TRIPS TO DERWOOD, NORFOLK, AND EASTERN SHORE MARYLAND:

AN EFFICIENT PROCESS OF FISHING, RUNNING—INSPIRING ANOTHER RUNNER AS A FIRST TIMER THROUGH A DOWNPOUR—AND A QUICK, SMOOTH DRIVE DOWN WITH SHIRL, MILLY AND DOUG TO DERWOOD FOR THE GRAND OPENING

May 6-7, 2004

I am cooling my heels—but unfortunately not in bed, nor at either the origin or destination where I had thought I would be for this rather routine domestic series of flights. This follows the pattern of this flight series, so far. Remember, I had booked this flight in December, and had –I thought cleverly—booked a return to Grand Rapids in May at the time I might be ready (again, I thought) to run the River Bank Run, about the right time for the Grand Opening of the finished and furnished Derwood. There are lots of assumptions here in advance—and already a couple of hits on the scheduling of this round trip set of flights. Recall, as I drove the Bronco up to Grand Rapids via upstate New York, and flew back—presumably—via Chicago. As I was dropped off in the GRR airport, I was alone when I learned that the flight to Chicago was canceled. The arrangements made in substitution was a four and a half hour bus ride from GRR to ORD in time to make the last flight to IAD which meant that I was in long after the Metro and Washington Flyer had quit for the night, and a $70 taxi ride was the only way to get to GW where I had carefully pre-positioned the Audi. So, the front end of the ticket I had made in a purchase through Expedia.com was already a non-bargain and quite inconvenient. Now, on the second limb of these flights, I am paying a higher price still.

After a carefully planed day with the schedule of departure at 7:25 PM for ORD, and a later departure for arrival in GRR at 11:06 PM (all of which was relayed to Doug and Milly by phone) I appeared at the airport at IAD on a struggle to get here that involved Diane’s leaving early from work so she could see Derwood in the daylight—the first time since the game room trophies had been hung. I then drove out here with a heavy bag to check in with the photo albums from all of 2004 for the family in Michigan, and all of Taiwan and Amazon photo albums stuffed down to the last minute with the intent to label and fill in all that along the way. I appear that the gate and am told—there is no such flight, and there is no way I can get to GRR tonight or today. If I would just be so kind as to come back tomorrow and re-ticket this flight series they will be happy to help. I asked how they could have so completely fouled up without notice to me; they said they could only notify Expedia.com since they were the ones who had bought the ticket, despite the fact that they had my Premier number and all its contact points

So, my choice is now---would I like to sit all night in Dulles airport and leave at 6:20 AM on Northwest or would I like to break up the lost night by flying later at 9:45 PM and then spend the night sitting in ORD for an 8:50 AM flight to arrive near 10:00 AM This will change the plans Doug had made to of bass fishing first thing in the morning, but we may get to go from the airport anyway. United does not feel any responsibility, and I will sit up all night—not ideal pre-race rest. But, by taking the second option at least I would be able to check in my bag through security without having to sit with it and lug it around all night ironically rather close to the Ashburn Virginia campus for which I have just been sent a very large list of reading material and expensive books and software to be purchased and completed before I begin my week of “residency” in June.

So, the joys of travel have stranded me again on this same star-crossed ticket. .I am sitting in the Dulles airport for three hours rather than ORD for eight hours sooner, and planning at least that long later. I have let Doug and Milky know about the delay. What I have not figured out yet is when I return with my sisters from GRR at Mother’s Day. If it is Monday, we will be here only briefly before I have several appointments that are starting to become confluent. On Tuesday morning early I am going to the dentist—my appointment scheduled six months ago. But later on Tuesday that group of Operation Smile in Norfolk had asked me to come down for their “PTP”—Physician Training Program on Tuesday night. I was scheduled to stay with Bill and Cathy Magee. I would then set up the Ethiopia and Somaliland programs for Operation Smile at a later date on the Wednesday and following. If my sisters are still here, I will return and show them a bit of what is new in DC and if they are going back before that time, I will go \directly up from Norfolk top the Eastern Shore of Maryland to go turkey hunting with Bill Webster and Craig Schaefer, then will shoe Bill a bit of the SCI to which I am invited for a game dinner at the Eastern Shore farm of one of the members. I must be back in DC for the “hooding ceremony” for a number of my medical students on the 16^th of May. So, many of my obligations are running together, making me short of time when things like this happen which absorbs a whole 24 hour day without the ability to go to bed in that period—getting to my destination later by flying than I would have by driving there!

LATE ARRIVAL IN MICHIGAN,

AND GO FISHING WITH DOUG AT INDIAN LAKES,

STOPPING ON RETURN FOR MY RIVER RUN

PACKET PICKUP

I am now ready to call it a night, with a pending rainstorm going to dampen the parade sometime tomorrow on the run. I will get out early to turn in my tag and get a new number with a champion chip attached to make up for the fact that I cannot find my champion chip with which I had registered.

Doug was so kind as to take the day off, in advance of his taking several days next week to go with me to Derwood. His motorcycle parts business is burgeoning now, when they had neglected it as a cash cow, now with an expanded array of parts beginning a line for Harley Davidson. It seems that is has been their small business until they get to working on it, and then it supports them well with a very large profit margin. So, we went bass fishing on Indian Lakes, where Doug put in his boat for one of the first times this year. It was breezy but clear, and we watched the swans and kingfishers and a few ducks winging around, as we cast for bass, ahead of the season. Doug caught a pike, many bass, and I scored far fewer, but impressive size rock bass with their big red eyes. At the end, I got the record small bass, about one fourth the size Doug was catching.

We stopped at the DeVos Center (everything in the new Grand Rapids seems to have one or the other of the DeVos or VanAndel names on it. I picked up the packet and we sampled an ersatz hamburger made of soy. I only noted later that the race is a chip race and I had entered my own chip number, which, with the move, is impossible for me to find. So, I will get a new one in the morning as the crowd gathers for the start of the race. Milly and Doug will come with me as long as they promise not to stand in the rain to watch, and I told them I will be a long time in coming in. Shirley will ride her bicycle down to the race to see it off.

A FASTER THAN EXPECTED RIVER RUN RACE,

WITH A DELUGE ALONG THE WAY,

AND AN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR A FIRST-TIME RACER

NAMED ANDREA, WHOM I HELPED FINISH IN 2:20

I surprised myself! After consistently NOT running and with chigger bites itching all over my legs, I got a good start to the USATF official 25K national championship race. I made it along the way with a few conversations with some fellow runners who thought I was kidding when I said I had come back from the Amazon—“Right”—or that I had spent the previous night sitting on a seat in O’Hare—“Right again!”

I picked up two pretty women who were doing their first runs eager to have a go at a marathon. One was named Esther, and the other I have forgotten. I ran with them until we crossed the Grand River on the bridge. I looked for Don and Betty Geelhoed on or near the bridge, since they watch as their son Tom runs this race every year, but I saw no relatives, nor anyone else I recognized during this race. Besides, it was looking glum and threatening weather wise. I ran alone until I started talking with a 26-year old woman named Andrea. She turns out to be a transfer here from Colorado since she is a detail salesman for Eli Lilly and works the GR circuit. This is her first race, and she has never gone half his far before. I suggested I would slug it out with her, and that way I forgot the pacing I should be doing for myself, which might have had me over-running the race at this point and pooping out before the kick to the end. So I talked wither and encouraged her, since she was starting to say that she could not finish a race this long. She had been talked into it by her friend, a cross country star at Aquinas some time aback who was the women’s USA third place fastest cross country star at that time.

We were running rather well in the Millennium Park, approaching the Gypsums company along the Grand River and before the entry into the John Ball Park, when a distant rumble, a clap of thunder after a sharp lightning flash (they only cancel the start of the race—after the runners are on their way, it would be impossible to retrieve them all from the course.) AT that signal, the skies opened up and a deluge hit us like a wall of water. Our shoes got heavy almost immediately. “Did we volunteer for this?” Andréa asked. “No, I replied; “You PAID to do this!”

AT this point she just knew she could not do it. I pointed out how good the runners were performing since there was no danger of overheating. I pointed out that the shoes squished out and dried up with each step once we got out of the puddles. And she was not impressed. Then, I told her about Joe and how we run, and then she WAS impressed. I told her we had run in such a rain before and Joe never complained, but was glad that the cool wind and colder rain kept anyone from overheating and slowing down.

I showed her how Joe and I locked arms in traffic, and said I would do that to her when she faltered, but she would NOT quit. She got silent and we just plugged along through John Ball Park. Spectators began to re-appear after the ran slowed, but she was startled to hear her name called from under a bridge where her friend the cross country star was standing wrapped in a blanket, having dropped out of the race with three miles to go.

When I instructed her on how to kick toward the finish, I told her I would pull her along until fifty yards short of the goal and then I would let her go on her own across the finish line. That is what happened, and I pulled her as I hold Joe’s arm in traffic, and she crossed the line alone, just ahead of me in 2: 20. She was overjoyed and in tears, and here husband and parents saw her finish. They had snapped digital pictures as she said repeatedly--“This man not only made me finish, I could not have survived this grueling race without him!”

I promised to send her the pictures snapped along the way at the low points, and went to get her my card to pass along the email addresses, but I don not know here last name nor does she know mine. I will have to check to see if there is an Andrea somewhere near the 2:20 point of the finishers since we cannot find each other otherwise to do the photo swap. We also were not going to stand around after the medals since it was cold when the engine was shut down, and the wet runners were in the wind. So, Doug and Milly, who had arrived at the finish line exactly at the time I crossed appearing about twenty minutes earlier than I had thought I would be there, packed up and we went directly to Shirl’s hose. There I took off the wet stuff and took a quick showered, ad we had hoped to leave by noon to get an early start on the trip to Derwood to arrive before midnight.

We actually were on the road at 10:30 AM with a clearing of the highways across Michigan before noon. I had projected that we would actually arrive by 11:00 PM at this rate, and with only two stops for fuel and a pee stop, it turned out to be 10:30 PM

Doug drove the Michigan piece, and Milly drove the Ohio piece. I drove the Pennsylvania piece and into Maryland, arriving just after dark in Montgomery County and driving directly to the Giant store to stock up on a few items for the breakfasts and other items we would need. I had called Joe along the way, and we had all talked to the answering machine to wish Andrew William a happy seventh birthday, in addition to the cards and packages I had sent to get there before his birthday Sunday.

Then came the tour of the new Derwood. It is an overwhelming change to any who had seen it if only briefly before. It also has a new car smell, and a lot of settling in and cleaning to do of the stuff packed away in boxes, which my sisters were eager to get to. We would take out enough to get breakfast dishes in the breakfast room early Sunday morning, but the tour had to include the piece de resistance—the Great Room with the trophies and the library and al the nicer touches from deck to garage, and cedar closet upstairs. The master bedroom is still packed to the ceiling with all the stuff for storage, and they were eager to get started on it, but we also have multiple other plans, including a Mother’s Day lunch with Joe and family, a tour of Lakes Needwood and Frank and a special lunch at Clyde’s with the viewing of the DC Mall and its newest memorials, one of them even before it is scheduled to open. So, we will have a very brief but busy stay in the new Derwood.

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