May Your Holidays Be Special

For Those Of Us Who Are Christian, I Wish You All A Very Merry Christmas. To My Friends Of Jewish, Muslim, Druid, Wiccan And Other Beliefs, May Your Celebrations Also Be Bright, Warm And Spent In The Company Of All Those You Love. In Common We Share The Planet And Are Each Trying To Find Our Way. On This Great Day In My Faith I Feel Only Hope And Love. Let's For A Moment Consider The Awesome Power Of A World At Peace With All Its Inhabitants Looking Out For Each Other And Striving For The Common Good.

May your home always be to small to hold all those who love you and consider you a friend.

Remember to leave a candle burning in the window for those you love who have lost their way.

Pam, I hope you took pictures of Chicago dressed for the holidays. I need to see if any physical place on earth can be more beautiful, majestic or stunning than NYC at this time of year. If anyone can convince me there is such a place I will need to follow-up on the lead and go see for myself. My rendering of Rockefeller Center At Christmas is presented above for your enjoyment.

In 2008 Let's Each Walk 100 Miles Together In Tribute To Those Who Can't For Whatever Reason!

And Now A Word Or Two From Cindy

I was wondering where Cindy was. And while she was not on the walk with us today she was using her time for good purpose. She was visiting with Sally. From Cindy's post below it is clear that we all need to congratulate Sally on her accomplishment. Cindy also reminds us that the Holidays are squarely upon us. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year. Let's all celebrate with those we love and enjoy seeing and hearing from during the holidays, but let's be careful to keep the celebration mostly in the heart and mind and not so much in the mouth and stomach! I for one, have far to many holiday memories that I wear until this very day.....yada, yada, yada. As for nice Irish bars, to me they are all nice and far too ubiquitous. I've only once had an unpleasant experience in an Irish pub! It was several years back while visiting in Kilarney...oh no! there he goes again...oh well, another time.

From Cindy:
"So, as you all are walking, I am at WW visiting Sally. Knowing that this weekend would be a slow time for that place, I find time to sit and chat with her and share a laugh or two. I was torn to "go for the walk" or visit my Old Friend. I call her that, with admiration and fondness, and pure friendship that we had developed over the last 12 years. I MISS HER A BUNCH. If you haven't noticed, Sally has lost over 20 pounds and she is doing great on the new program. I better read the material..MUST be good stuff...My home has been invaded, plenty of family for the holidays. I could have used the walk just to GET AWAY!!!!! I am officially done with my shopping and have just been informed that Christmas dinner is now at my home, and I will be playing host to over 20 people. Good thing my husband is a great cook. Would anyone else like to join us? Open invitation to you all. If not for anything , we should all get together for a TOAST for the New Year. Hey Gary, how about a nice Irish Bar????

Merry Christmas my Friends......C ya all soon...

Cindy"

Notes From Bonnie Of The Northern Snows

Bonnie, we are getting to know you through your great adventures. Thank you for sharing these moments with us. My personal favorite is posted below. You keep having fun and please keep sharing with us.

"Hello one and all,

Just thought I'd share what greeted me when I arrived in New Hampshire at noon today. There is about 2 to 3 feet on the ground now and it is still snowing. I would say that we will for sure have a White Christmas. Don't know how much walking I'll be doing while here. Am sure I'll be sending more pics.

Bonnie"

12/22/07 Video

This is the video of the attendees of the 12/22/07 walk. We walked 2.63 miles (Except for Tony & Gary) in 56 minutes for a pace of 19.06/mile. Bob was absent due to the fact that his parole officer did not give him permission to go. The picture is from the real perfect attendees.

12/22/07

This is the Slideshow of the attendees at the 12/22/07 Walk.

December 22, 2007-Week 6 For The Club

Welcome to the first official day of winter and to the sixth week of our walking club's existence. We had a nice walk this morning at the Brandon Parkway path. I was on time for the walk but unfortunately missed the Weight Watchers meeting. This morning, as I remember, Tony and Mary, Dale, Marie, Deborah, Julie, Bonnie and Gary were present and accounted for. We walked the course, guys to the rear and women to the front.....these ladies are getting pretty fast. We covered about 2.5 miles. I think more exact statistics will come a bit later. Tony and Mary used their trusty Garmin units to track distance and pace. Hopefully Tony will upload his video and provide us with the statistics for the morning activity.

With December and the holidays upon us there are many activities that keep a portion of us away from the Saturday morning walk. I am back after 2 weeks away and I'm glad I made the effort. Some of my observations after 6 weeks and after missing 2 of them on my own:

1. I find the reasons people miss the walk to be as fascinating as the reasons they don't miss
2. There is a pattern emerging which is a sign that the club is developing a personality
3. I personally feel better about the day when I participate in the Saturday morning walk
4. As much as I enjoy the people present on Saturday morning I miss those not there
5. Those who walk regualrly are enjoying it and trying to make it part of their routines

I'm going to make a modification to the BLOG content and with permission as appropriate I will publish stories about people's activities when they are away from the walk and highlight any features regarding efforts they make on their own to get in their walking when circumstances prevent them from being with the Club. Additionally, I'm going to add the worksheet and some other measures to help us all develop walking goals and work together to achieve them.

I'm still fleshing all this out in my mind so any ideas that anyone has will be gratefully considered.

Let me know what you think!

Later.....................

12/15/07 Walkers Video

This is the group of walkers that showed up Saturday. Bob and Tony were there but were hiding behind the camera. Gary was not there. This was not his weekend for work release.

Bonnie, We Hear You and We Miss You Too!

From Bonnie 12/14/2008 Via e-Mail

Still bummed out that I can't be there tomorrow for the walk. Have been wearing my pedometer for the last week and have totaled 15-1/2 miles so proves I haven't been sitting on my duff the whole time.

Has been raining here since late yesterday afternoon. Wish I could drag it our way.

Will be there with you in spirit tomorrow.

Bonnie

The Rest Of The Story

The little girl in this picture is the youngster who nearly beat Bob (and did beat me) across the finish line. She was tough. We were also beaten by a 70 year old woman, a one legged man who goes by the name of skipper, every member of the Tampa boys choir and a tortoise. I confirm Bob's version of the Reindeer Run and fully support the notion that consistent practice and interval training are the keys to successfully completing these runs.

In a period of a little less than eight months both Bob and I went from nearly comatose in our TV chairs to completing the 2007 Gasparilla in under 35 minutes. We almost immediately set a goal of doing the 2008 Gasparilla in under 30 minutes. Then we slipped into contentment.

We walk 5 miles almost every day of the week, but we have not really pushed ourselves. We used the Reindeer Run as a gauge to see how close we could come to our sub 30 minute goal for the upcoming Gasparilla. As you can see from Bob's story, we have work to do and we are going to need your support to be successful. Please ask us frequently how we are doing in preparation and specifically how we are doing with the time trials.

I had a good time participating in the 2007 Reindeer Run and obviously Bob did too. I want the Gasparilla to be more than fun for us though in 2008. I would love to meet that under 30 goal we set nearly a year ago and now have two months to conquer. Can we do it? Do we have it in us? What are your thoughts?

Later..................

It Was Ugly But We Made It

Well gang, your moment of silence must have paid off because we both managed to finish although it was not a pretty sight. It was a beautiful day for a run down Bayshore Boulevard with about 1,200 others.

Gary and I got there early and had our timing chips in place by 7 AM. With an hour to kill we strolled through the plaza in front of the St Pete Times Forum. Gary was taking pictures and I was observing the competition...trying to target the people we just had to finish in front of, like the old guy that looked like he had been doing this for awhile. Not a chance we could take him on. Gary kept snapping pictures and I began looking around for a few more stout people that we might be able to compete with. One thing you learn from participating in these events is that most of the participants are a whole lot skinnier than you and in much better shape. So on it went as we made our way through the plaza....

• Girls high school track team...no way,
• MacDill AFB Pharmacy team...not a chance, but they had a fitting sobriquet--The Drug Runners,
• Young father pushing twins in a stroller...forget about it,
• Boy's cross country team...you've got to be kidding, and on and on and on.

At 10 minutes to eight the DJ that was entertaining the crowd called the runners to the starting line. It was crowded but not nearly as bad as the start of the Gasparilla 5K. Then the count began, 10, 9, 8,....3,2,1,and we were off. Slowly at first as the herd spread out. By the time we were passing under the Convention Center we were moving along at a fairly good pace for us but slow by comparison to the SERIOUS runners. I thought this was a FUN RUN. Sorry you can't put those two words in the same sentence.

Then, there it was right in front of us, the hill of pain (the Platt Street Bridge). Up we trudged, passing the young mother with the stroller and little girl dressed in pink running playfully at her side and her young son who she was constantly calling to keep up. Surely we could beat this group. Down the other side we began to pick up speed. Us large guys have an advantage on the downside. Gravity is kind to us and we whisked past several groups of lollygagers. Ha! This isn't too bad. Then down Bayshore under the bridge to Tampa General and all of a sudden we ran out of gas. As we walked as fast as we could gasping for air there went the tall old guy that was power walking, the two girls that were fixing their hair and chatting as they were running, and mom and the girl in the pink dress. Damn!

OK, at the mile marker we cranked it back up again when what do we see, but the leader of the pack heading for home--not that is fast! We started to get the rhythm going again when all of a sudden I found myself flying headlong (or as some would say, "Asshole over elbows.") through the air and tumbling to the concrete pavement in a heap. I managed to trip over one of the uneven joints in the pavement. Several nice people stopped to see if I was OK and pressed on when I assured them I was alright. I'll have to send Mayor Pam a nasty gram about infrastructure maintenance. I was up as fast as I went down and after a short walk was back on stride with a bloodied up knee.

We made it to the turn and began gimping for home. Gary told me he felt like someone was sticking a knife in his shins--could this be shin splints? We slowed to a walk again but kept the pace up as best we could and eventually began a slow jog. We were almost back to the Tampa General bridge again when Gary told me to keep on going. I pressed on a pace to notches above slow. Then I saw them about a hundred yards ahead--the mom with the little girl in pink and her brother. With renewed determination I picked up the pace and caught them just before the second trip up the hill of pain. I slowed to a brisk walk on the upside passing them before leaving them in my dust as gravity took hold and whisked me down the bridge, under the convention center and on toward nirvana--the finish line. After having my timing chip cut off and grabbing a bottle of water, I waited for Gary who finished only a couple of minutes behind me.

And so it was on the morning of December 8, 2007. We learned that if you want to run with the Bulls, you have to watch out for the cow patties, I mean you have to practice, practice, practice.
We learned that we have a tough row to hoe if we want to achieve our goal of under 30 minutes at Gasparilla, just two short months away.

Don't ask me what my time was as I haven't found out yet. I am supposing they will send us an email with the finishing order. I think it was somewhere between 35 and 36 minutes. We will keep you posted. All in all it was fun in spite of the pain. I did beat the little girl in pink after all.

See you all next week.

Slash

Walkers December 8th, 2007

Here we are just before our moment of silence for Bob and Gary. Tony is taking the picture. We had a very pleasant walk. Mary had her GPS watch and recorded our distance as 2.75 miles for those that turned around at the Lakewood Oakfield intersection. After we finished some of us went to Village Inn for breakfast.

Hello Brandon.....Bonnie Comin Atcha

Hello one and all,

And here I sit, waiting for fish release reports to come in on the radio for the tournament and am surrounded with all kinds of candy and a big tin of popcorn, not to mention all the good food at the end of the day. I am resisting but it is a bit of a struggle.

I certainly missed not going to the meeting this morning and the walk. Just don't have the time for a walk here since I'm up at 5 am and at the radio by 6 am. Next week it will be up at 4 am and at the radio by 5 am for four days. These fishermen are early birds.

Cindy, so sorry to hear you and Jean are under the weather. Guess it's a good thing I'm on this coast but then I did get my flu shot so I would have been safe. Stay in with your feet up and relax for a change. I sure have an 8 X 10 glossy of that happening. LOL

Gary, thank you so much for your information and the sharing of your thoughts on the blog about such a very important event in the history of this great country of ours. As I was sitting here yesterday morning getting ready to start the tournament I realized the importance of the day and date. I was 5 years old at that time but I can certainly remember the patriotic feeling throughout our great nation. I remember the saving of papers, the smashing of the tin cans and I still have some of the food stamps and meat tokens. I also remember my father having a special stamp on his windshield that gave him extra gas because he picked up passengers for work and the work he did as an Air Raid Warden since he was beyond the draft age.

Will be anxious to hear how the walks are for Gary & Bob as well as Mary & Tony. I know all did well and will do well and make the walking group proud.

Keep me up to speed what is going on. As you all know, I won't be in town for the 15th walk either or the rest of December.

I'll take this opportunity to wish one and all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. I am sure I'll be sending another e-mail before either of those events, but just covering all my bases.

Bonnie

A Note From Cindy...A Good One Too!

It is Sat. morning. I am up and VERY JEALOUS. My body is telling me to go back to bed. My head is agreeing with the ever pounding tapping on my head. Oh! What a headache. But no not me. I am jealous that I can't see the Nameless Walkers today and get some needed fresh air for myself. Mom did so good last week to. She was so proud of herself and Gary made it so delightful with his stories and renditions of life and such. So anyway, I get up early and find the email from Mary, then Gary. READ THE BLOG it says. I do as I am told and find the heart and soul written for us to read. Even thru my sniffles and sneezing, I can feel the pain, the awe, and the heartbreak that this man was feeling. How is that one would ask? I sit and think and wait.......The answer is......Still nothing comes to me and I disappoint myself for coming up with nothing. JUST PLAIN NOTHING...How can I read the words of a man, feel the words of the man and feel the pain of the man all the while not underdstand why?So I go on to my next thought. Dale..Wow, he will think I gave up. Quit. Ever Never no more with this nameless walking club since I am not showing up this morning. NOOOOOOOOO DALE...Don't think that. Don't give up on me yet. I will be there next week, come rain or come shine. I need to be there. You need to be there. I need a dose of Joannie yelling at you and you laughing back with your ever " she's right" attitude. I need to see the Godfather and Cowlady tell us when, where, and time to do our walk. How organized they are. Julie walks so fast, she amazes us all and yet, we are so proud of her for LEADING the pack. Oh well, I am here keeping my fingers crossed for SLASH and Gary for the run they are about to complete and for the rest of the group who will make the 2 miles another moment to accomplish and form friendships and lifelong memories.Give my hello's to you all and tell the RAT, I will see less of him next week.

Oh by the way...The answer just came to me. I feel, I think, and I know, because of friendships. Thank you Gary for sharing your heart and soul with your friends.

Cindy Man-k-z

Cindy

The Day That Will Live In Infamy

This post doesn't have anything to do with walking per se, but December 7th is a day that I always try to give special tribute to. In 1941 it was a Sunday. On this day in that year on the Island of Oahu 2,345 military personnel and 57 civilians lost their lives. An additional 1,247 military personnel were wounded along with 35 civilians. On December 7th in the year 1941, the United States endured the most vicious and callous attack by a foreign power that it had ever experienced in its short history.

I post this as a reminder that every day is precious and at any point our freedom and security can be threatened. Our way of life comes with a price. I hope all will realize that many have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve this life style of ours. Please don't ever let the price they paid be in vain. Live every day to the fullest and be all that you can be!

I was fortunate enough to be stationed at Pearl Harbor 30 years after the attack. At the time I was there you could still observe signs of that fateful day all over the Island of Oahu. Hickam Air Force Base, where Bob was stationed, still had buildings in active use, and you could see the cement dug out in patterns from what looked like 50 calibre bullets fired from aircraft. There were still wing and fuselage parts from downed aircraft, Japanese and US, up in Koli-Koli pass near the "pregnant lady mountain". I could play the attack in my head and still not understand how such a horrible thing could happen. I thought it can never happen again and then came 9/11. Unfortunately our response was much different than to Pearl Harbor. I just hope that we never lose the willingness to stand up for what we have and continue make the ultimate sacrifice if need be so that our children and their children will always know the awesome wonder of a free society! Following is some information from Wikipedia regarding the attack if you wish to read. I've also included some pictures and a link back to Wikipedia if you would like to read more.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a pre-emptive military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan's Imperial Japanese Navy, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 that made the United States enter World War II. Two aerial attack waves, totalling 350 aircraft, were launched from six aircraft carriers with the intent to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet. More........



Later......

An Inspirational Note From Joan

Sent: Thu 12/6/2007 11:13 AM

Dale and I have walked there for two days this week and we didn't see the big rat but we did see a small gator in one of the ponds. I really like the trail but not so much at night so Dale has been going with me. See you guys on Sat EARLY. I hate early but everyone knows that already.. Have a good time those of you that will not be there..

From The NY POST. "It's An Invasion!"

INVASION OF THE GIANT RATS
20-POUND BEASTS SWAMPING NEW JERSEY

By TIM PERONE and DAVID K. LI

Thought You All May Enjoy This!.....Gary

December 6, 2007 -- Giant rodents are about to take over New Jersey!
(Note: Giant rodents have been running NJ for many years...GB)

And even if the Garden State might not look any different, it has some officials worried about the ugly, 20-pound nutria which have made their way here from points south of the Mason-Dixon line.

The furry rodent is widely considered one of the most damaging creatures to marshland ecosystems - which, of course, would make New Jersey the critter's spiritual home. "I spotted it in Lower Alloway Township, Oct. 29," state Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist Andrew Burnett told The Star-Ledger of Newark. "The animal was swimming across Alloway Creek approximately 150 feet from my position."

For decades, the nutria have slowly made their way up the Eastern Seaboard. It was first recorded in large numbers in Delaware and Maryland in the 1980s. And now, the first has been spotted in Jersey.

"It's a very large rodent," said Leonard Douglen, executive director of the New Jersey Pest Management Association. "As long as we don't allow the population to grow, we can eradicate them no matter how big they are."

The rodents - which measure as long as 24 inches from nose to tail - can kill an ecosystem by evicting current tenants like waterfowl, crabs and fish. Douglen said that if the nutria invade New Jersey in large numbers, he and other pest-control warriors will have to take them out, one at a time. "We'd probably trap them, wherever there are sightings. We'd have to set traps in those areas," he told The Post last night.

"Just because a new species comes around doesn't mean you reinvent the wheel." The nutria, as big as most dogs and resembling a beaver, has an average life span of about four years in the wild. The South American rodent, with its fine fur, was once bred for their pelts in the late 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. As nutria farms popped up in the South and Gulf Coast regions, so did feral populations of the big, ugly rodents.

The most fierce battles against the nutria have been waged on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where state officials want to protect their precious Chesapeake Bay. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland has been ground zero of the war against the nutria, which has devoured about 7,000 acres of salt marsh in the past half-century.

david.li@nypost.com

December 8th

Here is some important information from Mary regarding next Saturday:

To all: We are on for our walk on Saturday, December 8th. We will be at our usual place, the Brandon Parkway Trail, at 7:15 AM.

Maybe we will see the Nutrias. You can go to our blog and find out more about these creatures and Gary's campaign to make them our Mascot. Our blog url is: http://namelesswalking.blogspot.com/

Bob and Gary will be running in the Reindeer Run in Downtown Tampa starting at 8:00 AM on December 8th. We can have a moment of silence as we begin our walk in honor of them. Since Bob and Gary will not be with us on Saturday, Dale you will need to be at the walk, so Tony won't be the only male walker. Looking forward to our next walk..... Mary

Seeing Nutrias In A New Light

How about a mascot for the Nameless Walkers?

It seems as I look further into the life and times of Nutrias, I become more fascinated with these creatures. Apparently they are rather docile (although their appearance, particularly their teeth, would indicate anything but docile). They are also somewhat inclined to be on the full figured side of things.

According to the literature Nutrias consume about 3 pounds of plant matter a day and can weigh in at 18 to 25 pounds as fully grown adults. The news piece I was reading stated that a vet recalled seeing a pet Nutria weigh in at 60 pounds. Yes, you read that right....a pet Nutria. People keep them as pets. They are also prized in South America for their fur, which is the root story of how they ended up in the United States. But that is a different discussion for a different time.

Given that Nutrias have a prediliction toward weight gain, they may present the opportunity to become the mascot of the Nameless Walking Club! This is the point of my post. What would you all think about having the docile, weight challenged Nutria as our mascot? I think it has potential. Let me know what you all think.

Later

Sailing..........Takes Me Away!

But walking keeps me grounded...........

The First December Walk

Walking club members assembling for the 12/1/07 adventure

Saturday morning the first of December. It is bright and early, about 7:15 I would guess. Nice balmy morning and another opportunity to take a pleasant stroll with friends. Cars are pulling up along the Brandon Parkway walking path. Looks like a good crowd today. Let's see: there's Bob; Tony and Mary; Julie, Marie, Deborah. Here comes Joan and Dale. Wow, here's Bonnie and Bonnie. There's Keith...Val had choir practice. Cindy and Jean just drove up. And of course there is me, Gary. I'm here too.

We all start out along the trail at about the same time and pace. Good walking conditions and a fair sampling of walkers and others on the trail. Not by any design, the nameless are beginning to split into several groups. The group in front is moving along at a fairly good clip, I would guess 14/15 minute miles. The group to the rear is taking the course a bit more leisurely...maybe 17/18 minute miles. Both groups seem to be enjoying themselves. Dale and Joan brought their dog....what a beautiful dog and just as mellow as can be. I'm walking with the more leisurely group, telling stories and trying to be amusing. I look ahead and notice Julie. Wow, that lady can walk briskly. Deborah and Marie are right up there too. Everyone seems to be enjoying their time out of doors.

We spot a nutria, then another. I think they are bad, Mary says they are herbivorous. I don't know but they look weird and I'm not sure whether to be alarmed or not. Make a mental note....look up nutria when I get home. We finish our walk...about 2 miles per walker. Nobody has been carried off by man eating nutrias. Many smiling faces, lot's of "see you next week" farewells. Bonnie tell's us we won't see her until after the New Year. Some are off to Golden Corral, Bob and I have to paint. A new week beginning. A new chance to get it all right, but this third week is now officially complete.

Bob and I will not be at the walk next week. We will be running in the Reindeer 5K Run on Saturday (12/8) morning starting at the St. Pete Times Forum...Wish us luck. Mary and Tony are walking in the Jingle Bell event for Arthritis at Lowry Park Zoo on the 5th. Good luck Mary and Tony!

I got home and did some research on Nutrias. The good news is that they don't eat people and Mary was right, they are primarily herbivores. The bad news is that they eat about 3 pounds of plants a day and have been known to devour entire marshes in a matter of months. They are not indigenous to Florida (or the US). They are from South America and have no natural enemies here. They are declared a harmful pest in the State of Florida and apparently can be treated with all the same respect as any other rodent. Read more at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/7720/nutria.html . This is the "we all love animals version" not the "where's Luke when you need him" version.

Later