Bald is beautiful...

Monday, April 26, 2010

“Hey…are you…”

“Hi…yeah…nice to meet you,” I said in reply. I knew what she was going to ask. I’ve been asked many, many times and particularly when climbing in the Adirondacks with a bandanna covering the little hair my head supports, as we were now.

“Wow…oh…WOW! This is waaay cool,” she said.

“Dad…tell her the truth!” my daughter reprimanded me. I’d told my two daughters at the trailhead that people thought I looked like John Locke and they could expect this reaction – if we ever saw someone. They were too close to the forest to see the ‘John Locke’ trees, but now they believed. I confessed to my new fan, but she was unconvinced and had a picture taken with me…just in case.

I’d never seen the show ‘Lost’ so I didn’t really know who John Locke was. I mean, sure, I’d read the philosopher when I was in college, but…not the same. My kids had gotten me the first two seasons for my birthday and I was about half way through season one this past Saturday when it was time for a hair cut, which Holly performs. Quite well, actually.

“Let’s try a ‘John Locke’ cut,” I suggested. I’d been thinking about a shave for a number of years and now, seeing Locke and agreeing with my public, I wanted to give it a go.

“Are you sure?” Holly was undecided.

About then, Jack walked in and we told him what we were thinking. “Do it,” he said.

So…we did it.

“It’s scary…how much you look like him,” Holly said.

I headed for the mirror. She was right. I mean…damn…he was nearly as good looking as me! All I needed was a hunting knife and I’d have a new career.

So I went to church Sunday and to work on Monday and had a lot of ‘John Locke’ comments. I’m hearing some bad things about the guy now, though. I guess they’re in the last season and he’s not the nicest character anymore. Oh well. I milk it for a while longer. I have to make the decision about keeping it short.

It rained all morning and into the early afternoon. It was a run day, but the trails were going to be underwater. I headed for the park after work, resigned to a mud run. Sometimes, I just splash through the puddles trying to see how dirty I can get. Doing it with someone else is even better – we try to get each other slopped up. After the first couple of puddles, you really stop caring and that’s the way I was.

I started slow, but it was cool and I was feeling pretty good. I had planned on a 40-minute run and figured longer tomorrow, but as I drew near the car, I decided to keep going – it was just a good day. I ended up running around 55 minutes - I got stopped at my last creek crossing by high water - or I’d have done an hour for sure.

Back on that workout horse…

Run duration: 55 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140.

Calories burned during workout: 925.