Silent Run

Good Morning, World. Another day begins. It will probably be another day of trials and tribulations. But surely there will be some gains and victories as well.

You know, I have been low. Well, I have actually been lower than low. Thankfully, today is a smiling day. Yesterday morning, in Dallas, there was a man threatening to kill himself by jumping off a bridge that is fifteen to twenty stories high. It was later reported that he had killed his wife earlier in the morning. What kind of silent run was this man on? As easy as it is to communicate today, the conversation is still dead.

We have some friends of our’s that are desperately hurting. Their daughter is sick and has been in the hospital for about a week now. The unknown and the exhaustion, both mentally and physically, seems too huge to carry day in and day out. Thankfully, for their sake and for their daughter’s sake, their strength is not their own. If you know God and His Son Jesus, I ask that you pray for “Ky”. Pray for that little girl to begin winning this battle of sickness. Pray for her mom to have a clear mind for the right questions to be asked and for her bright smile to continue to shine for her daughter that wants to go home. And because I have been there too many times, please pray for that little girl’s daddy. I know what it is like to deal with everything at once, on top of your daughter and wife being away from you in the hospital. Their silent run should not be run alone.

Two nights ago, while the sun was still fairly high in the sky, I went for a jog. I am fed up with community developers that can’t seem to build straight sidewalks. Why can’t they just be straight and normal as opposed to these sidewalks that are very wide and wind back and forth around trees and plants? Cyclists ride in the street, half the time taking up a whole lane. They are going with traffic so they can’t even get over if someone is coming up behind them. Well, the other night, I ran in the street. Now, mind you, I am going against traffic so I can see the cars and trucks coming towards me; I am running next to the curb so that I can hop up onto the grass if someone won’t or can’t get over in the next lane. I would say that ninety-eight percent of people get over into the next lane or at least move over to provide several feet between myself and them. Again, it is very light out and I am wearing a white shirt and my running shoes have reflectors.

Well, on this night, who knew I would deal with a jerk that couldn’t be embarrassed in front of his girl. He was in a big truck with a loud muffler. He was the only car on the road for about a mile. The lane next to him was clear for the taking. And we were on a straight-away that allowed he and I to see one another for a long while before he ever got close to me. As he neared, he finally merged, but just slightly. I didn’t appreciate that, especially considering that he threw his hand up inside the truck in disgust. But I understand; I had just ruined his day. As they drove by, I too threw my hand up, but in the motion signaling to scoot over. You would have thought I had just given this stranger the “double-bird.”

He drove on by and I thought nothing of it, until I saw him pass me on the other side of the median, go down to the next turn-around and come back towards me. This time, he was in the lane furthest from me and was driving slow. I saw the passenger window roll down as we approached one another. Now mind you, I had headphones on and the music was blaring. I never heard what he said. I did tell him could feel free to move on at any time. The guy put the truck in reverse and started going against traffic (there were no cars around at the time) while following me and continuing to yell across his woman out the window at me. I never looked his direction. I never said anything else. And I never saw the guy again. We’ll get over for cyclist and we’ll slow down in a school zone, but there is a problem with moving over to the next lane when the coast is clear? There were plenty of times where there were two cars coming towards me that were side by side. I hoped up into the grass and kept running. No problem at all. Cyclists don’t do that. But it seems to me that you could be sitting next to someone in your truck and be on some sort of silent run of your own that causes you to forget that we do live in a society. (By the way, I ran last night, same road and same direction, but was in the grass the whole time due to it getting dark when I left the neighborhood.)

Not really sure why I started writing this post, but it just seems to me that this world of ours is so quiet these days. Yeah, there are the big issues that we talk about…the war, the economy, earthquakes/cyclones, and terrorists’ threats…but, is life not also worth filling with laughter. Though I don’t always find certain shows funny, several of the top ten watched shows on TV today are comedies. The number of stand-up comedians on TV and on tour these days seem to be larger than ever before. One of the greatest times between a parent and a child is when you have tickling matches. Smiling and laughter seem so important, yet they are the last thing many of us want to do any more.

Living in a house with a woman that loves to laugh (she has an awesome laugh, by the way) and five kids that smile at the simplest things, my life is full of those happy moments. This morning, Hudson woke up with a total different attitude than yesterday morning. He was back to being that awesome little dude. The bus drove away with Hudson and Madison sitting side by side. The lasting image I have is Hudson smiling back at me with his little hand in the air. My silent run gets shorter with snapshots like that.

I’m done for now. The day is well underway. Please don’t forget to pray for Ky and her mom and her dad, and her brother and sister. And the only thing I would say to you if you are on your own silent run, find someone to help you turn up the volume…because frankly, you deserve to be heard.