Life... Part 2

Hi Readers,

I'll just get straight into it today, some more anecdotes from no particular era of my life.

I just hope it prompts you to recollect some of your own with family and friends. With everything going on around us you just might appreciate doing it before the opportunity passes by.

Embarrassing Runs (1)

While the point of exercising is to feel good, and hopefully look a bit better, this is not always the case.

You know as well as I do that some people can make exercise look like an effortless activity, while others can look like they are always one step away from being 6 feet underground!!

Others can look just plain stupid, which is the case for me in this story.😖

I can happily retell stories such as this as I have no shame about it,  as it was something that actually happened and I can't change that.

I still cringe about it, but also have a laugh too whenever it is brought up.

I was living in Ballarat at the time and I must have been around 28-30 years of age.

Running up one of the main streets, Mair St, I paused at a red light at the top of a long incline.

As I patiently waited for the lights to change, I could see out of the corner of my eye a group of women just a bit younger than me approaching from my left.

I kept my gaze fixed forward.

Next minute I hear a few wolf whistles from the group, but ignored them. 

This happened twice more, so, without looking sideways, I slowly lifted the side of my running shorts to show a bit more leg, and gave a little 'sexy wiggle", all the while refraining from making eye contact.

There was a bit of giggling, and a few more whistles, so I upped the ante and put more effort and gyration into my movements.

Not quite what I was like, but not far from it !!

More laughing and whistles, and I was feeling pretty impressed with myself !!

Very soon I realised I had peaked too early, as I then heard laughter and whistles coming from my right, and a similar group of women approaching.

It suddenly dawned on me that they weren't whistling at me, but to each other, and I was caught in the middle !!!!😩

The two groups gradually got closer and closer and merged into one group and waited to cross the road with me.

Those few seconds seemed like an eternity as I stared steadfastly ahead and did all that I could to ignore the giggles and glances they were giving me.

They must have thought I was an absolute goose, and I definitely felt like one!

Be assured, that the second those lights turned green I was off like a shot and away from those women.

I can still hear their giggles as I took off, and can only wonder what they must have thought of me as they approached the intersection !!!!

Embarrassing Runs (2)

In a previous post I mentioned that I often ran with a special running pram around Ballarat.

Loved it.

Back in the day, in a local paper there was a page called "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down"

This was a forum for concerned citizens of Ballarat to either congratulate or castigate various businesses, people or organisations throughout the region.

Comments were always short and to the point, and it was always much more enjoyable reading the 'Thumbs Down' comments, as so often they would focus on such minor issues, such as a rooster crowing, or people having dirty cars, or kids not tucking their school shirts in. 

I kid you not!!

Anyway, let me give you the back story first.

I was out running with the pram with one of our boys.

I came to a level crossing that had a pedestrian access as well.

Picture it.  The lights are flashing and the bells are dinging, and I'm waiting patiently for the train to come.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting !!!

After quite a few minutes of patiently waiting, I began to get impatient.

The crossing was on a very long, straight stretch of track and I had clear vision each way for a few hundred metres at least.

Leaving the pram behind me, I stepped onto the crossing and looked and listened both ways.

Nothing!

Back to the pram, and across we go, ten or so steps and we are across the tracks and on our way again.

The same was done by a few people before me, but I was the only one with a child.

The rest of the run went smoothly and we got home safe and sound.

No problem.

Until a week later.

My wife Jenny was browsing through the local paper and inevitably came to "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down"

"Listen to this"  she says, "There's no way that you would do this".

She then read out a Thumbs Down comment, which went pretty much like this:

Thumbs down to the young jogger who went through a railway crossing recently while the bells and gates were activated. Worse still, the jogger was pushing a pram with a young child. 

"Umm, aahh, errr...Yep. I'd say that was me" I nervously replied, as it was still fresh in my mind !!

The stare said more than any words. I knew how cranky she was with me and I had no defence. I could have tried the "I checked and no trains were coming" but I knew I was cooked.

After reassuring Jen that this would never occur again, I thought that was the end of it.

Until I went for further runs in the subsequent days with the pram.

As I went around the lake where so many other joggers went, I could feel the blazing stare from so many people and occasionally the comment "I bet that was him"

I could tell that they were referring to the "Crossing Incident" , and it really showed how many people read "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down"

Even my friends gave me heaps about it, they just couldn't believe what I had done.

One positive however that I said to Jen was that it good to be referred to as a 'young jogger". Somehow she didn't see the funny side of that !!

I was at the same crossing a few days later with the pram, and the gates closed and the bells started to ding.

Rest assured, this time I waited.

Well Readers,

Just a few more ramblings, and my next post will be similar, as the more I write about them, more just come back to haunt me !!

Until my next post,

Cheers ! 😁