Today I decided that I'd had enough of this bronchial infection/chest cold/head cold/whatever-the-heck is keeping me from being able to take a deep breath without hacking up a lung and I was going to get on my bicycle and ride, damn it!
| Queen - Bicycle Race .mp3 | ||
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 | Found at bee mp3 search engine |  |
So I get up at 5:30 and I put on the coffee ('cause I know I'm REALLY gonna need it!) and went down into my man cave (okay it's really more of a man corner) in the basement and prepped Black Pearl for the ride. Then I took her outside and if I didn't hear the voice of Morgan Freeman/James Earl Jones I'm not sure what it was because it was deep and melodious and it was asking me if I was sure about this. Let me just say IT WAS COLD!!!!!! But I have so often done in the past, I remembered one of the main I reason is for those who can't becuase they are fighting a disease that has rendered them unable to jump/run/play the way other kids can. So I gathered my things and got myself ready to girt (yes, a nice biblical way to say that) myself for the cold. I kissed the wife and James goodbye and stepped outside. Even with the three layers and the baclava that made my look like a two-wheeled Ninja it was COOOOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD!!!!!!
But there is also another reason I needed to ride today. You see my friends when I feel the need to feel my emotions (harken it back to the state of flow I mentioned in my last post) I ride. I rode when David died. I rode when my Aunt Janice died. I ride when I'm frustrated (which I have to tell you I've been very frustrated lately but that's due to work issues and not personal ones) and I ride when I feel powerless. Right now I'm feeling very frustrated, angry and powerless because someone who I think of as one of the most amazing people in the world (even if she doesn't know I think it) is facing this damn disease again. My friend Dana Lewis is an incredible and amazing person. I met her while I was still performing and I was always struck by what an amazing performer she was and what a brilliant choreographer she was. One of my biggest regrets about leaving the business was that I never had the opportunity to dance for this incredible woman.
We recently go the news that this amazing dancer is once again fighting cancer. She has been through it before and beat the damn thing and we've been praying that it would stay in remission. Although I don't know all the details, I DO know that she has a small tumor lying on a lymph node on the right side of her pelvis. When she e-mailed us four days ago she thought she might have to have surgery yesterday but as it turns out she couldn't because of the placement of the tumor so she's going to have to go through treatment. Dana, if by chance you do read this - today was for you, darlin'.
So thinking mainly about my friend I just decided to suck it up and stop complaining because its nothing compared to what she's dealing with. So I headed out and I froze. I won't go into all the gory details, just know that I couldn't feel my fingers and I couldn't feel my toes and not in the good way indicated in this classic;
| Various - PGSORM & Marky Ramone & Tyson Ritter of the All American Rejects / I Want to Be Sedated .mp3 | ||
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| Found at bee mp3 search engine | |
But I will tell you I definitely felt like I wanted to be when I got to school. The wind was gusting right across my beam (that's thrown in for all you nautical folk) and it was extremely slow gowing. I had hoped when I arrived that one of the kids would be around with their smart phones so I could have them take a picture of the Weather Channel.com's display of the current temperature in Syosset when I arrived. Well at 7:42 AM this is what it said;
Today's Forecast: Partly Cloudy Scattered Flurries Clouds Early / Clearing Late
Currently: Partly Cloudy
Current Temperature: 23°F
Wind Chill: Feels Like: 8°
Wind: From WNW at 19mph gusting to 25mph
Farmingdale, Republic Airport
Lat: 40.73 Lon: -73.41 Elev: 85
Last Update on Dec 15, 6:53 am EST
So, needless to say when I arrived I felt like my carbonite friend above. BRRRRRR. It took me about two periods to completely thaw out. The rest of the day actually went great because once I thawed out I was incredibly energized by finally being able to physically do something! But ninth period rolled around and I had to spend 15 minutes getting my cycling gear ready (and adjusting the brake that had been rubbing the entire ride this morning - yet another thing that slowed me down!). So I get all dressed and I get ready to go and I check the WeatherChannel.com website and here's what it read when I left the school:
Today's Forecast: Scattered flurries. Partly sunny, with a high near
Currently: Mostly Cloudy / Windy
Current Temperature: 26°F
Wind Chill: Feels Like 12°
Wind: From WNW at 23mph gusting to 29mph
Farmingdale, Republic Airport
Lat: 40.73 Lon: -73.41 Elev: 85
Last Update on Dec 15, 1:53 pm EST
Yep, that was fun! And even though it was an entire three degrees higher it still left me feeling numb and unable to form coherent thought. But the good news was I HAD A TAILWIND! Nevertheless, it still had me feeling a bit like this;
But as I pulled up the last hill on the way to Northport I thought once again of my friend Dana and I realized that THIS is why I ride, to feel like in some small way I'm helping them in their fight - the cold be damned!
So, tomorrow I'll probably go out again on my bike (we're going to have a veritable heat wave of 35 degrees) and I'll think of Dana, I'll think of Stanley Cherry and all the kids of Sunrise Day Camp and I'll do my best to remember that they have it so much worse than my discomfiture of 45 minutes.
Stay well my friends and I'll see you on the frozen road.
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