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Heavenly Memories : [click the title : Duran Duran "Sunrise", good music to drive a Jag and yes, the Art is indeed a Aberto Vargas Girl Pinup 1942]
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It is finally Friday evening. There is snowstorms here by the Great Lakes, beautiful , cold and windy. A good weekend to curl up by the fire with some books and the Blogs.It has been a long week. ( I will let you know what I think of Obama's Books).I stomped around for days in the freezing rain, and I found a new beautiful place to live, thank you for all who rooted for me and my son. Now you all just have to put up with me as I pack,groan, and pack. I have thought alot about us Bloggers and the gang at the Enigma Cafe and the Hurdles we face and the Hope that Binds us.
Some Thoughts for the Night...
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ABOUT HURDLES IN LIFE.....
A long time ago I was in highschool. I went to an All Boys Highschool, and there were very few girls those first few years in the 1970's, and most of them were "girlie". I was a Tomboy, and I decided to go to the highschool because it had Things I Wanted, like really good science classes, and physics and Trig.It let me explore things that as a girl had never been made available to me.
One rainey day at Lunchtime I was hanging with some friends by the Track, and Hurdles were all set up. Low and High Hurdles, and one of my friends, Billy B, taking a drag off a cigarette joked- "Betch Can't Do Them". Hmm, Big Mistake to say That to Enigma, especially the "Can't " part.
So I looked at them, and I looked at him, and I said "What do I get if I Can do them ? "
He looked at me and laughed. "I will send Brett over and take you to dinner and he will pick you up in an Antigue Jaguar , wearing a Tux."
[ Background: The person mentioned had already graduated and did indeed have access to a beautiful old 1964 sleek Jag- and did not know I was even living and breathing. I was a mere nerdy junior and 15, definently not on his radar or his hemisphere.]
I mulled it for a few seconds, as I watched Billy B smoking the growth stunting Lucky Strike.
" Do I get to Drive the Jag ?
Billy looked back at me in total shock , "What ???!!!"
I said "Do I get to Drive It, even for a few seconds ?"
Billy shook his head, and laughed again, " Shit if you can run High Hurdles I will even pay for the gas.
I looked back at him " Okay, Done. Meet me here at 5pm, I can't do this wearing clogs, and don't blow anymore Lucky 's in my face. And bring the gas money".
Okay, now for The Confession.
I had never ever run Hurdles, low or high. Now I was a little of a tennis player- and I used to like to jump the net all the time, so I figured that I could atleast jump, how high I had never really contemplated.
My Great Aunts had taught me how to play poker, so obviously I had learned The Bluff part well.
I sat up in the Locker room and put on my Hockey cleats and decided that they should work okay on the muddy wet track. I also decided that I better figure this out quickly. So I went down to the Library. I needed some Inspiration .I had read Babe Didrickson's Autobiography the summer before. If you don't know about her, you should look her up in Wikipedia- she is amazing. ( Babe Didrickson Zaharias). Anyways the thing about her was that she greatest woman athlete of all times ( in 1975 anyways). And she played Golf and Basketball and also Hurdles.She also was a Very Classy Lady. So I went and read and thought about her, and how she just Put her Mind to Things, she never thought" I can't do it", she just tried to figure out How to Do It. Whether it be High Jump ( head first ) or Hurdles or Golf.
So 5pm I went back to the track, and in true "let's make her feel bad" fashion, Billy B. brought a gang of friends, so there was a nice little crowd, and they had set up a betting pool.
So Billy said "So how many times have you run them before, you know, the LOW ones ?"( nice and loud with a snicker, so everyone could hear)
I said quietly, " None, ever."
I watched the money now being passed between hands with great enthusiasm.
He laughed, " None ? Not the High or the Low ?"
I looked at him" Yup. None. But you said "Betcha Can't". So I have to prove you Wrong,cause the only reason you said "Can't " is cause I am a girl."
He nodded.
So I looked back at him, " So here's the deal, I hope you brought the gas money, and about the bets, I want 20% of that betting pot, is that clear ?"
He looked nervous. "Sure".
Epilogue:
I ran the Hurdles that day. High and Low. I don't reccomend the Hockey Cleats, but they worked for that day. I only knocked over One. I ended up running Hurdles on the Boys Team that year, Thank You Title IX. And oh, yeah the Betting pool bought my dress, and yeah driving a Jag even for 10 minutes is Heaven.
Moral: Never Ever Doubt Yourself Especially When Others are. Your Destiny is in Your Hands. Always.
