Tombstone 5K

Though I gave blood Thursday, and though I ran a marathon last Saturday, I ventured forth and ran a 5K today. I did this because the race was very near my house, on familiar ground, and because the race was so small I thought I would have an excellent chance of winning a medal.

To be specific: last year, there was only one guy in my age range. This year, there were three of us. So each of us was guaranteed to "place" at the start of the race. Not that we knew that. They don't tell you up front that there are only 3 men aged 60-65.

Anyway, I did beat the other 2 guys.

The race, the Tombstone 5K, was entirely on the grounds of a local graveyard, Mount Greenwood Cemetery, and most of us were wearing Halloween costumes.

Here's a guy who ran as PacMan.
I hope he led the pack, man.



I run in this particular cemetery on a somewhat regular basis. My middle child is buried there. It's hard to believe that she's been dead almost 20 years. It's hard to believe that she would have been 30 this coming January. We had a sort of imaginary conversation, when I ran by her grave. I miss her.

As a rule, I stop and kneel.

Time does not completely heal,
but it softens the hurt you feel.