yesterday was a beautiful day for a bike rideso I got the boys together with some neighborhood kids in the am we went up to Heller's Bakery for some donuts
with a pause in front of the devastated apartment building on Mount Pleasant street
the boys rode their bikes while I corralled them on foot
the boys were not as intrigued by the aftermath of the fire as they were excited about the alternate all alley route home
I ran ahead of the boys making things were quasi safe and quasi clear
issuing orders all along
"stop at the corner.... wait for everyone else at the top of the hill... give people space on the sidewalk... careful... slow down... control..."
the morning bike ride spilled over to action in the alley
all sorts of kids from our block overflowed into the alley with their skateboards and their bikes
it was a parental zone defense
no one knew where their own kids were
but everyone watched to make sure that whatever kids were in their basic area were being somewhat safe
not feeling like I had time to walk the dog and ride the bike I merged my need for exercise with the need for brutus to get some time in the woods
so... I went for a run
the run was a slow pace effort
worked hard to maintain on the hills
while trying to keep my pace closer to a jog than a sprint
best to start slow instead of fantasizing that I am OJ in the Airport
ran sections of the Roosevelt trail/Valley Trail out to the backside of Carter Barron Amphitheater
tried not to get distracted by the needs of the trails until after the run was done
had the camera in a running pack incase I encountered the cyclist who sculpted these ROAM-like jumps on this hiker path
shored up a set of stairs after my run was done
never encountered any free riders
just other runners and dog walkers
got home and the action in the alley was pretty much the kid chaos that was happening when I left
some smaller boys had moved to the inside living room of my house
they were playing well
I thought they could play well outside as the weather was too nice to be inside
so I grabbed some toys that I scored on a roadside give away that am and put them on the back deck
with a wipe of some Windex the toys became ours
I directed the boys each to grab four Matchbox Cars and head outside
there was some hesitancy
but once outside they all got pretty excited about the old toys that were new to them
I went inside
inside I went to my office and put on iTunes
just let it run in succession
I started to get for dinner that night
my hairs needed to be trimmed as well did my beard
I hate trimming my beard because I always mess it up
but I am traveling next week
and well... in this era of panic looking different does not flow well with the folks at airport security
and honestly... the long beard on the beach leaves me looking like I just crawled out from under the boardwalk or that I washed up on the beach like Tom Hanks in CASTAWAY
slowly I tried to buzz my hair and trim my beard without making myself look too much like a poodle
from my face I moved to my legs
Electric Razor on the head, blade with cream on my face, and Bodygroomer on my legs
as I shaved my legs The Smiths played Is it Really So Strange?
I used the BodyGroomer on the first shave of the season
there were boys within view out the back window
several times I had to go downstairs shirtless with saving cream on my face
there were so many boys that an adult needed to calm the occasional chaos
keeping inside toys inside was a rule I had to enforce and enforce again
the Nerf Guns are inside toys
cleaned up my face, head, and legs
cleaned up the sink, tub, and bathroom tile floor
then stepped in the shower for a much needed soapy rinse
the action out back started to calm as children were called in for dinner
a Pizza Hut pie arrived right on time for me to lure my boys back into the house
lisa and I got ready for our night on the town
still not ready our sitter Daisy arrived
then our date Anna and Dave showed up in their VW Passat Limo
we went out for an adult dinner on the town
there was laughter, lots of food, and no kids
we talked about them
but they were not there to ruin our adult good time
the Smiths on YOUTUBE
gwadzilla on shaving and the bodygroomer
shot on the bike at Greenbier and the face shot both by Kevin Dillard/Demoncats
the black and white shot is by Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland