And a Good Time Was Had By All

Why is it that every time my friend Roger is in town to shoot pictures of the sunrise, uh, there isn't one? It happened once before, and it happened again Saturday morning.

The morning of St. Mary's 21st Annual 5k Race dawned overcast & cloudy with the threat of sprinkles. Good for runners who want to stay cooler & not get toasted by the sun, but not so good for the whole incentive of a pretty run at the beach. Although the mugginess of the warm morning made for some very sweaty people (and they weren't even running).

Roger had a big ol' camera with lenses projecting out about a foot and was taking very professional pictures as a huge favor to the Home. Thank you RAD! And if you would like to read some informative & easy to understand tutorials for beginning photographers, check out his blog.

Interspersed with my volunteer duties, I took a bunch of pictures too with my bitty little Fuji point-and-shoot. And I know that my pictures will be put to shame once the pros get theirs up, but here they are anyway.

We had a little bit of peace before the hoards descended.

And then it was controlled chaos for registration, picking up race packets, getting kids into jogging strollers,
and all the other sundry things that go on before a race.

Oh, and even though our kids couldn't be there this year due to H1N1 precautions,
4 of our former kids (who grew up & left us for the adult world) were there.
It was like old home week. Those are 3 of our boys on the left.

But finally, Team Hoyt was ready for their close-up.

Okay, all ready to start, right?


The Race Coordinator from the Tidewater Striders had no sooner finished telling the racers that the road was closed & Team Hoyt would start in the left lane and runners in the right - the words still hovering in the air above her head - than we had a visitor.
Ooooh noooooo.

It really was pretty funny. But you know what? This is, in fact, an active Army base and they, like, have first dibs on the road, and since he couldn't turn around, he just kept coming.

The crowds parted and our valiant fighting men with their big boat passed through.

And . . . .


. . . they're off!





When I turned around, I saw these.
Either we have a hard-core runner who likes to batter their bare feet on the asphalt,
or . . . well, I just don't know.


If you know me, you know I'm a sucker, but the little kids who did the 1-Mile Fun Run were toooo cute.


Do you know what one of the more popular post-race refreshments was?


And, remember when I told you that Team Hoyt VB was trying to raise money for St. Mary's at the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon last month? Well, they did it! And after having all the kids sign the big fake check . . .


. . . Trey White (leader of Team Hoyt VB) presented us with $10,000.


You gotta love these people. Well, you don't gotta, but we do. They are some wonderful folks.

Many thanks to the countless volunteers who made it a great day, the scores of runners & walkers (about 325) who made it one of our most successful races EVER, Fort Story for their excellent facilities & peaceful course & beautiful beach, the Tidewater Striders for keeping the timing straight, Team Hoyt for their tireless efforts on behalf of young people with disabilities, our many sponsors and donors who made the race a roaring success, RAD for stepping in at the last minute to take pictures when our scheduled photographer couldn't be there, and . . . did I forget anyone? If I did, it is out of stupidity and not a lack of gratitude.

But not everyone had a good time. Sigh.



Oh, and after the race, I got to race back to the Home to watch the Hokies take on Duke with my friend. It wasn't on TV but was on espn360.com, so instead of watching it on a big screen with a fuzzy picture, we got to watch it on the big, crystal clear, LCD TV that's hooked up to the internet. Whoo-hoo!


And the Hokies won! Double whoo-hoo!!

Who'd have believed? (new & improved with added video)

If you were to ask me 20 years ago if I would get excited about watching football and participate in any of the following activities . . .

• make sure I am wearing all my Hokie paraphanelia on game day

• rush back to St. Mary's so I can watch the game with a 14 year old boy who loves the Hokies as much as I do. And yes, I am talking about Brandon (BS was in B'burg for the game). And let me tell you, that boy knows more about football than I do

• beat my fist on the table when the other team scores to the point that I have to cradle my hand for awhile

• yell out loud to the point that out switchboard operator had to ask me to close the door

• jump out of my seat and run around the conference table in the boardroom (where I brought the big screen tv) waving my arms around when we score a touchdown. Heck, I do this even when we get a first down

• pummel said 14 year old boy (albeit ever so gently) on the arm when it looks like we are really going to win

. . . I would have said you were nuts.

WHOO-HOO!

And let me tell you, the last minute of the game was the best I have ever seen:

ps - BS just got home and told me that the Nebraska fans are some of the nicest he has ever met, and (being a bartender in Blacksburg for so long), he has met quite a few. So Nebraska, even though I am celebrating that you lost . . . Even though I know you wanted to win as much as we did . . . Even though I will hope for your crushing defeat the next time we play you . . . YEA HUSKERS!

Hokies Football & Team Hoyt

Saturday & Sunday were jam packed with fun!!!

That wasn't even sarcastic. It was fun.

First off was the season opener of Virginia Tech football against Alabama in Atlanta on Saturday night. The Hokies started the season at the #7 position, and Alabama was #5. So, a pretty even match maybe? Although we lost one of our best running backs to injury, Tyrod Taylor was there as quarterback. VT did pretty well, but part of our success was due to errors on Alabama's part.

So, guess where I was?


Since we can't take Brandon to Blacksburg this year (damn that Swine Flu!), we are making a concerted effort to watch the games with him at the Home so he doesn't miss them.

I said "we", didn't I?


I have a feeling it's going to be more of "I" than "we". No one else could join us for our big-screen par-tay.


I hauled the big screen TV into the board room so my neck didn't suffer the cricks & strains of last year - looking up at the little bitty tv dangling from the ceiling in the break room:


Brandon had his usual game day noshes of a couple sips of strawberry milkshake & a couple licks of barbeque sauce.
This is haute cuisine for him. Trust me. But I got the rest of the milkshake. There's a method to my madness.
Mwaahahah.

He particularly liked the commercial about drunk driving where the cars were full of beer. Cracked him up each time. We had fun.

But, alas, the Hokies couldn't pull out a win.


The game, however, was an action-packed thriller. VT pulled off a 94 yard run for a touchdown that was a thing of beauty.
Alabama got a lot of flags & penalties. Brandon was so excited, I had to hold him down, lllliterally.


His right arm is his wild arm, usually going off in directions he doesn't intend.
This disrupts his control over the rest of his body, so he likes to have us hold his arm to help keep him steady.
And I just liked the picture of our clasped hands. Makes my eyes get moist.

Here's the thing. The game started at 8. It wasn't over until almost midnight.
He closed his eyes for all of 7.5 seconds during the 3rd quarter. By the 4th quarter, we were both yawning every minute,
but he still wouldn't hear of going to bed.

Darn. Normally, it wouldn't be a darn, but I had to get up at the disturbingly early hour of 4 am
for the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, and I didn't end up getting to bed until 1 am.
You do the math.

This was what greeted me when I arose at 4.



Team Hoyt VB (Virginia Beach) were able to take 18 young people with disabilities to the race this year.


I've written about them before. Part of their goal is to raise funds for St. Mary's,
and some of us from The Home help them in this noble endeavor.
We get the kids positioned in the jogging strollers and place ourselves around the route
to assist with flat tires & kids that need repositioning.

Here is the water stop just past our station in the wee hours of the morning.


My spot this year, with 2 of my colleagues, was along the median of General Booth Blvd to catch them coming southbound at the 3 mile mark, then again northbound at the 9 1/2 mile mark.
Our gear consisted of the Team Hoyt Flags and a bag of positioning aids - foam, wedges, and the like.
I took a picture both with and without the flash. I love the difference, especially in the reflective part of the barrel.


Looking north, the road is empty.
But soon, the runners would come south on the left hand side of the picture at 3 miles mark,
wind their way through some neighborhoods,
and come back north on the right hand side of the picture as they passed us at 9 1/2 miles.


The first people out of the gate were the wheelchair racers. These guys can fly.


Then, even though Team Hoyt were allowed to start next, the elite racers overtook them pretty quickly.
But hey, they didn't have to push 100 pounds worth of jogging stroller & person.




Then came the initial waves (mobs) of runners.


The Rock n' Roll is a pretty laid back race, and there were the occasional costumes, including Elvis.



And, let me tell you, I caught Elvis on the homestretch. In that hot suit. And the dude was still running.
And hardly sweating. Way to go Elvis!


I used the action mode on my camera for most all of these pictures. Spent - no, make that wasted - a lot of time being fascinated by things like these 3 ladies all in midair at the same point in their stride.


Somewhere around 27,000 people passed us.
The sight of the endless - ENDLESS - stream of runners (and walkers) is staggering.
It took almost 3 hours for everyone to pass us in the southbound lanes.
I have no idea if those last racers (they were actually walkers) even finished.
We left as soon as Team Hoyt passed us at 9.5 and they reopened the road.

This little guy wanted to high-five everyone that passed. He got in a lot of slaps before his mom took him away.


And across the street from us was a group of girls who cheered everyone on.
With chants and dancing and everything. For the whole 3 hours, without stopping.
They were troopers.


The fascinating part was having the runners at the beginning of the run on the right, and the runners on the homestretch on the left. After awhile, the left-hand side stragglers were walking at the 3 mile point, but the right-hand side people were still running after 9.5 miles.




Then, finally, the last walkers pass by. A nap is within my grasp at last. My couch is calling me.


Going back to the car and looking out at the course, the sunlight was filtering through the trees,
so I wanted a picture of that too. I like trees. And clouds.


Next, Labor Day pig butt.

In Memorium

2 years ago today, the nation wrapped its arms around a tiny town in the Virginia mountains after a devastating tragedy. Other Virginia colleges, along with colleges everywhere, joined hands with their Hokie rivals . . .

. . . and the nation spoke with one voice, "We are all Hokies!"

Remembering the Hokies - the students, staff, and residents of Blacksburg - on this 2-year anniversary.

From the Candlelight Vigil 2 years ago, taken on the fly with my cell phone:

Some scenes of the memorials in front of Burruss Hall a year later:

We will never forget. We are Virginia Tech.