Two Day Soup, The Fear Freedom Spectrum of COVID, Choo x 2, Happy Birthday Mom and Kenny

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”

— Jim Morrison

A joke in my inner circle is if I don’t write, I had a little too much to drink the night before. A true, if you don’t see me pen some soup, you can assume I didn’t have it in me to put thoughts down, but this is not always the case. I’m currently on day 4 of 31 days of sobriety; we got up a little late as we slept in yesterday. I found myself sleeping better than usual, and we had to hit the road, so I opted to make two-day soup. This, my friends, is not one day, but two days’ worth of soup!

We got up yesterday, showered, and ran by my son’s new house. He lives close to Blue River High School; my high school alma mater was running our annual conference cross country meet; we thought it a fair use of time. My son’s home is cool, but what is cooler was to see my granddaughter, who is full of piss and vinegar. Smiling, happy, her Dad had her on his chest in some 21st-century front pack carry system. Together they formed a cyborg Dad / Baby combo. He’s happy, she’s happy, and Mom is starting a new gig. Proud of all our kids!

After dropping off a couple of gifts, we headed to watch our legend of a coach Ron Braun lead his boys and girls team to victory. Our main rival these days is the school the next county over; when I say “rival,” it’s competitive, but most the kids know each other; it’s an individual sport with a team angle. At the end of the day, it comes down to who wants it more. And yesterday, both our girls and boys team wanted it more. Tucker Burris, my first guest on my podcast, broke his record again running a 16:16, 5 of the top six runners also broke their records, we won tied with Waphani on our first five guys, but our 6th was the tiebreaker, we got em.

So why do I love and follow our cross country team so much? I think it was one thing that helped craft my kids into the superstars they became and continue to use lessons learned by coach Braun all those years ago. Like mandated service in the military, I am now convinced that if everyone had to run cross country for two years, the world would be a better place. I’m so proud of our school, coach, and the kids and the future of our XC program. 

We headed back home and pulled in to get a Chick Fil A spicy chicken sandwich. Sometimes, it is just the simple pleasures in life. We were running through the double lane drive-through, getting a sandwich hot and with the soft bun, and then sitting in a parking lot with a Queen enjoying one of the best things that I put in my mouth. I know, I’m a romantic. 

We came home, knocked out some chores, I headed to pick up Taco’s for our gathering, then came home to get set up. We host many people frequently; we know how to transform our home into a celebration center. We had about 30 plus show up last night, tacos and booze for the guests; I cleaned up after they left about 9:30, another successful gathering.

One of my friends from Denver shared his son caught COVID at a bachelor party; he was hoping luck was on our side when having our events. I thanked him for his wish. I have been thinking about COVID and the fear and freedom spectrum.

On one side, you have folks scared to death of the disease, let’s call them 1’s—folks that will not leave their house, those that order in all their food. And then on the other end of the scale, you have the freedom folks that think this is a scam, masks are useless, and they throw caution to the wind, saying “something besides COVID will kill me.”

I think my Queen and I are about an 8.654 on a ten scale. I know some 2’s and 3’s, I don’t judge them; they are entitled to live life how they see fit, but I am as well. When in a store, we wear our masks, but not outside. We practice social distancing, we follow the rules, but live with a zest for freedom during this pandemic. Is COVID real, of course, but I don’t let it dictate how I live my life.

I think this has been a good exercise for personal freedom; how much will you allow someone else to tell you what to do and how to do it? We will leave here and celebrate my mother’s 81st birthday today. We will meet our family at the hibachi grill, wear masks until we sit down, and then share laughter and conversation while the chef makes a choo x 2 out of an onion. 

We will get to see my daughter and new son-in-law. Mom and Dad, a small but mighty group!

We will come back here. I will do some reading, maybe play a little guitar. We might take a walk in the hood and then cook some of our beef we got from one of our team members. I’ve got some work to do tomorrow, multiple meetings, some prep work, but this is what I love, living and working and enjoying the fruits of thy labor.

It’s interesting to me how some people interpret my work. Folks read my thoughts on COVID and claim I think it’s not real. They see the fear and freedom continuum, hear where we fall, and claim we are careless; there is a vein, maybe an artery of judgment running through society; I think we need to meet others where they are and respect their opinions.

Well, happy Sunday, enjoy the day; I should mention it’s also my brother-in-law’s birthday, happy birthday, Kenny P, we will celebrate at your beach house or maybe on our mountain top, you pick, it’s your birthday.  Cheers, I’ll see you tomorrow, with one day’s worth of soup, ideas, and maybe some enlightenment.

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”

— Jim Morrison