I have a story to tell you. (Non-technical)

March 22, 2008 on 12:04 am | In Uncategorized |

I know this isn’t par for a programmer’s course, but oh well. This started off as an email I sent my brother, and I’ve added a bit and well, here it is.

The other day I went for a run in Downtown Tampa. I intended to be out for, oh, like 30 - 40 minutes. I ran up and down small streets ending up in some huge (and by huge I mean it was for at least a mile in each cardinal direction) upscale residential neighborhood where there was a Hummer and a Beamer in every driveway and a Mercedes in the garage. The property was all beach front vista. Actually, it was ‘bay front’ and the difference between the two was very obvious to me… it stunk like rotten sewage in the whole neighborhood. These people paid millions of dollars to live in a so-called upscale neighborhood that smells like a trash heap. I laughed to myself about the kinds of life-pressures that push one to do such a thing. I knew it wasn’t just that night that it smelled like that, because I’ve been in the general area before a few times, and it always had, I just never really thought about it all that hard. Well, I had been gone about 40 minutes at this point and it was starting to get dark. I realized that I was totally lost, and to my surprise I found that I had been going south after I thought I had turned around going back north and that for the entire 40 minutes I had been running further from my hotel. So I turned back around, my lungs burning, thinking to myself that I might as well stop and walk, start to panic and find my way back as fast as possible. Then I did actually stop, just for a minute. I looked around, and noticed that I was surrounded by palm trees, and that the air was 80 degrees. The stars were sparkling clear, and the moon was almost full. I was in a tiny little stinky paradise, while my co-workers were at home setting their alarm clocks to get up the next day and troggle off to work. My veins were bursting with my heartbeat, and I couldn’t quite see straight because of the oxygen debt. I was smiling to myself as I took off my shirt, and picked up at full speed back north. I was thinking, normally, I’d be upset. I’d be trying to hock some device I had on me to grab a taxi, or avoid the dark alleys so I wouldn’t have to worry if this were the right way to go or not, how long would it take me? How far off course was I? But in this instant, I realized I was living a moment that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to ever live again, and even the experience of the burning in my lungs was something I wouldn’t trade for the world at that moment. I was ecstatic, and I pushed myself harder than I’ve ever done before to run all the way back. Through the sprinklers that people had on for their lawns. Past the folks cruising by in brightly polished Miata’s and perfectly plated Benz’s wondering “Who’s the idiot running in the dark, while I’m in this fancy car? Must be a loser.” All the while I knew that I really had the upper hand, I didn’t have to worry about any of it. And I don’t live in a neighborhood that smells like a sewer.

It was a good night. And boy was I sore the next day.