Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas
I was out today in several stores. In Staples I met a really grumpy old man. But the rest of the people I passed all smiled at me; one even winked. I think people really feel the spirit of Christmas, of love and joy and peace and no one seemed harried or rushed. It was actually very pleasant to be out this morning.
The Journey - Installment Twenty-Three
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 5, 2001
The following is from my sister Cindy as she began the New York City Marathon:
On the morning of the marathon, we were up very early for a 6:30 am breakfast. Fred’s Team which supports pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center served us our breakfast. We had all raised money for Fred’s Team and were then able to stay at the Plaza Hotel. Because of the recent events on 9/11, all runners had to be across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge by 8:30 am. We got onto the bus and a photographer from Prevention Magazine arrived and wanted to take a picture of our group. So we got off and I am sure the rest of the people on the bus were probably wondering who we were to hold up the bus. When we arrived at the race starting point, we headed toward the waiting area, a park at the end of the bridge. There were so many people there waiting for a 10:50 am start. The security was very tight and everywhere you looked you could see police and the military guarding the bridge. There were even officers at the very top of the bridge and over the toll booths. It was a little cool that morning and it had been suggested that we wear some outer clothing like sweats that we could discard at the start. I bought some inexpensive sweats and left them on the side of the road before beginning the race. Volunteers then picked up the clothing and were to donate them to a homeless shelter.
Our race numbers were pretty high so we should have started way back in the pack. We made our way towards the middle so it wouldn’t take as long to get to the starting line. I heard that Mayor Giuliani spoke before the race started but I missed it as the lines to the bathroom were very long. As the race started and the runners began moving forward to start across the bridge, they played “New York, New York” getting us all in the mood for a great race. I was with my friend Linda, Dr. Peeke and Connie. We ran toward the middle of the bridge since Connie was afraid of heights but we were still able to look to our left and see the Statue of Liberty. It was an amazing sight. The bridge was about 2 miles long so once we got going it took us around 24-25 minutes to cross. I remember coming to the end of the bridge to turn left on a street and seeing so many people waiting for the runners, yelling and encouraging us. There were many police cars and fire trucks along the side of the road. Some of the fire trucks had their ladders raised with flags draped from them. I don’t think that if I ever ran the NYC marathon again, it would be like it was on Nov. 4, 2001. This was the first positive event for New Yorkers to come out for since the terrible tragedy. I was so glad that I was part of it and will always remember our great experience. (Remember, this is Cindy writing this portion, not Barbie Jo.)
I can only imagine the emotions and beauty of the flag waving and the statue of liberty.
ReplyDeleteDon wanted to run a marathon, and got up to 14 miles, and then he had his bypass surgery and stopped his long distant running.
Cindy is doing a great job telling the story.