A Little Sunshine Goes a Long Way

Ah, there was sun in the natatorium pool during the lunch hour today, and sun on the walk down to the pool for that matter. December's beautiful. Great to have snow on the ground. I really don't mind Jeeping around in it, though it certainly inhibits mountainbiking for most of us. But along with the frigid temps and gray skies it's also great to get some unabashed sunshine and blue sky. Whoever took the noon hour weather staging shift for Salt Lake today, ataboy! (or atagirl, for that matter)

I've hit the deadline for a writing contest, now we'll see what happens. For the last 46 The Deseret Morning News has conducted "The Christmas I Remember Best" writing contest. I've entered for several years now. Sure, it would be cool to have a story published, but the great reward for me is focusing on Christmas, trying to write for a general audience, and hitting the deadline. I sent the story off last night at about 1O p.m. Nice to have that done. Perhaps I'll now have a little more bandwidth for blog entries.

Old but gold...well in this case, silver: "Genius without education is like silver in the mine." -Ben Franklin

A few more things I'm thankful for

It’s been a while since I’ve published a list of things I’m thankful for, so here’s another one. This time I’m going to organize in alphabetical order.

A – Autumn music like September Song
B – Beauty, buildings, bikes, beautiful buildings for bikes
C – Children as kids and adults, creative collaboration
D – Dedication, delight, deliverance from depression
E – Energy, exercise, education, encryption, encyclopedia
F – Family, friends, feasts, film, fruit, finance, frugality, fishing
G – Golf courses, generosity, good tidings, grief yielding growth
H – Hope, Handel’s Messiah, Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg
I – Insight, introspection, interpretation, timely interruptions
J – Jam, jelly, juice, jokes, gestures (I know, belongs in G)
K – Kitchen remodeling, gatherings, conversations, aromas
L – Light, love, luck, listening, leftovers
M – Music, mountains, mystery, mentors, minds, moments
N – Now, nature, nurture, networks, a sunlit natatorium
O – Opportunity, occasions for celebration
P – Peers, pears, pools, ponds, parents, places, planning
Q – Quiche quests quacks quarks quarters quiet questions
R – Rest, recreation, records, reason, relief
S – Snoozing, sneezing, sight, swimming, service, serenity
T – Travel, time, teeth, true walls, true tales, true friends
U – Utah, understatement, understanding, under the covers
V – Vitality, volume, virtue, verification, veracity
W – Wonder, wife, my wonderful wife
X – Xerography’s role in the development of laser printing
Y – Young and old, “yes” when you’re expecting “no”
Z – Zeal, zoos, getting some zzz’s

The power of two words

It's been 31 years since we went to the awards banquet. Randy landed an internship at Channel 2 and I'd won a $1,000 scholarship from the Radio and TV News Directors Foundation. Randy says we had a short conversation after the meal and he asked, "How did you get the scholarship, Rich?" The two words he remembers me saying were "I applied."

I'd forgotten all about this, but Randy hasn't. He told me today that those two words helped change his life. He says he took them to heart and the next year applied for two scholarships and won them both. As a young married college student with two kids, he says he really needed the money.

And now he says this is one of those stories he tells his kids about little things that sometimes make a big difference. Two words spoken three decades ago. Who would have thought? I guess I'll have to tell my own kids about this one, too.

Randy Ripplinger is Director of Public Relations at the Granite School District in Salt Lake.

There's more to the story, of course, but for now less is more.

the mere act of writing

"It's very strange, but the mere act of writing anything is a help. It seems to speed one on one's way." -Katherine Mansfield, as quoted in Leaving a Trace

At the Huntsman World Senior Games this year

A man with white hair and a cane made his way from the locker room to the side of the pool. As other swimmers climbed up to the starting blocks, someone took his cane and he lowered himself into the water.

The starter advised “take your mark,” the strobe flashed, the buzzer sounded, and this 80-year-old athlete extended his arm, caught the water, rolled and pulled himself forward almost as if he grabbing hold of the rungs on an invisible ladder. And he did it again and again and again for 800 meters, 32 lengths of that pool. He reached and pulled long, smooth, strong--yet relaxed and steady.

He finished in 18 minutes, 59 seconds. Not the fastest in his group of 80-84 year old men, but good enough for a bronze medal. He finished to applause and cheers of many younger seniors including me. People helped him out of the pool. Someone handed him his cane. He again walked slowly, but his face glowed, his eyes twinkled.

Competing at the Senior Games is new for me. I’ve only done it twice. But I hope to go back year after year as long I can. One of the rewards is the perspective it provides. I see what others are doing and I’m inspired to follow them

From First Grade to the Senior Games

I remember being anxious and excited on my first day of first grade and feeling much the same when I swam for the first time at the Huntsman World Senior Games last October. After the games I set a goal to compete this year. Back then there seemed to be plenty of time to get ready. Well ready or not, the 2005 games start next week. I’ve paid my registration fees, made reservations and once again I’m anxious and excited.

I’m also grateful for family, friends, runners, bikers, swimmers, even blog readers who’ve encouraged me this year. So many Saturdays my wife’s said, “You’d better get your swim in today.” So many lunch hours I’ve enjoyed taking a swim-break on campus. So many spring, summer and fall afternoons I’ve cross-trained on mountaib bike in Salt Lake foothills.

In their own way, my kids also encourage me. Three in college provide an unparalleled motivation to stay healthy and productive. Sometimes they give me tips on proper attire for exercise, “Dad, you're not going to wear that are you?” And when dinner table conversations get too one sided, they bring me back to reality.

Last year when I wasn’t quite sure about going to the games, I asked some neighbors for advice. “Of course you should go,” said one without hesitation. Not everyone was so positive, but I'm glad for the encouragement I got. I hadn’t yet discovered Wayne Gretzky’s quotation, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.”

I’m also grateful to live in a community that encourages recreation. Thanks to the Utah Masters Club I’ve had fun swimming in a couple of local meets in Park City and Salt Lake this year. Thanks to Salt Lake County I’ve competed in the Magnathon, my first mini-triathlon. Thanks to Davis County I’ve howled at the moon while biking the annual Antelope Island Moonlight Ride.

And thanks to an old friend from way back in first grade who spirited me off to lunch on his Harley today, I’ve been reminded of the kid I once was and still am--still anxious, still excited, still looking forward.