Ice Up, No. 89 – It’s Been an Awesome Run

HMP

Sometimes, it’s just time to say goodbye.

It’s often not productive to try and figure out why when someone lets you go. Last week, the Carolina Panthers said goodbye to wide receiver Steve Smith, after 13 seasons. Some say he was a problem in the locker room.

Some critics feel he would have made too much money ($7 million) for a receiver his age (34). His fans say his inner fire and competitive spirit are irreplaceable.

Why he’s gone isn’t important. We now have to balance filling the void and appreciating that he was here in the first place.

Go Ask Daddy About Space Ships, Marine Arthropods and Carbonated Cleanups

photo credit: Stéfan via photopin cc

Ever since I was a boy, the “what if” questions got me thinking.

Especially if thinking got me out of chores or homework. So when Amanda at the Miss Zippy blog postulated this week with “what if everyone ran?” it got me thinking. And avoiding chores.

What if everyone in the world decided to become runners? What if you had to wait in line at the greenway or the treadmill? What if you couldn’t swing a skinny trail runner without hitting fierce mama and her bobbing ponytail? Would we all be fit?

Would we all have shin splints?

Go Ask Daddy About Age Limits, Pricey Tickets and Google Trick … ets?

This would be me – getting blocked. By a Hokie.

So, I used to have this wacky-ass idea.

After a non-descript high school football career that lasted zero games and about six practices, I wanted to make a comeback. Years later. Like, when I was in my mid 30s. But now that I think of it, can you make a comeback when you’ve never really had a career?

My wacky-ass idea was to finish my degree, at nearby Guilford College, as a punter. Guilford wears these cool crimson uniforms, and plays in a little campus stadium on their cozy brick-laid campus, with a backdrop of the changing Carolina leaves across the field.

No, linebackers wouldn’t care much about the bricks and fall foliage.