Something So Pleasant

I used to run at least three miles practically every day when I lived in Houston. When 5 o’clock struck on a week day evening or a weekend morning, I was out the door and headed for Memorial Park. It was my little treat to myself and the one of the few things that I truly enjoyed doing when I lived there. I’d turn on my MP3 player, tune everyone and everything out and just jog.

The best part, though, was all the eye candy! There’s one section of the trail (which is actually a three mile long loop) where shirtless guys go and lay out so they can be gawked at. It wasn’t all eye candy, though. Since I was there so often, I began to recognize the other regulars. Maybe this is mean of me, but I came up w/ nicknames for some of the more comical folks. At that time, my friend and I were nicknaming everyone. We weren’t very creative w/ the names, but that was kind of the point. Here’s a run down of my favourites:

Flailing Arm Man – This guy would run the entire track while spinning both arms in a circular motion.

Tin Foil Lady – A rather large woman that dressed (head to toe) in really shiny silver, baggy work out clothes. She even had a matching hat to top it all off w/.

Constipated Man (my favourite!) – The expression on this man’s face looked like he hadn’t shit in a week. If I was in a foul mood, seeing him somehow always lifted my spirits.

Because of my current work schedule, I don’t jog like I used to. And I really miss it. When I do go it’s never at the same time, so I don’t see the same people. Because I don’t see the same people, I don’t really get motivated to go back out. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe I just like consistency in my life.

This week I’m working somewhat normal hours, so I’ve promised myself that I will go for a jog at Katy Trail every night when I get home. Tonight was the first night, and I had a lot of fun. I know it may sound silly to say that I actually had fun walking/jogging by myself, but I did. It made me think about the old days back in Houston, and all the regulars that I miss seeing so much. My schedule may soon change to roughly the same hours, and I’m really hoping that they do now. I saw some people that I have a feeling will become my new regulars. Believe it or not, I think I may have found Constipated Man’s son! He’s not quite as backed up, but just enough to bring a smile to my face. Actually, I really just enjoyed being outdoors exercising w/ a lot of other people again. I don’t think Katy Trail can ever compare to Memorial Park (for one thing, there’s no area for the shirtless guys to lounge around at), but it’ll do for now.