October 5, 2016 The Huntsman Harriers Ride again. Shagg takes the Gold medal in the 400 meters. Garry comes fourth in the 100 meters, and Dave runs a leg on a Gold Medal winning 4 x 100 relay. Hats off to St. George and the Huntsman World Senior Games for 30 years of encouraging health and fitness through athletic participation.
Shagg Makino, Garry Cox, & Dave Doerrer
I had my whole life worked out, including what I was going to include in this blog. Then I learned that Bob Dylan recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I predicted that back in 1962, but I don’t think anybody took me serious. So this is redemption for me, sort of. As I move into my third day of being 74 years old, I would like to make a new prediction. The next Nobel Prize for Literature will go to a R A P P E R
I have never been a huge Rap fan even though back in the day I hosted a TV Music Video Show that featured local kids and the music they liked. So I was down with LL Cool J, MC Hammer, Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. It was an audience driven, kids participation show. Who knew those kids would usher in what today is a major global art form?
As a poet myself, I’m ashamed of never giving rap artists their props. It was a huge oversight, brought on no doubt by jealousy on my part. But as Bob said The Times They Are A-Changin’. I intend to change with them. My new cultural Bucket List will include experiencing some of the music produced by the next Nobel Prize winning Rapper. “The Times They Are A-Changin’-Bob Dylan U should listen!
Certainly, the times are changing for all of the Olympians and Olympic hopefuls we all followed on the road to Rio. Living a Dream dudes Dave and Gary have already welcomed back some of the ALTIS athletes we have gotten to know. It’s a bitter-sweet time for us. Sort of like going back to school after a summer break and discovering that although many friends are back, some of your favorites have moved on.
The truth is, Dave and I totally get what the athletes are going through. In one sense we are T & F Lifers. We just keep showing up and muddling through. We have our personal goals. We get kudos for continuing our training at our advanced ages. But aging, though inevitable, is unique to the individual. No two athletes age alike. Like many of them, Dave and I are at a crossroads. We have already altered our Track & Field Bucket Lists many times over. And we’re about to do it again.
Dave is considering retiring from competition though he insists he will continue training with me. As for me, thou I have boasted ‘I’ll bop till I drop’ I am looking at next year when I will turn 75 and be the youngest guy in my age group. I figure that will give me my best shot at reaching my Bucket List goals. And what are my goals? I’m glad you asked. Can I get a drum role please-Goal no. 1: meeting All-American standards for the 100 meters. Goal no. 2: winning a medal in a big meet like the Huntsman World Games were I recently took 4th in what I like to call my signature event. Goal no. 3: I dunno, stay healthy I guess. Oh, right. I forgot. Loose 20 pounds.
And now, fresh from the Dave and Garry archives, THE RACE! I wrote this piece for The Finish Line Newsletter back in the heyday of our Masters T & F careers, our fifties. The Finish Line Newsletter is produced by Arizona Senior Olympics
Racing Dave: My first 400-meter race with Dave Doerrer is indelibly etched in my psyche. Pick up the race on the final curve before the home stretch. I am definitely in the hunt. But as we labor down the backstretch, I’m suddenly conscious of a ka-thud, ka-thud, ka-thud from behind me. And as the ka-thuds become louder I hear the bleachers swell with a chorus of, “Go, Dave, Go! You can Get ‘em Dave! Take him!” Dave will deny having a fan base larger than his wife Marge and a few friends, but on this fateful day he is backed by the Hallelujah Chorus. The ka-thuds have already unnerved me and the sudden roar of the crowd is most disheartening. I feel like Ichabod Crane being pursued by the Headless Horseman. But this horseman has a head and a backside, which unfortunately I am doomed to see as Dave thunders on to victory.
Final Notes: Fortunately for Dave and me, ALTIS is still operating in our back yard so we can continue to mingle with the finest coaches and athletes on the planet. Color Us Grateful!
Also some good news for friends, partners and associates of Steve Lewis. The Olympian Pole Vaulter and conceptual inspiration for this blog is back for another go at world class competition. Possibly the IAAF World Championships, August 2017 in London, United Kingdom, ending his career where it started.
And for those of you who have patiently waited for word on the whereabouts of Constance Delaney, keep the faith. The lost may yet be found.
In closing I call on the words of the great pugilist and entrepreneur George Foreman. After a tough loss to then champion Evander Holyfield, George extended his hand and said with sincerity, “Thanks for the opportunity.”