bugsii

If you knew my dad at all, you knew that every winter he wore this ridiculous 20-year-old Kent State stocking cap, with a large, even more ridiculous fuzzy ball on top.  He wore it to all of my games and field trips in school.  He wore it to church.  He wore it everywhere, all winter.  “It’s warm,” he said.  For the race, since I was dedicating it to my dad, I wanted to wear this hat.  Alas, the hat is missing, lost in the shuffle.  So, I decided to get my own version.

Ridiculous Ohio State Hat

This hat was nice and warm, but after about a mile it was a little too warm.  I kept it on the whole race though, and I liked it.  I thought I might get a few “Go Bucks!”, but I fear I was far from Buckeye country.  I only got one “O-H!” and that was at mile 5.  I thought Buckeye fans were everywhere.

Dan and I got downtown around 7, about an hour before race time.  We snuck into to the Holiday Inn’s lobby to stay warm.  At about 7:45, we headed out to line up.  It was in the low 30s and sunny, very nice weather for a winter marathon.  The race started in waves, so as each corral left, I slowly walked forward, waving goodbye to Dan.  We headed out downhill and by mile 2, the Mississippi River was in full view.  It’s pretty huge and there were even steamboats out!  I think I might have spotted Huck Finn!  Then, we headed back uphill toward Beale Street where there are a bunch of Blues cafes and a statue of Elvis (the whole area also smelled like fried food!).  Mile 3 brought us back close to the start and I got to wave to Dan one more time before we headed away from downtown.  At mile 5, we reached St. Jude.  There was a big balloon archway, kids and families everywhere and signs that said “Thank you!”  I fought back tears.  Eventually I just had to keep my eyes on the asphalt.  It was too overwhelming.  I felt my dad with me then, so proud.  He always wanted to go visit the hospital and here I was, having raised well over my $500 goal, running a marathon right through the hospital grounds.  He would have loved to have been right there with me. He was in a way, but I also wished he could have really been there.  He would have been bawling like a baby.  That was my dad.  He had a big heart.  After St. Jude, we headed out through a nice neighborhood to a nice park and then back downtown.  I felt really good and I finished with a PR (personal record)!  My fastest half marathon before this was a 2:12 and today I ran in 1:56!  I even felt like I could have kept going!  It was such a great race!

After the race, I peeled off my sweaty hat, and we headed back to the hotel for quick showers.  Then, we needed to get some Memphis Barbecue!  Dan found a place called Corky’s, which claimed that they had the best BBQ in Memphis.  Dan got some good ribs (according to him) and I was very happy with a delicious baked potato, corn on the cob, and a salad.  They also had good rolls that were covered with butter on the outside and served with some more butter on the side.  The south is not the land of the health nut, that’s for sure.

After our yummy lunch, we had plans to visit Graceland.  I don’t know what I expected, but it was way better than I thought.  It was pretty cool to see Elvis’ house preserved perfectly since the 1970s.  I’ve never seen so many mirrors in a house in all my life.  And, since it’s Christmas time, it was all decked out with original decorations (white trees and tinsel and everything!).  Dan got some really good pictures of the estate (and of the marathon) and you can see them if you click on “piictures” above!

After Graceland, we got on the rode and drove halfway home, so we would have a shorter trip tomorrow.  So, here I sit in Elizabethtown, KY.  Dan’s watching some UFC and I’m going to bed.  That PR wiped me out!  What a great day in Memphis!

I got up this morning, did my yoga, read for a bit and then headed to my weekly tech meeting with the other Ed Tech students.  It’s really nice to hear what they are working on and how they are working on it.  It is comforting in many ways and I like it a whole lot (just in case Dr. V reads this).

Right after that meeting, I have class.  I love this class.  It’s interesting and challenging and it’s taught by my super-cool/smart new advisor.  I pulled out my notebook and wrote the date at the top.  Time flies right now and I always have to think about what day it is.  I knew that yesterday was October 27th because I had a midterm due that day and it was branded on my brain.  So, if yesterday was October 27th, today is October 28th.  October 28th.  My dad’s birthday.  I hadn’t thought of it until just then and just then, it made me sad.  Sad I forgot.  Sad that I have been forgetting for the past couple of years.  Just yesterday, I was walking on the Oval, feeling sort of insecure and a bit hopeless and for whatever reason, I had this feeling that I needed to call my dad.  It was like that feeling you get when you haven’t talked to one of your parents in awhile and you sort of automatically reach for your phone.  Well, I did that.  I hadn’t done that in a long time.  Forgot, I mean.  Forgot that I don’t have a dad to call.  Forgot that my biggest supporter couldn’t talk me out of my insecurities.  But, what I did, at that moment, the moment I dropped my hand from my cell phone, was called my dad in my mind.

Hey, Dad!

Hey, Bugsy! What’s up?

Oh, nothing, just walking around on campus, worrying about this class I just had.  I didn’t contribute again and I’m really worried that everyone is going to think that I don’t know anything.

Oh, don’t worry about that.  You’re just as smart as everyone else there.

No, I’m not, Dad.

Yes, you are.  Stop worrying about. I know you can do it.

Dad, I’m afraid that the professors have doubts about me.

Oh, no they don’t.  Just remember, they were all students too once.

Alright, I have to go read, but I’m coming home this weekend.  Wanna get pizza on Friday night?

Sure!  Just call when you are heading up.

Okay.

Love you, Bugsy.  I’m proud of you.

Love you too, Dad.

He was so funny like that.  So black and white, so sure of his kids.  The crazy thing was, was that very night in class, my professor told us that he didn’t really expect us to have done the readings this week (which I had done) because, “I was a student once myself and I’m realistic about these things.”  Dad, you are a genius.  Oh, and happy birthday.  Today, you would have been 59, and boy is that OLD.

Kidding.

Today marks another year without my dad, Wayne Richards.  It’s been 6 now.  That’s hard to believe.  I thought that I might write about that terrible week 6 years ago, but when I started writing down all of the events of the week, from the phone call that he’d had a seizure to my hand on his cold chest, it was still too hard.  A lot of strong memories came tumbling back, things I wished I didn’t remember.  And besides, it’s not really how I want to remember my dad, the funny, lively, smart, loving person.  I’d rather remember the extra long jokes he would subject us to, or the late night grocery store visits, or the way he screamed his head off at every one of my basketball games.  Maybe next year I’ll revisit that week, or maybe I won’t.  This year, I’ve decided on something else.

My dad’s favorite charity was St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.  We donated to St. Jude’s after he died and Dan and I made a donation in his honor instead of getting wedding favors.  St. Jude’s is the official sponsor of the Memphis Marathon because Memphis is where the hospital is located.  If you sign up for the marathon (all proceeds go to the charity), you can pay ten extra dollars to be in the “Heroes” program.  What this means is that you get a website and have a goal of raising $500 for St. Jude’s, plus you get some extras like a meal the night before.  I am going to sign up to run the half marathon in honor of my dad.  The race is on December 5 and I plan to drive down for the weekend, run my race, maybe see Graceland and the hospital that my dad had such a big heart for.

I want to invite friends and family that are interested to run or walk the half marathon with me.  I can run as an individual, but I can also create a team.  I would love to have a “Team Wayne.”  If you are interested, leave a comment and I will start gathering names and information.  I even promise to make special shirts for anyone who decides to do it.  If you’ve never run or walked a half marathon, don’t be intimidated.  I’ve seen every type of person run marathons, overweight people, young kids, 80-year-olds.  It’s really not an impossible feat.  If you’ve ever shopped for an entire day, you could walk a half marathon right now.  You’d be tired, but you could do it.  I think, if my dad had the chance to do this for someone in his family, he would.  He’d lace up those ridiculous out-of-style black reeboks, put on a silly shirt, and remember.

My Dad