Complaint of the Skeleton to Time

A warrior chooses a path with heart, any path with heart, and follows it; and then he rejoices and laughs. He knows because he sees that his life will be over altogether too soon. He sees that nothing is more important than anything else.

Carlos Castenada - from A Separate Reality

So, my cousin and her son did the Nautica Malibu Triathlon last weekend and killed it. My nephew, Blaine(15), averaged a 6:30 minute mile to podium. And he rode a mountain bike. Freakin' awesome! Props to you on having fun, keep it up. Oh, and Eric ... What's up with the man-crush on Matthew McConaughey? Oh, I get it, you were just taking those pictures for Gail. Got it. (Hope you don't mind I used one of your pics for the blog.)

And in other news - it was my birthday yesterday. As I get older, I realize the importance of living the healthy, fitness based lifestyle. My goal is not to live forever, but to make those days I am here much, much more enjoyable. As I look at more and more older people around me, I realize the importance of the health investments I am making now. These investments will pay dividends far beyond the original 'up-front' costs. Especially when the compounding interest of time starts occurring in those oh-so-important latter years. I want to see my children and, hopefully, my grandchildren have fun and be there DOING it with them. That's when all my deposits into the Bank of Longevity should extend the due date of my 'loan' - this human body. Hopefully, especially in these current times, the Bank of Longevity does not go bankrupt before it's time.

That reminds me of one of my favorite writings by Allen Ginsburg:

Complaint of the Skeleton to Time

Take my love, it is not true,
So let it tempt no body new;
Take my lady, she will sigh
For my bed where’er I lie;
Take them, said the skeleton,
But leave my bones alone.

Take my raiment, now grown cold,
To give to some poor poet old;
Take the skin that hoods this truth
If his age would wear my youth;
Take them, said the skeleton,
But leave my bones alone.

Take the thoughts that like the wind
Blow my body out of mind;
Take this heart to go with that
And pass it on from rat to rat;
Take them, said the skeleton,
But leave my bones alone.

Take the art which I bemoan
In a poem’s crazy tone;
Grind me down, though I may groan,
To the starkest stick and stone;
Take them, said the skeleton,
But leave my bones alone.

My friend Ed is running the Ironman with me and is raising money for a local charity called the Tempe Community Action Agency. If you can help in anyway, that would be awesome. Here is the link:

http://edtheironman.blogspot.com/