The Meanest Man in America

Have you ever heard of a man named Pee Wee Gaskins? He was a BAD man....a serial killer in the 70's and even earlier. He lived only 30-45 minutes from my home, when I was a teenager. I never knew him, but I remember being very afraid of him. There is a documentary on You Tube about him. If you would like to watch it, click this link: The Meanest Man in America. There have also been a few books written on the subject. Occasionally over the years, Pee Wee's name has come up in conversation taking me back to that time in the 70's, when I remember that feeling of fear from just hearing his name. I don't necessarily like to read things like this, but since it was so close to home, I wanted to know more. After all, it was local history. So, just a couple of years ago, I saw a book in the bookstore about him and decided to read it. How someone can be so callous and have no conscience is beyond me. It's enough to make chills run up your spine. And now I know why he was such a feared man.

So......You may be wondering why in the heck I would write about the meanest man in America. It's simple. I was talking with Joyce, my neighbor at the beach, and she was telling me about a gentleman that she offered to give his grandson a golf car ride, while he set up his camper across the street from us. The man was so appreciative that he gave Joyce a signed copy of a book he had written. She showed me the book and what do you know...it was the same book I bought and read a couple of years ago. I got all excited and Joyce asked if I wanted to meet him. So, we walked across the street and she introduced us. I couldn't believe I was actually shaking hands with a full fledged author of a published book. He was a very nice man and offered to sign my copy. The only thing was that my copy is in Colorado with my son-in-law. I almost wanted to go buy another copy, just to get his autograph. We finally came to the conclusion that I would bring my copy home with me when I visit Whitney and Jason next month and when Mr. Collins comes back to Lakewood for vacation, he will come by my house and sign it then. See how nice he was........



The Book. The Author. And the reason for this post.

 

Happy Fourth, Y'all!

Laurie 

 

 

Oh wait, in case you were wondering......

 

I have been running like a mad woman. At least my legs think I've gone crazy. I'm trying a new style of training, for me anyway, called the Hansons Method. It operates on Hansons' philosophy of cumulative fatigue. I'll explain that one later. Anyway, I've already ran 74.51 miles this month. And July's mileage will be even higher. I have high hopes for the Revel Rockies Half-Marathon in August and I can't wait to see how this new training method will have worked for me.

The Experiences of Running

Divas Half Marathon

N. Myrtle Beach ~ April 2014



I was so excited to be invited as a guest writer for the Grand Strand Running Club Newsletter this month. Scared, inadequate, insecure, but excited. My assignment.....running, of course.

I've had a couple of months to think about what I was going to write and honestly, I don't know that I can add anything to what you've already read about and what you, as runners, already know.

So, I thought I would tell you a little about my story and my experiences of running.

I began running two years ago this month. Initially, I started running for my health. And in no time, decided to enter some races. After all, that was what runners do, right? My first 5K was so powerful! I discovered things about myself that I would never have, otherwise. Of course, it has to be said.....I learned that 'the nerves' is a powerful cleanser. Ha!  But more importantly, I learned that my body will go farther than I ever thought possible. I learned that my mind can make or break me on a run. I learned that I can talk myself through some of the most painful runs or races and finish. And the sense of accomplishment I felt as I crossed the finish line was life changing.

There are certainly days when I don't feel like a runner....not that I'm sure I know what being a runner is supposed to feel like. First of all, I'm slow. I got a sense of that the day a lady security guard driving a golf cart and I nearly collided. She whipped around me just in time and proclaimed..."Don't worry, I brake for joggers".  I thought and nearly out loud, OMG!  Did she just call me a jogger?  Yes, she did! So, I guess it was confirmed....I am slow.

However, there is a bigger picture here. Being slow has nothing to do with being healthy. And being slow has nothing to do with the distance of a mile. A twelve to thirteen minute mile is just as long as a seven minute mile. So running slow......Ha! Who cares? I've decided there are worse things than being slow. I am able to run, some don't have that luxury.

And then there are those days that I proudly rack up the miles and think to myself....I may not be an elite runner, but I am in an elite group of people called..........'Runners'.

I have a blog and write a lot about my runs. Some days my runs crack me up and I just have to tell someone. And some days, I'm pretty sure inquiring minds just want to know. Ha! By telling my stories, I hope to inspire people to get serious about their health while having some fun at the same time. (If I can do it, so can you. Just put one foot in front of the other and soon, you too, will be a runner and on the road to better health.) If you would like to read more about my experiences of being a runner or just life in general, you can visit me at 111lalalane@blogspot.com. Or, you can read about my latest 10K race here: http://111lalalane.blogspot.com/2014/05/hell-hole-swamp-10k.html

The experiences I encounter through running make it thrilling and keep me coming back for more. And although I've been running for two years this month, I still consider myself a new runner. Oh yes, in those two short years, I've experienced running highs and lows, an injury, some good races and some not so good races. But, I've grown to love it....all of it. And as I've contemplated my running as a whole, I've come to realize that running is a metaphor for life. You get out of it what you put into it. There will always be uphill battles and then there will be glorious accomplishments. Running can thrill you or make you feel defeated, but you learn from it and grow.

What more of an experience could one hope for?

 

Happy Running Y'all!

Laurie

Reflections Of The Way Life Used To Be....

(source)



Summer of 1972.....I was twelve years old and as carefree as I could be. In those days we would roller skate, ride bikes, play with the water hose and climb trees. My sisters and brother and I would play outdoors nearly all day.....or until the heat drove us in during the middle of it.  But once the afternoon breezes began, we were back outside again.  I don't know if this delighted mama or drove her crazy trying to keep up with all five of us. (Baby number six wasn't born yet.)

Dusk was a magical time of day. The Martins began swooping in eating their fill of mosquitoes, the crickets began singing their songs and the fireflies began wooing potential mates while lighting the skies. OK, so there weren't that many fireflies, but wasn't it just the highlight of the day to grab a Mason jar and capture a couple of fireflies, sit them by your bed and watch them light the room with a faint glow until you fell asleep. Boy, those were the days.

I think that summer was my last carefree summer where all the problems of the world was cared for and solved by the adults in our lives. Nothing seemed too difficult for our mama. Without as much as a hint of a complaint, she would plant and harvest a garden, make all our clothes on her pedal foot Singer sewing machine and cook and clean. She was always busy and seemed like she was always in the kitchen. As busy as she was, though, she allowed us to be children....except for the times she made us shell butter beans. Gah, we hated that. She finally started paying us 10 cents a quart to shell them. That helped.

Back then, we may not have had all that we wanted, but we certainly had all that we needed. We had a roof over our head, clothes on our back and food on our table. And we had long summer days to play and expand our imaginations.

Times have certainly changed since that summer, long ago. I wonder if children today really know the joy of 'playing outside'. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to the days of no computers, no cell phones and no video games. I don't mind progress, but I sure mind it when it takes away such a neat part of growing up where memories are made in the yard, under the trees, on slip and slides, squirting the water hose and scratching on the screens at night to scare the bejeebies out of your sisters.

Ummm, yeah, I confess to doing that. We slept with the windows open and I caved to the temptation, multiple times.  Ha! Just hearing one of my sisters scurry out the room to mama sent me into a quivering heap of giggles on the dewy grass below. And then, mama would come to the door and call me in. Like I said before, those were the days.

So, this summer our grandchildren, Lidia and Sawyer, are spending a lot of time with us. Maybe we don't see fireflies much anymore, but there are trees to shimmy and fish to catch, there are rocks to climb and waves to ride, there are roads to bike and water hoses to squirt and we intend to let their imaginations run wild, all on their own.....until the heat drives them in or the dark beckons them to scratch the screens.

These will be the days!

Laurie

Sweet Sweet Summertime

Just a quickie.....It has been busy around here. Lidia and Sawyer finished school with a bang. They both received academic awards and I am so, so proud of them. It has been a big year for Lidia and Sawyer. Remember, they moved to the upstate last summer. It was a hard transition for them and me! The beginning of the school year was tough, especially for Lidia, as they tried to find their place in a new school. But, I am happy to say that they have done very well and have an extremely great support system in their new home and school. Emily has done an awesome job at finding ways for them to adjust. And I have to give a BIG, BIG thank you to our friend, Patti. If it were not for her, I would have figured out a way to bring my babies back home to stay. I can see Lidia and Sawyer flourishing now. I am so relieved. And I am so excited that they are spending a major portion of their summer vacation with Cliff and me at the beach.

My running has taken a slight back seat, but I must, must, must get back on track this week.

Cliff is volunteering at the Hell Hole Hundred trail run this weekend. He is following the runners on his mountain bike, circling them to make sure everyone is OK, taking videos and loving it. He sent me a text that he wants to run it really BAD. The trail is the Jericho Trail that I've written about before. You can read about that experience in my post called Wild Hogs and My First DNS.

So the following are some photos of life on LaLa Lane for the past few weeks. I'm certainly looking forward to some major adventures this summer. And I can't wait to tell you about them.

 

Sawyer - End of First Grade....Received the Math, Spelling and Writing Awards.

And he was one of the best readers in his class.

Lidia - End of Fourth Grade....Received the Honor Roll Award for the year and the Reading Award.

So, so proud of our little smarty pants.

Celebrating the end of school with breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Same celebratory breakfast.

 

Lidia and Sawyer's Tae Kwon Do test for their orange belt.

The shorty is Sawyer immediately after breaking his board into 3 pieces. Look at his instructor's expression after watching him break it. Lidia is to his right. Both Lidia and Sawyer earned their orange belt that day.

Lidia trying to sneak up on some baby ducks at Lakewood.

Sawyer is climbing trees.

 

Beach time. It's a little bright for Sawyer. He can barely hold his eyes open.

Hammock Time.

 

And finally, the video Cliff took today as he followed the runners of the Hell Hole Hundred.

 

*****

 

Hope everyone is having a sweet, sweet beginning to their summertime.

 

Talk soon,

Laurie