Thanksgiving Retreat

Dori, the kids and I spent the weekend at our mountain oasis - Beersheba Springs - with my Mom and her husband Dan and my sister Anne and her husband Stephen. We celebrated Thanksgiving early at the cabin of generous friends, Rosalie and John. I want to retire in Beersheba and maybe one day Dori will say, "I do, too." Right now I get sweet "maybe's" from my girl, so I can only dream, save, pray and wait patiently.



What's so great about Beersheba? The air and the serenity, for starters. When we want to reconnect and recharge, we go to Beersheba. Dori traditionally works on a puzzle (this year's effort pictured) or reads. We also love being with our peeps. Between the laughter and friendly ribbing, we always eat some seriously outstanding food from Chefs Rachel and Anne. Might have a beverage or two, which just tastes better when your peering into vast overlooks of1,000-foot dropoffs.

This time, the kids and I, with Pepper pulling the whole way, did three mini-hikes, with Dori joining us on two of them. Dan roasted some chestnuts on the fire, while Mom outdid herself with the Thanksgiving spread, which I complemented with the best pinot noir I've ever had. At least that's what Mom said.

On the way home in the car, the four of us talked about heaven and earth. I liked what Dori said about heaven. Essentially, we're all going to do our best to get there and then one by one it will be like an airport greeting when the next family member arrives. Dori says airport greetings are when she feels tremendously positive emotions from the excitement of reconnecting with a loved one.

This afternoon, I took my recharged batteries to Percy Warner Park for a run around the 5.8-mile loop. The first 3.3 have some challenging ascents. Knowing I had processed a lot of butter and heavier carbs this weekend, I made sure my pace was modest. At the top of the park, I realized my batteries were full and I was underperforming. I took the last 2.5 fairly hard, maybe at 90%. I could have run faster, but I was just plain enjoying the feeling of a good run in perfect conditions (52 degrees, slight breeze, cloudy with little humidity and dewpoint). I ran the loop in 55 minutes, a 9:28/mile pace.

Compliments of my Aunt Renee, here are some recent encouraging articles about the inportant story unfolding in the world of John Kanzius, whose foundation is doing great work.

Arnold Palmer supports Kanzius
Kanzius keeps control of technology

Lastly, with all the economic gloom and unhappiness in today's world, check out this 60 Minutes story about Rex by Leslie Stahl, who also did the piece on John Kanzius. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.


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