Morning all. Woke up oddly ready to jump into the day. Usually I slow mosey into wakefulness, sleep really hard to shake off. Today, Wide awake. No clue why but I am going to use it. So Fifteen minutes on the timer and off we go.
Need to think a little bit more about the situation, but I really like the differences as I think they will be fun to play with.
Wednesday, June 24th: The trail was thin and winding.
The trail was thin and winding. It snaked up the hill and even though Carl could see that it was designed to work with the steep grade of the hill, getting them up without having to make a more or less vertical climb, after two hours of steady pacing he was beginning to think someone was being cruel to him on purpose by designing it.
‘Well, the cruelty could be intended,’ he thought, pausing his steps to fumble out his canteen. ‘But it probably wasn’t the person carving the trail.’ All things considered, the person building the trail might be the kindest in the lot.
He took a swig of the lukewarm water from his canteen and swallowed. Despite what others claimed, he did not require his water to be bottled in a far off country, chilled and served in expensive glassware. He did however dislike water that was the same temperature as his body. Somehow when the temperatures matched the feeling of putting the water in his mouth and swallowing was not one he enjoyed. He knew it was just the temperature and the water itself was fine, but there was something about that same body temperature that felt off. He didn’t mind if it was warmer or colder, just not the same as his body temp.
Which of course, was the current temperature of the water in his canteen.
He made certain to keep his thoughts and reactions to himself as he swallowed and recapped the bottle before swinging it back into place and resuming his steps upwards. While no one was looking this time, study of him and comments had been frequent.
‘At least they are looking a little worn as well.’
It was some consolation.
This hike was a dig at him as much as it was a group activity. He didn’t spend hours in the gym. He was different, in more ways than anyone cared to count. But today was about physical fitness. They assumed that because he didn’t spend hours in a gym each day he was physically unfit. They also assumed that because they spent so much time in the gym that they could tackle any physical task in the real world.
Neither happened to be true. While he didn’t go to the gym, his office days were punctuated by non-office days and on the non-office days, he spent a lot of time using his body in a variety of ways. He was also a runner who started every morning with a five-mile run.
On the other hand, the others lifted weights and did yoga.
They were not runners, they didn’t even put in time on the tread mill. Often their walking activity involved walking from the car to the gym or whatever activity they did when not at the gym. It was making the attempt to show him up backfire as they were enjoying it less than they thought they would.
As he thought about it, he blinked. He was certain they had hobbies other than going to the gym. He was certain of it. He couldn’t think of what they would be.
‘But they have to do more,’ he thought as he followed the last of the crowd. The gym was an activity designed to keep you physically fit so you could do other activities. It helped you regain mobility after an injury or surgery as the physical therapy part of your recovery. It was not an end in itself.
‘At least I don’t think it is,” He thought. He viewed the gym as a tool to reach a goal, not a goal in itself. He was also certain the were plenty of people who disagreed with him.
‘How very sad,’ he thought.
Ten til Midnight 