Today Roy, my brother Joseph and I went on a wonderful hike with three of Roy's nursing school buddies. Though Roy had done his best to prepare me in advance by telling me that they were all in extremely good shape (you don't spring that sort of thing on a chubby person), I hadn't expected three lithe, Olympic track and field hopefuls to emerge from the car either. Crap.
As if that wasn't enough to make my chubby knees knock in fear, once we got out of the car, my brother and I quickly noticed that without exception, every single hiker around us looked like they were about to hike up a glacier. All had on thick down-filled jackets, ski caps, gloves, hiking boots, walking poles, etc.
What were Roy, Joseph and I wearing? The equivalent of jeans and a sweatshirt. Within three seconds of exiting the car, I ceased to have any feeling in my arms and legs, nose or lips. Thankfully I had brought some emergency provisions (a pair of long johns and a jacket). One of Roy's friends also lent me some gloves and a wool cap. Even with all of this clothing and my ample layers of subcutaneous fat, however, nothing was able to adquately insulate me from what felt like a 30-degree wind chill factor.
The hike itself was beautiful. Even though we live in Butthole, California, I felt like we were in the Ozarks, if only for a moment. The hike was eight miles round trip up Mt. Baldy in Upland, CA. There was a stream running about half the length of the hike with many beautiful little water holes and waterfalls. We got to stand at the top of a large canyon, and best of all- got to see the remnants of tiny stone houses that people lived in during the 1930's (before they were washed out by a large flood). There were still a few that people still lived in, all of which were straight out of Cold Mountain. I kept expecting Jude Law to come staggering up the path at any moment, babbling crazy talk and digging for grubs.
Tomorow I'm relectantly heading back for my second day of jury duty this year. I was called to serve about a month ago and dutifully went, smugly thinking I'd be able to get out of it due to my demanding work schedule. Instead, I was reassigned to return tomorrow. Ahh, another fun-filled day crammed like veal with 300 other grouchy civil servants. Can hardly wait.
2 comments:
Man,Josie,you sound so cool.I am also on the hell road to weight loss,at least right now.I just found your blogs after catching up on the 'fat man walking'.Hopefully now he's the'not so fat man walking'.More power to him.Keep up your sense of humor,sounds like that helps you along!Drop me a line if you can. Linda from Arizona
Thanks! I love getting comments. As much I enoy writing privately(I've kept a continous journal since 1997), I also love the encouraging feedback from others. I've learned that the community of those who are struggling with weight loss is the most supportive ever! Last I checked Steve's webpage, he was down 60 or 80 pounds...can't remember which. That's awesome. I heartily cheer anyone who chooses to face any addiction. Even if we stumble and fall 100 times before we make it, we all rock just for having the guts to try.
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