The Sun Rises On A New Year

Across the Fence #529

By the time you read these words, the sun will be shining on a new day and a new year. Life’s a mystery and we never know what adventures and challenges we’ll have as the sun rises on this new year. 

This past year saw major changes in my life when I retired after reaching 70 years of age. It was time. When I say I retired, I use that term loosely. I still write every week, still have my book publishing and advertising business, and now that I don’t have a “real” job, I can do more wood carving.

Retired people always say they’re so busy, they don’t know how they had time to work. I understand that remark now. The days fly by so quickly and I don’t accomplish half of what I’d intended to do. I don’t understand people who say they’re bored and there’s nothing to do. As long as we have our health and our mind, there are many things we can do, regardless of our age.

I’ll be the first to admit, I can’t do a lot of things like I did 50 years ago. I can’t even do them like I did 10 years ago. I used to do a lot of running. Now I walk instead of run. There’s less stress on my arthritic hips, and I can still go out and wander around the countryside. I’ll keep doing that as long as I possibly can. It’s good for the spirit to experience sunrises and sunsets. It lets you know you’re still alive and a small part of this tremendous universe.

We all have the power of choice. We can sit on our butt inside or we can get up, walk out the door, and experience the wonders of nature that surrounds us. When I think about running and making choices, it reminds me of an incident that took place 30 years ago. I ran in a lot of races over the years. Other than the annual 20-mile Syttende Mai run from Madison to Stoughton, Wisconsin, only one other race stands out in my mind. It was a hot, humid, summer race that took place in Verona, Wisconsin.

About the only photo of me running. Syttende Mai 20-mile run from Madison to Stoughton. Me at left (#880) and friend, Al Swain (#948).

Sometimes in life we’re presented with a choice, to either help someone or turn away. We may even have to put our goals aside in order to help someone.

I found myself in this type of situation in that Verona 10K race. That’s 6.2 miles for those of you who aren’t into the pain of running. At around the 4-mile mark I was running the fastest 10K race I’d ever run. I knew if I could just maintain my pace I’d have a personal best time for me. I was 40 years of age at the time and I mainly ran against myself and wasn’t trying to beat anyone. I just wanted to better my own time, but in this race I finished dead last!

It was very hot and I could tell some people were starting to struggle because of the heat. Just past that 4-mile mark, a girl running ahead of me was overcome by the heat and collapsed on the side of the road. When I saw her go down, I knew I had to stop and try to help. As a medic in the army, I’d treated a lot of heat related cases. A group of people were watching the race at a nearby farm. I yelled for them to bring me lots of cold water or ice. We took care of her until the Rescue Squad arrived and took her to the hospital. By that time all the runners had gone by. I declined an offer to ride to the finish line in the trailing ambulance. I wanted to finish the race.

With about 1 mile to go I caught up with the last runner. I could see she was really struggling so I decided to run along with her. I told her it’s much easier to take your mind off the pain when you have someone to talk with. That applies to a lot of situations, not just running. She told me she’d been running for about a year, and this was her first race. All she wanted to do was finish the race and get the T-shirt. We runners will endure a lot of pain for a T-shirt. That last mile was tough for her, but she finished the race. We even sprinted to the finish. It wasn’t exactly a classic sprint, more like a turkey trot. I let her cross the line first and I finished dead last! It was the first time I’d ever finished last in a race. But I’ve never felt better after a race! I think that’s why I still remember it.

I don’t know the name of the girl who collapsed or the girl I ran with for the last mile, and they don’t know who I am. That’s not important. What’s important is that when I had a chance, I put my personal goals aside and made the choice to reach out and help people.

The Dalai Lama said, “Our purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” As the sun rises on this New Year, that would be a good resolution for all of us to try and follow every day of the year.

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