Downtown Little Rock

Bob McKinney guided an extra large group of Geezers on a tour of downtown Little Rock this morning, beginning and ending at the Root Cafe on the south side of I-30 on Main Street. We were out for 1:34:10, and probably went somewhere between 2.5 and 3 miles. We saw an old brick lawyer's office which was home to an Arkansas governor in the mid 1800's, a violin maker's shop, and a few old stores and stuff. I was underdressed and got pretty cold. The Root Cafe looks fantastic, with a perfect menu and lots petepretty employees and customers, but it was far too crowed with the dozen Geezers so I came home.

Levy Trail North

For the purpose of adding variety to my headlines and to demonstrate to my readers that I don't do the same thing every goddamn day, I will from this point designate whether I began my Levy Trail jaunts headed north, as I did this afternoon, or south. The North route goes between the big Church of Christ close to John Kelly's house and the ghetto apartments. The South goes past the Family Dollar store and Senor Tequilas.
I walked Levy Trail North today in 33:01.

Chandler Street Loop

I walked the Chandler Street Loop tonight in 46:30. I went this late because I think it might help me stay awake to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks play the Texas Longhorns in the Texas Bowl tonight. Since the game is on ESPN, I will have to wait until it's over before I can watch it on ESPN's replay Website. It probably won't start for me until about 11:30 p.m.
By the way, I tried this for the Arkansas-LSU game in November. It knew the game was over, and had it cued up and ready to go. But before I started it, I drove to a nearby minimart to buy beer. When I walked in, everyone was giving everyone high-fives over the great Razorback victory. Lesson learned.

OVERHEARD
"Are you a scarf person?"
— teenage girl to her teenage boyfriend at Walmart. I believe most of my readers can imagine how the boy from North Little Rock reacted

Levy Trail

I walked two miles on the Levy Trail this morning in 33:53. It's 39°F, and I walked through about five minutes of very light snow.

Orange Street Loop

I walked the Orange Street Loop this morning through steady rain in 45:54.

I PLAN TO STAB...
...the next person who says or writes, "...true freshman"

OVERHEARD
"Here's the problem: If I buy this bag, it will be gone by dark. I mean, dark today."
 — man in line at Kroger, rummaging through a container of several types of Christmas Hershey's Kisses, and holding up a bag of the caramel-filled

Levy Trail Loop

I walked and jogged the Levy Trail Loop this evening in 26:18. It was comfortably cool when I began, but, fuck, it started raining just as I turned back toward home near the former Dixie Pig building. I ran most of the way back, in blue jeans and beat up old shoes.

I PLAN TO STAB...
...the next person who says, "I don't care what people think about me."

Levy Trail Loop/DFL

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 30:29. Afterward I ate with Mom in Nashville and Dad and Lillian in Hot Springs, and fell head over heels for a cashier at the Hot Springs Books-A-Million.
The Green Bay Packers lost the Democrat Football League third-place game to the 546 Posse, 89.12-86.79.

Orange Street Loop/DFL

I alternated one-minute jogs with four-minute walks to complete the Orange Street Loop through cold drizzle in 40:02, with splits of 13:33, 13:15, and 13:14.
The Democrat Football League Green Bay Packers trail the 546 Posse 89.12-72.98 in our third-place game. I have Denver Broncos wide receiver going in Cincinnati tonight. The Posse has Denver defensive lineman Von Miller. Even if Miller doesn't get a sack, Thomas will have to have very good game. He has scored more than 16.15 points I need in five out of twelve games. Players get 4 points for a sack.

Results of the Sweet Baby Jesus Christ Memorial 2K race to Chili Dogs in Hell and Back*
MEN
1. Ken Starnes, 7:46
2. Josh Madison, 8:16
3. David Meroney, 8:46
WOMEN
1. Lacey Kelly, 10:04
2. Holcomb Mosely, 10:05
3. Petra Williams, 10:16
*Hashers consumed thirty-six quarter-pound chili dogs, including thirteen cans of chili. Tom Zaloudek ate four. Each were about six-hundred calories. They also drank four thirty-packs, and all but seven cans of a fifth. Pete still needs to sweep up a pile of glass between the smaller, wood-framed chair and the front window. Misty kicked over a blue vase as Santa Claus gave away presents.

Sweet Baby Jesus Christ Memorial 2K Race to Chili Dogs in Hell and Back

I marked the Sweet Baby Jesus Christ Memorial 2K Race to Chili Dogs in Hell and Back course this morning, and walked it again to get some extra mileage. A 2K is approximately 1.24 miles. Mine might be closer to 1.3. It looks as though we'll have a beautiful day to watch football, drink beer, eat at total of 43 quarter-pound chili dogs, and run and walk.

Levy

I walked for 36:18 early this afternoon, in part to get a feel for my 2K Hash race tomorrow.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 30:56.

OVERHEARD
"They were literally taking money out of the mouths of hungry children."
—state prosecutor on three women from the Department of Human Services who are accused of stealing money from a summer lunch program

River Trail/DFL

I walked with the Geezers for 1:26:36, out and back on the River Trail from Burns Park this morning. More later. Coop just pulled up for a trip to Craig's.
For the first time, I had the hot ribs. They tasted the same as the medium, nearly perfect.
The Ratpackers defeated the Green Bay Packers, 112.40-83.85.

OVERHEARD
"What does Jayme like to drink? Do I need to buy a blender, because I will. Heck, I'll buy two if that's what it takes."
—Pete, after Elaine said she would bring Jayme to my Christmas run this Sunday, moments after Pete repeated something Susie said years ago about how most women were no more than four or five drinks from going either way

Orange Street Loop/DFL

I alternated two-minute jogs with three-minute walks to complete the Orange Street Loop this afternoon in 41:11.
The DFL Green Bay Packers are probably fucked. We currently trail the Ratpackers 108.40-71.95 in the Cooper Bowl semifinals. My players spent most of Sunday afternoon sleeping. The Ratpackers have a crappy defensive player for the Bears going in Monday Night Football. We have New Orleans running back Mark Ingram. He's good, but rarely great. I'd say our chances of winning are about one in a hundred fifty-seven.

Levy Trail/DFL

I walked two miles on the Levy Trail this morning in 32:06 and didn't see the cat, or cats.
The Ratpackers lead the Green Bay Packers in the Democrat Football League playoff semifinals 3.30-0 after Thursday Night Football. No one played for the Packers, and some running back for the St. Louis Rams underachieved for the Ratpackers. I am currently favored by Yahoo, with an estimated final result of 132.51-108.01. Realistically, the Ratpackers have played better than the Packers for the last several weeks. I am not confident. We played these guys back in October and got lucky to hold on for a 122.32-121.12 victory.

OVERHEARD
"Is the bell-ringer on crack or what?"
— Kroger clerk to another clerk about the Salvation Army Christmas woman's nearly maniacal bell ringing

Levy Trail

I alternated four-minute walks with one-minute jogs to complete two miles on the Levy Trail this morning in 29:43 and met siblings or more likely step siblings of Chuck II. One was long-haired with fewer spots and the other white with short hair. They were fit, like Chuck, but also a bit shyer. They came to be petted, but not without encouragement. Maybe they could sense that I was hungrier than two Chinamen.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 32:17 and considered adopting a cat (seriously, I did, though I need another cat like I need someone to stab me in the neck). I was on my way back, about two-hundred yards north of 38th Street, when I noticed a pile of fur to my left, ten feet off the trail. I thought it was a cat but wasn't sure until it turned to look at me. The moment it did, it ran directly toward me, meowing affectionately, and rubbed up against my left leg. It was white with black spots randomly splashed across it, with fur about the length of Samantha's. I would guess it was a few months old, and wonder if I will see it again. Or if it will go the way of the black Levy ghetto cat from the fall of 2009.

Levy Trail

The Geezers and I walked 4.4 miles on the Levy Trail this morning in 1:23:58. I found out that Susie broke up with Jayme last week and will move with her new girlfriend to North Carolina on Dec. 20.

I PLAN TO STAB...
...the next person who says, "It's not in their [or his or her] DNA"

Maple Street Loop

I alternated two-minute jogs with three-minute walks to complete the Maple Street Loop this morning in 25:43.
This afternoon I walked with Elaine Gimblet and B.J. for 1:09:39 on Petra's Hash run along the Little Rock side of the Arkansas River. I had enormous fun.

I PLAN TO STAB...
...the next person who says, "Have a blessed day"

Levy Trail

I walked and jogged three miles on the Levy Trail late this afternoon in 41:23.

Levy Trail

I alternated two-minute jogs with three-minute walks to complete two miles on the Levy Trail through steady rain in 26:46. There's a dog on the trail who's appeared in the last month or so. He's large and the color of dark chocolate, and funny. About half the time I run by his house, like today, he's on the trail and barking as though he's frightened of me. This always happens if he's out; at first he takes an aggressive posture, but as I get close, he turns away and runs and jumps over the nearest fence and then over however many others it takes him to get back to his house, always leaving a trail of barking dogs behind. I wonder how long it'll be before he knows I'm just as scared as he.

Levy Trail

I walked two miles on the Levy Trail tonight in 30:57.

Orange Street Loop

I walked the Orange Street Loop this afternoon through a steady drizzle in 43:31.

Levy Trail/DFL

I walked two miles on the Levy Trail this afternoon in 30:06.
The DFL Green Bay Packers defeated the Oklahoma Joes, 138.12-82.39, to complete the regular season in second place at 11-2. We will take next week off and play in the semifinal round the next week. The NFL Packers defeated the New England Patriats, 26-21.