Participating in Yoga Class

We (Lynn and I) survived two Yoga classes at the town recreation department and I did well. My balance is a bit of a challenge and the routines certainly bring one’s flexibility to new heights.

Visit to Maryland for Easter

We went to visit Lynn’s sister’s family (Beth, Tom and 2 fine young adult children, Tommy and Annie), in Kensington, MD, for Easter from Friday, May 6 to Tuesday, May 10. We decided to fly down and back, instead of driving, as we have done many times before. We took advantage of my condition to utilize the benefits available to the disabled, such as use of a wheel chair in the airports and special rights for disabled visitors to the Smithsonian’s’. We had a great time. We visited both the air & space museum, near Dulles airport (not the more common one in the Smithsonian) and to one of the art exhibits. As part of our weekend, we partook in the religious service, at Beth’s church, Easter morning, we drove through nice neighborhoods to enjoy the famous Cherry blossoms, we played therapeutic games of Scrabble and of Ping-Pong and we attempted a run on the track around a nearby park.
When we were in a café during a lay-over in NJ, we met a nice gentleman, from Texas, who had overheard our conversation and was intrigued by the mention of my accident and had lived in Italy. He had, coincidently, served in the U.S. forces and had been stationed in Napoli. He was familiar with many of our old haunts and he went on to tell us that he has just 3 children, but now is the grandfather of some 14 grandchildren. At this point, the airline pilot we had met, Cameron, came back to our gate to provide to me his email address. I accepted it and I gave him the address of my BLOG, suggested that he check it out in the future, and said it was nice to meet him. When I had met Cameron, he had noticed the Triathlon Florida Ironman T-shirt that I was wearing, and he had struck up a conversation about competing in triathlon and had told me that he was in training to compete in the Lake Placid Ironman, in June of this year. I had told Cameron that I actually did not complete the Florida Ironman, but had a friend who had completed the event several times and had done Lake Placid several times. Thus, we agreed to share a common interest in Lake Placid. Cameron commented how remarkable my recovery was and commented that if I could possibly complete an Ironman in the future, that ABC might want to document my tale in one of their human-interest stories.

Veterans of Dance Class

We completed a continuing-education sponsored class in dance at the Bev Burton Dance Studio, and studied the Cha-Cha, the Waltz, the Foxtrot, and the Swing. It was a very big challenge of my mental capacity and of my balance ability. Completing this class has given me a new appreciation for the burden I am to my wife, Lynn. Sometimes I rely on her to support my balance troubles and to refresh the dance steps as we progressed. I hate to be such a burden to her, especially when I consider how simply I would have managed the same exercise in the past (prior to my accident).

Running a Maiden lap on The Track

Within the past week, I successfully ran a lap at the MHS running track with my friend, Al, who has been my buddy since our college days. We completed a lap, holding his arm to give me stability, in just 3 minutes, 55 seconds, after completing a lap prior, completely solo, in just 4: 24. I was actually running, not merely walking fast, and it gave me a sense of accomplishment. It was especially significant to complete this milestone in the presence of Al, who has been my camping buddy since our UConn days and who credits me with introducing him to many competitive individual sports. In fact, one year ago, when Lynn heard about my serious accident, she called Al to inform him about my condition and he dissolved his sorrows while completing a run at Hammonasett State

Our daughter, Kate, has quit smoking and has targeted the same race, The Race for The Cure 2007, to commence her formal running career. We hope to make The Race for The Cure 2007 a joint running event.

Swimming in Florida

We went to Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, March 24 and returned on Sunday, April 1. We stayed at a time-share condo of our friend(s)Susy (& John) Roberts, with the main focus being “to reacquaint myself with swimming”. It was certainly a success. The condo unit had a nice 25 meter pool, with lane lines, and we swam every day for early morning (freestyle) laps before the pool got crowded with kids. I brought my wetsuit to improve my flotation and to keep me warm (and my goggles and Lycra cap). I first did laps on Saturday, March 24, and only completed 1.5 laps, without a stop. On the second day, Sunday, March 25, I swam 11 laps. On Monday, March 26, the result was 20 laps. By Tuesday, March 27, my accomplishment was 30 laps, and by Saturday, April 1, I was up to 40 laps, or 1000 yards.