Things that made me smile last week

Winning Meb's Book "Running to Overcome"- I wanted to buy Meb's book because he had a stress fracture like mine, worked really hard to rehibilatate it, fixed it, and went on to win the NY Marathon.  .  I thought it would be inspirational for me and give me hope that I could also, for lack of a better word, "Overcome" it.  Well, it turns out that there is a giveaway for signed copies of the book.  I signed up on a Saturday and on Monday (1/10/2011) I won!  How Ironic?

Pipes Froze- Pipes froze over winter break.  Water was everywhere.  I didn't leave the heat on.  The temperature inside my apartment was 42 degrees.  I don't think that was to blame since 26 homes in town had pipes freeze and the pipes were routed to in the roof above the insulation.

Bagdad Cafe-  Though it doesn't take place in my bagdad, this movie has been on my list to watch for a long time so when it popped up on Hulu for the right price of free, I jumped at the opportunity.  This movie is ridiculous.   It made me laugh a lot simply because I run into so many genuine and interesting (weirdos) people out here in the desert.  Gold panners, militia men, miners, ranchers, hunters, off grid retirees, and most recently hippies.

Rainbow Family- I never thought I would live to see the day when the hippies invade Bagdad.  I know many old mining towns, namely jerome and bisbee, attract "artists" but not current mining towns.  The reason for their sudden interest in Bagdad is the annual gathering of the family near Burro Creek.

Gunner the Hitchhiker- Maybe he will find this post and comment, I hope he does since he was genuine and a pretty nice dude.  I saw Gunner in the morning during my run.  He popped out from behind a berm next to the laundromat carrying a thermarest and sleeping bag.  Did that guy sleep next to the laundromat?  I've seen weirder stuff so I didn't think much of it and continued on with my run.  A few hours later, I left town for Phoenix.  On the cutoff (highway 97), I saw a shaggy haired dude with a huge backpack carrying a skateboard.  He stuck out his thumb.  Now I already said I have seen a lot of strange things but this one takes the cake.  Here was a free spirit in the middle of the desert, walking along one of the most infrequently traveled highways in the state, in one of the most "conservative" areas of the state, and miles from anything.  And to top it all off he was carrying a skateboard.  It was too good to pass up.  I picked up Gunner the hitchhiker.  He was going to north to Wikieup and I south to the big city so the ride only lasted a few minutes.  At any rate, he was just living the dream wandering the great American Southwest with all the possessions he owned on his back.  I was envious of his lifestyle.  Surprisingly enough, he seemed a bit envious of my lifestyle- the stability, consistent relationships, confidence in having a decent place to sleep and a full belly every night.  I suppose if you doing anything long enough, it will get stagnant.