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| Umstead State Park, along the Loblolly Trail, in Spring, 2013. Photo by yours truly. |
The story: I was doing about 6 or 7 miles that night, on an out and back route. I started around 5:40 so that I'd finish before dark. I had come back about a mile after the turn, and stopped for a drink and to enjoy the hidden lake on the trail (see photo, right). I checked my phone, and there was a missed call from home at 6:45. I called, and Debbie answered. I said "Hi! I see you called me." She replied, "Do you know where your pants are?" Hmm, that was not the phone conversation I was expecting deep in the woods on a Friday evening.
And yes, defying all reason, and knowing perfectly well I was wearing pants, I looked down. Wouldn't you?
Of course, when I had changed into my hiking pants at the SAS gym, I put my jeans down on a counter top to fill my water bag in my backpack. I then left my jeans there instead of taking them back to my car. The folks at the gym found them while making rounds before closing, found my wallet inside, and called home.
The gym closed at 7:00. It was now 6:55, and it was at least a 45-minute hike back to my car. I had to go in Monday morning to pick up my pants and wallet. My friend Patrick remarked that if you were to leave your pants and wallet anywhere, the SAS gym is probably the best place to do it.
It's all part of the journey, and all part of being 50, I guess. Mistakes are there so we can learn from them, right? A few things may slip my mind, but there are perks—now that I'm 50, I can put $6,500 into my IRA instead of the $5,500 that my young and beautiful wife is allowed.
The moral: Keep your pants close, and your friends and loved ones closer.
