Sunday Observations - May 3

- Psychologist Rollo May was quoted, "It's an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they've lost their way." There's something about us that makes us feel better when we panic. 1 confirmed American death due to swine flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 36,000 Americans die from flu each year.

- May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in North Carolina. When you're out driving, look for those guys with two wheels. I know some of them are stupid, but please be careful for the sake of the ones who aren't trying to be dumb. Be especially careful around a wobbly guy on a sweet Italian sportbike. He's scared of you and your big cars.

- May is also National Bicycle Month. You should make it a goal to ride your bike to work or the store sometime. And if you are in your car, please also be one the lookout for people who might be commuting on their bikes. And be patient... I don't mean to be slow. I assure you, I would go faster if I could. And I wouldn't be in the road if NC did a better job of providing bicycle lanes.

Go here for Bicycling Commuting Tips.

- Speaking of bikes, I helped my friend Ruth pick a bike yesterday. We visited almost all the shops in Asheville and Ruth settled on a Fuji from Probikes in West Asheville. It was fun and a good purchase!

- Hearn's Bikes, one of Asheville's oldest shops, moved from Merrimon Ave to Asheland and they no longer carry new bikes. Go in there and it's like a museum of used bikes. It really is neat. There were folding bikes, standing bikes, tandems, lots of old Schwinns, a neat selection of single speeds and just some really cool old frames.

- My assistant wrestling coach and his wife just had their first baby on Friday afternoon at 3:19. They were both at work (they both teach with me) when Wendy started having contractions during first period. Please welcome to the world: Sophia Athena Williams.


Crush of the Week:
I read a cool article in Sports Illustrated on the return of Ken Griffey, Jr. to Seattle. A quick recap of the article:
1- Seattle is as infatuated now with Griffey as they were when he was a rookie in 1989.
2- The Mariners are winning, just like the early 90s before A-Rod, Griff and Randy Johnson jumped ship.
3- His swing is still so, so natural and sweet and his smile is still infectious.
4- Griffey is referred to by one beat writer as, in hindsight, the greatest player of the last 20 years.
Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and so many others have had rumors , accusations and scandals follow them. Not Griffey. He did what players are supposed to do when they get older: be leaders, raise a family, get slower and get injured. It's common knowledge in cycling and body building that athletes dope to recover from fatigue and injury faster. Griffey's numbers are not as staggering because he spent so much time injured. Some of it was bad luck, some was him getting older.

I don't follow baseball as closely as I used to. But I will still pull for the Dodgers (10-0 at home so far) and, at least for this year, I'll root for the Seattle Mariners in the American League.