#39 Florida, Diagon Alley, and Pigeons

Hello Digletts, hop in the back and let's go to Florida and back. 

The road to Florida

Running in Florida went far less successful than planned, but that is how it always goes down there. After a 90 minute run in Mayaka State Park my second/longest toe was killing me and I pessimisticly diagnosed it as a stress fracture, best case a solid bruise, and I sand bagged most of my week in Florida. Nonetheless, it was therapeutic once again. Honestly, sitting on the back porch watching the dogs run around was worth the 16 hour commute. I got to run with ole Hopkins for the first time since he moved down to Florida. We also shot some pool. Pool has been my latest hobby. As a new auxiliary member at my pop's VFW post I get access to some free pool with a bunch of Vietnam vets. Couldn't ask for a cooler group of guys to shoot pool with. Pops gave me his old cue that he used to run tables with decades ago so I have decided to crack down and start playing a lot more pool so I can formally accept the cue and continue its legacy. Friday night I played 22 games at VFW, the MET, and Shab Dabs. 3 sessions. With a run and elliptical session thrown in there? That's as productive as my days can get. Though my night ended on a sour note when me and roommate Adam lost to a douche named Casanova, named by me, and had to buy him and his partner a drink since that was the wagers that night. Don't like losing.

There is no Watsonian Weekly, but here is a few pictures from his Florida Sabbatical. Next week will resume his pursuit of a kidnapping. Spoilers- he slept a lot.

Universal was my highlight of the Florida trip. My highlight of being in Universal didn't come eating a Krusty burger, or walking down Diagon Alley. While walking around in the park I saw a pigeon strutting across the street and decided to crank back and swing my leg toward the pigeon. It'd move though because that's what they do. Get annoyingly close and then move out of the way. Thankfully it didn't move that day and I booted it across the street. I'm pretty sure I was more surprised than the pigeon was. But I was happy for the rest of the day. Here is a clip explaining the deal we have with pigeons.

Universal was pretty neat. I'm almost certain that we were one of the only English speaking people at the park, but that's not as annoying in hindsight. While we were there I felt uncomfortable. I feel like I had to talk slowly to workers so they would understand my foreign language. I enjoyed the Simpsons world and Harry Potter's world. Here was my day in photos.

This is where I got my wand. Voldemorts wand.

I'd very much enjoy spending my days eating Krusty Burgers and drinking Duff Beer.

"You have to be this sassy to ride this ride"

This poor uncomfortable bastard.

The drive itself back to Morgantown was easy. The stretch from Palmetto to Universal Studios wasn't motivating considering we made that exact trip some 26 hours earlier. Traffic wise, Florida was the worst state because we hit decent clusters in Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Honestly, listening to an audiobook made the trip a breeze. For as many road trips as I've taken one would think that I have traveled with audio books before. I've listened to one prior, but that was a gift and was heard from the comfort of my futon and bathroom. Killing Patton is what we listened to for the first nine hours of the trip. It was absolutely excellent! WW2 is my favorite segment in US history and loved the depth O'Reilly and Dugard go into the legends involved in the most recent world war. Anytime I find out new knowledge of WW2 I am excited. In fact, I anticipate reading Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln at some point in the near future. A must read by everyone in my opinion. I think America has a lot of dirty secrets and have always been dark in ways, but that's how one remains a world power and I like it. After reading this I think Patton was assassinated internally because he knew too much information that he anticipated spreading upon his arrival back to the states; just like I believe JFK was assassinated by the government to allow the absurd spike in military involvement in Vietnam and the trade centers knowingly fell to gain support to continue the Bush legacy of fighting irrelevant fights in the middle east. In the grand scheme we've been just as bad as most countries, but that's why it doesn't bother me.
By the time the audiobook ended we were still in South Carolina! On the brink of NC though. A.K.A back in my comfort zone. South Carolina and Georgia make me very uneasy. I feel like the people there can smell my open mindness and want to chain to the back of their trucks and drive off, dragging me behind. Fun fact: on a previous Florida trip we stayed in Georgia and on the morning run the next day, bright and in the fifties, I ran in blue jeans. I felt like putting on running shorts in a hick Georgia town would be like tying my own noose. Granted that was a different time era. 2013. Embracing the rapidly dropping temperature we had ice cream prior to entering Virginia and once we  got into West Virginia I made the final trip behind the wheel. I saw a common sign that said- West Virginia Almost Heaven. If that were true I'm sure many would lose their faith. I grabbed my ever clutch Kickstart and flew as fast as I could from the southern part of the state. We were back by 3a.m. A solid 17 commute.

Training resumed soon after the return. My long toe is feeling fine and I'm ready for the grind to Quest for the crest 50k. 16 weeks until the race. This means Sunday trail runs will start up again beginning tomorrow and this blog is going to get far more run-e. But I will keep Watson's tales going as well as a few random things. Here is a new segment that will fall under random things.

Bringing you the latest scoop on the newest music that isn't terrible, in a generation full of terrible music, is Jake from State Farm:

The newest release by the Decemberists, "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World", brings a new era in their music. Instrumentally the sounds are like their previous REM-esque album, "The King is Dead", however, lyrically it seems to bring back a story telling element found on "The Crane Wife". 

The first song entitled “The Singer Addresses His Audience” serves as a note to listeners that the band has changed and even needed to change, but did so for them. When listening to the entire album as a whole, this becomes evident. “Philomena” is an erotic tale of a man who lived only to see a naked girl; however he quickly became uninterested and bored of that notion. The single from the album, “Make You Better,” not to be confused as “Make You Butter”, is a love song Colin sings to his lover. “All I wanted was a shimmer of your shine to make me bright,” he sings. “The first songs were highly personal,” states Meloy, the lead singer in an interview. Later in the album, “Better Not Wake the Baby” sounds similar to a sea shanty sang by sailors sailing the seven seas. Whatever you do, you better not wake the baby. One of the most interesting songs on this CD is entitled “12/17/12”. This is a reaction to the Newtown school shooting in December of 2012. “I was hit by a sense of helplessness, but also the message of ’Hold your family close,’” recalls Meloy about why he wrote this song. At the end of the song he sings, “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World,” giving the album its title. “A Beginning Song” ironically concludes the album in an anthemic way. This song leaves the listener wondering what is yet to come, in the song for the singers love, but even more than that: what is yet to come for the Decemberists as a music group? For now, we shouldn't dread on that question, rather enjoy this new work of art from the Decemberists. 

On tap for next Sunday's entry:

• Finally going to start using/sharing Strava!
• The return of Watsonian Weekly
• Another '15 Album review
• 70th Birthday shout out to my pops

ONE LOVE!