Quote of the Week...from Jimmy Buffett

Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.            ---Jimmy Buffett

Although Jimmy Buffett, who sadly passed away two months ago, is known for his style of rock that emphasized tropical, southern living, my first exposure to his wonderful music came during the summer of 1974 when he sang of wanting to leave Los Angeles and return to the mountains of Montana in the song Come Monday.  Four years later I heard Cheeseburger in Paradise which pretty much said everything essential about this American delicacy...those are my two favorite songs of his.  Buffett's above quote also stirred me and reminded me of the time a few years ago when Melissa and I visited Kanapaha Botanical Gardens southwest of Gainesville during their Moonlight Walk.  The two of us took our time slowly strolling down the pathway looking at the plants, while for the entire walk people would be speedily passing us saying stuff like "excuse me, sorry, excuse us" in their great rush to get through the experience.  I thought that was kind of weird, and maybe you do, too.  Yet consider that with anything we do, short-term or long, there is a goal or destination, which to attain we need to undergo a time-consuming process.  You want to get there in a reasonably timely manner...yet that which involves the endeavor is also worthwhile, and sometimes it dwarfs the outcome.  That's the way I see running races...not so much the finishing and aftermath, but the race itself with the variables involving distance, location, course terrain, weather, my body's state, people, and other factors I'm dealing with that mix together into an experiential stew.  But I could also say that about a drive to work, reading a book, buying groceries, mowing my lawn, cleaning out my garage, traveling to anywhere, even going to the dentist!  Somebody once said to stop and smell the roses, but if you're not into that stuff then there's plenty else to enjoy, and who says you have to stop...