Adios October

Well, well, there goes October 2009. Its been a crazy month. I finished my Cross Country season with a stress fracture, had a third Pennyrile Meet for Academic Team, and had a decent fall break. Quite abit has happened. School has been insane! I've been just barely getting by with all my work load and co-curricular activities. But its all past now. Now its all hands on deck for November. Not shaving, Thanksgiving, and the last of the Pennyrile Meets all await. Yep, November is going to be yet another month of good times, disappointments, stressful deadline filled days, and holidays. But I don't mind, it's nothing new. BRING IT ON NOVEMBER!!!

What will what I am doing right now matter in a year?

I wonder what things I'm worried about right now will matter in exactly one year. My homework, rides to and from places, or whether or not to participate in No Shave November will any of these desicions matter in a years time? I highly doubt it. I mean what I eat won't matter a week after I eat it, so how can say my homework a year later? I have a heavy suspicion that in a year I'll be worried about the same kind of things, but those things from this year won't matter. So does it matter if I do them or not? Maybe, maybe not. In a year, I doubt anyone will care about most of my little desicions right now. That doesn't mean I won't make the decisions, but it does mean that I won't stress to much over them.

What will I be doing in a year?

What will I be doing in a year? Maybe homework as I am right now. Maybe I'll be out with friends instead of being alone. Maybe I'll be thinking about college instead of the next week of school. Maybe I'll be writing a song instead of a blog. Whatever it may be I hope it is something useful. I hope I gain from it and can maybe become a better person from it. Chances are though that it will be something pointless and it will have little effect on the whole of my life. But who knows? Only time will tell. I'll find out soon enough.

Missing my Brother

My oldest brother Daniel, who is seven years my senior, is currently deployed in Iraq. He is almost finished with his tour and has less than a month left in Iraq. I got to see him for a weekend over the summer when he had his leave and got married. Anyway, I've really been missing him lately. He'll be home for Christmas and I really can't wait. But what I really want to do is go camping with him in the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky. Me and my brothers love to camp, and it is my personal opinion that the more natural the more enjoyable the camping experience is. So I prefer a tent and campfire over camper and stove. I'm not quite as extreme as just walking into the woods with a knife and surviving but I do prefer to try and use the land instead of just being on it. I really can't wait to go camping with my brother, because he always shows me how to do something and teaches me a new survival skill. It's also just great to sit around the campfire and talk with my brothers. Anyway I can't wait until he gets home and we get a chance to go camping.

Pumpkin Jam

In the Fall, whenever somebody gives us some pumpkins, my mom makes pumpkin jam. She will bake the pumpkin, then make pies, bread, jam or whatever else she can think of. My favorite of any of these is her pumkin jam.

She hasn't made it every year, but it is a Fall-time memory that I can recall from years past. Whenever my mom makes some, we always give a jar to anybody that will take one. I still haven't heard of anyone trying it and not liking it. I am pretty much always up for a glob of it on toast or a biscut. I even had some this morning. It is really delicious and I love it.

I will always enjoy it and remember my mom making it during the Fall.

Should Marijuana be Legalized?

Marijuana, mary jane, sweet leaf, grass, weed, hemp, or its proper name Cannabis; whatever you want to call it, it has had a colorful past. Cannabis has been used in many practical uses for hundreds of years. Clothes, rope, and paper have all been made out of the cannabis plant. In fact an acre of cannabis can make 4 times as much paper as an acre of trees. George Washington grew and encouraged the growth of cannabis so that Americans could be less dependent on foreign countries' goods. Cannabis was instrumental in producing war supplies in World War II. We must not forget the medicinal uses of cannabis as well. We see the good of cannabis, and it is very good, so the question is why is it illegal?

Cannabis is illegal because of its psychoactive drug THC present in the plant which produces a high. THC is believed to be harmful to users and promote further drug use. Studies have shown this to be untrue. The picture included shows that cannabis is both less harmful and less addictive (dependence) than both alcohol and tobacco. So again, why is it illegal?

The answer is because in the early 20th century the timber industry was able to influence the government to make cannabis illegal. The illegalization of cannabis was of purely economic motives. In light of this, the many practical uses of cannabis, and it being less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, it is my personal belief that cannabis should be legalized as it was before the 1930's and during WWII.

My Right Foot

My right foot and I have had a pretty good relationship. He takes me places I need to go and I make sure it stays out of places it doesn't need to go. My foot has been very useful. As a runner it is about the most used part of my body. Which is the reason why my right foot is breaking my heart.

You see, towards the end of the last Cross Country season, my foot started hurting. My coach and a fellow runner had suspicions that it was a stress fracture. I finished my season and took time off of it. I then ran on it through out track, at first it gave me problems and I would ice and rest it until finally it seemed to go away. So I continued to run on it. Well I finished track and took alittle bit of time off but stayed active as Cross Country requires far more endurance. So I basically got no rest between track and Cross Country for my foot to heal.

Now my foot is worse than it ever has been. I'm running faster and harder on it than ever before and it is taking its toll on my foot. At the City/County meet I ran and afterwards was writhing in pain as I suspect I re-fractured my stress fracture. I have two races left so I really want to finish the season as I have yet to break 20 minutes in a 5K. The problem is that I might break my foot in the process.

Most people do not understand my delima, they believe the decision is an easy one, stop running. But it isn't that simple. For me, running is fun. I get to run. Racing in a Cross Country meet is one of my favorite things to do. So for me to miss out on all the good times on the team and possibly miss meets is a big deal to me. My foot is causing me to miss one of the things I love the most. This is why its breaking my heart.