May 7, Charlottesville, VA-
Before this past weekend, the only other time we ran it was the day we discovered it, in mid October, last year. We had just driven to Charlottesville after spending the night in Richmond, to visit my daughter for parent's weekend. She is attending a private boarding school there. We were ready to check into the hotel, but the hotel was not yet ready for us, so we decided to explore. Little did we know where Interstate 64-West would lead us. From exit 99, we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, and drove a short distance.
It was not long before we saw it, off to the right. A Runner's Jewel, buried but exposed enough for us to see. The diamond was a stretch of road, unobstructed by traffic, and a path where all the negativity of life could easily be left behind for a while. The stretch was there for us, and those like us, willing to travel under their own power.
We parked, and we ran, and soaked in October's fiery foliage, at its near perfect peak, presented in a way that only the Virginia Mountains can display them. It was running, and nature, both at their best. We had unearthed a diamond, and enjoyed its beauty that day.
Then we spent a wonderful weekend with Monica, and came back to Atlanta. This past weekend, Monica was in a school play, and we went back up to Virginia to see her once again. My parents came up too. And we remembered our treasure, buried alongside the Blue Ridge. All the surrounding colors had turned to green, but the jewel had only appreciated in value, and we had grown in our appreciation of what we had. This time, there were three of us who ran the land that had become our Runner's Jewel. My princess, my father, myself, enjoying our own personal cache.
We all have runner's jewels that we have discovered along the way. Some, we have only run once, and instantly vow to revisit, when the time is right. Some, we have yet to explore, but safely store away in our memory reserves until the time is right. Sometimes, you just see something along the side of the road that begs you to run it. You store it, and promise to return and mine that diamond, some day. Some day, we say, and in time, we eventually run them. And then there are the jewels we run all the time, but it makes them no less valuable.
We ran the treasure twice this weekend. A place like this must yield to every opportunity to run it. We won't be returning to the Charlottesville Jewel until near the end of year 2000. That's okay, because a diamond endures forever. Monica will be spending her junior year abroad, where she will have her own jewels to excavate. Until then, each day, there is an opportunity to discover new diamonds, new treasures, and new jewels. They are around every corner. Wherever they are, a runner is sure to discover them.
[../../../../top/bottom.htm]Tuesday, May 20, 2008 04:33 PM