Weather: Partly Cloudy, 46°F, 78% Humidity, Wind: From SSW at 4 mph; feels like 42°F.Pace: 8:06 min/mile
Course: A slight variation on Highland, Cobbs Hill, Park, found using USATF Map It!
When I sit to write, as is the case when I go for a run, I rarely have a clear idea as to where the journey will take me.
This morning, while running through Highland Park this morning, all the indicators of the upcoming Lilac Festival were on view: closed concession stands constructed, certain areas of grass neatly groomed, barriers for closing limiting traffic flow stacked at most street corners, and the wooden stakes bearing red flags planted in the ground.
Each year, prior to the opening of Lilac Festival in mid-May, the local chapter of MADD "plants" a red flag garden featuring small wooden stakes with small red ribbons attached to the top with the names and dates of individuals whose lives were effected by drunk driving. Last year, when the picture above was taken, I stopped to read some of the names and the visual of so many flags, each with individual names, is a very graphic reminder of the impact of alcohol on one's ability to drive.
Because it is officially "prom season" in our neck of the woods, this past week at school, the Student Leadership Club organized a lengthy presentation about the ills of driving under the influence of alcohol. The presentation included a simulated car wreck, a speech by a local judge and a heartfelt remembrance by the mother of a young man from the community who was killed by a drunk driver (who was actually driving with a license which had been suspended because of--even more tragically-- a prior DWI conviction.)
Many of the students with whom I spoke afterward shared with me that it was a moving presentation, and I sincerely hope that it was as effective in influencing the decisions they'll be making in a few weeks, as these simple flags planted in a park...
Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!
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