Dec 19, 2007

the (un)kindness of strangers

another mile repeat day.
i start it the same way i've started them for about five months.
by putting my warmup top and water bottle by the bushes at the end of the lap. and i go do my first lap. i end it only to find that my jacket and favorite water bottle gone. so i am rummaging through the bushes to see if my stuff fell through to the ground. i scan the street to see if i can run down whoever took it. i figure they can't be far - they were in & out in less than 8 minutes. if i had to run them down, maybe i could count it as another repeat. then i start yelling obscenities at the bushes. "are you shitting me?" and "wtf"? - only i said the whole thing, not just the letters. the thing is, bushes don't know who took your stuff. then i hear a lady across the street. maybe she knows who took my stuff. she heard me swearing and she asks what i lost. i tell her the whole thing. how i have been doing this every single week for months. and briefly, the thought of how often i am out there is about as depressing as the fact that my favorite water bottle and cool top are now gone. i apologize for my language. but she's horrified that someone in her neighborhood would do such a thing and says "i'd say the same damn things". i like her. then, to counteract the unkindness of whoever took my stuff she offers up her back steps for me to put all my stuff next time. which was very nice. but still. loved that water bottle.

7 comments:

RunToTheFinish said...

Damn bushes who do they think they are. Seriously this is why I'm afraid to set stuff down people are just greedy!

Frayed Laces said...

Holy cow I can't believe that! I always wondered if that would happen on my runs. I was waiting for you to say that you were looking in the wrong bushes. I am so sorry. If I see anyone with your jacket I will beat them with my crutches.

Unknown said...

The BASTARDS! If you DO find the person(s) who did this, I say make 'em run a marathon. THAT'LL teach 'em!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Zanne, that sucks. I was actually afraid, though, that you were going to say that someone had tried to assault you when you went to retrieve your stuff. I'm so glad it turned out not to be that.

Try to remind yourself that no matter how cool they were, they were just things. Unless, of course, you find out who did it. Then I suggest you ditch the zen approach and beat the crap out of the guy, ha. :)

(Why I'll Never Succeed As A Buddhist, by Vegan Run Amok)

. said...

Oh that's well annoying. During the summer I used to leave a few small water bottles stashed around my route for the long runs. A few times a bottle would vanish while I was doing a lap. Seriously, who takes an unopened water bottle they see lying in a bush?!

Nancy said...

That bastard will get his. What comes around goes around. I'm sorry about losing your stuff, though.

Gotta Run..... said...

Unreal!! That sucks! Maybe it is not to late for Santa to add a new water bottle to your stocking. Have you been a good girl?