
It’s summer. 11:00 in the morning and it’s already 85. I’m running up Baier Street, one of the steep hills in the neighborhood. I’m about halfway up and I see a guy unloading a lawnmower getting ready to get to work. I say something to him about how hot it is and that it’s only going to get hotter. As I pass him, he says something about pain and never being alone. Yeah, that’s appropriate for both of us.
As I reached the top of the hill, I began to wonder if what he said was a quote. So this evening I looked it up. Here it is:
Make friends with pain and you will never be alone.
You’ll never guess where it comes from. Christopher McDougal.
Does that name ring a bell? It won’t unless you’re a runner.
Christopher McDougal used the quote in his book, Born to Run, the story of the ultra-distance runners of the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. A fascinating book, especially if you’re a runner. In the book, McDougal quotes Ken Chlouber, Colorado miner and creator of the Leadville Trail 100-mile race.
Make friends with pain and you will never be alone.
Now I wonder. Is the guy with the mower a runner? A reader? Both? Or did he just pick up the quote along the road of life? I hope I see him again. I’ll ask.
July 6, 2020 at 10:39 am
You should read McDougal’s second book, Natural Born Heros. It’s about some locals on the island of Crete kidnapping the Nazi general who was in charge of the occupation there.
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July 6, 2020 at 10:42 am
Thanks. I’ll put it on my TBR list.
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July 6, 2020 at 10:42 am
https://labeak52blog.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/book-review-natural-born-heroes-2/
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