Athletic acquaintances

Walking back from McDonald's, McDouble with mac sauce bagged up for later and sipping some Barq’s root beer we hear a loud "Hey!" Randy Macdonald, not of the franchise but local runner and firefighter yells down at us from the second story window of the Bangor fire department. Jen and I smile and wave back at the man’s effortless greeting as he hums along over the belt of a treadmill. Not that we know him particularly well or anything, but there is so much community in a greeting from a fellow runner. A reminder that we share something so primal and ancestral with each human, our amazing ability to run, and that some of us today still use that ability. Earlier today, a coach of the local running team, Peter Lodge, drove past us offering a quick greeting as we walked our dogs. Then when we get home, a young man and high school athlete from our time in the Mount Washington Valley, Peter Haine, friend-requested Jen on Facebook. Maybe I'm a little corny, but I like that sense of community. I like, all puns intended, running into our friends from the past.