So the races this past weekend got cancelled. I emailed the race director Tuesday after we were starting to get hit with all the storms and asked about the condition they were in there. I didn't hear back from him until Wednesday right before my karate final. The Xterra race was cancelled, but at the time he told me the road tri was still on. That gave me some solace. However, later that day when I got home and checked my email everything was cancelled. Me not having a race to do is small and petty to get worked up about when so many people lost there lives and homes both there in Arkadelphia and all around the South. Still, it sucks to work for many months training for the race and to get it taken away from me two days beforehand. It won't all go to waste. I have another race in two weeks and then Southeastern Championships the week after that. I wanted to get an idea of how my training had been going and see what other things I should practice and focus on before Southeastern's. That is judgement day. The day I am determined to bring home the jersey.
However, the rains haven't stopped. We are still getting hit with storms and the river is continuing to rise. The Mississippi is set to crest in the next few days within a foot of its record high and maybe even more with the continual rains. The Memphis in May BBQ festival has been moved. Something that has never happened before. I have never seen the Wolf River flood like it did. The trail system that I ride most often was under multiple feet of water and one section of it is bound to be washed away for good. These trails will probably not be rideable until June; that's if the storms stop any time soon...and the Wolf River doesn't start flowing backwards as the Mississippi crests. Last week, the United States (the South) saw more tornadoes in a single day than it has ever seen, 312 in a 24 hour period. That beats the old record by over 160 tornadoes! It also killed over 340 people, another record. The tornadoes devastated 6 Southern states, hitting Alabama the hardest.
The world is getting scary. All these terrible things happening and finishing school has made me think more deeply about my life and what purpose I am living for, who I am sharing my life with that makes it worthwhile. The world definitely could come to an end in my life and it makes me think about what I am really focusing on. If that is the case, then my bikes worth several, several thousands of dollars won't matter at all. (I just got a $5,800 bike and I don't know when I will ever be able to ride it. The rains have destroyed the trails.) Neither will any race victories, the car I just bought myself, graduation diplomas, or future careers. What am I working towards; what goals; what is motivating me? The only thing that will matter is right now. Will I have any regrets? Will I look back and wish I had done it differently. I have regrets in my life right now. Several. The only way not to, is to not ever look back. I don't think I could ever fully commit to doing that. I just have to take it one day at a time I guess and keep pushing on. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and things will begin to dry out. Hopefully the overseas situation will improve now that Osama is dead. Hopefully my Dad will stay safe and finish his contracts in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Iraq and get to return to a Memphis that he still recognizes.
Anyway, congrats to the Grizzlies for not only winning their first playoff game in franchise history, but winning the whole series! And winning game one of the second series. Another hats off to the Predators who are still playing for the Stanley Cup. I'll be watching both of those games tomorrow night. The greatest congrats and thanks goes out to the CIA operatives and Navy SEALS that have done years of work that ended with Osama Bin Laden being killed last night (may you be tormented in Hell). It's been a long 9 years, 7 months, but Justice has finally been served. The world is now a better place without him. Thanks to all those people that will never make the news and will never get any recognition for what they did in this special ops mission. Damn good speech by Obama too. Nicely done.
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