He Was Gonna Smoke 'Em

I'd seen them before: lean, fit, fast. They aren't in our running group, but they seem to run the same routes. They were out there today. Two women and a man.

At the dry cleaner's I briefly caught up with them. They had stopped to drink from the hose that we all depend on whenever we run that route. The women were waiting for the man who was still drinking.

When he finished, he handed the hose to me and went to join the other two who had started to walk without him. When he came up behind them, he began jogging and said as he passed them by, I'm gonna smoke you, ladies. They started up the hill and ran out of sight.

I took a long drink from the hose and handed it on to the next in line. Then I walked to the street, started up the hill, and left that oasis behind.

From the road, I could see the other three at the top of the hill. The women had passed the man. He was gonna smoke 'em.

When I got to the top, I could see the three climbing the next hill. The women were 20 yards ahead of the man. He was gonna smoke 'em.

From the top of that hill, I could see them again. The women had a 50 yard lead, and he didn't look to be enjoying the run. He was gonna smoke 'em.

And from the crest of the last hill I could see the women far ahead turning the corner for the final straight away. The man was nowhere near them.

He didn't smoke 'em, after all.

11:36:46 AM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []