Month: September 2017

Technically, this isn’t a “selfie” since Amanda Shires took it, but I’m in it.

I guess there’s been some misattribution of this posts title. In fact, it was Hillel the Elder who famously said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?” Huh… I thought I’d heard it in a movie, but anyway, it helps kick off a post about not procrastinating.

The Red Rocks Amphitheater has been on my mental “bucket list” since seeing U2 Live At Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, a film documenting the bands 1983 performance there. The movie propelled the band. The irony is Red Rocks was half full.

Over the past few years, I’ve browsed for shows that would move me to go, but one thing or another prevented me from acting. No, wait. I let things prevent me from pulling the trigger. This time, some of the same ilk of life’s “things” pulled on me, but a gentle push from Mom sent me Westward. Solo.  I remember telling my Dad to get out with people, because all the great “stories” of our lives that we tell usually involve people. Oh, there were people, and they made the trip special:

• “Jayonce” – Jay and I worked together at Kronos, and we always connected. Maybe it was demographic, love of music, or some other human connection we can’t really define. Whetever the reason, it was great to chat over lunch at Red Rocks, peruse the music museums there, and hang out before the show.
• Jason, Amanda, Sadler, Derry, Jimbo, Chad, Frank, Ben, Matt, Nigel, Tarrant, and the other members of Amanda’s band who will have to remain nameless since I cannot find their names. – They rocked the rocks. It seems to me that when bands play Red Rocks, it’s like their SuperBowl, and they up their game for the occasion. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, and Amanda Shires and her band played with high energy and absolutely killed it. I had pretty high expectations, and they were exceeded.
• Tom and Heide – College friends that I haven’t seen in over 30 years, but time being relative, it seemed none had passed. We had a great time reminiscing and catching up in Heide’s beautiful home of Breckinridge.

The backdrop to this experience was beautiful Colorado. I hadn’t been there since a 1981 road trip to see the Stones with college buddies. Life was different then. It took four of us about a nanosecond to decide we would embark on the 1,800 mile round trip from Tucson to Boulder. Now it takes a little more time, but the experiences are just as rewarding.

So what experience are you procrastinating on? “If not now, when?”

I saw some new faces working the “Planet Fatness” desk on Friday. That’s what happens when it’s been 49 days since your last check-in. Stretching was fine. Yoga has tempered the 49 day lull, so flexibility wasn’t an issue, nor was set one of dumbbell work. That’s when reality reared its fat head. The 50 rep ab machine set didn’t reach fiddy, and the hand weights got very heavy in set 2. Usually the performance “wall” is scaled with will, but not on this day. The 10-short ab set was followed by a flat-out quit after 23 minutes on the elliptical machine… I was done.

“Failure” can be a sobering experience, but hopefully it’s followed by determination and perseverance to simply get better. There’s really no point (aside from the humor) to thinking “my god, you’ve gotten fat,” unless it’s a verbal kick in the pants toward action. It’s also good to step back for a little more perspective. For years I’ve gone to the gym on average twice a week, and more recently added occasional biking and yoga. It’s more than most:

• A 2013 report by the CDC stated 80% of Americans don’t get the recommended amount of exercise in a week.
• While 45 million Americans have gym memberships, 80% don’t use them at all.

Some other interesting stats say “more than half of members join a gym or health club to:

• Feel better about themselves
• Look better
• Lose weight”

Yep. All of the above. I realize and appreciate the health benefits, but I can’t help but think my return to the planet was prompted by the fact I’m going to see college friends this week that I haven’t seen in over 30 years… and I’m afraid it’s going to go something like this…