Monday, January 19, 2009

Boom Box Beth

John warned me that traveling with Beth might be a challenge. He complained of the speed at which she walks and other things that sounded good to me. I was not concerned at all.

I learned a few things about my friend B. on this trip ... most of them entertaining ... and a few of them a tad bit embarrassing. Her Boston roots combined with the 2o years of Haiti makes for some interesting shopping experiences. I laughed when time after time she found a way to annoy the cashier and then said to me, "Was I being rude?" I laughed half the weekend. Living in Haiti 20 years teaches you to find a way to get the attention of the customer service rep ... one way or the other.
The photo above is on the plane out of Phoenix this morning, we happened to be flying to Miami with this amazing Ethiopian guy who also happens to be one of the fastest marathon runners in the world. His time yesterday, 2:10:36 ... don't believe me? Look him up - Tekeste Kebede.
Beth gushed over him while many looked on in amusement ... I kept my head low (while trying to discreetly meet her photo request, a difficult combination to pull off) -- then she called her daughter Morgan to figure out if he was who we thought he was -- and her daughter told her to quit being a weird stalker ... none of that worked because at the end Beth forced me into having *my* photo taken with him, I can tell you honestly --- we really scared him... he thought we were wacko. Beth is hardcore people. HARD. CORE.Either way, it is insane how fast this little guy can run. insane. I could have squished him like a bug he was so tiny. Running that many miles takes so much - I cannot comprehend how fast this guy moves.
Below - the girls that hung out all weekend (and four of us ran on Sunday) ...
We slept very little and made the most of a weekend (shop-eat-talk-repeat repeat) without responsibility.
Back to Haiti life and Haiti running tomorrow. :)
I cannot wait to see my peeps!
(Troy does not really claim these photos as his, not sure why there is that copyright thing there.)