The AARP van

Well. January is finally acting like January around here, as there is a thick glaze of snow and ice outside this morning. Local schools are closed and Marist is delayed. In advance of the storm, we were able to have our normal sprint team practice at the Big Blue Doughnut (the indoor track at SUNY New Paltz). But because of schedule shifts and conflicts, there were only nine athletes at this practice. Since we are permitted to have a maximum of nine passengers in our vans, all the athletes scurried to the van being driven by team captain Tim Johnson.

That left the two old coaches – Coach Horton and myself – for the other van, which I jokingly dubbed the AARP Van. Terry is a card-carrying member; although I am eligible, I have not joined this fine organization. So there we were, two coaches with a combined 70-plus years of experience. The music and conversation was calm; we cannot vouch for such a placid atmosphere in the other van. Most importantly! The workout at the track was tough and it went well. Perhaps it was similarly calm on the way home in the non-AARP van – because of the workout directive from the AARP guy holding the clipboard!