My legs weren't pleased with this morning's walk...

after two full days of complete rest.  But they managed to carry me to near the furthest point I'd been to on any prior walk.  I was feeling a little fatigue, so I stopped for a moment and decided I'd just walk further tomorrow, rather than obsessing about walking further and further each and every day.

In my mind, I wasn't running somewhere else today.  I was playing in a volleyball match, back in early 1985 about an hour from Seoul at Osan Air Base.  It was the tournament between all of the U.S. Air Force bases in the Republic of Korea, although only four bases actually sent teams.  My small base of 400 USAF men, a base near Pusan that was a little larger, and then the two big air bases, Kunsan and Osan.  So we were overmatched in terms of the numbers our opponents had to select their teams from.

Someone in the Athletics office at Osan also decided to either be funny, or just try to intimidate us.  We were required to submit the names, height and weight of all players on our roster, as they were printing up a program for the tournament.  The players from the two big bases somehow managed to get a foot or more added to their actual heights.  There were at least six people on the Osan roster who were listed as being over seven feet tall.  We found it amusing, not intimidating.

I was one of my team's two setters, but when I was on the front line, that made me a hitter.  I was hitting from the right side, and early in our match with Osan, the blocker that should have been staying with me was cheating in and double-blocking our big middle hitter.  To put a stop to this, our other setter told me to be ready, he was going to set me a few balls.  I crushed the first one for a sideout, and the next for a point.  I know, I know, I'm not that tall, but when I was younger and lighter, I could jump quite high.  Enough to reach above the rim of a basket on a basketball court, and enough to easily spike a volleyball when there was no block present.  When I killed another ball set my way, the blocker stopped cheating in.

We didn't win the match.  But we were competitive, more so than we deserved to be, given how outmatched we were.  Our coach (the other setter) was smart and he took advantage of every ability every one of us had.  Including recognizing that I could force them to cover me, to allow the middle hitter to go one on one.  Teamwork, working at its finest.

There's a beauty salon along my route, and I've noticed that it wasn't open during hours it should have been open in recent days. There's one of those iron gates across its entrance and it hasn't moved.  The lights in the window display are on, so the electricity is still working, and there's a sign saying "Station for Rent" in the window.  I wonder if it has gone out of business, or if the owner is just away on vacation.  Must be hard to go on vacation when you're the sole proprietor of a business.  The married couple I know who own a donut shop in El Segundo have probably not gone away together on a vacation in at least 20 years.

I need to post a correction.  There are actually two buildings between the two foot massage places with the disparate pricing.  A bakery and a dental building that is also home to a financial services firm.  At least I think the dental practice and financial services firm are separate businesses.  Dental service and financial counseling might seem a good mix though.  After all, the dry cleaner I walk by is also an authorized payment center.

Seeing "The Expendables 2" on a nice big screen with great sound was a lot of fun yesterday, but it is worth noting that the theater charges $12 for a bargain matinee (not nearly a bargain) and you have to pay $5 to park at that theater.  Or, you can take Metrorail there, and spend $5 for an all day pass, and walk a few blocks there from the train stop.  Either way, it's not a bargain when there's a theater close by that charges only $7 for a bargain matinee and free parking.

Some are making an issue of the fact Mitt Romney is raising money in "rich" locales this weekend.  Why weren't the people making an issue of this concerned when Barrack Obama was at fundraisers in the backyard of George Clooney's multi-million dollar home, or when Anna Wintour was urging people to not be late to the Obama fundraiser at the multi-million dollar home of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick?  Seems like being rich is only an issue when Republicans raise money. 

Then again, we have the fuss over Mitt Romney's tax returns.  I think it's time he puts a stop to this and releases pages 1 and 2 of his Form 1040, along with Schedules A and B.  That way, people can see what rate he paid taxes at for the years 2000 through 2009, without having to give up all the other 189 or so pages per return to prevent people for digging for more deductions for horse care that were ultimately disallowed.  Put this to rest and focus on the real issues.  Double digit unemployment in many states, outsourcing of jobs, the economy not really recovering, the hidden housing problem in all the foreclosure properties owned by the government and more.  What rate Mitt Romney paid federal income tax at won't have anything to do with decreasing the budget deficit.  Fleshing out the plans that Obama and Romney are proposing to solve the deficits would do something about that problem.  Pointing out that neither plan has any real solutions in it would be a good start.

I may have mentioned this before, if so, I apologize.  I just took a great big drink of water.  I love drinking water.  When I was in the hospital, with that tube in my throat, my only refreshment for months was small quantities of ice chips that I could melt on my tongue.  I promised myself I would savor my first glass of water and believe me, when I finally got one, I did.  Now I savor and enjoy every single drink of water.