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Friday, October 07, 2005

9th Grade Project Week


I went with the 9th grade on their project week to Cresset Community Farm, near Loveland, CO. It was a great time for many reasons. The farm is a biodynamic farm, which means that it functions as an entire ecosystem, or organism, in addition to being organic. Farmer Larry runs the place with his wife, and I respect them and what they are doing immensely. Our planet needs more people like them.

That's him on the bike doin' a little Tour de Farm action. A lot of us did some Tour de Farm action. The farm had some old three-wheeled bikes, like tricycles for big kids, that they used to haul stuff around. We rode those things far too hard. I could not resist riding those machines often. The best bicycles were the older ones. They were heavier, but built super solidly.

I made some friends on the trip, but one of the coolest friends that I made was the old blue Schwinn Tornado. This bike treated me well. Other friends that I made were Farmer Larry, some of the parents that helped out, and, of course, the kids. It's a great group of students. They worked pretty hard cooking meals, doing farm repairs, chopping wood, and harvesting produce.

I don't know how many of the kids had ever worked before, and we didn't work them nearly as hard as a real job would, but they were pretty positive and respectful. All said, it was a great week. The farm provided us with great weather, beautiful star-filled nights, and spectacular sunsets.

so sez tox senrab @ 10/07/2005 07:33:00 PM


..... "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher ..... "It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." - Ann Trason ….. "I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." - Jesse Owens ..... "Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." - Steve Prefontaine ..... "The gun goes off and everything changes... the world changes... and nothing else really matters." - Patti Sue Plummer ..... "Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible." - Doug Larson ..... "I have met my hero, and he is me." - George Sheehan ..... "Tough times don't last but tough people do." - A.C. Green ..... "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard ..... "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa ..... "Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving." - Maurice Greene ..... "Good things come slow - especially in distance running." - Bill Dellinger ..... "Run hard, be strong, think big!" - Percy Cerutty ..... "Once you're beat mentally, you might as well not even go to the starting line." - Todd Williams ..... "The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed." - Jacqueline Gareau ..... "[Scientific testing] can't determine how the mind will tolerate pain in a race. Sometimes, I say, "Today I can die.'" - Gelindo Bordin ..... "Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks." - Sir Roger Bannister ..... “There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be.” - George Sheehan ..... “Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.” - Juha Väätäinen …..