My last post had me thinking back on something that happened at the Albany Marathon that I ran a couple months ago. At the time, it was quite nerve racking, but in the end, it turned out the be a much more embarrassing situation.
Before the race, I place my car key on the rear tire of my car. I could not carry it in either of my short's pockets since they both had gel packs in them. The race went fine, and I headed back to the car to wash off and change clothes. With my pockets now empty, I decided to put the key in the outside pocket of my shorts. I headed back down to the area along the river where all the post-race activities were going on. About half-way down the path back, I heard a "ping-ping." The key had worked its way out of my pocket and onto the asphalt. Now, this has happened in the past while I was running but never when just walking around.
After this, I decided to put the key in the inside pocket of my shorts. I proceeded to walk around, checking out the other runners coming in, trying to eat and rehydrate, watching the awards presentations, etc. All in all, I walked around for around 1 1/2 hours before I was ready to pack it in and make the 2 hour ride home. I reached for my key...nothing.
At first, I did not panic. I rechecked both pockets and tried to retrace my steps. Then, the reality of the situation set in. For you see, this was not only the sole key that I had with me...it was the only key to the vehicle that existed. This was my company car that I had put off getting duplicate keys made for over the last 9 months that I have been employed by my current company. So, back to the story.
I tried retracing my steps for well over an hour. At this point, I was full on FREAKING OUT. I start weighing my options. Do I call my wife to come pick me up (my phone was in the car), do I just leave it there or get it towed, or do I keep looking? I decided to find the race director and ask if there was a lost and found. No lost and found. There was no news from her that anyone had found a key at any point in time. I gave her my phone number and address, in case it was found.
CONCLUSION: I tried giving the grounds another once over...what else was I going to do. This was a good 2 hours since I decided I was ready to leave. Being male, I reached down to adjust myself. I felt something hard and it was not me. I said a quick prayer, opened up the waistband of my shorts, moved my manhood to the side and out popped the key. How could I not have felt it down there. I felt like such an idiot. I wanted to kiss that key but quickly thought better of it. I quickly headed back to the car and got out of there.
graphics from www.snickersmarathonenergybarmarathon.com
We took a previously developed, and then abandoned, 2 acre lot that was mostly a dumping ground of concrete, asphalt, and scrap metal.
We built a 7000 square foot kennel building with 25 interior/exterior kennel runs, a 2500 square foot administration building with a vet exam room, and a 500 square foot storage building for the training area obstacles.
Here is a look at a little more of the finished product. The dogs that will be housed here are deployed 4-5 times before retirement and are out there on patrol saving American lives consistently. It was really rewarding to hear some of their stories and know that we were doing a small part at facilitating their success.
Here is a look at the whole complex and buildings. These dogs work as bomb dogs, drug dogs, military police dogs, and combat dogs. They go through rigorous and specialize training and can be worth over $40,000 at the conclusion of their training.
This was really a state of the art facility with just about every amenity for the dogs to be comfortable and well treated. We understand from the Kennel Master that PETA has even been invited to the complex to view what we built.
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