Never More Alive

I rode my bike last Saturday.  That should be no surprise.  Except that it was 19 degrees.  And you know what...my wife didn't tell me I was crazy a single time!  (It was more like 8-10 times.)

It did soon warm up into the 20's (warmed up?) but it stayed cold most of the morning.   It really isn't as bad as it sounds.  Once you start to generate some body heat, riding a bicycle in cold weather really can be fun.

So we're riding down the road, the sun was coming out, we were in a comfortable pace, and then it hit me--I maybe had never felt more alive than I did at that moment.

Sure, there was a little discomfort but by and large I was in a really good place.  With friends.  Doing something I love.  Something about dealing with the cold made it even better.  Sort of shared misery I suppose.

I've got cares and troubles;  I am human.  But at that moment, in that place, things that might have been bothering me ceased to exist. 

Now think about those people in Gatlinburg.  Any trials and tribulations I might have are nothing compared to what most of them are going through right now.  Utter devastation is what people that have been there have described.  A way of life has been upturned.  Families and homes destroyed. 

I read a story this morning about a man who had visited one of the distribution centers in search of dog food.  That's all he wanted.  Dog food.  24 years old.  No vehicle--he walked to work in downtown Gatlinburg from a shared apartment.  His name wasn't on the lease so he might not qualify for much of the assistance becoming available.

He had found work but his paycheck wouldn't arrive until the end of the week.  And his dog was hungry.  Forget his needs.  Forget that he didn't having housing or food or clothing.  He could deal with that.  His dog was hungry. 

There were a lot of folks in the same boat.  Minimum wage workers sharing an apartment and their job and shelter are gone.  It's highly unlikely that they had much in the way of savings to help them through a crisis.

When the World Trade Centers were hit on September 11, 2002, there were questions about whether our sporting events should be played.  Some were cancelled.  Others played on, often criticized for doing so.

I think we need our sports.  We need diversions.  We need to get lost in something.  A lot of times, sports give us that. We need that place where we can go and everything is OK, even for a while.

I find myself thinking more about those Gatlinburg folks.   I'm not worried about the buildings or the trees right now.  It's cold and I'm worried about the people.  Neighbors, friends, relatives, without the life they built. 

I pray for their relief and I hope for success in building their lives again.  I am proud that my state is coming to their rescue but I know that the process will take years, even lifetimes.

And on that cold morning, on the back of a bicycle, with a little bit of a headwind and blue skies above, all was good, even when maybe when it wasn't.