"Hope.................."

For whatever reason, the Susan G. Komen race against breast cancer was transferred this year from downtown Cincinnati to Coney Island, a small amusement park somewhat upriver. The day of the event was also changed from Saturday to Sunday. As it turned out, the switch was probably a big mistake. A large accumulation of traffic trying to escape I275 at the exit ramp was conquered, on our part, by taking the next one north and then approaching our destination from the other side; but, with only fifteen minutes to reach the starting point (we were pre-registered), the crowd was so great that we were forced to shuffle along, elbow-to-elbow, in a mass that would eventually join the tail-end of a stream of runners with a ten-minute advantage on us. At several places along the route, passages clogged the flow, unable to handle the mass of participants. The course, itself, was a matter of twice circling a large lake, with but two or three staff at one point vocally directing all first-timers to the left and second-timers to the right where an archway, about a hundred feet away, was “plugged” with too many people attempting to cross the finish line. Two other and I were the only ones in our group to catch the cue and complete the entire intended distance. It was, indeed, a mess. Nonetheless, when, in passing a couple of younger women and hearing one of them gripe, albeit in light jest, that “If it wasn’t enough that such poor planning had led to this disaster in so many other ways, how utterly boring it was to suffer the same scenery again on the second orbit!” No comment was shared by me; but I do admit to thinking to myself: “Yep; it’s kind of like having to get up the second day, still looking cancer in the face, and taking the next step.” Scientists say that “time” is relevant to our position and governed, at least in part, by speed. Perhaps time isn’t the only measurement affected by our perspective plus the need to slow down and think before we open our mouth……