The Two Whos

On Monday, Cece went out for a leisurely ride on the bosque.  She had been “resting” for a few days and was ready to get moving again…but she wanted to take it slowly and unwind her legs.

She was tooling along when all of a sudden, two racer guys passed her.  They were young and  lean and had an easy  high cadence going!   But once they passed her with an “On your left  Maam,”  they did not continue going fast at all.  She immediately understood that they were probably out for a leisurely ride too  …but  leisurely for them was going  18mph!    So, Cece decided that this might be fun…try to keep up with them and work on her interval training at the same time.  So, her plans changed!  Now instead of leisurely, she was racing!

The men kept looking back, she was still on their wheel…into a head wind.  She tucked in a bit and caught a little draft.  She hung with the guys for the first 10 miles and then thanked them for the challenge and told them she was only planning about 20 miles or so.

Well, surprisingly, they stopped too and they had a get to know you  talk near the Hispanic Cultural Center.  They started chatting about their bikes and  their  wheels, their  tires and then began talk about themselves a bit.  Talking in the sun with new friends is very interesting.  People are never what they seem.

Jim, up above, is in the Army and is hoping to get into the special forces by October.  He is rehabbing his hand from a motorcycle accident.  He goes to college and is a runner and cyclist.

Randy, who is running in the photo , is a marathon runner and also is a cat 2 mountain bike racer. He is  a Navajo man who cycles for several causes including  diabetes and MS.  He goes to college and is hoping to become a spokesperson for his people as he has lost over 80 pounds and has done it through eating better and exercise.  He hopes to help his people to beat obesity and to decrease diabetes in the Native populations.  He is also the personal assistant to the James and Ernie Comedy show and 49 Laughs.  They  are  a Native American  comedy team.

Cece told the men she was  going to take it easy riding back.  They men said, “Why not go back with us, we are going to ride slow!”    Why did she believe them?  Perhaps it was because one of them just threw up because he had a huge burrito for breakfast!  But never  believe a man who tells you he is going to ride slow.  It is not in their DNA!  LOL.  As Jim and I tried to keep up with Randy  on the way back, Randy was cycling figure S’s ahead of us.  We were going 22 mph…unsure what speed  Randy was at!

At one point on their  ride back in, Jim said to Cece, ” Every time we take a sharp turn we lose you by 4 lengths.  Are you breaking on those sharp corners?”    Cece responded, “Of course!”  Jim said, “Well, stop that , you are loosing speed!”  Cece does not like that falling over, angled feeling when  “banking” and she  feels scared.  She could just let her bike go, but at what cost?  Jim explained that Cece needs to let go and relax and let her  bike have its way….much like you do on a motorcycle.  Turns out Jim rides a “crotch rocket” and Cece assumes he had  his accident on this. The men are in their later 20’s.    Cece is 52 and has hips!   She thinks she will continue to play it a little safer than these guys  do!  But, she was schooled in speed today and was happy that she was able to catch up from her 4 length lags and propel up hill and keep up none the less!

Cece, Jim and Randy were making plans to ride together again  in a few weeks.  It is so nice to make new friends and meet new people that you probably would never come in contact with otherwise…..people different from you..and  people you can learn from, laugh and  share with.

“Bye for Now” from The Two Whos

The Saturday Morning Rendezvous will be a place to stop in and meet up  on a weekend morning.  Have a cup of tea or coffee, a special breakfast,  and relax and catch up from the week’s fast pace.  The Two Whos will focus Saturday’s content on physical wellness , f ood and fitness of all types.  Come back and rendezvous with us!    See you next  Saturday!  Thanks for visiting.

How often do you find yourself explaining  to people who you are or what decisions you have made ?   This is how it goes:

You are walking down the aisle  at the grocery store in a pair of unflattering house pants and you are picking up a heavy cream for the pie you are making.  All of a sudden you see an acquaintance  from work whose name you cannot remember.    Her eyes widen as she glances at  your pants.  You quickly explain: “I am taking today off to cook a dinner for a party tonight. I have not had  a chance to shower yet.”  What you are really explaining is,  “I dress nice and neat.  What you see this moment is not the real me.”

You take your kids for a long trip and stop by the gas station to refuel. The  kids want to taste a“monster drink”.  You say,  “Go ahead get one.”   At the register, as your child hands the drink to the cashier, you hear a voice behind you that  says to your child,  “You know, this drink is really not good for you.”   You turn around to explain,  “They normally do not get it.  This is the first time.”  What you are really explaining is, ”I am a sensible mother. I do not do this on a regular basis.”

Your children are acting up in a party, and you call them forth in front of your friends.  It  so happens there is a child psychologist near by.   You start to talk to your children in a patient voice that you hardly recognize for yourself!   What you are really doing is explaining and demonstrating to the child psychologist that,  “I am a good parent.”

At a party, you strike a conversation with a stranger.  He/she talks and brags about his/her charity work and how disturbing it is to see people suffering.  You explain and share,  “I volunteer at xxx, and what I see is heartbreaking too.   I always donate money to help out.”  What you are really explaining is,  “I am a very sensitive, kind and generous person and I want to you to know that.”

So much explaining  can get very tiring and it comes in an elaborated format when it comes to “proving ” and “explaining ” ourselves  at work or  in a relationship.  We put our best foot forward hoping people will ‘perceive’ our  best side…. the better  side we want people to see.  Poet David Whyte calls this constant explaining of  self to others an “utter despair!”  We are constantly on alert  to “protect” our image by explaining  ourselves.

So, what does it matter if a total stranger does not know about  “how nice I am, how kind I am,  how smart I am?”   Even more so, what if our friends and family do not understand us?   Does constantly explaining ourselves tell people how worthy we are?    Maybe the better approach is to know and trust who we  are.  Would that eliminate the  need to explain ourselves  to others?

“Bye for Now” from The Two Whos

When you cycle,  take yoga class  or take an interesting course with others, you know those people  in only that one facet of their lives.  You know them by the labels or the descriptors that you have in common.   You label them as cyclist, or classmate  or teacher.  There is so much more to learn about people than that one  element that you have in common!

So, on Thursday morning, Nick, Emira and Cece started off on a great adventure.  It was not quite like Pee Wees, but it was fun just the same!  They knew each other as “cyclist” and began to enjoy getting to know each other  more in depth!  Who was a chef, a PhD candidate, computer geek, airline engineer,  cancer doctor  or  artist?  The adventures began to unfold!

It turned out to be Emira’s birthday and she was treated to the gift of the most beautiful sunrise…it was hot pink and deep lavender …a very unusual birthday gift!

As they  cycled along, Emira kept smelling the early morning foods being cooked.  First she smelled the General Mills factory making…cocoa puffs?  then later…. bacon and eggs… and it occurred to Cece that perhaps they had better stop for a treat!  Cece  asked  if they might like to stop at her favorite bakery if it was opened…The Golden Crown Panaderia. It is located on the corner of 11th Street and Mountain Ave.  She has been going to this bakery ever since  La Familia burned down in the South Valley.  She comes here for a special treat…. their sweet potato empanadas! For those of you that do not know, an empanada is a soft turnover type pastry that has a filling.  The dough is soft and pliable and is dusted with sugar.      The sweet potato and pumpkin  cannot be matched!  Or if you love a dark and dusky molasses cookie that is not at all sweet (Cece loves them) just try their “pigs!”  She is certain there is another name for them, but she just asks for a pig.  Here is a bad photo of them! They are very cute and they are very delicious.

But, what Cece likes best about the panaderia  is that  it is a whole in the wall kinda place. It is  off the beaten path and in a not  so great neighborhood. It is a symphony of opposites…the brightly painted happy exterior…and the dark dusky interior.   Pratt Morrales is the owner and baker.  He greets  her with “I have not seen you in 10 years!”  That is because Cece only goes for a once in a while treat and it makes the eating more so delicious!  He is always there baking in the dark little interior!   Sometimes  Cece thinks she needs a flashlight!

So, as they cycled in at 7:45 am on Thursday morning, they arrived just in time to be greeted  by Pratt who was  taking the empanadas out of the oven.   He suggested that they park their bikes  inside his outdoor cafe seating area so they would not be stolen.

They all 3 settled in with their steamy empanadas…each with a different filling…and their coffee…. they spoke about food and love and shopping for groceries…did we shop daily or weekly? Nick loves to shop daily and loves to pick up food.   Cece learned that Emira grew up with a bakery and butcher shop on every corner. Mostly people walk or ride bicycles.  And Nick?   She remembered …was a chef…and  food was one of the topics of the morning.

Relaxing,  sharing a snack and beginning to get to  know people better is good for the soul.  It is refreshing to learn the complexities  and depths  of people and their lives and to move beyond the label or what we see and is obvious.  It was the perfect way to start a new day!

“Bye for Now” from The Two Whos

Post Script: Please send up some prayer for Yun who had emergency  tooth surgery on Friday.  She is recovering  well now and is in a lot less pain.

The Saturday Morning Rendezvous will be a place to stop in and meet up  on a weekend morning.  Have a cup of tea or coffee, a special breakfast,  and relax and catch up from the week’s fast pace.  The Two Whos will focus Saturday’s content on physical wellness , f ood and fitness of all types.  Come back and rendezvous with us!    See you next  Saturday!  Thanks for visiting.

What a title! What a perspective on life’s challenges! We are often bounded by our ‘common’ ways of thinking about what’s good and what’s bad.  When we do this,  we limit ourselves in our ‘common senses’. Let us look at this video with the idea of  ”from no limbs to no limits!”

“Bye for Now” from the Two Whos.  A Special thank you to Stephanie for sending us this powerful video! 

Cece is counting her blessings…and the other morning, she really had a wonderful blessing come her way.  It was the gift of laughter!

Do you remember Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon?  They were one of the most funny comedy teams…with Johnny as the jokester and Ed as the straight man.  Well, the other morning, Cece thought she was riding  with them both.  Just imagine Johnny Carson on a road bike with Ed McMahon in tow.  This is how Cece’s morning began.

She arrived at the Open Space and glory be..there was her friend Tom.  He is an older gentleman and  he used to be a professional cyclist.  You may remember, he is the leader of the Cement Factory Spin that Cece and Yun attend each January!  He had with him, his friend Jim…who also was a professional cyclist….and thus… the dynamic duo was born!  Cece is still lamenting that she did not bring her camera, because there were many missed opportunities…for great pics along the way…but she digresses!

Jim is Johnny and Tom is Ed. We agreed that we would ride slow and flat and Cece checked in with them on what speed was slow to them at this point in their lives.  In the past,  slow would have been 20 mph!    When they told her, Cece  agreed that  their pace was slow  and off they went.!  As we all cycled along….Tom would prompt and provoke Jim and somehow, with great adeptness, Jim would weave a joke into the normal conversation.  It got so that Cece could not tell reality from fantasy!  Cece laughed the entire way.

At one point, as they rode in a pace line of sorts, Cece called up and said, “Men! I just want to tell you that I cannot hear…so if someone comes from the back, I cannot hear them if they call out.  I do not wear my hearing aids when I ride.”  From the front of the line came, “OH!  I wear hearing aids too.”  then from the middle “OH!  I wear hearing aids too.”    Cece started laughing and then heard all the hearing aid jokes….and Jim…I mean Johnny said, “OK Now I am going to tell you a joke that is not dirty, but that will make you just sick!”  “Oh great,”  Cece chuckled!  And  so it did!

Neither men had eaten and it was hot and Cece gave them her food. But then the drama  unfolded…I’m sick. I’m tired, I might have taken the  wrong meds.   Maybe we should call a taxi so we can get home.  Cece is CPR certified, but she has never had to use it.   Another older gentleman friend tells her where his nitro is located when they cycle together so… all these comments about health were kinda scary to Cece.  Both men sat back and watched Cece sweat  as they chuckled at how they had pulled the wool over her eyes!    “I just think we need more food,”  says Tom…..off we cycled to the Flying Star for breakfast!

One man flirted with the waitress and it got him a huge slice of bread pudding with extra sauce…lucky guy….. and later as we got back to the parking lot , he commented….”See that man in that car ?  He  is probably the private eye that my wife hired to watch me!”…this from a happily  married man who just wanted a special piece of cake!

The gift of this ride was laughter.  It was riding unexpectedly with friends who had the same goal…to have fun. be social and laugh a lot!  What could be better on a hot July day?

So, when you find yourself getting too serious, perhaps the universe will gift you with friends who can re-direct a situation with pure laughter and hilarity!  That was the gift of the day!

“Bye for Now” from The Two Whos

The Saturday Morning Rendezvous will be a place to stop in and meet up  on a weekend morning.  Have a cup of tea or coffee, a special breakfast,  and relax and catch up from the week’s fast pace.  The Two Whos will focus Saturday’s content on physical wellness and fitness of all types.  Come back and rendezvous with us!    See you next  Saturday!  Thanks for visiting.