Support, a Semi-Rant and an Update on Training

This is a mixed bag of stuff. We start off with my friend, Agatha Halekulani Kerr's latest adventure: a 600K (372) miles to raise funds for a church/school in Costa Rica in early February. I wasn't planning on talking about this, but I decided to talk about how people get into a cult and reprised the tale of the Rev. Jim Jones, who lured 900 folks from the US to Guyana, in northern South America, in the late 70s. He promised them a place with no bugs, snakes etc. and plenty of food. That was a lie. He worked people 18 hours a day so they wouldn't have time to reflect on what was happening. After a California congressman visited "Jonestown" in late November 1978, he learned of the horrors of the place and was ready to return to the US to do something. As they were readying to fly back, Jones' henchmen killed the entourage, including journalists. Right after that, Jones assembled his flock and decided it was time to go to the other side. He gave them Flavor-aide, this knockoff of Kool-Aid, laced with cyanide. He insisted that they drink it. A tape he made documents the horrific details. I bring this up because we have a number of people in this country who have literally drunk the "Kool-aid." (This is where the phrase, "drinking the Kool-Aid" came from.) And I worry about our future.  I know, this isn't about running, but this kept me awake the other night. Finally, I recount my hilly 10-miler on Sunday in preparation for Bandera 25K. I plan to volunteer and run at the Mosaic trail race this weekend.