Imaginary Friends

On to something a little more important yet lighthearted. I think it is time I introduced everyone to a couple of friends of mine. I think I should admit right up front that these are imaginary friends. They have been with me for years and taught me many things. My hope is that their stories will be as educational and entertaining for you as they have been for me. The first introduction I would like to make is Richard Harda. I have known Richard for about 20 years now. His main purpose in life is to screw up. A quick example of something Richard would do is to try running with no socks for the first time during a race and end up with blisters so bad he finished the race with shoes full of blood. The lessons from Richard will be that you can do things the easy way or you can do them the Harda way. You will also realize when you do something the Harda way that we all have a little Dick in us. Dick is, of course, just short for Richard.

The second friend you need to meet is Billy Bo Jim Bob, and as you may have guessed he is a redneck. Billy Bo first appeared one day when a bunch of friends and I were skipping school, hanging out at a lake, drinking beer and telling lies. To the best of my recolection the lie he appeared in had to do with having a flat tire on the Ford Sedan Delivery I was living in back during the great depression. I didn't have a jack and Billy Bo came by and lifted up the vehicle while I changed the tire. Not only did does he have that freakish strength, he has a wisdom that seems to evade most of us who participate in sport. His main job is to point out how silly the things we do seem to rational people. When I get obsessed with running a 100 mile trail race where the prize is a belt buckle. I tend to loose track of everything else in life. Billy Bo would say something along the lines of "sit your ass down, drink a beer, enjoy life and I will go to Wal Mart and buy you a belt buckle".

You can learn the same lessons about the sports that we do from many different sources. They seem to always be presented in much the same way. Hopefully with the help of my friends we can do it with a little more entertainment value.