Honk 4 Juan

Juan is running his first marathon. He’s little-kid-at-Christmas excited. He’s not sure where to get his bib or what to do. He’s come with a whole crew of family, and they are staying at the same hotel as I am. I give him directions to the expo.

I walk up to the starting line, about a mile away. There I meet Greg and his buddy, who are from Kansas City and running their first marathon. These big events pull in a lot of first timers. I don’t have that first timer enthusiasm. When I did, it translated into energy and determination. I hope those won’t be missing tomorrow.

This is a weird part of town. It reminds me a lot of Long Beach. I guess what I am seeing is standard for all port towns – that sort of weird mixture of gentrification and SRO hotels populated mostly by older, white sailor types with big bellies and handlebar mustaches. The liquor stores in the neighborhood pretty much sell nothing but liquor, and of that they’ve a good supply. The residents of this neighborhood like to drink.

The sign on the building proclaims “Assisted Living is Really Living!” I hope it never comes to that.