Running Log by Jim Cunningham February 28th
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“ on’t worry; my dog won’t eat yours!” spoke the shrimp fisherman who just arrive to tend to his boat. His dog was big, but just as old as Annie. That morning, as I waited for the sun to rise over the Gulf, I saw, pardon the pun, an enormous shrimp boat, racks pulled back, and lights ablaze, make its way through the channel. I was curious. The steel boat was massive, the deck strewn with gear: chain, ropes, and netting. I asked him how big the crew was. He said that he was the crew. With the price of fuel, he was not able to hire another. I became more curious, and found out that he not only piloted the boat, but set the nets. Hugh wenches
lower the massive green nets. Floaters keep the nets from sinking and a skid rides the bottom, keeping the nets free of snags. He said that he only goes out on a 4 day trip, but the guy working the next boat over, goes out for 20. Before departure, they fill the hold with ice. Most of the boats were in port, for the season doesn’t start till March 15th. In the meanwhile, he is a commercial oyster fisherman, spending most of the daylight hours, plying the bottom of Apalachicola Bay with tong-rakes.
I got to her place at 7:00 AM. She had just finished 6 miles and was planning on doing 12 with me. We did the Watermelon loop. Tuscaloosa is hilly, and we went up many of them. Did I say it was cold? It was! It was 25 degrees at the start and 35 at the end of the run. Oh, I must have been in the south too long! For you guys, that is warm! It does snow here. This is the front of Julie’s house where we started the run.
March 3rd
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ack to running. I have been varying long runs, with short, long runs. Today was a 12 miler, a short, long run. I am in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and I ran with my daughter, Julie, a grad student at the University of Alabama, “Roll Tide!”
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