Who Will You Thank Today?

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

I owe a debt of gratitude to a woman by the name of Bernadine Blakely, who introduced me to the enduring joy of fitness nearly 30 years ago.

Bernie was a senior level administrative assistant at the hospital where I worked as a secretary to the director of the communications department back in the late 70’s. Working at the hospital was an entirely new experience for someone who had worked in the political arena practically since birth, yet oddly not. Hospitals are so self-sustaining that they’re almost like working in a small city, with the accompanying office politics.

She was a petite good-looking blonde with crystal blue eyes and a compact figure. Bernie dressed with an elegant Jackie Kennedy style and had a serene countenance and graceful charm coupled with a wicked sense of humor that drew men and women alike to her.

Despite our ages difference – she was roughly twice my age and had a daughter my age – Bernie and I hit it off instantly, often getting together for lunch in the hospital cafeteria or to go out drinking after hours. When she suggested a run one evening near her home (we lived within a one mile radius of each other), I said sure.

Physical fitness hadn’t really played any role in my life. At twenty-two I was blessed with a naturally good figure, thanks to youth, good genes and a pack and a half a day cigarette habit. I came from a family so sedentary, I used to joke, that they were practically comatose.

And while Bernie wasn’t blessed with youth, she was as trim and firm as I imagine that she’d been at twenty.

And she’d had four kids!

I showed up in jeans and tennis shoes. She didn’t remark on my inappropriate attire and we set out to run her neighborhood.

Man! That woman could run!

But she was almost twice my age and I wasn’t going to drop out so I kept going. I ran a mile my first time out and I felt terrific.

I couldn’t believe how fantastic running made me feel. I was hooked and began buying running shoes and running clothes and a little walkman so I could have my music. I ran every morning when it was still dark outside. Cold or hot, rain and snow, for years I ran at least a mile every morning and usually a mile or two in the evening as well. And I liked the way that I looked so much that I began adding more exercise into my daily routine – a half hour of light weight lifting every evening while I watched reruns on TV.

After I moved to Philadelphia I had any number of great running partners and, at one point, was running five miles a day, at least five times a week.

I’m 52 now and I still run, usually 2.5 mile stretches (the exact length of the nature trail near my home), sometimes just a mile or so, and only 2-4 times a week.

Running clears my head, reduces tension and lifts my spirits.

I lost touch with her years ago.

But I don’t think that there has ever been a time when I have gone running without remembering Bernie and saying a silent “thank you” to the woman who inspired me in many ways.

One Response to “Who Will You Thank Today?”

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   September 20, 2009 at 8:07 pm

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