#screw you america i got thanksgiving early | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shigarakis-fifth-hand · 4 years

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Ok picture this. Thief!Uraraka x Rich!Reader. And it's as angsty as possible? Like Uraraka really out here just looking for that coin, ya know? She didn't come to play!

Warning: Cursing, smut~ish, major angst, thoughts of suicide, kissing, gayness, cuteness overload

Uraraka sat in the kitchen, eating the last Christmas cookie in the entire building. “Ugh, I don’t see why you don’t want to go to your parents for the Holidays! I love your mom! We’ve gone to my family’s house for the past three years.” Kirishima argued as he and Bakugo carried their suitcases down the stairs. “No! You’re mom makes the best food for Christmas, and we get the pool house all to ourselves! Do you realize how much fucking we can do?!” Bakugo slapped Kirishima’s ass, unaware that Ochako was in the room.

“Plus, we agreed that your mom does Thanksgiving and Christmas with the cooking. My mom does Halloween and the fourth of July with the decorations and explosions.” Bakugo kissed Kirishima before they walked back upstairs to get more of the luggage.

“Todoroki! Say hi to my mom!” Izuku yelled, running up to him with a phone in his hand as Todoroki walked down the other hallway. “Hi Inko!” Todoroki smiled as Uraraka saw Izuku’s mom on the screen. “Oh Todo, Bora Bora is lovely! Make sure to thank your sister for allowing me to use the family vacation house!” Inko exclaimed as the two boys nodded, smiled, and then hung up the phone. “Now, Touya is going to be here soon so let’s move!”

Todoroki grinned, taking all the luggage in his hands as they walked, not letting Deku carry any of it.

Uraraka smiled, happy for her friends who were doing things over their holiday break. Her on the other hand... would be at the dorms alone. She was the only one in 1-A who didn’t want to go home. Her parents would be working their tail off, and she would just be forced to lug around heavy boxes, sweep, and do their office management for two weeks straight like she did every year. She would never tell anyone that though... how embarrassing.

“Ochako!” She heard behind her, turning around to look at you. “You were on the phone with your parents while holding your LV purse. Your Gucci slides shined on your feet, and the diamond earrings you had been given by Todoroki glimmered in the light. You were everything Ochako wished she could be.

You were an icon for a boss bitch, a model, powerful, brilliant, gorgeous... and as rich as someone could get. Sure Uraraka had the biggest crush, but more than not she wanted to be you. The luckiest human alive.

Your father, Endeavor Todoroki, and Tensei Iida been rivals growing up, eventually becoming pro heroes and starting their own agencies. Of all of them, your father had grown to become a millionaire by going to America instead of Tokyo, and starting his agency there where the competition was pitiful.

That had led to your family becoming one of the most wealthiest in all of Tokyo, above the Yaoyorozus and Iidas. In fact, you, Iida, and Momo had been close friends since toddler age.

“Yes Y/n?” Ochako responded, coming out of her trance. “My mom says I should invite a friend to our beach house. I know you said you didn’t want to go anywhere for the Holidays, but would you? My modeling agency is sponsoring our trip so we can get massages, go snorkeling, you know. All that fun stuff.” Ochako perked up more as you explained. “W-where is it?” She asked excitingly. “Ever heard of Hawaii? My dad’s main office is there.” Ochako hopped off the barstool and smiled brightly.

“Sure! I’d love to go!” She hugged you before running to go pack her things. “Wait, I don’t have any bathing suits!” She yelled back as you just rolled your eyes, still on the phone with your parents. “Yes Daddy, email them about my plus one. Just borrow mine, I have a few you can use. No Daddy, it’s not a boy, it’s Ururaka.” You winked at her as she ran upstairs, hurrying as fast as she could as if you would leave her.

Once her bags with packed, Ochako came back to the room to see you on the phone still. She sat down, choosing to watch you adoringly and letting you finish your call. “Yes Claire, I’m having a couples massage with my bestie on the third, and snorkeling on the thirtieth. Now don’t get that screwed up with my photoshoot the sixth, and the fireworks for New Years. Yes, the maid went to the house earlier.”

As you continued, she stared at you. Wow, she’s so... impressive. If only I could have a sliver of that... power. Or you. Honestly, you seemed to get more attractive as Ochako stared at you. ‘If only I could use this to help my family... I’m so god damn scared of what’s going to happen. Mom isn’t working, and Dad might have cancer. What can I do? I’m a student taking classes at UA full time. There’s no time to work!’ Ochako thought deeply, stressing out.

“Phew, I’m glad that’s over! Just called my manager to schedule our break.” You grabbed her bags happily, carrying them to the car outside. “Wonderful! My sister is waiting at the airport with our jet! Then we can zip over the Hawaii and get this party started!” Ochako found herself shaking as you two entered the large black car.

...

Walking out of the airport, Ochako found herself woozy. That’s what sleeping for 15 hours straight did to you after all. Of course... you looked beautiful. You had been drinking hot water with lemon the entire time, had moisturized every half hour, and had taken only four naps, being half an hour long each.

You were literally the perfect human being, while Ochako had helped herself to your plane’s supply of cake and soda while watching videos on her phone.

“Look! There he is!” You pointed to the boy wearing only rainbow swim trunks and sunglasses standing on top of the blue Jeep. “Andrew! Babe!” You ran and hugged him. “Chance, this is my friend Uraraka. Ochako, this is Chance, one of the models I’m working with for the company’s LGBT campaign!” Ochako perked up, staring at you. You... liked girls??? She... had a chance?

“You bet it! Hop in ladies!” With ease, you lifted Ochako into the Jeep and followed her in. While you were driving, Ochako couldn’t help but relax greatly. The sea breeze and smell of the ocean salt consumed her, almost making her forget all her problems. But she couldn’t forget all her problems... she had promised her mom that she would fix everything by the new year.

And here she was... going to party while she ignored her family.

“Here we are!” As you pulled in, Ochako almost passed out. “You like it? Daddy got it remodeled it last Spring. It has two pools, a hot tub, an amazing view, and of course... the beach is only a few steps away!” You exclaimed, taking your bags in and upstairs to your room. Ochako had her breath taken away completely.

“You... live here? Like... you own this place?” Ochako found herself dying over the marble everything, the flowers everywhere, the splashes of color from the expensive art, and the views outside. “Don’t be silly. This is only our vacation home! Daddy lives here sometimes while he’s recovering from injuries since he stays in America, but Mom and I stay in Japan. I obviously live at UA.” You smiled, walking out to the balcony from your bedroom. “Oh, I almost forgot! Here, you can choose whatever you want!”

You opened the closet to reveal a room the size of Ochako’s bedroom. Filled to the brim with clothes, shoes, jewelry, mirrors, and led lights. “Over the years of modeling I get a bunch of cute clothes! You should only imagine how much I have from when I did child modeling. Oh, and here! Pick out some jewelry for tonight. We can totally play dress up while we’re on vacay. We have to look famous, right?” You laughed, hugging Ochako while walking out of the closet.

“Oh, and the purse rack is to your left! We can use that when we go shopping or out to eat! I have a bunch of LV so you can use one! I never use them anymore!” You giggled, smiling as you looked back at the view. “Pick out what you want to wear tonight, and a bathing suit for night swimming at the pool! I’ll go downstairs and give the chef recommendations! Any ideas?” You asked, sticking your head in the doorway. “N-n-nope!” Ochako called out as you ran downstairs.

Ochako’s eyes led to the big case of jewelry. It had so many gold chains, so many rings. Dozens and dozens of real pearl earrings. “I can’t... no. I have to.” She grabbed two pairs of pearl earrings, a gold chain, two rings that both had diamonds, and then a pair of heels. You were a size 8, but these were a size four. They were Ochako’s mom’s size.

Without thinking, Ochako shoved them into her bag and zipped it back up. In the heat of the moment, Ochako looked around, desperate for more. She had found her solution! Steal from the rich and give to the poor! She easily had just taken over 5k from you, and you probably wouldn’t even blink. You would never suspect her, right? Of course you wouldn’t. You two had been flirting with each other since you met. You trusted her.

Ochako stopped herself, slapping herself in the face. “W-what are you doing? She trusts you! You fricking like her you dumb idiot!” She yelled at herself, looking around. No, she had to help her family, even a little bit. Just little things you wouldn’t even bat an eye at.

She took a ten dollar bill under your desk, stuffed the pencil pouch you had gotten from Italy, and easily slipped a Gucci perfume bottle into her bag. “Hey, Ochako!” Uraraka turned around to see you smiling ear-to-ear. “Happy early Christmas!” You held out your hand, revealing a tiny box. “H-huh?” She exclaimed, slowly taking it from you and gasping. Inside was a simple silver ring, polished and perfectly fitting for her small finger. “It’s a promise ring.” You walked closer to her.

“As to promise that once we become heroes, we will remain friends.” Ochako stepped closer to you, staring at your lips. “And... maybe...” Ochako couldn’t finish her sentence as you two slammed your lips into each other. The kiss was hot and passionate, as if it was releasing all the thoughts you two had had for four years straight of having to resist. “God, once I found out you were gay.” You kissed Ochako’s neck as she tried to talk, moaning in between words. “Once he said LGBT, I knew I had to...” She moaned again, turning you on. You bent her on the bed, running kisses up and down her neck.

As Ochako was about to remove her shirt, you stopped her. “Let’s save that for after dinner.” You winked, leaving her feeling teased. “So, what are we Y/n?” She asked, blushing from what you had just said. “Well it depends. I’ll be whatever you want me to be. Just say the word.” You moved closer as she sat on your bed, getting closer and closer. “Be my girlfriend Y/n.” She whispered as you smiled, slowly kissing her lips.

“Well then I guess that ring is more than a friendship ring. What do you think it means?” You asked, kissing her neck tenderly again. “I... don’t know. Once we have so many responsibilities next year, let’s stay together. Promise to make time for each other... and one day, settle down.” You sucked her neck extra hard as she said that. “We’re getting out of UA soon Y/n. Maybe we can move in together to... try things out.” She talked as you continued to kiss her neck.

She had to admit you turned her on like nobody else could. “Awesome. Well, dinner is about ready. How about we go down and... introduce you to my family. I’m sure they’d love to meet my new... girlfriend. First, let’s get changed.” You walked over to your closet and pulled out an outfit you had prepared beforehand. A white t-shirt and black jeans, cute and tomboyish.

“Oh, and I promise not to peek.” You winked, before facing away with your back to Uraraka. Ochako picked out a pink sweater and black skirt, thinking as she put it on. Is this wrong? Of course it is. But wouldn’t it be worse to deny this love for her and steal from her? At least she’s happy, look at her. The poor thing will never know, and eventually... you’ll forget all about it. Just... no more stealing.

But as time went on, Ochako found herself being the happiest she had ever been. She woke up to you two full-on making out in bed for at least half an hour, then would spend the entire day watching you model, then you two would eat, swim, walk around, and vacation. Of course... the days started to end even better. Nighttime was when you two couldn’t contain yourselves. There was a hot tub on the balcony right outside of your room, so you two couldn’t help yourself. Surely, you two had found yourselves naked while kissing once or twice. Sure you two were going fast, but Hawaii set the mood so much, and you two were so excited to release all the sexual tension from the past four years

Of course, Ochako also found herself getting more greedy as she adapted to the rich lifestyle. She slipped one of the nice soap dispensers, took one of you dad’s pairs of expensive sunglasses, stole another ten dollar bill she found under your bed, and had somehow managed to slip a Gucci robe from when you were six into her bag. It was stuffed to the brim, but she needed more. Her family would die if she didn’t.

Then, things turned for the worst that one night. “Ochako, let’s go night swimming!” You called out, reaching for her hand. “But I’m not wearing a bathing suit!” She yelled out instantly, still looking at herself in the mirror. You had straighten her hair, and she liked it. “Exactly.” You whispered into her ear as she grinded into you. “Okay then.” She responded, smiling as you two began to walk to the hot tub as you removed your shirt slowly, Ochako watching your every move. That was until you tripped over Ochako’s bag, falling to the ground. Along the way, a shatter could be heard from inside the bag.

“Ochakie, I’m so sorry. What did I break?” Ochako blushed at the nickname you had given her, before realizing what you were doing. As you opened the bag, your eyes widened. Inside was your old Gucci robe, your new perfume, your soap dispenser, your dad’s sunglasses, and your old shoes along with a bunch of jewelry.

Immediately your face turned bright red, looking up at her. “You...” You murmured angrily, standing up as she started crying. “I fucking trust you with everything and you stole from me!?” You yelled, not feeling bad at all. “You don’t understand! My family needs the money! They’re going to die if I don’t do something!” Ochako yelled, trying to defend herself. In an instant, you took out your wallet, slipping out five hundred-dollar bills and throwing them in her face. “Here’s your money Uraraka! Now where’s my trust! I was so ready to give you my virginity, give you my life! I wanted a life with you Ochako!” You began crying as she turned silent. “So that’s why you came? I wanted you, you wanted my money? Is that why you came? Is that why you kissed me?” You asked as she stared at you, trying to find words.

“My dad has cancer! My mom is dying! I’m terrified Y/n! Please don’t be too mad at me! I needed all the money I could get quickly!” She yelled at you, still crying as you stopped. “Ochako, I could write you a check for a fucking hundred grand as we speak! You think that I would poor out my soul to you, but not help your fucking family?! Ochako, I gave you my trust and love! Do you know how hard that was?! But no, everyone just wants me for my money! Everyone! Even you!” Ochako tried to spill out words.

She tried to tell you that she did love you, more than anything. She tried to tell you that she was obsessed with you, and that she wanted nothing more than to have you in her life. That the past few days had been the best in her entire life because of you.

But no, all she could do was cry.

All it took was one look in your eyes, your heartbroken eyes, for her to run out of the house. Out of the house, down the small path, and to the beach. The sunset was shining brightly, shimmering against Ochako’s tears. She was so mad at herself, and the fact that she had messed up the one amazing thing she had with you. Sure, money was great, but ever heard of love? Ochako had felt it only with you, and she had ruined it. Why hadn’t she thought of asking for your help? You were a hero god dammit, one of the most generous and giving jobs in the world.

“God dammit! God Dammit! God dammit!” She kicked the sand, yelling as she stomped angrily. God... she should just throw herself into the ocean. After awhile of standing there, Ochako heard a noise behind her. “Oh dear, it’s just me. Tom and I are going to the country club’s cocktail party! We will be back around midnight sweetie. Y/n said to tell you to come inside, she’s getting worried. You crazy kids have fun!” Your mom called out as Ochako smiled before running inside and up to your room where you waited on your bed, a stuffed monkey in your life.

“You know what I love about the Indian monkeys? They’re called gibbons. Funny name right?” You asked, looking up at Ochako as she nodded. She could see the mascara streaks running down your face, and she hated herself for causing that. “See, they’re cool though. Because, even if one of the monkeys makes a mistake like getting lost or eating too much of the food, they’re with their partners for life because they trust each other.” Ochako smiled sadly, understanding what you were saying.

“When I went to India, I saw how they wouldn’t let you get close to their partners because they were protective, but if their partners walked up to you, they would allow that. It’s because they trust each other with their lives.” You got off your bed, setting the stuffed toy behind you as you walked towards your girlfriend.

“I need to be able to trust you Uraraka. When- I mean... if we get married, all of this is going to be yours. There’s no need to steal it, you’re welcome to anything. Shoes, you bet. Want to use my perfume, go ahead. Wear my clothes, eat my food, live in my house. It’s all yours because I trust you. Right now, I need you in my life. I need to be able to trust you.” Ochako buried her face into your chest.

“I’m so sorry Baby! It was the worst decision I could ever make! I got desperate and I did the worst thing imaginable! I’m so sorry!” She cried as you pulled her away. “In other news, both your parents are on my dad’s insurance and are going to start receiving medication right away. Don’t worry, my mom said they won’t have to pay a thing.

She also said they can stay in our lake house if they want, it’s only a half hour away from UA.” In an instant, Uraraka started balling, pulling you into a tight hug. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” She freaked out, holding you as tight as she could. “I owe you so much! Let me do something for you! Anything!” She begged, desperate to do something nice for you like you had done for her.

“Get on the bed Baby.”

I felt extra gay while writing this but that’s not a bad thing sooooo. Honestly I’ve never found Ochaco cute until now so dangggg, thx bby. I always love your requests they make me so happy when I get one @drbumpkin

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kashmira-multani · 4 years

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tagging → kashmira multani, her parents, mentions of @jarrahimi

time frame → thanksgiving 2019

location → multani home

notes → late as per usual just whatever ok

She could hear the hustle and bustle inside from the other side of the front door. It was still early and neither of Kashmira’s parents were actually born in America but she knew from the noise and experience that preparations for the grand feast were well underway. Last year she’d booked a show on the other side of the world to avoid this holiday. A few years ago she’d brought Jarrah an his parents and the entire dinner was spent with everyone fawning over him and ignoring her, a sensation she was only accustomed to when she was in her childhood home. Outside of these four (main) walls Kashmira Multani was the most famous person, the most sought-after model, the one everyone turned their heads to get a closer look upon, you name it. But once she walked through those French doors she was nobody as long as she was alone. Her value came from the man she lured into her traps. Her value was wholly dependent upon who she was dating and what his bank account looked like.

This year she talked to Jarrah beforehand, she wanted to do this Thanksgiving on her own because she couldn’t remember the last Thanksgiving she celebrated without him or the ghost of him present. It wasn’t his fault and he always tried his best to lighten the blow to her self-esteem but he couldn’t snap back at her parents too hard without being disrespectful. There was no way to stop her parents from focusing on the man in her life when her entire purpose, in their eyes, was to be a housewife who created and raised children. They knew she and Jarrah were back together thanks to the paparazzi and magazines and a one word text confirmation from her when they kept badgering her for the truth. They would be expecting Jarrah but Kashmira didn’t want to deliver. She had to be seen as an individual by her parents.

So she opened the door, not shocked that no one heard it over the hubbub. She walked through the foyer, through the sitting room, and finally into the kitchen where a chef was working with her mother to put together the feast. Her mom was criticizing the chef for not putting enough pepper in the mashed potatoes, even though they only had mashed potatoes once a year and no one ever ate much of them because honestly, without all the butter, sour cream, and cheese, what was the point? She stood for a second in the doorway, still steeling herself for what was to come when she was noticed.

Almost on queue, her mother looked up and met eyes with Kashmira. Her entire face lit up and for a moment Kash was sure she was in safe water, that her mother was actually excited just to see her. But it was gone as soon as it came because her eyes immediately started to scan the space around her. She was looking past Kashmira like there had to be something better than just her. “Jarrah’s with his family, mom.” she deadpanned, annoyed but not surprised. “Wha-- How did-- No, what happened? Did you screw it up again?” her mother questioned with a new intensity.

“No, mother.” She drawled slowly, exhaustion already clear in her tone, “I just let him take a night off from all the doting and crazy obsession. He gets it enough from his fans he doesn’t need it from his current pseudo-in-laws.” she rolled her eyes. Her mother, somehow, was more exhausted than Kashmira was when she responded, saying something that didn’t matter or make a difference about her and her father not being just fans and they could only hope to be the in-laws of Jarrah Rahimi. Kashmira asked if she needed help in the kitchen to be polite but her mother already considered her a screw up for not convincing Jarrah to come to dinner so she wasn’t going to let Kashmira attempt to make anything they would ingest later.

She made her way to her father’s study. She’d had a better relationship with her dad than she did with her mom but that wasn’t saying much. He was more quiet but somehow more deadly with the disapproval. She was sure it was a bad idea as her hand touched the doorknob into the study. She knew she should just leave well enough alone, but she couldn’t stop herself. She walked in and smiled at her father. “Hi Daddy, happy thanksgiving.” she said in her sweetest tone. He barely looked up from his book but when he took a second to register that there wasn’t another body next to hers he certainly started to pay attention. “Where is Jarrah? I thought you fixed everything with him.” he said. It was so clear he was waiting to be disappointed with her tales of losing him again it hurt.

“Daddy,” she said tentatively, “We only just got back together. He’s going to spend this Thanksgiving with his family and I’m going to spend it with you. Aren’t you glad I’m here?” she asked, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. He went into some long tirade about how she should have been by Jarrah’s side wherever he went and, yes, he would have preferred not seeing her at all if it meant she was making Jarrah happy at his side. There was no arguing with him and Kashmira didn’t have the energy to try anymore so she apologized to her father and left the study.

She knew all that awaited her in the coming hours was judgement and disdain from her parents and no other guests because, yes, they did do all of this for Jarrah and Jarrah alone. None of it was excitement to see their daughter. It was wrong, Kashmira knew they were the ones who were wrong. And still, she felt like the cause of the problem. She picked up her phone and dialed the one person she could trust with this; the one person she knew would understand what she was feeling because he’d been through it with her for years. Jarrah. She just needed to hear his voice, vent a little, and hear him calm her down. After that she’d be fine.

And she’d never spend Thanksgiving at home again.

#selfpara #chwfriendsgiving #except no friends are here kash is alone lmao

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thepoolscene · 4 years

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The Pool Scene - Eklent Kaci, Jayson Shaw, Joshua Filler, Justin Bergman, Niels Feijen - Mosconi Cup

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55412

USA LEAD DRAMATIC PARTYPOKER MOSCONI CUP BY ONE

Van Boening/Woodward 5-1 Filler/Kaci Skyler Woodward 5-3 Niels Feijen Woodward/Styer 5-4 Kaci/Kazakis Shane van Boening 0-5 Joshua Filler Bergman/Thorpe 4-5 Shaw/Feijen

Team USA lead the partypoker Mosconi Cup 8-7, setting it up for a dramatic Thanksgiving finale at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Convention Center, live on Sky Sports and DAZN.

The day began with the scores at 5-5 and USA extended that to 8-5, with Skyler Woodward involved in all three wins. A Joshua Filler inspired Europe fought back though as the German beat Shane van Boening 5-0 before Jayson Shaw and Niels Feijen won a hill-hill thriller against Justin Bergman and Billy Thorpe that had it all and sparked wild European celebrations.

USA Coach Johan Ruijsink had scheduled Woodward to play in each of the day’s opening three matches, starting with a doubles pairing alongside Van Boening, with Filler and Eklent Kaci in opposition.

The Albanian carried the adrenaline of the walk-on into his break and scratched to the middle pocket, handing early initiative to USA. Europe’s next shot was their break at 2-0 down, but they couldn’t capitalise, and the rack went to USA. Kaci and Feijen took the fourth but a poor Filler push out gave America control of the fifth and they duly moved to the hill.

Breaking for the match, Woodward had the 8 down but Van Boening was left unsighted on the 1. No problem, though, for the South Dakota Kid, who jumped the 3 to cut the 1 to the top corner and America were perfect from there to move 6-5 ahead.

Woodward remained at the table to face Feijen, who was yet to find his stroke this week. The Dutchman looked to be staring down a 3-0 deficit when Woodward missed an uncharacteristic 9-ball and Feijen was able to put a three-pack together for the lead. But if any confidence was being built by the four-time MVP, it wasn’t able to grow any further. Woodward ran the sixth rack and a dry break by Feijen in the seventh was his last shot of the match as the Kentucky Kid, who is fast becoming ‘Mr Mosconi’ for Team USA, cleared the table twice for a 5-3 win and a 7-5 US lead.

That heaped pressure onto European pair Kaci and Kazakis, who were out next in doubles against Woodward and Styer. The Euro duo were both losing debutants last year and Kazakis had struggled so far this week too.

An American break and run in the first rack served to increase the decibel level from the US audience, but Europe took the next two for the lead. A fluked 3-ball – an attempted Kaci jump to the bottom corner which clipped the draw and screwed diagonally to the top corner – set Europe on their way to 3-1.

They reached the hill with a three-rack advantage, but a dry Kaci break handed an opportunity to USA, and Styer and Woodward took two racks to close to 4-3. Another European dry break brought the US duo straight back to the table and they gave the crowd the second hill-hill match of the week.

When Styer missed a tough cut on the 1, things looked promising for Europe. Kaci left Kazakis a 3-ball which was straight, but with the cue ball against the side rail on the jaw of the middle pocket. It was the kind of shot you need to make to win Mosconi Cup’s, but what followed was a Kazakis miss which was symptomatic of his struggles at this competition over the last two years, and it meant Europe were 8-5 down. Woodward had the final 9 and before shooting it urged the Mandalay Bay crowd to its feet. To a man, they obeyed, and gave perhaps the week’s loudest raw as the new yellow and black Aramith 9 hit the bottom of the pocket.

“I said to Tyler, anything can happen – they won four in a row, so can we,” said Woodward, who was involved in all three US wins. “MVP would be nice but I don’t care about that as long as we win. I don’t care who is MVP, let’s just get the cash! It is a huge point. We will win the session before and it’s a big confidence booster for Shane coming in now.”

Both captains went strong with their next singles picks, giving the fans what they’d voted for on day two. The Fans’ Choice saw Filler win 5-1 on Tuesday and Europe were desperate for the repeat. In this match, it was America looking for revenge.

Filler, though, was in no mood for a US party. He won the lag and first rack and as he gained position on the 9 in the second, he turned to the home crowd and put his finger to his lips.

It was his performance, though, that would silence the American fans. The German lost control in the next rack but when Van Boening’s 3-ball cut missed the top corner, Filler was straight out of his seat, ran around the table and completed the rack in no time at all.

Van Boening’s next break was dry but Filler missed a 4-ball jump. The South Dakota Kid, though, left an easy 6 in trying to play safe. He’d intended to tie it up with the 9 on the bottom rail, but it didn’t hold and was left invitingly over the pocket. The rack was Filler’s and he was on the hill.

The fifth rack turned out to be the last one of the match and though it wasn’t without drama, it was what happened after the handshake that had America infuriated.

Van Boening left the arena, and Filler turned to his fans. At that moment he spotted his picture, complete with a crown on his head, on the big screen and turned back to the American side of the auditorium, asking ‘Who is the King, who is the King?’ USA Coach Johan Ruijsink urged him back to the European side, where captain Marcus Chamat lifted Filler into his chair to receive the adulation of the travelling support.

“The fans make this event so specially but when I am in the arena there is no time for respect,” said Filler. “I respect Shane as a player and everybody said he is the king but I had to show everybody that I am the King now.

“We were three points behind but now just two, and we are getting closer. The last match is so important for us if we can go to just one point behind. Tomorrow is all singles matches and I see us as having a big advantage in the singles.”

The final match of the night dished up one of the most dramatic finishes to a day’s play the partypoker Mosconi Cup has seen. From 3-0 and

4-2 down, Feijen and Shaw drew level with Thorpe and Bergman and the final rack was huge; 9-6 or 8-7 going into day 3. The break was USA’s and, hooked on the 6, Thorpe played a superb bank to the bottom corner. It was a great shot under pressure, but it left Bergman a tricky 7, which the Illinois man missed. With the 8 already down, Shaw and Feijen just had one ball each remaining and as the Dutchman sealed the point, European celebrations began.

“There was a tonne of pressure,” said Feijen. “I was struggling the first two days and every little thing that goes wrong you get punished severely. We didn’t do a lot wrong but we were down 3-0 so the heat was on right away but we stuck with it, played some really nice shots, quick wins and the crowd were unbelievable.

“This was a monster win. When Billy got hooked at 4-4, he made a tremendous bank but the shape was tough on the 7 and Justin had a lot of pressure on him.”

“It is a big win and we are only one point down now with all singles to play tomorrow. It’s game on,” added Shaw. “Last year we were three down going into the last day and we came back strong. One match changes everything and there is a lot of pressure out there now, so tomorrow the singles will be massive.”

The 2019 partypoker Mosconi Cup concludes on Thursday with a maximum of six singles matches. The first team to 11 will take home the trophy.

Photos courtesy of JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport

The 2019 partypoker Mosconi Cup is partnered by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and Saluc is the Official Ball Provider. Predator is the Official Cue of the event, Kamui the Official Chalk and Tip and Ultimate Team Gear provide all partypoker Mosconi Cup apparel. CSI is the official sponsor of Team USA and Just Eat sponsor Team Europe.

#Eklent Kaci #Jayson Shaw #Joshua Filler #Justin Bergman #Niels Feijen

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traviswsoul · 7 years

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Day 28 Brook's Memorial Park to Sunnyside RV Resort 50 miles

July 31, 3:49 time, 2,044 caloires, 13.2 avg mph, 1,014; climbed After so many days resting up I was ready to ride. The campsite was great, I went to sleep at sunset reading Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason, which is blowing my mind, and then was at with the sun at 5:30. This was a great execution of the morning routine so I was able to run through the breakfast and packing like a pro. This was greatly assisted by having a dry tent, I think I’m learning something about dew, I believe dew doesn’t settle through the night as much as it settles in the morning after the sun comes up. It makes sense, if the air around a colder thing heats up then the surface of the thing gathers dew, it’s just condensation I’m thinking. This lines up with my observation and is encouraging me to get up as soon as its light, I really hate packing a wet tent! Adapting my body to routine of the sun is really exciting for me, I have always been a morning person and believed this to be the best way to make the most of the day. I hope that I can keep it up when I get off the road. It makes me think about how much time I have been outside, and sleeping and waking without a roof over my head that normally allows my controlling of light, and so many other things. I am enjoying an learning a lot from the simplicity of a narrow realm of control and adapting myself to nature instead of trying to force all the elements to adapt to my lifestyle. But, don’t get me wrong, I’m also looking forward to sleeping in when this is all over and I’m back in my bed, I need some black out curtains. ;) However this morning I had almost pedaled out of the park before realizing I didn’t have my Garmin computer in its place, I turned around and dug it out of some pocket it didn’t belong in, I’ve got to unpack and reorganize everything soon. Because I am no longer on the coast I no longer have maps and planned routes, instead I downloaded a route on the Ride With GPS app and when I was setting it up I checked avoid highways. This was a bad move. I rode for a couple hours, the last few miles down the same road, I knew I had a right turn coming up and that it was going to take eight miles toward the next town. This road was deep grey gravel with some packed spots from driving but like cars do to roads like this the packed spots were rippled and a nightmare to ride over. I had a little hope that it might turn into a paved road so I went almost a half mile before throwing in the towel and turning around. The way back was downhill and there were several times I was certain I as going to crash as I drifted through the loose surface. Somehow I managed to not though and arrived back to where I started. I happened to just get phone service at this same time so despite the chaos I called mom right away because she hadn’t heard from me in a couple days, and I promised her that wouldn’t happen. She was at a computer and helped find my way, as she has always done so well, even before computers. I’m actually really grateful for this mixup because I ended up cycling through the Yakima Valley hop farms. Eighty percent of America’s hops come from here, they grow all different varieties, the ones hop fans are familiar with as well as ones they developed and cultivated ones found wild. I am a huge hop fan myself and have in the last year become for intrigued about how they grow. My local brew supply store had some for sale in the shop one day that you could grow at home, then I talked with a friend of mine that farms hay about them and we wondered if they’d grow in the Texas hillcountry, surely local Texas beer brewers would pay a lot more for Texas hops than what whoever pays for hay. The field is covered with a grid of rope and wire suspended twenty feet up in the air. Ropes are run from it to the ground, one for each hop vine in the rows. They grow tall wrapping up the vine and reaching for the sun, it’s a beautiful sight to see. I stopped as soon as I did, parked my bike and walked in to inspect what this was. It was a young plot and none of the plants had mature hops on them so I didn’t recognize them right away. I did have a feeling it was hops from the baby buds I found on them, I took a sample to ask someone later but I didn’t have to, down the road was a mature field with towering vines and fully developed fat hops. I was beside myself, my ideas were confirmed and they had been on my mind for such long time so to see it in person felt like the coolest culmination of my ongoing farming lesson that has been this trip. I continued to ride turn after turn through hop farms all at different stages of growth approaching harvest and delivering those delicious betters flavoring my favorite hopy IPAs. All day I had been riding through or along the Yakima Nation Indian Reservation and the Yakima River. I will take this moment to not start ranting about the genocide that created the foundation for our sprawling across this “great” nation and the irony and conflict that I feel about national pride because we collectively choose to ignore this fact……If you stole someone’s TransAm you wouldn’t go blasting around town, blaring Metallica, yelling about it with your mulleted head hangin out the window, flying a flag with you name on it would you? How long after it’s been stolen and passed down to your kids does it become appropriate behavior? This is why I have a hard time with the braggadocios pride on Independence day, why I’ll always bring up smallpox at Thanksgiving, and could only wear an American branded article ironically. Budweiser beer has the word America in the place the brand name used to be, it’s way out of hand. People keep realizing the truth in the line Not all Donald Trump supporters are racist, but all racists are Donald Trump supporters, and they also see them selves as the greatest patriots as well, only adding to my resistance to align where I’m supposed to, patriotism, its a no brainer right? You go all gung ho about where ever your from and allow ideas that’s it’s the best actually hold water. That’s insane, It’s like religions knowing that all the others are wrong and mine is right. Clinging to nationalism, hyper patriotism and rejecting things foreign or different are blatant signs of insecurity and self doubt, in some cases, in my opinion. But since I’m not ranting about the patriotic forgetfulness of the blood on our hands after “founding” our country I’ll move on to my next flat tire. The Yakima river took me into Granger, there are dinosaurs in Granger, all over the town, apparently its a ancient river bed and some of the first fossils were found there. There really cling to there dino identity in Granger, theres not much really to be honest. I needed to eat and managed to find the only restaurant in town that was inside a little Mexican market and meat shop. I had a great time visiting with the three woman sitting next to me at the second of the only three tables there. I drank a bottle of appeared to be Mexican version of pedialite, that stuff you give to babies when they are sick and need electrolites, which I sure did, it was hot outside. The bonus was it was Horchatta flavored! I love Horchata and used to order the cinnamon rice milk drink at Magie’s, my favorite Mexican joint in my home town. I hope I find that again some day! It wasn’t much further to the next town, I had options, I could have stopped there or gone on but I was in no rush and then my tire popped a quarter mile from the first gas station of the town so it was decided, Sunnyside Washington would be home for the night. I had a hell of a time changing this tire. The one tube I tried to replace it with ended up have a bad valve in it and wouldn’t take air, I only realized this after wasting a buck in quarters and a CO2 figuring it out. When I the bike was finally ridable and put back together I spent a while riding around this big little town. I checked the Big 5 Sports store and the Walmart. Little air guns and pellet guns use CO2 but they don’t screw in so they don’t have threads to use with my tire inflator. So knowing there was nothing left to do I cruised around eyes for a spot to camp. The back of the Walmart had a line of overhead bushes and right behind them was 8 foot lane before a huge endless corn field, it would have been perfect but it was still early, I could use a shower, and didn’t want to not be able to leave my stuff to go eat or get water. Sunnyside RV Resort was a much better option for twenty bucks. I met some wonderful kids too there that were really interested in me, my stuff, harmonica and had all kinds of random ass stories to tell me like, about the bug at school, the treasure he buried in the yard, and the youngest just mumbled stuff constantly. They were are dirty from playing outside all day and not afraid of their curiosity. The six year old gave me a blue magic stone which was one of the half glass marbles from a fish tank, I’m keeping it forever. The guy who ran the place sent me to El Valle for the Lamb Shank and Cadillac Margarita. The lamb was delicious covered in enchilada sauce served with rice and cheesy refried beans, I didn’t need any liquor though so I passed on the Cadillac. I went to bed full and happy I was back on the road and in the full swing of things.

PS. The encouragement from strangers and drivers everyday is amazing, powerful and really helps me push on sometimes when it’s slow. Please take note, If you want to express your excitement about seeing a cyclist on the road and cheer him on, be sure not to begin honking until after you have passed him and he can identify you as an ally by your fist pumping out the window. Ally’s honks don’t sound any different than Asshole’s

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garkomedia1 · 5 years

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How the U.S. and U.K. are partners in chaos

Editor’s Note: This edition of Free Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Money will not publish on Thursday Nov. 22 and Friday Nov. 23. Our next Morning Money newsletter will publish on Monday Nov. 26.

Story Continued Below

HOW THE U.K. AND THE U.S. ARE PARTNERS IN CHAOS — A little thought bubble as we head into the weekend and the short Thanksgiving week. MM spent some time over the last several days in Washington and New York with a variety of executives who are sifting through the 2018 midterm election results and trying to make some sense of the path of U.S. politics.

Many are trying to figure out where America is headed with a growing schism between a metro-area dominated, more highly educated electorate trending toward the Democrats and smaller town and rural voters sticking with President Donald Trump and the GOP and embracing the president’s hardline trade and immigration policies and his culture war appeals.

Consensus among these executives (and frankly among anyone else) is that American politics is a directionless wreck with no path forward on anything from health care to education to retirement savings to climate change and gun violence and long-term fiscal deficits. One British banker mused about how he’s never seen the U.S. so screwed up or derelict on the world stage.

Then he stopped himself almost immediately to say how the U.K. was really wasn’t any better with no consensus on how to deal with Brexit, a potential end to Prime Minister Theresa May’s tenure, a civil war inside the Conservative party and a plunging pound. It remains largely unclear in the U.K. whether May’s softer Brexit plan will somehow survive or no deal will emerge leading to a hard Brexit or a new referendum will take place to reverse Brexit entirely.

Tensions in the U.S. and U.K. are different in many ways but they share commonalities of fractured politics and deep divisions on fundamental identities as either insular and nationalistic or more globally integrated and diverse. We got no revelatory insight in these conversations beyond a morbid sense that only grave and immediate crisis that cannot be ignored will jolt either nation into clarity. And maybe not even then. Happy thoughts for your Friday!

SPEAKING OF THE TWO AMERICAS… CNBC’s John Harwood writes on data compiled by Brookings’ Mark Munro that show that “districts won by Democrats account for 61 percent of America’s gross domestic product, districts won by Republicans 38 percent. That economic separation underpins cultural divisions that usually command more attention. … Residents of districts won by Democrats generate 22% more output per worker, and have a 15% higher median household income.” Read more.

** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms—secretive companies most Americans have never heard of—are putting Americans’ retirement savings at risk. These firms can give inaccurate, conflict-ridden and sometimes politically motivated recommendations that jeopardize Americans’ retirement savings. Learn More: https://proxyreforms.com/ **

MORE WILBUR ROSS DRAMA — POLITICO’s Nancy Cook and Andrew Restuccia with the details: “To hear Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his allies tell it, rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. Administration officials and close White House advisers say the 80-year-old Ross could be out of a job in a broader Cabinet shakeup as soon as January or as late as mid-2019. Ross, long said to be on thin ice with President Donald Trump, denies either scenario. ‘I’ll serve as long as the president wants and I have no indication to the contrary,’ he told an audience at a Yahoo! Finance event on Nov. 13.

“But in a sign of Ross’s perceived weakness, at least one influential Trump ally has begun speaking openly about his desire for the Commerce job if and when it becomes vacant: Office of Management and Budget chief Mick Mulvaney. …

“Other names circulating for the top Commerce slot include Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon; Ray Washburne, a major Republican donor and the President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and Karen Dunn Kelly, undersecretary for economic affairs at Commerce, who is jockeying for the job internally at the department.” Read more.

Restuccia (@AndrewRestuccia) also tweeted that McMahon would meet with Trump in the Oval on Friday.

GOP INVESTORS MORE BULLISH POST MIDTERMS — Somewhat counter-intuitive findings in this E-Trade survey of investors after midterm elections in which Democrats took back the House: “Republicans skew more bullish … with 38% saying they are more bullish toward the market than they were before the election. Democrats are slightly less optimistic, with 33% expressing more bullishness.

“Yet Republicans are also less positive about the personal impact of the results: Republicans are significantly more pessimistic across every measure tested, including how the new Congress will impact their investing portfolio, taxes, savings and bond yields, inflation, debt interest, and cost of goods and services.” Read more.

FIRST LOOK: ABA ON THE CRA — The ABA has a new comment letter out this morning to the OCC in response to its request for ideas to change the Community Reinvestment Act. From the comment: “Regulators should revise the CRA framework to incorporate fully the electronic channels through which many consumers prefer to conduct financial transactions. In addition, amendments to the CRA regulations must reflect that banks of all sizes are no longer restricted to conducting business in a limited geographic location.

WARNINGS SIGNS IN RETAIL SALES? — Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “The headline retail sales numbers for October looked good, but the details were less comforting. Gains in auto sales, building materials—due to the hurricanes, likely— and higher gasoline prices cannot be the foundation of solid broad growth, and the core numbers were rather weaker.

“The key message from the recent data, in our view, is that the impact of the tax cuts, which pushed sales up sharply in the spring, is fading rapidly. Our measure of core retail sales, which excludes autos, gasoline and food, rose at a mere 2.7% annualized rate in the three months to October, slowing from the 9.9% peak in the three months to July.”

TRANSITIONS— Jacqueline Corba, a POLITICO alum, has joined CNBC’s Squawk Box team as anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin’s producer. She was previously Senior Producer of special programming at Cheddar. Good get!

DEMS FLOAT POTENTIALLY BIG RULE CHANGES — Washington Examiner’s Colin Wilhelm and Laura Barrón-López on new proposed rules changes drafted by Democrats in the House: “One change would require a three-fifths majority to raise taxes on individuals outside the top 20 percent of income earners.

“The draft rules would also eliminate dynamic budgetary scoring, which takes economic growth under consideration when determining the cost of legislation in federal spending. … If agreed upon by a majority of members in the House, the new rules would also effectively do away with standalone debt ceiling votes in the chamber, reinstating a rule that deems the debt ceiling raised if a budget is passed.” Read more.

MUELLER ANXIETY GRIPS THE WHITE HOUSE — Good read from POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn: “Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about special counsel Robert Mueller. But half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in that Mueller is about to pounce after his self-imposed quiet period, and that any number of Trump’s allies and family members may soon be staring down the barrel of an indictment.

“Then there are the president’s own tweets, which have turned back to attacking Mueller after a near two-month break. … ‘You can see it in Trump’s body language all week long. There’s something troubling him. It’s not just a couple staff screw ups with Melania,’ said a senior Republican official in touch with the White House. ‘It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they’ve been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen. Folks are preparing for the worst.’” Read more.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Happy weekend everyone! Next week is Thanksgiving. Thank God. Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver..

DRIVING THE DAY — President Trump at 1:00 p.m. awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several recipients including Miriam Edelson, wife of billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson … Industrial production at 9:15 a.m. expected to rise 0.2 percent with manufacturing up 0.3 percent …

BOWMAN CONFIRMED; WHAT ABOUT NELLIE LIANG? — POLITICO’s Victoria Guida: “The Senate in a 64-34 vote … confirmed Kansas State Banking Commissioner Michelle Bowman as a member of the Federal Reserve Board, the culmination of a yearslong push by community bankers to guarantee that someone who shares their experience sits at the central bank.

“Bowman, nominated in April, is the first person confirmed to the Fed seat reserved for a community banker, a position created in 2015. The seven-member Fed board now has five members, after dwindling to as low as three over the past year. The Fed’s newest governor has served as Kansas’ top bank regulator since Jan. 31, 2017.” Read more.

Trump now has two more Fed nominees awaiting Senate votes, Marvin Goodfriend and Nellie Liang, a long-time Fed staff member who played a critical role during the financial crisis. The White House continues to telegraph confidence that they can get Liang through the Senate Banking Committee and to the floor for a vote.

But banking groups and some Senate Banking members including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have expressed significant opposition and suggested Liang could interfere with efforts to reduce regulatory burdens on large financial institutions. So far, GOP Senate leadership has mostly stayed out of it, waiting to see what happens at the committee level.

FED UNVEILS COMMUNICATION REFORM PLAN — POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt: “The Federal Reserve … unveiled plans for a review of the way it conducts monetary policy. The review the Fed has mapped out for next year will include outreach to the public, including a June 4-5 research conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the central bank said. Federal Reserve Banks will host a series of public events around the country to get input, the Fed said.

“Beginning around the middle of next year, Fed policymakers will discuss the feedback received from the events. ‘With labor market conditions close to maximum employment and inflation near our 2 percent objective, now is a good time to take stock of how we formulate, conduct, and communicate monetary policy,’ Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement.” Read more.

QUARLES, TAKE TWO — Cap Alpha’s Ian Katz: “Fed regulatory czar Randy Quarles put in his second consecutive day of congressional testimony on Thursday. This one before the Senate Banking Committee was barely an hour … Overall, the message was again broadly positive for banks.

“He tried to convince Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the Fed is carefully monitoring leveraged lending, and contested assertions from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that he’s making the stress tests too easy.”

TECH, BANKS LEAD STOCK REBOUND — AP’s Alex Veiga: “A rebound in technology companies and banks helped reverse an early slide for U.S. stocks Thursday, breaking a five-day losing streak for the market.

“Health care and industrial stocks also rose, offsetting losses in retailers, homebuilders, utilities and other sectors. Energy stocks also helped lift the market as the price of U.S. crude oil rose for the second straight day. … The late-afternoon market rebound marked the latest episode of volatile trading for the market this week.” Read more.

POUND SLIDES AMID BREXIT TURMOIL — NYT’s Peter Eavis: “Big declines in Britain’s currency, the pound, often have signaled wrenching changes for the country. Could this be the case again as … May struggles to win support for her plan to take Britain out of the European Union?

“The British pound on Thursday fell 2 percent against the dollar. That’s a large decline for a currency belonging to a developed economy and is the biggest one-day drop since the weeks after Britain’s vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union … Though the pound is down 15 percent since that vote, it remains well above the lows it hit in January 2017, when it was becoming clear that Mrs. May’s government favored a more drastic separation from important economic arrangements with the European Union.” Read more.

ECONOMISTS SPLIT ON MIDTERMS OUTCOME — WSJ’s Harriet Torry: “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were roughly split on whether the outcome of the recent midterm elections would dispel or increase uncertainty for the economy and financial markets in the coming months. The vote means that come January, Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans will retain control of the U.S. Senate.

“Nearly half of respondents in the economists’ survey, 46 percent, said economic uncertainty would increase somewhat following the midterms, while 40 percent of respondents expected it would decline somewhat after the vote.” Read more.

HOUSE PANEL TO LOOK AT FINANCE SECTOR DIVERSITY — Reuters’ Pete Schroeder: “Democrats are planning to dramatically step up their focus on improving financial services for underserved communities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, according to several people briefed on the matter.

“Representative Maxine Waters, who is poised to take over the chair of the Financial Services Committee after Democrats won a majority in the House in Nov. 6 elections, is considering creating a subcommittee dedicated to financial inclusion and diversity in the sector, as well as a taskforce to focus on financial technology innovation, the people said. Waters had previously said the issue would be a priority.” Read more.

GOLDMAN CEO ‘PERSONALLY OUTRAGED’ BY 1MDB SCANDAL — Bloomberg’s Keith Campbell and Jennifer Surane: “David Solomon had a message for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employees shaken by the firm’s involvement in a multibillion fraud scandal: This isn’t us.

“‘I am personally outraged that any employee of the firm would undertake the actions spelled out in the government’s pleadings,’ the firm’s chief executive officer said in a voicemail left with employees on Wednesday. ‘The behavior of those individuals is reprehensible and inconsistent with the good work and integrity that defines work that 40,000 of you do every day.’” Read more.

CREDIT UNIONS HAVE MORE WOMEN CEOs — Per new research from economists at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA): “In the financial sector where females are significantly underrepresented in management positions, credit unions create and sustain opportunities for female leaders to serve their communities.

“We measured credit union success in three key categories, and here’s what we found: Female executives are significantly more common at credit unions compared to other financial institutions: A majority (52%) of credit union CEOs are female. Accounting for differences in asset size, there is no evidence for a gender pay gap at credit unions” Read more.

ANOTHER DEM PICKUP IN THE HOUSE — POLITICO’s Elena Schneider: “Democrat Jared Golden has defeated GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd District, bringing Democrats’ net gain in the House to 36 seats with five GOP seats still uncalled — and with Poliquin still embroiled in a lawsuit against Maine’s secretary of state over the vote.

“Golden had 50.5 percent of the vote to Poliquin’s 49.5 percent, according to the Maine secretary of state’s office. Golden’s victory — the first House race ever decided by a ranked-choice voting system — also marked the 20th district that Democrats won that had been carried by … Trump in 2016.” Read more.

AND ONE MORE… POLITICO’s Brent D. Griffiths: “Southern California Rep. Mimi Walters was ousted Thursday night, the latest House Republican to lose their seat in the formerly deep-red Orange County. The Associated Press called the 45th congressional district race with Democrat Katie Porter leading Walters, a two-term incumbent who previously served in the California senate, by just over 6,000 votes as ballots continue to be counted.” Read more.

** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms have no obligation to look out for investors’ best interests, and the recommendations of these secretive companies can put Americans’ personal investments and retirement savings at risk. Put simply, these firms give advice that is often at odds with the best interests of Main Street investors.

That leads to bad decisions that can undermine company performance and drag down retirement account balances for American workers. Thankfully, the Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring ways to provide much-needed oversight. And Main Street investors can take action by telling Washington to look out for working Americans and their savings. Learn more: https://proxyreforms.com/ **

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thesylvalining · 6 years

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Recently, an Italian friend of mine noted sharing my recent bicycle tour experience and outlook on life is one of the best things I can do to make my society better. I didn’t even consider enriching society when undertaking this cathartic journey; I did intend to try and comprehend my country — but even more so, I wanted to understand myself.

Pause: just in case any of you were asleep during the last five and a half months (four and a half of which I was dragging my crazy butt, bike and crap from Berkeley, California to St. Augustine, Florida)… well, I just laid out what you missed.

The Southern Tier route — however I started in Berkeley, California and cruised down to connect with the route in San Diego.

Turns out, I undertook a rather timely experience. During the era of “me too” I traveled across the USA as a solo female. Simultaneously, I threaded through areas of our very divided country — like the South — that many Americans view as unfriendly and unwelcoming. However, I discovered a very different America: a kind, welcoming America, across the board.

I also interacted with countless people who cling to “buts.” Not the cute, Italian variety — no, the kind that allows folks to evaluate their own lives and positions. They’d say things like “I always wanted to hike the Pacific Crest trail…but…” or “I wish I was as brave as you are… but,” with Borat-like pauses:

I connected with a whole slew of sympathetic souls — black, white, brown, yellow, conservative, liberal, female, male, somewhere in between — who seemed to be living lives differently than the ones they really wanted to live.

Waiting until dark before (spoiler alert!) I rode through the closed slide in Big Sur, California.

Simply showing up on their doorstep (in a guise not often spotted in rural America), in their section at the restaurant or their checkout isle at the grocery store, I became a mirror. I reflected back their own unfulfilled dreams, desires and fears. And occasionally, I was lucky enough to inspire. For example: meet Freda, a remarkable woman (and Warm Showers host) in Gautier, Alabama. I stayed with her over a weekend; in her listing on Warm Showers, she clearly states she doesn’t host cyclists on weekend — but it’s fine to ask anyway. I asked, since the weather was wetter than a whale’s back and luckily, Freda didn’t want to turn me away.

But, she wanted me to “know what I was getting into.” Every Friday and Saturday, three more people turned up the chaos dial at her house and one was her friendly daughter, a recovering drug addict. Fred said I’d have to keep a very close eye on my valuables. Her daughter simply couldn’t help it; if something was in plain sight, she’d take it.

Sunset on Dauphin Island, Alabama (my next stop after staying with Freda). Incidentally, Freda was the one who took me to that nationally renowned BBQ joint I mention (The Shed).

I decided to stay. Freda’s honesty won me over — and the fact that staying in the rain would put a real damper on my weekend (pun intended). Freda’s daughter didn’t end up being around but her grand-daughters were. After a refreshing rest day with Freda and the girls (one about eight I believe and the other an early teen), I was reluctant to leave. Freda and I kept in touch and she sent me pictures and once, a video of the girls at a Mardi Gras parade. She said they’d only let her snap away because she was sending them to me — apparently I made an impression on them as a solo girl, adventuring by bike.

So among the other missions I inadvertently signed up for, I think sharing my experience in order to impress upon and inspire people to truly follow their hearts’ desires is one. I know change is difficult and not everyone has a gypsy soul like yours truly; nor is everyone able or willing to literally pick up and move out into the Great Unknown. Society and socio-economic status are powerful enough without adding in drug addictions, hurricanes or wildfires. Or being part of (as some folks I encountered) a struggling family of farmers or ranchers to whom time off is a necessary foreign concept. However, I encountered so many people with regrets and potentially conquerable fears that I can’t help but want to instigate a little change.

Enjoying the h*ll out of Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Below is a video recorded on March 7, 2018 (shortly after the butt crack of dawn) at my dad’s Rotary International meeting in St. George, Utah. Both of my parents are champions of support, not only during this powerful, wondrous chapter of my life but generally speaking. My dad gave weekly updates at his Rotary meetings while I was riding and got enough people hooked on the journey that there were 20-25 Rotarians in attendance.

I apologize as the pictures on the screen aren’t visible in the very low-tech recording I rigged up by leaning my cell phone against a half-full cup of lukewarm coffee. The pictures throughout the blog and in the slide show below the video are the same ones I employed in the presentation. Taking a gander ahead of time may help as I refer to pictures often.

Sometimes when it rains, it pours — like it did when I hid out for three deluges this day on my way to Morganza, Louisiana.

So here’s my little challenge to you: share this post and/or video with someone in your own life who is clinging to a “but.” We never know what will stick, like a patient, helpful bur and someday, cause a great, wonderful change.

This little lady has all the gear she needs for a cross-country bike trip…

On this bike! Just kidding.

My bike is in the bottom of the cart, in pieces. Above is all the crap I carried — which my dad refers to as really heavy 🙂

Awesome, self-explanatory sign south of Santa Cruz, California.

Me hanging out with (left to right) my brother Kyle, his girlfriend Kathy and Uncle Brian in Berkeley, CA.

Meeting the sisters on the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco — Colette, in the purple, offered to put me up in Pismo Beach later if the stars aligned.

A perfect example of guerrilla camping.

That ubiquitous, gorgeous bridge in Big Sur, California.

Schlepping bike and gear up the dirt trail the locals used just south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California.

Riding the closed road in Big Sur with very little traffic.

Sage and Kiyan and I enjoying the festivities at the bridge reopening party just south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California.

Nothing to do but ride on through…

After riding through the closed slide, a chance meeting in San Simeon with docent Alan. I stayed with him and his wife Judy for four days in total. Here we are in Morro Bay, California.

Staying with Colette in Pismo Beach, California.

Meeting fellow biker friends like Swiss Phil and Rosy and Canadian Dan (I think that was his name 🙂

Taking the left turn in eastern San Diego.

Heading into the agricultural desert in California’s Imperial Valley.

Discovering the border wall in Jacumba, California.

Making the most of a rest day in Jacumba, California.

The 2500-3000 foot descent after Jacumba, California.

A glorious new friendship with Katherine and her bike, Jonie in Glamis, California.

Meeting up with mom and dad in Phoenix, Arizona.

Salado cliff dwellings near Tonto Basin, Arizona.

Making friends with Alan and Myrna in Globe, Arizona (here we are visiting Besh Ba Gowah Native American ruins).

Simpson Hotel in Duncan, Arizona where I spent Thanksgiving.

My castle in Duncan, Arizona behind Simpson Hotel.

A big climb on the way to Duncan, Arizona.

Fred, the mastermind behind fixing my broken rack with bailing wire, screws and electric tape.

Riding up Mule Creek road after getting help from Fred, almost to…

New Mexico!!

Hanging out with Eleanor, who put me up for a few days near Cliff, New Mexico.

Hiking with Joseph in or near the Gila Wilderness.

The mother of all flats…

Gila Cliff Dwellings with Noel, Susan and company outside Silver City, New Mexico.

Entering Texas, where even the dinosaurs are bigger.

Broken pannier clips in El Paso, Texas.

The Beehive in Marathon, Texas (my home for two nights).

Navigating the Chihuahuan desert in Texas… for a long time…

Christmas in Del Rio, Texas.

Spending Christmas with Lisa and Eoin.

My drinking buddy and awesome uncle Casey.

Christmas at the Cottons, which includes hanging with Beth, who rocks.

Hydroponic lettuce farming in Rockne, Texas.

The infamous Warm Showers host, Carol in Carmine, Texas.

Baby Sylva, born in Richards, Texas.

The awesome crew at Live Oak Nudist Resort in Texas.

Welcome to Louisiana!

Getting marooned in Merryville, Louisiana.

Braving the roads after the winter storm.

Frozen swamps near

Drying everything I own at a Catholic church in Morganza, Lousiana. The secretary, Retta and her husband took me out to dinner, which was an amazing surprise.

Finally arriving in Baton Rouge, sightseeing (here, I am at the top of the Capitol building).

Meeting Mike — LSU’s mascot — with another amazing WS host, Mark.

Heading to New Orleans, sleeping in a garage (another WS accomodation) in Lutcher, Louisana.

Arriving at where I was staying: Tami’s! She’s a friend of a friend but we were instant buddies. Here, we were eating King Cake for breakfast on her sweet balcony.

There was some sightseeing, some voodoo…

And of course food! First, beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde.

Then a seafood boil while it poured outside.

Here I am at the Shed, in Gautier, Alabama.

One of many heavenly sugar sand beaches in Destin, Florida.

A cloudy day to enjoy a different kind of beach beauty in Inlet Bay, Florida (staying with yet another wonderful WS host, Martin).

And then I had to suck it up and ride inland through A LOT of rain…

Staying with John after the WS host never showed at the Pizza Hut in Blountstown, Florida.

Heading further east out of Tallahassee…

Camping behind a church in Wellborn, Florida (night of the sprinkler fight).

Helping with a couple simple farm chores with WS hosts Diane and Maria in Monticello, Florida.

Enjoying Ichatucknee Springs State Park on Priscilla’s recommendation!

And meeting the awesome guys at Amigo’s dive shop, thanks again Priscilla!

Quality time with my new friends Mildred and John in Palatka, Florida.

Celebrating with beach time in St. Augustine, Florida, my ultimate destination.

Meeting up with my bro and going to Universal Studios (thanks to Alycia for the ticket hook up!).

Relaxing by the pool at my friend Chris’ house in Apopka, Florida.

Spring training baseball game with Kyle-bro and Chris.

Still curious? Good! I have an ebook in the works regarding the whole experience, with lots more pictures. Stay tuned and sign up for the blog (if you haven’t already) to receive a notification when the ebook’s ready to download. Grazie, gracias and thanks for reading!

Presenting Roads Less Traveled Recently, an Italian friend of mine noted sharing my recent bicycle tour experience and outlook on life is one of the best things I can do to make my society better.

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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Mason Bees – How to Raise Bees for Pollination

By Christopher George – I didn’t start out with the intention of learning how to raise bees for pollination. In 2005, I bought some books on honeybee culture with the idea that I wanted to learn how to start a honey bee farm. I bought two hives, the full suit, all the usual bee tools, and two sets of packaged bees. One colony started out well; the other seemed to flounder. Looking back on it, I believe the queen in the second colony did not survive transport, but as a rank beginner, I didn’t recognize the signs. The first colony thrived until late in the season when I noticed it was sick with some disease. Probably foulbrood, but none of the four books I had contained a section on diseases. By the end of that season, I had two sick hives, without much prospects of surviving the winter.

At the close of the 2005 season, I did some more online research about how to raise bees and discovered some books about mason bees, also known as Blue Orchard Bees. Unlike honeybees, mason bees are native to North America and look like black flies. I found a number of articles on purchasing or building mason bee housing. If your main goal is to produce honey, mason bees won’t help you. But if reliable pollination in your garden or orchard is the goal, this is where mason bees shine. An individual mason bee is a better pollinator than a honeybee. (Honeybees make up for that in numbers, though.)

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Mason bees are also hardier. They can fly and pollinate when it’s too cool or breezy for honeybees, so they may get to some early blossoms that honeybees miss. They’re also extremely easy to care for compared to honey bees. And since they have no honey cache to protect, mason bees don’t sting, unless you purposely abuse them in some way.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think honeybees are awesome, but with all the medication issues these days they take more time to manage. Also, last I checked the medications were sold in 10-packs, which is too much for a hobbyist with two hives. Since mason bees don’t form social groups, they don’t generally spread disease between them. So I now buy honey from a small local producer that manages 30+ hives. (It’s best to support locally grown food every time you can.)

Mason bees lay their eggs in tube-like structures, such as the 5/16-inch gap between shingles on a shingle roof. As it turns out, paper straws work great. I use a “nesting can” system that holds 74 paper straws each inside a protective cardboard tube. The nesting can and cardboard tubes can be reused for several seasons. You can use a piece of PVC pipe in place of the nesting can, which would last indefinitely. You can also buy the materials in bulk to save money. There are other colony designs and bee hive plans available online that consist of drilling holes in a large block of wood, but the nesting can system is less work, and consistency (from the bee point of view) is guaranteed.

So I started out the 2006 season with a new adventure in how to raise bees by buying two colony enclosures, four nesting cans, and a dozen tubes of starter mason bees from Knox Cellars. A year later, I have three colonies and over 100 filled tubes. I’ll add another colony each year for the next few seasons as I continue to learn how to raise bees. On my property, I’m planting an assortment of trees and berry bushes after researching the best plants for bees. By the time the rest of my berry bushes mature, I’ll have a sizeable army of mason bees ready to spring into action.

Since mason bees typically fly only 300 feet or so from their colony, I’m spreading the colonies out by about that much along the edges of my plantings. Each colony is simply a 6 x 6 post in the ground, with a couple pieces of pressure treated wood screwed to the top for a 24 x 24-inch windbreak, and the colony enclosure attached to the middle of the windbreak wood about seven feet off the ground. The colony enclosure is made of cedar, not pressure treated wood. You can also attach a colony to the side of a building. I have all my colonies facing southeast to catch the morning sun.

If all you have is a family-sized garden, a single colony of mason bees should cover it. For a larger market garden of maybe an acre, I’d put a colony at either end. To pollinate an acre of apple trees you might need 250 female mason bees. Triple that number to account for the fact that the bee population is around 1/3 female, and you end up with a need for 750 bees per acre. One of my colonies with two “nesting cans” can house twice that number if fully filled. They’re not usually fully filled, though. I’ve been getting them about 75 percent filled.

So how do you manage a mason bee colony if you’re just getting started learning how to raise bees? They winter over in a refrigerator. In spring, I put out the empty colonies with two nester cans, and attach some tubes of live bees from last year to the bottom of the colony. I have a few dozen honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea var. edulis) plants, which bloom fairly early, so I do a staggered release. In early April I put out a third of my bees, and a couple weeks later another third, and at the end of April the remaining third. That way, if a freak blizzard comes along in the second week, I don’t lose all of them. Also, if weather does kill off the bees in the first or second batch, they may have gotten at least some of their pollinating job done before the freeze. They can survive a few moderate frosts by hunkering down inside their tubes. The third batch of bees can then visit the later blossoms. Contrast that to honeybees, which are more prone to miss early blossoms if the weather is too cool or breezy.

The bees breed as soon as they emerge from their cocoons and then go nuts pollinating and laying eggs. The female lays an egg at the back of the tube, caps off that cell with some mud, and then repeats the process until the tube contains six or more eggs, females at the back and males toward the front. Thus, males are the ones at risk from woodpeckers. A female mason bee will produce an average of 36 offspring. Every week I check on the colonies and see more tubes being capped off. It’s enjoyable to watch them coming and going from the colony. They keep that up until around the first week of July when I notice the tubes are no longer being filled. Perhaps the bees worked themselves to death, got picked off by birds, or just flew off into the sunset. By that point, I have all my pollination done for the year, plus next year’s bees are safely sealed up in their colonies. The colony opening can now be covered to keep woodpeckers out if that’s a problem. So far I’ve been getting back at least twice as many filled tubes as I set out in the spring. If I keep adding colonies, I’ll eventually reach the saturation point for my property.

Between the time the first eggs are laid in the spring and the time the new offspring spin their winter cocoons, usually October, it’s important to not disturb or move the colonies. If you take the nester can out of the colony in July and drop or shake it, you’ll likely kill all the bees inside. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving is when I take the bees out of the colonies, sort them out, and put them to bed in the fridge until the following spring.

Finally, mason bees and honeybees, or bumblebees for that matter, all have a niche to fill in nature. If you’re concerned about the bee population decline, learning how to raise bees is a good way to do something about it. They don’t fight with each other to get to blossoms. Refer to any of the several good books available on mason bees as you research information on how to raise bees, as I am no expert on the topic. But as a bee hobbyist, my experience with mason bees as a way to learn how to raise bees has been nothing but positive.

Originally published in Countryside 2008 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

Mason Bees – How to Raise Bees for Pollination was originally posted by All About Chickens

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rodrigohyde · 6 years

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72-year-old Larry Macon started running marathons 20 years ago. He just finished No.2,000.

Marathons are a numbers game. You’re racing against the clock, a personal best, and thousands of other runners. You're also racing against your biological clock. As any runner can tell you, few runs will take a toll on your body like a marathon.

Unless you're Larry Macon.

The 72-year-old just crushed his 2,000th marathon—a stupendous accomplishment made even more incredible by the fact that he ran his first 26.2-miler 20 years ago at 52. Macon has run at least one marathon in every state in America 23 times. His PR? Four hours and 15 minutes.

But for Larry, the numbers don’t really matter.

“I’m not consumed by my time,” Macon says. “I've been the last person, and, in one race, the first person. But I didn't enjoy that one particularly more. Being a lawyer, I have cases that go on for five or 10 years, so it's really wonderful to be able to finish something in five or six hours.”

[RELATED1]

His story is nothing short of spectacular, especially if you’ve always wanted to start running but never found the motivation to put one foot in front of the other.

Here’s how Macon got into marathons in the first place, some of his most memorable races, and his best pieces of advice for kicking ass well into your golden years.

Courtesy Image

The lie that sparked a running addiction

Throughout his career as a trial lawyer, Macon developed a Monday ritual. He’d meet with a few other lawyers to shoot the breeze, brag, and “lie a lot,” Macon jokes.

“One day one guy said ‘I played 36 holes of golf,’” Macon recalls. “Somebody else said ‘I swam two miles.’ Then they asked, ‘Hey Larry, what'd you do?’ I worked all weekend and hadn't done a damn thing, but I glanced over at the newspaper and said, ‘Oh, I'm training for the marathon,’ and they said, ‘Fantastic! It's in three weeks, we'll have a party for you.’”

So, Macon was forced—or, rather, encouraged—to hit the road. His first race was in his hometown of San Antonio, TX. And while he wasn’t a complete novice—he'd been running a formidable 50 miles a week—he’d never run more, especially not all at once.

“I was pretty beat at the end of it, and I thought, 'I don't think I'll ever do this again'—but it wasn't bad,” Macon recalls.

[RELATED2]

Obviously he did it again…and again. He had 12 marathons under his belt in a span of six years. Then he started running 59 marathons a year. Then 80. Then someone asked if he’d ever checked the Guinness World Record for the most marathons done in a year. That benchmark was 100—so Macon went to work.

He ran 105 marathons in 2008, which Guinness World Records recognized as the most marathons run in a year. In 2010, he one-upped his record and ran 106. In 2011, he hit 113, then 157 in 2012. The tide changed in 2013: Macon ran a mind-boggling 255 marathons, although only 239 "counted" toward his total, according to Guinness.

How Macon (literally) runs the world

It’s a huge undertaking. Aside from the sacrifices Macon makes (“I have no other hobbies”) to fit all the time it takes to train, travel, and traverse that kind of mileage, it’s also wildly expensive. You’re dropping a couple hundred bucks for marathon entries in major cities alone, then you’ve got to factor in flights, hotels, and food.

But Macon is strategic.

“My work takes me all across the country, so I try to connect and see if I can have a meeting in some city either on a Friday or Monday so I can do my first or last marathon close to where I've been working.” (His top three marathon destinations: Madison, MT; Monterey, CA; and "anywhere in Maine".)

Of course, his marathon travel schedule isn't always so seamless. He’s flown to California for a Saturday marathon, then traveled back to the East Coast for a Sunday marathon. And while he's covered plenty of miles on foot in the process, he's also racked up quite a few in the air.

[RELATED3]

“I had like six or seven million miles on American Airlines, I've got a couple million on Delta, and just 500,000 on United Airlines,” he says nonchalantly.

Periodically he’ll use the miles for vacations with his wife, Jane. (They’ve traveled to Africa six times.) But he mostly uses the miles for more marathons.

How Macon has achieved athletic longevity

“I've run at least two marathons every weekend, and I run more on holidays,” Macon says. “I ran four in Seattle over the Thanksgiving weekend. It doesn't make much difference if I run one, three, or eight in a row.”

Miraculously, Macon doesn’t suffer from shin splints, aching joints, or inflammation. He’s an anomaly in a sport that causes such wear and tear on the body. In many ways, he’s as biomechanically perfect as a runner can get, especially for his age.

“I'm blessed with some pretty good genes because I've never had an injury, my knees don't hurt, and I feel no worse when I finish the race than when I started,” he says. “Sometimes I get a little tired, but that's all.”

Macon’s only ailment is a “gigantic” bunion on his left foot. That doesn’t seem to faze him, though: Macon just cuts a hole in his trusty super-wide 6E New Balance kicks to make room for his problem toe.

[PQ]

He’s never had a trainer to program a regimen or perfect his form. And he doesn’t always have the luxury of plenty of sleep or a massage to recuperate his muscles. Half the time his recovery from a marathon is another marathon. So, yes, Macon is biomechanically lucky, although it's worth mentioning his nutrition is dialed in: “I'm virtually a vegan except I have a vice that I have to confess to,” Macon says. “I love chocolate milk at the end of a race.”

But among marathoners, he’s also a rare psychological find: Even though he’s infatuated with running, he’s not trying to be the fastest guy on the road or in the race. He finishes in six to seven hours, always chatting to other runners along the way.

“Did you run Boston?”

Not all of Macon's marathons have gone smoothly—particularly not during the fateful Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.

“I was in a big group at about mile 25, when all of a sudden there were 12 police officers with shotguns,” Macon says. “They weren’t pointing them at us, but we all screeched to a halt and they said ‘The race is over.’”

The officers couldn’t tell Macon and the other runners what happened—only that some buses might arrive to pick them up in three or four hours. Macon found himself stranded on the race course, unable to return to his hotel.

“I started knocking on doors, and finally a synagogue let me in and explained what happened,” Macon said.

Macon called his hotel, but he couldn’t retrieve his belongings. Police had the entire area blocked off until the next morning. He called a taxi, but he was in the “prohibited zone,” so he tried a car service that said they could pick him up if he could get a couple miles outside of the race area.

Macon ostensibly “finished” his marathon by running the miles to the car, and was transported to the airport, where he talked his way through TSA wearing a singlet and shorts carrying nothing but his ID.

Starving after having run the marathon, Macon walked into a restaurant. “I know this is unusual, but I don't have any money or credit cards. Would you feed me? I'll send you a check. They asked, ‘Did you run Boston? Well, come on in.’”

Macon eventually made his way onto the plane, still dressed in his singlet and shorts. “The flight attendants announced what happened and people started sending me drinks,” Macon says.

Eventually, after more negotiating with a taxi, Macon made it home safely. And about a week later the hotel sent him all his clothes and billfold.

Macon’s (other) most memorable marathon moments

North Dakota: Entering the danger zone “I was the only one doing the early start—and I quickly understood why,” Macon says. “The snow was coming down, getting colder and colder, and I couldn’t see the path. Of the 400 total people that were supposed to run, there were only 18 fools who got out there and tried. At mile 17, they pulled us off the course. The wind chill was -15°. We piled on a bus and they took us to hot showers.”

Boston: Mid-race conference calls “I was running Boston, and I had an hour-and-a-half conference call during the race,” Macon recalls. “Every once in a while they’d say, ‘Larry are you OK?’ And I’d say, ‘Oh, yeah, I'm fine,’ then put them on mute.”

Courtesy Image

Colorado: Race like a Bronco, run like a girl “In Denver, I saw there was extreme weather, so I got a cotton hoodie of the Denver Broncos football team in the airport,” Macon says. “The next morning I got up and it was snowing like crazy, and all I had were shorts and this cotton hoodie, which was quickly soaking wet. I asked somebody if I could borrow some clothes. A guy gave me a windbreaker and a girl gave me some pink tights, which I proudly wore. They said, ‘You run like a girl.’

“During that same race, I was running with another girl and she asked, ‘Are you getting screws in your shoe?’" Macon says. “And I looked at here like, ‘Huh?’ Turns out at every 5K they had a guy with a drill, and he’d put screws in the bottom of your shoes to keep from slipping. Except as we came into the 5K watcher section, she stepped on a rock, fell, and broke her leg. I decided to keep slipping along without the screws and finished that race like a popsicle.”

Las Vegas: Reaching the melting point “I ran one outside of Las Vegas when it was 115°,” Macon says. “That was fun. I assume if I go to hell I'll be very comfortable.”

San Antonio: Macon’s 2,000th marathon “It was a glorious day and the people were way too nice...I counted 145 selfies,” Macon says. “There were people at every water stop cheering for me, and at the end I got a police escort. I had four motorcycles—usually they’d be chasing me, but this time they were with me—guiding me to the finish. They had a confetti canon that flew everywhere. The celebration was far more than I deserved, but it was really nice.”

For 52,400 miles covered on foot, we think it’s exactly what Macon deserves.

“Somebody made me a shirt that says, ‘2,000 down, 2,000 to go.’" Macon says. “I don't think so, but I'm going to get out there and I'm going to probably end up running 10 to 20 marathons this month, so I haven't quit.”

[RELATED4]

Distance running

from Men's Fitness https://www.mensfitness.com/training/endurance/72-year-old-larry-macon-started-running-marathons-20-years-ago-he-just-finished

#Men's Fitness

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egooksconnolly · 6 years

Text

72-year-old Larry Macon started running marathons 20 years ago. He just finished No.2,000.

Unless you're Larry Macon.

But for Larry, the numbers don’t really matter.

[RELATED1]

His story is nothing short of spectacular, especially if you’ve always wanted to start running but never found the motivation to put one foot in front of the other.

Here’s how Macon got into marathons in the first place, some of his most memorable races, and his best pieces of advice for kicking ass well into your golden years.

Courtesy Image

The lie that sparked a running addiction

Throughout his career as a trial lawyer, Macon developed a Monday ritual. He’d meet with a few other lawyers to shoot the breeze, brag, and “lie a lot,” Macon jokes.

“I was pretty beat at the end of it, and I thought, 'I don't think I'll ever do this again'—but it wasn't bad,” Macon recalls.

[RELATED2]

How Macon (literally) runs the world

But Macon is strategic.

[RELATED3]

“I had like six or seven million miles on American Airlines, I've got a couple million on Delta, and just 500,000 on United Airlines,” he says nonchalantly.

Periodically he’ll use the miles for vacations with his wife, Jane. (They’ve traveled to Africa six times.) But he mostly uses the miles for more marathons.

How Macon has achieved athletic longevity

[PQ]

“Did you run Boston?”

Not all of Macon's marathons have gone smoothly—particularly not during the fateful Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.

“I started knocking on doors, and finally a synagogue let me in and explained what happened,” Macon said.

Macon eventually made his way onto the plane, still dressed in his singlet and shorts. “The flight attendants announced what happened and people started sending me drinks,” Macon says.

Eventually, after more negotiating with a taxi, Macon made it home safely. And about a week later the hotel sent him all his clothes and billfold.

Macon’s (other) most memorable marathon moments

Courtesy Image

Las Vegas: Reaching the melting point “I ran one outside of Las Vegas when it was 115°,” Macon says. “That was fun. I assume if I go to hell I'll be very comfortable.”

For 52,400 miles covered on foot, we think it’s exactly what Macon deserves.

[RELATED4]

Distance running

Article source here:Men’s Fitness

0 notes

shanghai-dublin-blog1 · 7 years

Text

Selecting Common-sense Programs For Sport Fishing Equipment

Professional Advice On Realistic Strategies For Sport Fishing Equipment

Best sport fishing equipment product review 2017

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Greatest sport fishing equipment review 2017

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But it is more than a map. At first, California fisherman Joe Bellomo thought he had hooked a striped bass, but the fish turned out to be something he never expected to catch in Lake Mead. It was a walleye. Our plan was to hunt the benches of Mount Grafton, where open ridges meet the base of its steep slopes. It was here that Don had seen bulls while hunting elk with another friend during the 2015 elk season. For my youngest daughter, Calli, Thanksgiving is the time for watching the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. For others, its about football, basketball or both. Personally, I prefer spending the pre-feast hours doing something outside. One of Nevadas overlooked treasures is the open space that in many places stretches from one horizon to the other, most of which still belongs to the American people. There was a covey of chukars moving back and forth from the nearby brush to the guzzler. We couldnt believe it. We had been through that basin early that morning and hadnt seen or heard a thing. Election Day is Tuesday, which means we have important decisions to make.

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