Woohooooo.
I haven’t written any “end of the race” blogs so far, and this may be a poor attempt at one, but I figure everyone will be amused by the “re-entry” story from today:
Having flown into Boston on the night of Sept. 1st, I decided to take a bus down to NYC to visit my wonderful little sister, Kara, for a week, along with Brandon and Shiloh. We have had a blast so far, and, unfortunately, we had to take Brandon to JFK airport so he could fly back home to Kansas today. After saying our sad good-byes, Shiloh and I stepped back outside onto the train platform that is outside to wait for the A train back uptown. I had a large excess of saliva in my mouth at the time, and having lived in such places like China (where people spit constantly, including on sleeper trains, with carpet), India, and Romania, I decided to rid myself of this minor inconvenience by spitting onto the concrete ground beside me. I also noticed lots of gum and trash around, so I thought absolutely nothing of this action. However, I very nice police officer walked up to me and asked me where I was from. Thinking he was merely trying to strike up conversation, I said Pennsylvania. He asked if it’s ok to spit on the ground in PA, because “that’s disgusting.” I said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I have been traveling the world in the past year and in all of the countries i have been to everyone spits as if it’s not a big deal.” I had no idea I had committed a crime against humanity. After stating he had been to Singapore and that spitting is a “universal no-no,” the kind officer wrote me a ticket for the awful offense for $50. I had no idea that this was even a rule, let alone something that I could be ticketed for. But I guess I should have stopped at the help desk in the Subway station and asked for a complete list of all of the offenses worthy of $50 fines.
So my lesson for today is mainly for all of you racers who will be returning after 11 months in “spitting” countries: be careful what you do when you get back. It may not offend you, and your friends and family may not even think anything of it. But what may seem harmless could turn into a deadly offense. Be careful where you spit.
Thanks for reading.
