Adam Blake - 15. Chapter 15

“The next morning, Billy wasn’t quite awake at 5, I reminded him of the bet and he was up. While he was in the bathroom, I poured us each a glass of orange juice. I noticed when we got in last night that someone had stocked the fridge.

As I put my glass on the sink, I handed Billy his juice. “Will have breakfast after we finish our run.”

I marked where we would start our run. Then I began my warmup and Billy was right beside me. After about 20 minutes of stretching our legs and muscles, “Ready, let’s go.”

I started off at a medium jog, running in sand isn’t the same as on a hard surface, your feet dig into the sand and increases the drag. So starting slow and getting the feel was the best way on the first day. I looked at Billy, he was keeping up. We ran side by side for about 5 miles, turned around, and ran back. “How did that feel?”

“There was a lot of drag, my feet felt extra heavy. I noticed my feet sank in the sand a little and I think that was what caused the drag. How far did we run?”

“We ran 10 miles, 1/3 of the way to the diner. We took it slow, I wanted this to be more of a muscle-building exercise than speed. If we can build those leg muscles a little more you’ll be faster although more muscles require a longer warm-up time.”

“You think I’ll make the Olympic team.”

“Yep and I’ll prove it to you over the next two weeks.”

“Let’s cool down,” I took off my shoes, set them on the sand in front of the cabin, ran into the surf. Billy was right behind me. Being a teenager, it didn’t take him long to jump on me trying to dunk me in the surf. I fell once, and then it was his turn. We played around until his stomach growled. “Let’s go and shower, I’ll fix breakfast.”

“The last one to the cabin washes dishes.” He yells this when he’s about halfway there. I pretend to start to run and he takes off. I just casually walk. “Hey, I thought we were going to run.”

“I know, that’s why you sprinted to the cabin. Go and get your shower then I’ll get mine.”

Showered and dressed, “What do you normally eat for breakfast?”

“Protein”

“Ok, whoever stocked the refrigerator gave us eggs, bacon, bread, orange juice, cheese, and ham. How about an omelet?”

He nodded his approval, and I went to work while he watched. “Billy, do you know how to make coffee? Good, you can make coffee and toast.”

While he did that it didn’t take me long to make the omelets. By the time I was putting half on his plate and half on mine, he had my coffee ready and a large glass of milk for himself. He must have been hungry because he went right to work and soon his plate was empty. I still had half of mine to go, “Billy, want to split this half?”

“No, thanks Uncle, I’ve had enough. What are we going to do the rest of the day?”

“We’re going to swim for a while, then we’re going fishing and maybe a midnight run. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like fun only I don’t have my swimsuit.”

“Go check, I know your mother put them in your bag.”

While I started the dishes, “Yes, she had them rolled up. How did she know to pack them?”

“I told her where we were going. Your dad has been here a lot of times when I was here.”

“You and my dad were pretty thick weren’t you.”

“Yep, I’m an only child, you know that, so your dad and I became best friends and I always looked upon him as my brother. We did everything together until he found out he liked your mother. Then we didn’t hang out as often in the evening but we always ran in the morning. In some ways, he’s still my best friend. I was never close to anyone like I was with him.”

“You never had a girlfriend?”

“No, I never did, it didn’t seem important to me. While other guys were chasing girls, I was studying. It wasn’t that I didn’t like girls, I just never felt the need to date one with the serious intention of going steady. My folks didn’t care and if they did they never said anything. I never felt the need I guess.”

“How about now?”

“I still don’t feel like I’m under the guns to find a girl and get married. I know my mom would like to have grandchildren. Maybe if the right person comes along then I’ll change my mind.”

“What would the right person be like?”

“Well, she would have to love children, ours as well as others. She should like my music and she could have her preferred style as well. She’d have to be sensitive to others, and especially kids that need help for whatever reason. She wouldn’t have to be a teacher and perhaps it’d be best if she isn’t a teacher. I’d like her to be able to play a musical instrument, I’ve always enjoyed listening to my mom when she played. And of course, she’d have to be a runner. Do you have someone in mind?”

He started to laugh, “I can see why you aren’t married, that’s a pretty high standard to meet. Does she have to be beautiful?”

“Beautiful on the inside but not necessarily on the outside, looks are only skin deep, what is in the heart and mind are more important.”

“Why not a teacher?”

“Well, I’m not in favor of the methods universities use to teach students to be teachers. There’s too much emphasis on the average student, leaving out those who have learning problems and those who are way above average. Many times students are classified as below normal because of the teaching method. I have proven that so many times. In high school, I took football players and got them high enough grades so that passed and were eligible for football scholarships. I think one of them is a coach at your school. These boys weren't dumb or slow, it was the way the subject was taught. Your dad can tell you about it. You also know I tutor a lot of kids where I live. They all were having trouble in school, now they are doing great. It’s the method and I’d hate to have to argue with my wife about that knowing she’s being forced to teach a certain way.”

“If you could train teachers your way then she’d be ok.”

“Only if she taught in my school. There is a lot of pressure to conform in our school system. In my school, each class would be divided into three sections, high achievers, normal students, and students that need a different approach. The problem with that is that parents wouldn’t like it. Every parent wants their child to be a high achiever. It isn’t possible, I think every child can do better than what they’re doing now under my methods. There are a lot of factors that affect a child’s learning ability”

“Oh look you dried all of the dishes while we talked.”

“I’m going to help you find your woman just like you helped me with my running.”

“Ok, go change and we’ll hit the beach.” And that was how we spent the morning, swimming and horsing around in the water.