It Must Be God

Yesterday, when most thought the weather, could not get any worse. We were mistaken, because it did just that. Apparently nature heard this, and today dealt the New York area an almost biblical downpour. Despite yesterday's dire conditions, which brightened as the day wore on, 3 runners still managed to make over 70 miles. This hasn't happened since day 1.



My Lord's Compassion
Eye is my
heart-home

Guru Sri Chinmoy




There is a constant drum beat of rain drops. No matter where you stand, either under tarp, umbrella, hat, or just your bare ahead alone, exposed to the ominous sky. The elements cannot be ignored, only endured.


Within moments it seems almost futile to try and remain dry, when the rain itself is so relentless. But life at the race goes on. The clock rules and the minutes, still ticking away, have more power over the 3100 mile race, than all the drops combined.


The forecast is for rain all day.





At 6 am sharp, the runners set off down hill.









There are still smiling faces of friends along the way. Lap sheets to be read.





An umbrella shared with a friend for a short while. Or 2 umbrellas side by side.










Niriha's coffee makes the day a little better for some.








Parvati's group makes it better for us all



The conditions make it impossible to take notes and taking pictures, is just a short, but manageable distance from impossible.

I tell Christopher he looks like a banana. He very happily corrects me and says, "no, no, I am the sun today."

Somehow everything changes. When I come back 12 hours later, it is like another world here altogether. Everyone looks so different in the sun, which no one expected to see at all today.
























































































































Shoes, that once were as wet as sponges, are drying in the sun. Pavol tells me happily that in 2 hours he will complete 2000 miles.







The sun seems to be shinning, just about every where. The light from peoples' faces though, is the brightest kind of all.







And for those of you, perhaps a little curious about life on Parsons blvd these days. There has been a lot of excitement of late.

The steel I beams holding up the 80 year old apartment, above the enterprises, were rusting away, causing the building to settle.



So they exposed the beams and are adding new supporting beams.

There are some familiar faces of course involved with the job.





But there hasn't been this much excitement on the block in a long time. The outcome seems favorable for everybody in the long term. There is a good chance that everything will open again. We just don't know when.






Now, when the inspectors saw how extensive the damage was to the supporting structure of the building, they were mystified. And so I am told, one inspector was puzzled at how the building managed to stay up at all. He said, "it must be God."