Everett Runs the 2025 Georgia State Middle School Track ChampionshipsParkview High SchoolLilburn, Georgia April 25-26, 2025 |
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Visiting with Robert and FamilyLaGrange, GeorgiaApril 24, 26-27, 2025 |
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| It had been a while since I had seen Robert and his family, so it was nice when Robert invited me to come for a visit, and the weekend after Easter worked.
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| Getting up to Georgia. I booked a flight into Atlanta and a Groome Transport shuttle from Atlanta to LaGrange. For the flight, since I had an economy seat, that meant boarding last and sitting in the back of the plane between two other flyers. But there was a small problem: To get to LaGrange was by a Groome Transportation shuttle van that would depart the Atlanta Airport at 2:30PM; a missed shuttle would result in hoping there were an open seat on the next shuttle which would depart an hour later.
And this short time between plane touchdown and shuttle take off would make a difficult transfer. So when the Tampa Gate Agent announced that all Zone 8 passengers would have to have their bags checked, I knew I was in trouble. I explained to the agent about missing my bus if I had to wait for a checked bag, but she would not relent, and my bag was tagged. But rather than drop it off at the end of the plane ramp, I carried it aboard the plane hoping to find a compassionate flight attendent. I did. Whew. Departed the plane on a run and just barely caught the shuttle, but I did catch it. Another whew. At LaGrange Natalie picked me up at the shuttle stop, and I spent the rest of the day at Robert and Natalie's home. We had a great dinner featuring some amazing baked potatoes and we watched some TV before heading to bed. The next morning was a school day and a day when Robert had a business meeting at the Chick-fil_A Headquarters. I rode with him up to Atlanta, a good time to talk and catch up. And I found a good spot in the headquarters building to catch up on my email and messages while sampling the tasty. CFA snacks. Robert finished his meeting and we picked up some CFA sandwiches for our return to LaGrange where we packed up Everett and family for the drive to the site of the Georgia State Middle School Track and Field Championships, a location just to the northwest of Atlanta.
We arrived, parked, and Robert went with Everett to check in. At that point Everett began his warmups and the rest of us found a good spot from which to watch the races. Finally came his race, the 3200 m, which is about a 2 mile race. Poor Everett was giving it his best, but it was evident that with his ashsma and his recent bronchitis, he was struggling. Nonetheless his Friday time was 10 minutes and 40 seconds, a "personal best," and he placed 7th out of about 75 runners! Saturday he ran the 1600 meters which is about a 1 mile race. His Saturday time was four minutes and 56 seconds. There were about 140 Runners and he placed 10th. These were amazing showings that displayed his abilities, as well as his perseverance.
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Since this was a Middle School event, Everett would be competing against 8th graders, plus he was recovering from a bout of bronchitis.
