Tim Ek’s Devolution…

Tim Ek’s Devolution…
Part I:
As mentioned earlier, I am embracing this recovery week…a week of renewal, of rejuvenation, of retrospection…Today, I simply strolled for 80 minutes up near Amity Stables, while my little one did her riding lesson…It was very nice. As I ambled along in a measured easy pace, I contemplated the test that awaits those in Iowa. The Trans-Iowa III race starts at 4:00 a.m. Saturday. Daydreaming, my mind wandering...I thought of Tim Ek cutting a deal with the devil. It play’s out something like this:

A frazzled shell of a once proud man, Ek’s 26 hours into it and he is one hurtin’ cowboy…giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, “saddle sore.” His resolve is fading and he is looking frantically for a miracle, for salvation, for respite…His pleas for Divine Intervention apparently falls upon merciless deaf ears. In desperation, he turns to the dark side…more to come, but rest assured, it don’t end well for Mr. Ek!!!! To be continued….

Part II
So…Ek despondently beseeches Beelzebub, the Prince of Darkness, for relief, for at least a reprieve from the chapping. Suddenly, as if heaven-sent, his weariness falls away, his cadence quickens, and within five more “easy” hours, miraculously he completes the 322 mile challenge. Upon approaching the finish line…itz unbelievable to him, the joy is complete…He is overcome with pride and a well deserved sense of great accomplishment. Yet, deep within the confines of his soul, he knows something serious went down out there on that lonely gravel road in Iowa, but he doesn’t allow for reflection, he suppresses a sense of impending dread. Instead he revels in the moment!!!!This is HIS MOMENT...

As soon he dismounts, the transformation becomes evident. Inexplicably his gait has changed, there is now a kind of “Texas swagger” to his walk; the strangely uncharacteristic contempt he feels for the environment; his refusal to concede that it’s human’s that are causing the earth to boil comes from he knows not where?; there is a new unsettling urge he feels to hunt down small animals with a big gun. There is an unfamiliar and downright weird yearning to tour a 1950s style coal-burning power plant. He cannot get the bizarre urge to invest his life’s earnings in Haliburton out of his head…

Those that love him embrace him and ask, “Tim, whatz next for you?” Reflexively,yet disconcertedly, [for he cannot stop himself], he calls out “To make all Americans safe from the evil-doers, to promote Texas Style global democracy, to attack Iran, and to bury once and for all The Kyoto Protocols.” So it goes……a cautionary tale for those that seek out "support" when the rules clearly state that "no-support" is allowed...NO SUPPORT!

Beseeching Beelzebub: 80 minutes of easy going...