Taking time off. It’s good for the brain and body.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of taking a small blog posting vacation for a few months now. Maybe it’s because I feel like I’m saying the same stuff over and over again, or maybe it’s because living in a francophone country has tricked me into looking for my fair share of congé… who knows. Whatever the case, I think I’m going to do it for a week or two.

But before I wander away from my blog page and cause you to forget about me forever, rest assured that Dakar is still Dakar. And now for something completely different- I want to share a couple of random thoughts from the past week (in no particular order of importance).

Thoughts 1-8: Good job Bruins.

Thought 2: Cancer sucks. However…

The older we get, the more likely it is that we are touched by cancer in some form or other. I was reminded of this fact a few days ago when I learned that someone who I loosely know has just been diagnosed with brain cancer. That’s pretty scary news, and before 2009 I would have equated this news with an instant death sentence. That was before I met the Most Inspiring Woman on Earth.

I would guess that my running friends, loyal blog readers, and probably everyone in the greater DC area knows my friend BethAnn.  If you are new or have not yet been infected by her indefatigable energy, then you should click on this link to learn about her latest spokesperson role. We all hate cancer, but in BethAnn’s case- as well as with so many others fighting cancer-  she is a survivor who kicks this disease in the ass on a daily basis.

I’ve been thinking about BethAnn a lot lately as Team BT  has raised over $67,000 for the National Brain Tumor Society. Whenever I am having a crappy Dakar day (and you know this never happens), I think of BethAnn and the unimaginable adversity that she puts up with on a daily basis. Next to cancer, my days of being hit on by incompetent Senegalese taxi drivers amount to a walk in the park- I’ve got nothing to complain about.

So my point in this wandering thought stream is that I’m grateful to count BethAnn as a fellow runner and friend- but I also know that if I can accomplish even a quarter of the things that she has managed to do since being diagnosed with cancer, then I’ll have counted my life a resounding success.

Take that, supposed death sentence.

Thought 3: I have no desire to news watch coverage showing Osama Bin Laden watching coverage of himself on the news.

I know that the week’s Secret Word has been Osama, but I have largely disconnected myself from the postmortem commentary that is taking the lion’s share of the news feed headlines. While I’m sure that we found a lot of good loot in Bin Laden’s palatial Pakistan mansion, I don’t think America needs to be exposed to voyeuristic coverage and commentary of this guy’s personal life and vanity. You can check out the Thailand Olmsted scholar’s blog entry to see further perspective on this subject.

So if I was king of the remote control (and really, I almost never watch TV), what news coverage would I opt for? Probably something more along the lines of what Tim was talking about: we as American service members don’t quit, and that’s why we are good at our job. Furthermore, we’re still out there doing our assigned missions – and consequently we as Americans are still dealing with the associated sacrifices and successes.

And with that Dad-style ranting complete, I’m taking a short break. With these three topics in mind, I’ll be drinking this week to a leading life lives to the fullest. I think LT Murphy, BethAnn, and the Boston Bruins would approve.