This weekend there was a Hollywood wedding between Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. My girlfriend’s sister, Samantha Scott Thomas, and her actor boyfriend, Bert Portal, attended the affair in Malibu.
Since they were in town, I had dinner with Samantha and Bert. Of course, the whole conversation was about the wedding and who wore what. And as usual, I could care less.
It all got me thinking as I was leaving Malibu. I thought about marriage and weddings. I’ve always felt like it’s an outdated contract. But there is something that disturbs me even more than that. I’ve often heard young people say, and I’m quoting, “It’s time to get married, I’ve had my fun.”
It’s as if they’re saying that once they get married life is over with and there will be no more fun. If that’s true, why get married in the first place? The proof is in the statistics. Most marriages don’t last.
But that’s beside the point. I’m here to tell you that life is never over. Not until you stop breathing.
I told you that to tell you this. There’s an ultra cycling race taking off Saturday in Utah. It’s called the Hoodoo 500. As with all ultra racing, once the gun goes off, whoever gets to the 500 mile mark first will win.
I’m not doing the race this year. I’ve never done that particular race. But I’ll be crewing for a close friend of mine, David Holt.
Last year David won the race in 34 hours and 27 minutes. He’s also won other races in the past couple of years, notably the Sebring 24-hour race. He held the record at the Davis 24-hour race. And he’s come in second, and no worse than fifth, in the Furnace Creek 508.
Here’s the part that makes David so amazing. All of the races I’ve just mentioned happened after his 50th birthday.
Before you go off thinking David won these races in his age group, think again. He wins these events out right. At 57 years old, he’s generally beating people less than half of his age.
David does all of this and still holds a position as a vice president in a large company. He is an absolute inspiration to me, and many others.
People often tell me that they would run a marathon, or write a book, or climb Mount Everest…if only they had the time. The next time you think you can’t, or don’t have time, remember the man who has a wife, raised two sons, holds a full-time job and still manages to train before work and at lunch. With the aid of bicycle lights, he can also train at night.
I can’t say enough about how inspiring he is. Clearly, David is still having fun, and has a lot more fun ahead of him.
There’s nothing ridiculous about that.
