July 6: To them, it was no problem. You see, by the next day, they climbed the small hill next to their school, and had cleaned off all the vegetation, so that they could sit higher, and have a non-obstructed view of me working out. They actually made a little sitting area up on the hill. To them, the circus was back in town. For some reason, they really get a kick out of watching me swing the bow staff. They're probably taking bets as to when I'm gonna smack myself in the balls with the damn thing. And there's always one or two of the clowns mimicking me, with the occasional whistle or a yell of hello, I turn around and see one with a tree branch, following my every move. God forbid I don't get low enough in a stance, because, from way over there on the hill, will come a hello, and a clown with a tree branch sitting lower in the bow staff position than I could ever get. "Wait till you hit puberty kid, you'll never do that again" is all I could think of, and it reassures me that one day, he's gonna get old and worn out like me.
990707: Wednesday brought the usual work out day with one exception: I awoke migraine free. Last week, out of fear of some crazy unexpected cardiac event precipitated by the huge catecholamine surge that working out with these guys brings, I had stopped my anti-migraine medication. My meds have some cardiac accelerant effects, and all I could imagine was having some sort of disaster, like a cardiac arrest, from the combination of meds and exercise. The last thing you expect in a place like this is some little bastard running up and yelling "I know CPR". So, last week, the meds were stopped. And the head went bad. It had gotten to the point where I was so fatigued, my workouts, and days, were just not worth it. I started the pills again yesterday. And boy, did they help.
The kids next door must have noticed the change too. No more clowns with tree branches. Now they just sat there, yelled hello, and waved. I wave back. God help them if they come up to my patio....