Boston Boogers
The snot traveled impressively far in the wind. I think they call it a farmer’s blow. You know, it’s when you hold one nostril closed and blow with all your strength out the other nostril, hoping to expel its contents in one massive show of force.
Well either I never noticed it before, or it’s become the new fad among marathon runners, because last week at the Boston Marathon it seemed like every runner upwind from me was doing it. There was a strong headwind that day, which is to say, I got hit by flying snot on multiple occasions.
The other surprise was the urine field. Maybe I missed it last year, or maybe there was a particularly intense dearth of porto potties this year which made it necessary. But either way, there it was. On the way from the staging area to the start line there was a yard filled with people, men and women, urinating. No trees for cover, no attempts to hide. Men standing, women squatting, everyone peeing.
In the great decision of whether to be proper and wait in a long line for a porto potty or whether to just go, propriety was thrown to the wind…right along with the urine.
But, I’ll tell you, the flying snot and urine were not as gross as you might think. There was something refreshing about the tossing aside of manners. In a way, each flying snot droplet represented a piece of the wall that normally separates us, being thrown to the wind.
No one tried to tell people not to urinate in that field, and no one yelled at the snot flinging runners. Why? Because we were all there for the same reason, for the race, and that bonded us, created an unspoken understanding, and helped us give each other a break where we normally might not have.
The Boston Marathon fans are, perhaps, the greatest in the world. They don’t fling snot, but they do stand out in the cold for hours, going hoarse with screaming. And the most amazing part is that they scream their lungs out for people who they don’t know and have never met.
Why? Again, because the race provides common ground. 113 years of history and stories brings people together and makes them feel that they have something in common. It provides an excuse to step past the boundaries we normally erect between ourselves and others.
Most people wouldn’t approach someone on the street on his way to give a presentation at work and say “Go get ‘em John! You’re gonna knock ‘em dead today man! Go John! Go John!” But every once in a while, it would be great if people did.
Too often we end up constrained and even isolated from each other by “should” and “supposed to”, by “you can’t do that” and most of all by fear of embarrassment for crossing boundaries. But surprisingly refreshing interactions often come from being willing to put aside these rules.
Some of the best teachers are the ones who are willing to “make a fool of themselves” in front of the class. One day they decide to stop worrying about being embarrassed and thereby become much more entertaining.
Some of the most meaningful compliments are the ones that come from strangers with no ulterior motive. The random person passing on the street who stops to compliment you and then walks away.
We live in a fairly cold culture. Other cultures greet people, even strangers, with a kiss on the cheek. We might offer a hand. People will take the time to tell you when you get in their way or do something to bother them, but they will rarely spare a few seconds to tell you when they notice something nice about you.
25,000 strangers can blow snot on each other and urinate communally in a field because they are running a race together. You’d think that everyone else could share a smile, say hello, or (gasp) give a random compliment even without a marathon to make it happen.
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I almost wish they’d gone with the quote on the multi background. Not only for the parade of I-Me-I-Me-O going on… but because it’s a convoluted and stupid sentence. Who talks like this? And of course, it’s important to Him, therefore it’s important to you the proles. Yay gay people! You have achieved true equality: first because President Double Bogey says it, so now it is so; second because you get to be just as much of a prop to His ego and reelection as the rest of your fellow Americans.
Fair enough, Tom, but then again, you never know if a gust of wind picked up your expelled snot from the side of the course and carried it right back to the guy half a mile behind you, perhaps even inspiring him to write an article about it :)
“…each flying snot droplet represented a piece of the wall that normally separates us, being thrown to the wind.”
Sorry, Jed, but there are some walls that I don’t want torn down. I’ve never run a marathon, but I’ve done a lot of 10Ks, and no one every blew snot on me or took a leak in front of me. The most I’ve seen (and done) is to spit or blow what needs to be expelled onto the ground, hopefully off the side of the course. As for the other necessity, there’s always a way to step off the course and at least turn your back.
In general, Yuck!
Hi JJ, it’s strange but since I finally made it onto the site i’ve come back a couple of times and i’m no longer being bothered by it, it’s weird because i’ve not changed any settings or anything, it’s just not there, perhaps it was some glitch or maybe some kind of temporary redirect, anyway, i’m glad i’m able to get on again that’s the main thing, thanks for the reply.
To Jed Wolpaw, i’ve read your post and I have to be honest, if someone had spat in such a way as to make it land on me, I can honestly say that neither I nor the spitter would be finishing the race, as my foot would be jammed firmly in the guys ass, therefore both of us would be needing a hospital, him for severe anal damage, and myself so that I could get my foot back(NOTE; I’d let him keep the trainer!). =)
@ Help, please try again. The staff should delete these comments within 24 hours so I hope you’ve figured it out.
Hi, sorry about using your comments page but I just wanted the admin to know that for some reason I have had quite a bit of difficulty getting onto college times due to being stopped by a company called wordpress who keep getting in the way of the site and demanding that you sign up for a blog page. It’s taken me about 20 attempts to get through I don’t know if anyone else has suffered from this but it is quite frustrating, once sorry about using your comment space, I just didn’t know where else to contact admin