Play Book Tag discussion

Hi everyone,

So sorry I've been a bit MIA. First, my War and Peace class (done!) derailed my reading. I now I'm trying to catch up on NetGalley (but am NOT requesting any further books).

But I'm also trying to train to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. My first step toward doing that was to train for a half marathon and break 2 hours. On Saturday, I ran the Maryland Half, I did THAT, and in a shocking turn of events, I won my age group (Female, 50-59, 31 women). Like I have never won an athletic anything in my life so I was pretty delighted.

Overall I was 29 out of 341 women and 185 out of 911 people altogether.

But honestly, the hard work is ahead with training for the marathon next (Wineglass Marathon in upstate NY on October 4). None of this is helping my reading, but I am staying on top of the tags at least.

WOW!! That's amazing, Congratulations, Anita!

it was a big deal for me to do a 5k some years ago. The only good thing about the training (through a local athletic shoe store) was listening to audiobooks. I don't know if you ever do that, or maybe you are someone who just enjoys the meditation and experience (I don't!)

Congratulations, Anita! That's amazing. For the Wineglass Marathon you will be in my old stomping grounds. I grew up in Elmira, NY so Corning was right there.

Congratulations!

I picked up running after reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. You might enjoy it too!

I ran my first 5K, and then sadly arthritis in my hip caught up with me. I had to stop completely for a while, and slowly work my way back up to walking.

But I was honestly shocked at how much I loved running.

Congratulations, Anita!!!! The news on finishing War and Peace was deserving enough, but the running news is simply AWESOME!

Corning is a lovely area and not far from my hometown of Owego, NY a bit east along the Susquehanna River. We used to take the 'back roads' there on a Sunday Drive with a stop to do the tour at Corning Glass.

I applaud your commitment. You go, Girl!

Wow, congratulations, Anita! That's amazing!!

Theresa wrote: "Congratulations, Anita!!!! The news on finishing War and Peace was deserving enough, but the running news is simply AWESOME!

Corning is a lovely area and not far from my hometown of Owe..."

Yes, I have also been to the Corning Glass museum. We used to go to Elmira for the dentist and shopping. We lived there when I was a baby while my dad was adding plumbing and electricity to the house on the farm. He worked in the railroad yards there. I assume that's why we went to that dentist even after moving to the farm even though it was an hour away. It was just a 2-line road back then, route 17, not the highway that exists today. It even had Burma Shave signs.

Theresa, did you ever eat at O'Briens Restaurant on Route 17 just outside Waverly? We almost never went out to eat but we used to stop there on our way back from the dentist. The waiters were billed as "the gentlemen from Tuskegee" - Black men making money over the summer. There was a lodge they stayed in, but I now wonder what kind of welcome they got if they ever went into the very white towns nearby (1950's-'60's).

Anita, I am so proud of you!!!! Truly, I think you will have no trouble qualifying! And... you will have a friend in Boston cheering you on.

Congratulations!!!! What an achievement.

Do you audiobook when you run?

Congratulations on your win, Anita! How exciting!

October is not that far away. I can't even imagine all of the preparing you're doing for the marathon. I hope your efforts are rewarded.

Like others here, I've been to Corning. It has its charms, including the glass museum and the finger lakes that are in the surrounding area.

Congratulation, Anita! I'm very impressed.

I am not the athlete in my family, to say the least. But my son has completed two of the Marine Marathons in D.C. and bends my ear with his training regimen when we talk. He runs with his dog, his wife and the two babies in a stroller. This past March, the table turned a bit while he minded the kids so my daughter-in-law could run her first half marathon.

My knees ache just thinking about it, but they have inspired me to double my walking times and distance.

What an amazing accomplishment, Anita. You should be so proudof yourself. I know this whole group will be rooting you on.

Congrats, Anita! Way to go--such a great time! Boston is a great city for walking and running in, unlike a number of other American cities I've been to, but of course most of the route is outside the city, rather than running in circles. Like everyone else here, I'll be rooting for you :)

Congratulations Anita! I always respected your passion for running, and this notice just made me smile. You go girl!

I am interested in learning about your training regiment

Robin P wrote: "Theresa, did you ever eat at O'Briens Restaurant on Route 17 just outside Waverly? We almost never went out to eat but we used to stop there on our way back from the dentist. The waiters were billed as "the gentlemen from Tuskegee" - Black men making money over the summer. There was a lodge they stayed in, but I now wonder what kind of welcome they got if they ever went into the very white towns nearby (1950's-'60's)."


No, never. If we headed in that direction, it was to Sayre to visit my aunt Catherine and her family - so meals were family meals in the home. she was my mother's eldest sibling, married young, and all her kids were adults when my sisters and I came along.

We rarely, very very rarely, ate out in a restaurant, and then it was in Owego. Plus our Sunday drives went North, East or South mostly -- rare West or South West. Most of our eating out when not visiting relatives was church events and picnics, 4-H, Cooperative Extension and Crowley Milk events, County Fair - held in Owego which had a pork chop BBQ every year, oh and pot lucks at Grange and Ladies Aid Society - 2 organizations my parents belonged to.

Interesting you should wonder about the black reception in the area communities which were overwhelmingly white. I've been thinking about that quite a bit lately because when I grew up in Owego, there was exactly one black family, and they lived in town, Catholics, forgot what the father's work was, but they were not financially very secure. Ann was a classmate of mine from Kindergarten on, and we were all good friends. When we were teens Ann once said there were a few kids when she and her siblings were younger that would yell 'Chocolate! Your Chocolate!" and she said she yelled back "Your Vanilla!" My parents and siblings never treated or talked about them in any manner different from anyone else. Or I was just oblivious. In fact, not long after he graduated from college with a degree in law enforcement, Ann's oldest brother Robert was elected Sheriff of the county (Owego is the county seat) and served until he retired, highly respected, never lost an election.

It's still a very white area though far less than while I was growing up. We also had exactly one Asian family then -- thought that changed when churches started sponsoring Vietnamese immigrants to relocate into our town.

Since IBM was the main employer in town, and a federal plant, there must have been more diversity than I saw from my limited exposure in the schools. Likely they lived in some of the other county villages as they likely had less expensive housing and their kids attended those schools.

I'm sure there had to have been prejudice, racism on display, especially in the towns, but living in the country, I didn't see it.

Robin & Theresa, I well remember O'Brien's on Waverly Hill but we never ate there as we didn't go out much and my mom said it was expensive. She was always quite tight with money.

As for it being a mostly white area this may be true but Elmira certainly wasn't. There was a large Black community in Elmira when I was growing up in part because of the migration to the industrial north.

Elmira at that time had multiple factories, Westinghouse, Remington Rand, Kennedy Valve, Thatcher Glass, Bendix, American La-France and Ward- La France and General Electric among others. I went to school with many Black children. My high school class president was Black and went on to get his Doctorate in Education.

Beyond that there was a Black community in the history of the town. John W. Jones was an escaped enslaved man who traveled the Underground Railroad and settled in Elmira.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W....

John T Lewis was famous for saving Mark Twain's sister in law who was in a runaway wagon on Watercure Hill a short distance from my home. Mark Twain is said to have modeled Jim after him.

https://marktwainstudies.com/mark-twa...

I don't want to take over the thread in which we are cheering Anita for her racing.

Thank you so much for all these lovely notes of support!!! It means the world. Honestly, I feel like I am a person who strives, but it doesn't always (or even often) result in actual achievement. I feel like this time I did it. Fingers tightly crossed for the marathon part of this journey.

There are a bunch of individual comments I wish to respond to, but will need to wait for the weekend to commence!

In the meantime, thank you so much for these congratulatory and very kind comments!!!

There are 2 homes on Front Street (on the Susquehanna River) that were known as way stations on the Underground Railroad. Given the Susquehanna was used for shipping, connecting the Finger Lakes with the Chesapeake Bay, and in the 19th Century, Owego flourished as a River Town where the shipments moved from the Finger Lakes to the river, it's no surprise that it was.

Elmira of course is and was a far bigger community - Owego is just a rural county seat. Didn't have any industry really until IBM was founded by Watson in a shack in a cornfield outside of town.

Small city and town histories can be really interesting.

Now Anita will be adding to the areas local lore when she runs in Corning this fall!

Anita - Kudos to you. What an accomplishment! I see victory ahead for the full marathon in October.

And I'll be joining everyone else here, cheering you on!