Week 5: Adjusting to this lifestyle…

Quick disclaimer, this is actually my 5th week as a Hotdogger, not my fourth. I apologize, I majored in Advertising not quantum physics alright? They didn’t learn me my math good.

So, this marks the first time we’ve been in Pennsylvania (besides cruising through and stopping at a Bob Evans on a drive day). I have to say, Philadelphia was quite a “cool” place despite it being over a hundred degrees while we were there. Gave me a vibe of D.C., which gives me vibes of Madison, in a way (bury me at the Red Shed btw). We rolled in on Monday, checked into our Staybridge Suite, and got settled in after a long drive day. Drive days are interesting because it’s technically a “work day,” but once you get your work done via hotspot and computer, you can chill out. Which means checking out what crazy, whacko things folks will do to snag a picture of you. Yesterday we saw the craziest thus far. These two dudes literally left their vehicles in another lane of traffic – the red traffic light surely about to change to green in just seconds – to come and take multiple selfies with us. You can’t help but smile at this stuff. Now, what the other drivers think of their fellow commuters and the giant hotdog that is distracting them… I would bet they aren’t huge fans. Or maybe not, maybe they're jealous.

So Monday was our drive day. We checked in, I kicked back and read the rest of my book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was very bizarre. It was one of those books where it feels like the author has taken full liberties to make up whatever fantastical, out-of-this-galaxy rules they wish, without feeling a need to expand or explain them. Later on, those ‘rules’ are disregarded as once again the author makes things up. Very shifty book, I wasn’t a huge fan. Afterwards I hit the gym for a good pump, as Arnold would say, and then hit the sack for a long day of sightseeing on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I ventured out with Cady’s family to see what the hype was in Philadelphia. We took a double decker tour bus through the city, where I sat in a seat so hot I think I burnt my butt cheeks. It was a full on weenie roast, folks. Hell fire isn’t even that toasty. Never have I sweat so much from sitting so still. We saw the Rocky statue, walked down the oldest street in America, and ate a Philly cheese steak which put me in a food coma for a good two hours. Then we headed home, where I laced up my runners and went for a good jog around the neighborhood.

My enjoyment in running is two-fold, lately. Obviously, the release of endorphins and working off some stress is the reason I’m pounding the pavement. But the secondary, yet equally entertaining aspect is watching how the community reacts to my running outfit. This consists of my blue and green geriatric sunglasses, my teeny tiny running shorts, my shoes, and my Garmin watch. That’s it. And if you’ve ever seen my striking features, which is to say my bird legs, winter-pale thighs (I refer to them as vanilla), and overall lanky body, you can picture how shocking this sight must be at 7-minute mile pace. I enjoy it to say the least.

My Fourth of July took place both in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We had parades both in Glenside, PA and West Berlin, NJ. Cady sat up through the bun roof for the NJ parade, I saddled up for Glenside. Glenside’s 4th parade has been taking place for 115 years, which is a pretty cool thing to be a part of. You could tell folks were really pumped to see us. Little kids and adults alike shouted at us to sing the song, risked life and limb in the road for pictures (not really, we were moving nice and slow), and even the police came around for a picture after, hardly concealing their excitement over the Wienermobile. There were, once again, the hecklers who demanded free hot dogs from me. I did my best to satisfy them with hot dog jokes and my dashing good looks, but the Miller High Life won and they continued to be unsavory. That’s alright, I can take it damnit. Not gonna let a little bit of negativity ruin my holiday. If the Founding Fathers could deal with bed bugs, syphilis and the Red Coats and still build this great nation, I can tussle with Uncle Danny and his unpleasantness.

Today (Thursday), Cady and I went to a local pool after a quick jog around town. There I started another book, Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight, co-founder and CEO of Nike. His story thus far is very compelling for someone like myself. The onset is Phil at the age of 24, recently out of Harvard where he acquired an MBA to add to his degree from Oregon (where he ran track, by the way). The intro details his struggles with returning to the house he grew up in, unsure where to focus his energy. His epiphany came to him during an early morning run, where he speaks of his Crazy Idea, which was to introduce Japanese running shoes to America. Keep in mind this was in 1962, so the realm of athletic footwear was still anyone's game. What keeps me turning the pages isn’t the promise of his business decisions or knowledge derived from an MBA; it’s in the wisdom he can now impart on his readers after reflecting on his life as a young man. He travelled the world for a year, where he visited sacred monuments and statues, diving into each nook and corner of the world in search of meaning. The way he strings along his thoughts and feeling throughout is enough to make me wish I was reading his book rather than writing this blog post. But I’ll power through.

Tomorrow we pack up and leave for Ocean City, NJ. We’ve spent a lot of time in New Jersey so far, more than I would have hoped. I’m not complaining by any means, but I would like to see more northern areas like New Hampshire and Maine. Maybe I’ll be blessed and see the leaves change in the fall up there (if not, that will be a trip for next year). We’ll be working the weekend with a sampling truck. Thank the heavens. This means when people ask if we have free hot dogs I can fire back YES. Right there, dude! Scarf down as many as you can handle big man…

Thanks for reading, see ya next week folks!

Forrest

SCHEDULE:

7/6-7/10 Ocean City, NJ

7/10-7/16 State College, PA

7/16 – 7/24 Egg Harbor, NJ

7/24 – 7/30 Readington, NJ

7/30 – 8/6 Lancaster, PA

8/6 – 8/13 Syracuse, NY

8/13-8/20 Taunton, MA

8/20-8/22 York, PA

8/22 – 8/27 Pittsburgh, PA

8/27 – ??? Colombus, OH