“Damn it DAMN IT damn it DAMN IT damn it DAMN IT …” I can hear my friend Ramona’s rhythmic cursing, punctuated by the occasional S- or F-bomb, over the pounding of our sneakered feet up a road that this East Sider rarely travels. It’s early this Thanksgiving morning. It’s cold. The mailboxes are really far apart! We’re passed by a pilgrim in pasties. Then a turkey in a tutu. I go high. “Isn’t this air crisp?” “Gah! It feels so good to be moving!” “Look at that pretty bird!” We pass a gaggle of neighborhood folks drinking bloody Marys. They are not running. They are drinking. We persist, making the turn near Percy Warner. There’s someone in a fish suit. (A fish suit?) I dodge a snot-rocket. We finally cross the finish line in one last surge of grit. The bananas aren’t ripe and the bagels are cold. But that extra piece of pie later on sure is tasty. And so is the feeling that we helped make life a little less of an uphill run for the homeless in our community. Since the first Boulevard Bolt in 1994, the annual 5-mile run down Belle Meade Boulevard and back each Thanksgiving has raised some $2.75 million for local nonprofits like the Oasis Center and The Contributor. There are nearly 40 organizations on this year’s list of beneficiaries — time to lace up and roll out. See boulevardbolt.org for registration and scheduling information. HEATHER LOSE
The Boulevard Bolt
