40 Years Ago Today - October 29, 1976

By my four week check up on October 29th, I was diagnosed with Eczema and given a prescription for daily use.

40 Years Ago Today - October 14, 1976

It would not take long for me to return to the hospital. I would have visits with various doctors for various reasons beginning October 14, 1976 for a newborn care checkup with Dr. Cho. He said everything was fine and to use “Similac + Tri-Vi-Sol vitamins.”

2016 Oil Creek 50k Race Report

Once again, Tom Jennings puts on one of the best races I've ever been to. Like I told him last night when I finished, if the race wasn't that good, I wouldn't want to come back so much. Oil Creek is becoming a little home away from home. I'm still horrible at names but I'm starting to recognize some of the volunteers and racers that come to the race.

This year's race was a little different for a few reasons. First, my wife was traveling which meant I was in charge of the kids. Which meant they came with me. My mom was thrilled to hear they were coming so I knew I'd have childcare during the race. This year was also different because I was "taking it easy" and "only" doing the 50k. And I have to say, after three 100k starts and two finishes, this is the first year I fully enjoyed the first loop. Knowing I wouldn't need to go back out there, tripping over the same rocks and roots, seriously helped me enjoy the race.

I was also completely planning on being the last person in the race and planning to just sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery. So that's what I did. I was the last one off the Start line and I just poked along taking my time. The sun wasn't quite bright enough but gave enough light to not need a headlamp. As I walked down the paved path to the trail head, I met up with Beth who won last year's Wildcatter Award (the last place finisher). Once on the trail, we ran into Darlene who had never done a 50k and never been on the trail. So the three of us cruised along for a few miles keeping a decent pace when we caught up to Piper. She had a broken toe but was still moving as a solid clip. Soon Piper and I moved ahead of the others and she even pushed past me to Aid Station 1.

At Aid Station 1, the theme was Birthdays. So it was weird, but cool, when they greeted you with a "Happy Birthday!" They spelled my name wrong on the sign but I didn't care. I was too focused on getting in and getting out of there. So I hustled out of there and ended up catching up to Gale and Cheryl. Gale was sticking with her as it was her first 50k (but not her first time on trails). They were both moving along quite well and I was surprised I was catching up to them. So I figured my pace was too fast and I dialed things back and hung with them for a bit. We rolled along up a few hills and down a few and carried on. At some point I got in front of them and ended up putting some distance on them. I hadn't planned on it but it happened.

I rolled into Aid Station 2 feeling pretty good. A little tired but good. The new playground looked like a lot of fun. One fisherman asked me if this was a 5k run or walk. I'm guessing it was a dig at all the people walking. I politely said no, it was a 50k. "15k?" he asked. Nope, 50k. "50k?" he asked. Yep. 31 miles. And there's 62 miles and 100 miles too. That seemed to impress him enough to go back to getting his fishing gear ready. I wasn't upset at all. I'm sure he's a far better fisherman than I ever will be. I don't even like touching worms.

Somewhere after the halfway point, I caught up to Jerry and his partner. Both gentlemen were moving a little too slow for me but I made sure they were okay before moving on. Somewhere around the halfway point of Section 3, I caught up to a group of four people. As we reached the water table before the Boy Scouts, I passed them and hustled on my way. I rolled through the Scout section and started slowing down a little.

Coming into Aid Station 3, I was feeling good. I had caught up to the last 100k runner (I think she was the last one) but continually reminded myself I wasn't racing. After the first 5 miles or so I realized I would NOT be winning the Wildcatter Award. I never thought that the competition for the last place finisher would be so stiff. Those ladies were amazing back there at the end of the pack and I applaud their effort.

As I was at Aid Station 3, I had a grilled cheese in one hand and chips in the other when somebody hollered that the train was coming. Some runners took off to get on the other side so they could get back to the trail wile I shoved my food in my mouth so I could grab my camera. I'm sure I was quite the sight to see for those train riders with food stuffed in my mouth, holding a camera to video them, waving, and drool coming out of my mouth. But I think I got the whole thing on video so that will be awesome.

Coming out of Aid Station 3, I trooped up Cemetery Hill and tried to keep moving up that long, long hill. Once I came out on top, I continued on. I caught up to Patti and her pacer (I can't remember her name right now). Patti was moving slowly but her pacer was moving along like the previous 20-some miles were nothing. Both of them pushed a solid pace and I was able to keep up with them until we'd reach a hill. They'd grind it out keeping their steady pace while I would need to take frequent breaks.

I put some distance on them towards the end as Patti slowed down just a tad. And with about a mile or so left of trail I had to stop to empty rocks from my shoes. Twice. With all the effort involved, Patti caught up to me again. With my shoes back on, and the Finish so close, I pushed my pace a bit harder and was able to put some distance between us. Even though I continually reminded myself this wasn't a race, I was tired, cold, hungry, and ready to finish the race. So I pushed my pace.

I dropped out of the trail, grabbed some water, went to the bathroom, and moved along. I tried to run but by this point I was just too tired to do more than a shuffle. I walked all of Section 1 and maybe 95% of Section 2. Section 3 I ran maybe 10-15% and it was finally catching up to me in Section 4. But I pushed myself a little the closer I got to the Finish and ended up maybe running 10% of Section 4. Not bad.

As I got back onto pavement, I passed one young guy who was hurting but still moving. Then, like a jackass, I passed two ladies in the Finish line chute. And as much as I wanted to give them the honor of finishing before me, I was cold and tired and ready to be done. So I trotted by them with camera in hand and finished about 15 minutes ahead of my 12 hour goal.

I felt stiff and sore but not too bad. I chowed down on some un-healthy fast food but it tasted so good. I drove back to Mom's, showered, then watched a documentary on some crazy people climbing a mountain. The morning after I'm still stiff and sore but once I start moving, I'm good. I'm sure tomorrow's car trip will be brutal but I'll survive. And it'll be easier knowing I have a new sticker, new buckle, and for the first time in a long time, I've enjoyed an ultra. Like, I think I might have fallen in love with them again.

Weather:
Temps were about 65F at the start but dropped to 55F by the finish. In between, the temperature would vary frequently. Sometimes you would go 5 miles and be hot then 5 miles and be cold. Sometimes you'd go 500 feet and fluctuate between hot and cold. Wind was light to moderate. Sky was mostly overcast until later in the day when the sun came out. Humidity was high in the morning with a few sprinkles and one moderate rain shower. After Aid Station 1, things improved.

Fluids and Fuel:
Before the race I had half a bottle of GenUCAN, a banana, and a coffee. During the race I went through about 1 liter of plain water and about 6 servings of GenUCAN Hydrate. I could have used a little more Hydrate. At Aid Station 1 I ate two Fig Newtons. At Aid Station 2 I ate 2 whole grilled cheeses and two cookies. At Aid Station 3 I ate one grilled cheese, some chips, and two ho-hos. After the race I ate a cookie, then a Whopper with fries and iced tea. For breakfast the day after I went all out and had two eggs, four bacon, two toast, and biscuits and gravy. And coffee of course.

Aches and Pains:
Some mild chafing on my nipples because it was cold but the A+D Ointment saved me. Undercarriage was great the whole race. Right arm pit chafed a little from my hydration pack. I'm thinking the constant movement of getting my camera contributed. Feet hurt by the end. Left knee and right hip hurt too. But by far, nothing that's critical. No blisters, no bad toenails.

Gear:
Wore my KREndurance kit: shorts, shirt, and hat. Shoes were Altra Lone Peaks. Socks were Smartwool. Used my rain/wind breaker jacket just a little, mostly to keep my gear dry during the short rain shower. Wore my Nathan hydration vest. Carried along my Samsung Gear 360 camera, my cell phone, and a few other essentials. Did my best to pare things down to the bare minimum. Those few times I was chilled, I wished I had my gloves. But when I wasn't chilled, I was glad I didn't bring them.

Today's Motivation:
Not sure I needed much more motivation than that belt buckle and sticker. This is such an awesome race that just getting in is enough motivation to do it.

Naughty Neil:
Overall, I did pretty darn good with things during the race. I kept the weight of my gear to a minimum and the backup battery is the only thing I could have left behind along with the spare socks. But I never needed what I didn't have. I think my biggest failure was the lack of electrolyte drink. I had enough and my pee never got too dark but I know at the end of the race I was just getting into that grey area of pushing things too far.

Splits:
Splits are going to be broken down by Sections (1 through 4), Aid Stations (AS1 through AS3), and water tables (WT), there was one in Section 2, two in Section 3, and one in Section 4 - these were unmanned tables with just water. And all times are listed as HH:MM:SS (hours, minutes, and seconds).

Start to WT - 01:13:21
WT to AS1 - 01:26:36
AS1 to WT - 01:23:27
WT to AS2 - 01:18:58
AS2 to WT - 01:12:32
WT to WT - 00:36:04
WT to AS3 - 01:24:44
AS3 to WT - 01:05:47
WT to AS4 - 02:00:28

Finish - 11:42:00

Even though this was about an hour slower than my slowest ever 50k, this is also my 10th 50k finish. But I'm most proud of my consistent training going into the race. Even though I've been training for shorter distances, I'm much more confident in my training this year. I think it's getting back to my levels from years ago. I'm also proud of the fact that even though I planned on finishing last, and to some degree wanted to, I didn't. The competition is just as tough in the back of the pack as it is in the front. So to start the race as the last person across the line and to finish with 16 people behind you, it makes me feel good. You can see last year's 100k splits here.

40 Years Ago Today - October 6, 1976

On Wednesday October 6th, my mother and I were finally released from the hospital. Everyone appeared to be in good health that morning.

40 Years Ago Today - October 3, 1976

I was born on October 3, 1976 in St. John’s Hospital at 2:44 am. I weighed 9 pounds, one and one-half ounces and measured 21 inches long. My doctor was Dr. Cho and I would see him, along with many other doctors, several times in the coming years.

I was lucky enough to track down Dr. Cho. He was nice enough to answer some questions I had but unfortunately could not remember any specific details about myself or my parents. He came to the US shortly after the Korean War ended, went to college, and became a doctor. He served in that role during the Vietnam War before going into private practice for several decades.

 

40 Years Ago Today - September 30, 1976

My mother sent a Mother’s Day card to my Aunt Wilma in 1976. Mother’s Day was May 9th that year. Most of the card was about mundane goings-on but she mentions a few key events. First, my mother's twin brother had a wedding on July 30th and how she would miss it due to her pregnancy. Second, she mentions one brother-in-law, Denny, helping on the farm and another, Randy, not living on base (he had just been commissioned in February). Finally, and most interesting to me, she signs the card “Love, Gary + Gayle + “Jr.”.”

By July of 1976, my parents were continuing classes on natural childbirth. My father made a note to “put crib together” on July 17th but didn’t complete the project until the next day. My mother had a baby shower on August 26, 1976. It was hosted by Becky Seagoe and Chris Eubanks, Gayle’s closest friends at the time. The shower was held at Chris’ house on 610 Foxglove Place at 7:00 pm. Chris, or Christine, Eubanks was the mother of Cindi and Jill and married to Roger. Jill is about my age while Cindi was born about 5 years earlier. Becky Seagoe was married to David and they had two daughters, Denise and Dawn. The Seagoe family lived in the house across the street.

Cindi (age 7) and Jill (age 2) in 1978.

My original due date was September 30th but I would be a few days late.

40 Years Ago Today - Prologue 1972-1976 - Excerpt

* What follows is an excerpt.

Author’s Note

I’d like to take a moment to discuss a few things. First, there’s no font for sarcasm. So when my sarcastic jokes and comments bleed through, I apologize if you don’t “get the joke” I’m trying to get across. Don’t worry, my kids, my wife, and sometimes myself don’t get the jokes. I’ve done my best to limit them.

Second, I’ve excluded certain information from my story due to privacy concerns and simple respect for the parties involved. As of this writing, my parents are still alive and as much as I want to share everything, I want to respect their desire to live their own lives without getting an earful from a neighbor or friend about this, that, or the other thing. There are also things that just shouldn’t be shared. One of the biggest in this story is the [spoiler alert] divorce of my parents. For me, it was normal and no big deal. For my parents, it was a huge deal. In my research, I learned more about how big a deal it was and I’m even more amazed that they both not only put me first but still remained friends afterwards. It’s a true testament to how wonderful they are as people and how lucky I am to have them as parents. But I just don’t feel comfortable sharing a lot of details about the divorce.

Finally, I have written and rewritten the beginning to this story many times. This time I intend to finish the story. The story of my life. I began just before my parents met in the early 1970s and have yet to pick a stopping point. Right now, I’m thinking somewhere around the late 1990s when the Internet, email, and digital cameras are just coming into power and sounding the death knell of ephemera.

And it’s okay if you don’t know what “ephemera” means, neither did I when I first heard it. So go grab a dictionary real quick and learn a new word.

Okay, let’s start with the beginning and just see where we end up.

Prologue

1972-1976

My story starts many years before my birth. My mother, Gayle, was born as the youngest twin to her parents Dorothy (Hollingsworth) and Andrew Lester. She was also the youngest of all her siblings: Dan, Diana, Susan, Irving, and Gary (her twin). My father, Gary, was born to Bertha (Phillips) and Claud Richard. He was the second of four sons: Harold, Gary (my father), Dennis, and Randy. I could spend a long time talking about any of these people or their ancestors. But this is my story, not theirs.

Claud Richard often has his name spelled “Claude” and rarely as “Claudie.” Based on his signature on a March 19, 1977 farm lease, he spelled it without the extra “E,” even though the contract has it spelled with the extra letter. There are also several census records and various family photos that have his name written on the back by Bertha where she spells it without the “E.” Names with and without an extra letter are still a topic of discussion within the family. I’ve used Claud’s signature as the definitive answer since it was in his own hand.

My story is an average tale of an average guy.

My father had left the Army in the early 1970s to work for the government in Oxnard, California. My mother had graduated high school and moved to Oxnard with her mother and stepfather. The stars were slowly beginning to align. Around the time of that alignment, in January of 1972, my father went to visit his Uncle George and Aunt Wilma in Sun City, Arizona.

I was actually named after Uncle George and Aunt Wilma, getting my first name from him and my middle name from her.

Before my self-proclaimed average life began, my parents had to meet each other. A mutual friend, Ed Roush, set them up on a date. Ed and his wife Linda lived in an apartment complex that they managed and Dorothy and Ted Hollingsworth (Dorothy and Ted were my mother’s mom and step-father) lived next door in the northwest corner of the second floor.

The apartment complex was on the corner of Nautilus Street and Mandalay Beach Road in Oxnard, just a few blocks from the beach. Dorothy and Ted moved into the apartment in June of 1971 right after their wedding. Gayle met the Roushs when she and her brother Gary drove a load of Dorothy’s personal effects to California in the summer of 1971. Dorothy and Ted only lived in the apartment for about six months.

Ed Roush also worked with my father at Point Mugu Naval Base in southern California. Between all parties involved, namely Ed, Linda, Ted, and Dorothy, my parents were set up on a blind date with each other in January of 1972. They went to El Ranchito, a Mexican restaurant, where my mother spent most of the time in the bathroom sick. Her mother told her to get a tostada but Gayle had never had Mexican food before. She wore a “double-knit pantsuit” that she purchased from Sears. It had long, bell-bottom pants, was blue and grey in color, and had a vest that went to her ankles. Under the vest, she wore a white long sleeve shirt.

They must have hit it off because they traveled together to meet Gary’s Aunt Wilma and Uncle George a few months later in May 1972. George was a World War II veteran and had many adventures in life before settling down. His wife Wilma had just as many adventures herself. Together, Wilma and George were key figures in Gary’s life as well as mine, acting as parents, grandparents, and of course an aunt and uncle.

On August 18, 1972, Gary purchased his first home. The list price was $19,995 but in the end, due to various fees, the total cost was $20,574.17. The house is located at 600 Foxglove Place in Oxnard, CA. Built by the Woodside Homes, a division of the Tanco Development Corporation, the house was located on Lot 22, Tract 2201-1 and is listed in Book 58, Pages 95 and 96. The three bedroom, two bathroom house is listed as “Plan #4” with 1,013 square feet. Although, according to Gary, the house was less than a thousand square feet. I checked the measurements myself and sure enough, the living area was only about 700 square feet. When the garage was included, it was nearly 1,100 square feet.

The development was built where Gary thinks an orange grove once stood, although Gayle thinks it may have been a lemon grove. Based on what little information I found, they were both wrong, but close. In both 1947 and 1967, that specific plot was an open field but an orchard was nearby. She moved in with Gary by December 1972. Carpet was installed but drapes were apparently a long time coming. Newspaper was taped to the windows for some time apparently. The carpet was exactly what you would expect of the 1970s, long shag. Carpet World, formerly located at 555 North Oxnard Boulevard, installed “Fiesta” in the living room, hall, and closet and put “Barcelona Blue” in the master bedroom and closet. Both carpets were made by 8th Wonder. The living room carpet was olive green, gold, and rust in color and would be referred to as “peanut butter jelly carpet” by my father (because if you dropped a peanut butter jelly sandwich, you wouldn’t see a stain). Much more practical than the solid gold carpet my mother wanted to get. The bedroom carpet was multiple shades of blue.

Three types of roses were planted on January 14, 1973; Lowell Thomas, Pink Radiance, and Matterhorn. In March 1973, Chrysler Imperial and Improved Blaze Climber were added. And later in 1973 John Rivers Nectarine, Rio Oso Gem Peach, Sims Peach, and Mariposa Plum were also planted. To keep the roses, grass, and other plants growing, Gary installed a watering system.

The living room had a six cushion sofa with pale gold color and a bit of shine to it. There was a chair with plain brown arm rests and legs that was olive in color and another that was orange. The coffee table was even more plain and a simple white. Next to the sofa was a speaker with small carved Buddha statues acting as bookends.

The master bedroom had quite the floral pattern for matching drapes and bed spread. The dresser was a four drawer style with various personal effects on top. These included a wedding photo Gary was in as a child, mirror, wallet, and lace doily. The second bedroom was much more plain with simple floral curtains and a white bedspread. All the wall where white with a dark brown baseboard trim.

In May of 1973, Bertha and her second husband Merle Yaryan, came to Southern California to visit. Bertha, Merle, and Gayle went to Disneyland. In August 1973, Gary and Gayle took a trip around the Western United States visiting family and friends.

Gary ordered an engagement ring on February 7, 1974 and presented it on Valentine’s Day a week later. Gayle wrote “got engagement ring from Gary.” The two were married on August 17, 1974. Gayle was 21, Gary was 29. Gayle wore a simple white dress with hand embroidered violets at the bottom. Gary wore a grey blue plaid suit with white shoes and a dark tie. They each sewed their own wedding outfit. Their marriage license was filed on August 22nd.

They were married at the Immanuel Bethel United Church of Christ on Lincoln Avenue in Dolton, Illinois. After the ceremony, they had an “informal picnic” at the Riverdale Park Memorial Building on 137th and Perry in Riverdale, Illinois. It was catered by Bozo’s, an area hot dog place where Gayle used to work. Nearly a week after their wedding, they were visiting family and friends in Nebraska. On August 22, Gayle wrote “stopped at Mullen, Neb. to see Gary’s old teacher Hazel Conser & her sister Hester.”

In June 1975, Gary would graduate from West Coast University with a Master of Science degree. The newlyweds would also visit the House of Yesterday in Hastings, Nebraska and the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago, Illinois. They would also travel to Hawaii in December, around Christmas, and also visited Gary’s brother Harold, who was stationed there with this family. They visited Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, but spent most of their time on Oahu.