Zen and the Art of Speedskating

A number of years ago, the Boy Scouts of America added a new category between cub scouts and full-on boy scouts. They called it Webelos. It just so happened that the first scout to complete the full Webelos program was an Ithaca resident with the initials of C.M. (I asked him what name he wanted me to use, he was ambivalent, so I think his initials suffice).

So anyway, the national newspapers picked up this story, of the first scout to ever complete Webelos status. C.M. received a tremendous number of letters from all over the country, including some containing money! and others telling him what an inspiration he is. This made a huge impression on the young man (and later exceptional athlete, as he rowed for crew super power Cornell University!), and I believe C.M. now holds it as a life value, that when someone does something that inspires you, you let them know, even if they are complete strangers.

C.M. also happens to own a 24 foot U-haul truck. On April 20th of last year, he read the article the Ithaca journal wrote about me, & he thought, “hey, I could help this guy move!” so he contacted me with a wonderful letter, and offered the use of his time and truck, free of charge to me, to move! Needless to say, this will save Jessica and I multiple thousands of dollars, as we would have had to rent a truck that size to move the 2,200 miles to salt lake city from ithaca. Financial worries scare me more than falling flat on my face during Olympic trials. So this is a tremendous help!

I had breakfast with this C.M. this morning, and his father, completely delightful people. We talked of many things. What I did not say to him there, and I will here, is that I have learned a very tangible lesson from C.M., as well as from the great local business like The Rink and Courtside, and my national level sponsors, Dimon Sports, Athlete Octane, and Powercranks. The message/lesson is kindness when you can help, and if you reach out, you can create a cycle of good, that will extend beyond your immediate effort, and create waves of good like the wake following a motorboat.

My years of being able to compete as an elite athlete are limited by time and my age (34) I have probably only 2 more seasons of being really able to run with the top skaters in the U.S. However, I will have decades after that, to be in a position to help others who inspire me, and to apply some of the amazing life lessons I am earning vias this path (and I will very likely coach someday). I do not know if I will ever be able to repay CM for his time, truck, and personal kindness, except for passing it onward, and maybe that is as it should be.

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