At this point, the Chicago Marathon is sort of a national spectacle, so I'm going to share some thoughts about it. The marathon goes by our apartment building in the first half of the race; last year, we could see the runners from our apartment through the balding trees. This year, I actually had to go out onto the street and watch, and I only did so for about 10 minutes. I also only saw the fastest runners, because I hit the streets early. And actually, I'm fairly certain I saw the front-runners go by as I was waking up. Anyhow, where we were, the runners were pretty bushed. And it was pretty early in the race. Sweat was POURING off these people--I was afraid of getting splashed by sweat in my spot on the curb. I don't know about water supplies and aid stations, and I don't know how the cancellation was handled. I was in the midst of football and sewing by the time the shit hit the fan. And I guess, because I'm not a runner, I don't get it. I understand that people spent money on this. I understand that maybe things were slightly...less organized than they could have been. But I don't understand what compels a person to go out and run for 3 to 4 to 5 hours in 90-degree heat. Was it the entry fee? If the entry fee is THAT important (if it's the difference between eating and not, say), perhaps you shouldn't be running the marathon. Is it the training? It seems like you should be running for the sake of running, not whatever glory you're going to get at the end of a race. Training should be reward in and of itself. Maybe again, I'm clueless. But I can't believe that every single person out there made rational decisions to keep running in the stifling heat. Whatever else you want to argue, it's pretty poor logic to insist that you can run 26.5 miles in 3 hours in 85-90 degree heat and be just peachy by the end. I guess I just don't get it.
As for that war criminal thing, last night during the 20-20 tie portion of the game, when things go too tense, I flipped over to an old episode of American Experience. Sam and I only watched about 10 minutes of the show, but what we watched was footage of the Nuremburg trials. Specifically, the footage of Goering pleading not guilty. All I could think during it was how surreal it would be to see top officials from our own government on trial like the Nazis. I'm not obviously any sort of expert, but it seems to me we've got some war criminals in power right now. And while I think Americans should hand over our government officials for judging, if the case has any merit at all (it'd be a way to regain some of our lost to torture credibility, and anyway, I think torture is ALWAYS a crime. Point blank, no matter what.), it's also very strange to think of Dick Cheney and Geo. Bush on trial like the Nazis were. It's just...kind of a sad thought, as an American. I'm not saying the Germans weren't complicit in the crimes those men committed, but isn't that the point? We are too; we all have blood on our hands. And no matter how uncomfortable it makes me to think of Americans tried as war criminals, it's probably justice being done, in this case. Still, gives you an awful sort of insight into the minds of those German civilians in postwar Germany. Just a macabre thought for your Monday.
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