* When I arrived in Nădlac I looked around for projects that
I could do. I have activities with my NGO but I also do have
some time for other things.
What I noticed was that there were a lot of middle aged
people like me that could use some exercise. Here, it seems to
be against the norm for people with a few years under their
belts to do something of this nature.
The people do walk and ride bicycles a lot but the town is
kind of small, so even if they do walk or ride, it isn’t quite
enough. Also, the food here is really good, so that doesn’t help
in the battle against the bulge.
One of my goals was to try and be an inspiration to my middle
aged brethren. So I decided to start jogging. That doesn’t seem
like a big deal, but here ... it is a big deal, especially for a person
around my age.
There is a soccer/fotball field where the younger people go to
play fotball or sometimes run or jog. But for older people
exercising … you just ain’t going to see it.
So armed with this great idea I became visible, as a jogger.
I figured that I would become an inspiration to them all.
I could imagine myself being known as the Jackie Robinson of
middle age jogging in Nădlac, Romania. I would single handedly,
through being and inspirational example, break the non
jogging/exercising middle age barrier. I would set a new trend
that would just get the whole middle aged sector up off their
duffs and slogging away at them kilometers.
So every two days I lace on my sneakers (pictured below) and
off I go.



It has been about 6 months since I have started on the quest
for jogging enlightenment of the town’s people.
Like any ‘pie in the sky’ Peace Corps volunteer’s personal
idealistic plan to save the world … it hasn’t worked.
I do know the reason that led to the demise of the Cuban
revolutionary Che Guevara. The people in Bolivia didn’t want
revolution and he did. So it appears I am following in Che’s jogging
shoes.
I have come to the realization that this jogging project is really
nothing more than my feeble attempt at immortality in this
Peace Corps Romania assignment.
But you know it isn’t a total loss because I did set a trend. I now
have people doing the ‘incredibly trendy activity’ of sitting and
watching the ‘crazy-American, Jackie Robinson wannabe’ jogging
by their house at 2 in the afternoon every couple of days.