the regulars

Whenever I set out on my long weekend runs one of my first thoughts is "will anything be blog-worthy today?" Last Sunday was no exception but as I got to mile 3 of my 15 mile run, I recognized someone definitely blogworthy about two hundred yards ahead of me. The Jogging Gnome.

Venice and Santa Monica and their respective boardwalks and beach bike paths are home to many longtime regular characters that I've been seeing for years. I have nicknames for most of them: CPG (Creepy Bike Guy), Whitetop, Basketball Jones, The Worst Skateboarder in the World, Stagger Lee, Lon Chainy, Ezekiel, Rascal Master, The Fisherman, The Creeper, Stan the Can Man, Mandingo, Sarge, FiveSecondsofYourTime, Clem, and The One Who Shall Remain Nameless (nickname: Shamess) to name a few. The Jogging Gnome is so-called because whenever I see him, he's jogging. And he has an, um, unusual body type. I tried to illustrate this for Scott one day but I don't really think I captured his true gnome-like essence.

So there he was, loping along ahead of me. The impossibly long legs under an abbreviated torso, the flowing hair, the dangerously tan skin, the ever-present smile. I realized I was going to eventually pass him and began rehearsing possible greetings. "Howdy", "Howzitgoing?", "Hey", or the chatty "Nice day for a run!" Suddenly, he did something I've never seen him do before: He stopped jogging and started walking. I was dumbfounded and silently ran by, feeling like I was witnessing something extremely rare, like catching an endangered hummingbird taking a breather on the end of a twig. I couldn't believe it - The Jogging Gnome... walking!

I got to thinking; I've spent a good deal of time on the bike path over the last twenty years. Do any of these beach regulars recognize me as a fellow beach regular? Do they see me and say "Hey, there goes Blue Bike Old Guy!"? Maybe.

Interesting Sight o' the Day: An unusually large number of hot chicks playing beach volleyball. Ah, California - gotta love it!

Runs for the week:
Tuesday - 3 miles, 21:13
Wednesday - 4.5 miles
Friday - 3 miles
Sunday - 15 miles, 2:15:00

The Profeta Royalty sketchbook page containing The Jogging Gnome doodle, ca. June, 2006. Other drawings include my ode to a NASCAR Fan and my idea for a Fish Head Stroller.

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