A Lesson From Mr. Wizzard

Remember that show? Mr. Wizzard would do fun science projects and we'd all learn something, like you can make a thing out of pop bottles taped together and filled with water where the water will look like a tornado when you turn it upside down. Cool. Oh, and something about forces of gravity and pressure and other sciency stuff. So, I went running again yesterday (cuz I am going to be a runner. at least until the ride run is over) and changed my route. I usually run from my house to a specific stop sign, turn around and run home and call it good cuz I know it is just over two miles. If I am ambitious, I run to the stop sign beyond the usual one and add a little distance and one last little hill. THIS time, I TURNED at the stop sign and ran down to a school and then turned again, running until I got back to my street. So I made a goofy square of sorts. And it felt like I ran a lot longer than my usual route, so I was bound and determined to drive along the route with my "trip" mileage counter on and see how far I went. My neighbors, who are aware of the ride/run looming, thought it was probably a four or five mile journey, and I was elated. Four or five miles!! Really?! I can run four or five miles?!! That's awesome!!! I could do this daily and then be thin, cuz have you seen people who are habitual runners? Those folks are thin, I tell you. Imagine my disappointment when I drove the route and my car said it was only 2.4 miles. What?!! Mr. Wizzard notes that something filled with hot air will burst suddenly when poked with a sharp pang of disappointment. Pooh. Also, I think I remember something about math class, and had a "duh" moment thinking, um, if my usual run is about two miles, then it would MAKE SENSE that the square is not that much furhter, cuz my run is about half of the square and then I turn around and run back. .5 x 2 = 1 square. Durt-da-durr. Today's experiment teaches us the lesson of humility AND that my neighbors are as math challenged as I am.