Ernie Banks, the long-time shortstop for the Chicage Cubs, was known for his catchphrase of, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!" expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his pure love for the game of baseball, especially in his self-described "friendly confines of Wrigley Field."

Well, I did just that today. MCVET, a veterans training program in Baltimore City, has an annual 5k and 10k races at Memorial Day weelend. They start the 5 k at 7:30 and the 10k at 8:30. So the really ambitious get to run both. I did it last year and I did it again this year. Great fun, though I must admit that the temperatur at the 5k horn was a hunid 73ºF. That's a little high. By 8:30 I would bet it was pushing really close to 80ºF. So it was two hot runs. But i did them in 0:28 and 1:01. A little slow, but it was hot ... and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Between races, this young woman was talking to me. "I gotta admire you. A man your age out here running two races like this on a hot day. I hope to be running races when I'm as old as you." Wait a minute! A man my age?? I haven't even reached the age whgere I would say "I'm not yet 60."

A man my age indeed. I did tell her about my heroes: Faujah Singh, 101 year old marathoner (retired); the Iron Nun, and 80 year old nun who runns Ironman Events; Ernestine Shepard the 75 year old body builder; and Diana Nyad, age 63 swimming from Havana to Key west, though pulled out of the water about halfway due to jellyfish stings, but still ...

Then on the way home, I saw the funniest beggar's sign ever on Conway Street near Camden Yards where people were beginning to come in for this afternoon's Orioles' game. Not content with "Disabled Viet Vet Homeless Please Help God Bless" this fellow went to creativity:

"Family kidnapped by ninjas
"Must take karate lessons if I want to get them back
"Anything you can give will help get them home
"Thank you and God bless."

I laughed so hard! Kidnapped by Ninjas! Oh my God, not Ninjas!

If I had had $5 I would have given it to him just for his cleverness.