Of all the bars with hundreds of beers on tap, you had to walk into mine. By: Nick

So there we were. Susan and I were enjoying an evening out by ourselves and we had just finished watching Vantage Point (Authors note: Save your 12 bucks and wait for the DVD). We had planned on popping into a nearby watering hole for some Dead Guy ale and perhaps a bite to eat. And since it was still fairly early (6 ish) we were going to head back to the house for some more...uh...movie time. So we get into MeterCondo (Convert from metric, you'll figure it out) and plop ourselves down at the bar to whet our whistles while we wait for a table to open up. The gentleman that we sat next to was already involved in a spirited conversation with the bar keep but turned to me to say hi nonetheless (much to the relief of said bar keep). The dude was so personable that I popped out of my comfort zone for a second and introduced myself and Susan. It would be one of the most worthwhile introductions I have ever taken part in. There was this man, slender in build, with a shaved graying head and a black Social D T-shirt over a blue long sleeved compression shirt. Looks can be very deceiving and I had pretty much already written him off as nothing more than a kooky old drunk guy that makes everyone laugh.

Well, it turns out I was only partly right. He definitely made Susan and I laugh. But it wasn't because he was kooky, old OR drunk. There is no way that ANYONE could get away with calling this guy old. Turns out he is a 60 years young Triathlete with multiple sprint triathlons, traditional triathlons and a few Ironman races under his belt (Yes, we did check when we got home!) In fact, he had just finished a 100 mile bike ride earlier that day with his buddies......just for the hell of it! This guy, Jerry, was amazing and quite inspiring. The story he told about why he loved the punk rock band Social Distortion was an amazing tale in and of itself! In addition to being physically inspiring, Jerry was spiritually and socially inspiring to me as well. He goes to a local Calvary chapel and is an awesome Christian guy. That's right, I said "Christian", "ale" and "watering hole" ALL in the same Blog!! Stick that in your puritanical pipe and smoke it! We had such a blast talking with him and learning about his life and experiences with Jesus, being married, being a father, and with being an athlete. Jerry told us about the ups and the inevitable downs of marriage and of raising children. He told us how excited he is to go to work every day because he gets to help others by inspiring them to make the most of their lives through exercising and eating right (he is a trainer at one of the local Y's). He had a lot of advice for me and how to be the best husband I can to the woman that I love. Susan doesn't know this but everytime she got up to go to the ladies room Jerry had a new golden nugget of husbandly advice for me. We had such a good time, and the conversation flowed so easily, in fact, that when our table was ready and our buzzer went off, I turned it in and, instead of having an intimate dinner for two, we joined Jerry for dinner right there at the bar (I had a delicious Chicken fired Chicken and Susan had a delicate but fulfilling seared Ahi Tuna Salad - her favorite!).

Needless to say, we had such a good time that night that we didn't get out of there until late. We never did get a chance to watch the movies at home. But we did wake up extra early the next day and did a 3.8 mile trail run. I hope to run into Jerry again. Perhaps at my first sprint tri that I am determined to enter.

In closing, I would like to point something out: I truly believe that our encounter with Jerry was Garranged (God Arranged. You like that? You can use it but I get 10% of the proceeds) . A perfect storm of events had to take place in order for either of us to end up in the same exact place, at exactly the right time, with the exact number of seats available etc. Hell, even the fact that I actually made a social move with the handshake is a miracle in itself! There come opportunities in your life and you have a chance to actually engage life and live it to its fullest. You can choose the easy route, wake up, eat, work, eat, watch the tube, sleep, ad nauseum and at the end of it all what will you end up with? Was it fun? Was is adventurous? Were you so preoccupied with making sure that you look polished and "perfect" that you missed the train? Who knows what could happen or whose life you could touch if you would just step out of your comfort zone for just a second. You don't just touch the life of the person you are directly talking to but also all the ones around you that are listening in on your conversation. C'mon, admit it, you've found yourself craning your head towards that interesting conversation more than a couple times in your life. Why be the one trying to hear whats going on. Be the one that is MAKING it go on!

We all need to take those chances. Im glad we took this chance. Who knows, you could end up have a great evening!