Wind, B*****s, Stop Your D*** Blowing!

Or, What I Heard a Strange Man Say While I was Waiting for Oklahoma.

To be fair to this strange man, the wind, on 26th especially, was so strong that I could, and did, do the classic mime pose 'man running in the wind'.

Except I wasn't actually trying to do the pose.

I was on 26th in the first place waiting for Oklahoma, so that I might have some company on my run home.

When I started the run, the temperatures had already dropped. By the time I got to 26th, it was more like 30 and less like 50.

And the uber-weenie was dressed in warm-up pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

"I won't need that wind-stopping motorcycle thermal I often wear," I thought while getting dressed in my nice toasty office, having felt the warm, breeze-free day when walking between buildings earlier.

"I'd just be too hot."

I thought about that decision as I arrived at 26th to wait.

Did I mention that I was 19 minutes early?

Brilliant.

About five minutes of huddling later, I started jogging down to Chelsea Piers and back, just to keep warm.

Thank goodness my home isn't on the Upper West Side! The cross-wind was even worse on the way uptown!

With more time to kill, I crossed the street to 26th and started walking down it. That's when I encountered the strange man.

"Funny," a very good-looking man walking in front of me said. "I'm rather enjoying this."

Tongue-tied and shivering, I nodded. He was wearing a lined jacket.

I contemplatedcwalking faster to talk more with this intriguing gentleman.

I was early, after all, with some time to kill.

Then I re-evaluated. My hair was blowing over my face, I was wearing blue and red oddly-matched running clothes and I wasn't wearing my glasses.

One time, when I was looking for my brother and his friend, after they hadn't come home when they were supposed to, I mistook two mailboxes for them.

That was in high school. My vision has gotten worse.

Likely not worth it. I let him out of my "sights".

Then, back to the West Side. Finally, it is near time.

No Oklahoma. Did he say the East Side instead? Ack!

Ah. There he was. A vision in sweatpants, long-sleeved shirt and bright orange gloves.

Off we went.

Besides some tourist-baiting on the bridge (I've been in approximately 1300 tourist's photos, by my estimation), the rest of the run was quite fun. We kept a really easy pace, due to my backpack and out-of-shapeness and his still aching, albeit mending, broken ribs.

Ok. The hill on Union was a bit tough.

After leaving Oklahoma at the park, I continued to my stomping grounds, where I got a quick bite to eat.

By the time I was done, it was so cold that I actually took a car home.

For five blocks.

Brrrrrrrr.

New York is, by far, the windy-est place I've ever lived!