Marlon Brando – ‘On the Waterfront’

That Marlon, he was alright. Took me awhile but I really came to appreciate him. He popped into my mind when I was running past a bus stop the other day. The 19 or 20 year old guy there didn’t have his head buried in a device and said “Hi” as I went by. Shocked and stunned I nevertheless returned the greeting. He was a little on the pudgy side and I so wished I could have remarked, “I wish I had taken up running when I was your age!” (No that’s not an insult, I’m a little on the pudgy side too.)

Oh to get 40 years back. What if my 60 year old self was able to talk to me then? Likely not a chance in hell I would listen. 20 year olds without exception know everything. What if instead of hanging out in bars and having my money go up in cigarette smoke, I had taken the healthy path? What if I had taken up running 40 years ago instead of 5? This morning I ran for 90 minutes. Not much for a lot of people, a milestone for someone like me.

What if. How many marathons would I have under me belt by now? What would my body fat percentage be? How great would my virginal lungs feel? How much would my heart be thanking me? What could I have done with the boundless energy of a twenty something? You can’t get it back though, can you? Nope. Dear 20 year old: Do it now.