Blessed Indeed

Steve with club mates Brian Wilson and Michelle Chittenden at the Arun River Swim 

My husband Steve tried to plan everything to work as well as could be on his recent trip to support a friend at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. However he had left it a bit late and some things did not work out that well.  He could not find a hotel really close to the Ironman hub. The hotel he took in the end was about six miles away but he thought that would be ok, maybe he could hire a bike since he had not taken his own.  On checking it out, the Kona version of our Boris Bike was pretty expensive and was let out by the hour and he needed one for eight days. He went to every bike store but they were all fully booked. The last place he went to, somebody had overheard his conversation and as he started to leave the store began to chat with him and told his that there was a cheap store where he could buy a basic bike for less that the bike hire cost if he still wanted one.

 

At the start of Ironman Austria 

Steve made that his next stop and sure enough there were some cheap ordinary bikes available and since he only needed one for getting around for the duration of his stay he worked out that it would even be cheaper than getting a bus and much more convenient. He bought a bottom of the range brand new bike on offer for $120 and it was perfect for his needs. He used the bike to travel everywhere, checking out the run course and planning his movements for bike check in day with Craig, and so that he could get around on race day. He went back and thanked the guy for the tip.

 

 

On race day, during all the hanging around waiting for his friend to get to that point in the race Steve got chatting to a group of local students and after they had been talking for a while, Steve told them that he had bought this bike for transport because he was too late to hire one and that he would like to give to somebody, if they knew anybody who could do with it and not just to sell and buy something they didn’t need. He added that it wasn’t a great bike but was perfectly go to get from A. to B. The students chattered among themselves and then turned back and said that there was a kid at their school who had to walk quite a long way back and forth to school each day and that her parents were not very well off and the girl would be over the moon if he gave it to her. He handed to bike over and had thought that that would be the last he heard of it but the next day he heard back that the girl had cried her eyes out when the bike was given to her and they told her about the nice guy who just wanted to give it to somebody who needed it. The girl had said that Jesus had been watching them that day when they spoke to that nice guy. The feedback made Steve so happy that he had helped somebody out and had hopefully made a difference for them.

 

Basically my husband is a very nice man and he loves to help out whenever he sees an opportunity. This was just one little story about him and to add to this I can tell you that in the twenty five years he has been coaching he has never taken a penny in payment because he and I both believe that if you have had a bundle of enjoyment from your sport and that you were given a stack of encouragement when you were a newby, then you should pass that kindness on. He does it all the time. He is just an ordinary man who works hard, and plays pretty hard too; he is an alcohol free zone which is something that I first liked about him. He can be serious when he needs to be but is mostly very easy going and a lot of fun to be around.

 

 

He has been suffering from the usual jet lag, and for a couple of days, was finding it hard to get his head on straight. Yesterday morning he had had a spate of the ‘Where’s my’s’, and had lost track of several items and had searched for all three things at the same time rushing around like a fly with a dark blue end; I’m sure you know the ones I mean.

 

He was trying to get ready to go to work at the same time, drying his longish hair and when he stood up in front of the big mirror on the wall behind his desk, he noticed that he had buttoned up his shirt one button out all the way down, so the collar was crooked and one side was lower than the other at the bottom.  

 

He turned toward me but looked skyward and said, “Oh God what’s the matter with me?”  I turned and said, “Where shall I start?” He said “I was talking to God” and I said, “I was doing an impression of Gods reaction to your question”. Even God has to have a moment to think sometimes! Still I am guessing that ‘He’ couldn’t be too cross with the husband I am blessed with.

 

Steve here with Julie Moss in Hawaii.