Watson Wire

Shiny Things

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 |

As most of you know, there's a big date coming up in November.  Many people are highly focused on it.  There's a lot of effort going into being prepared for it.  There's significant speculation about who might win and how people will do – what their numbers will be.  And folks are rightly questioning why anyone would put themselves through this grueling effort and race.

Of course, I'm right in the big middle of it.  I hope to do well and have been working hard so that I will.

Obviously, I'm talking about the San Antonio Rock & Roll half marathon, which is coming up on November 14th.  I've been training pretty hard and think I'll be ready.  But, really, can you ever hope to be ready to run 13.1 miles uninterrupted?  And, since the answer is obviously "no," some might ask, why do it?

Well, it's not so I can stay so amazingly buff.  No, my sole purpose is to get the cool shiny medal they give to all of the survivors who are still standing as they cross the finish line.  No matter your time, no matter how slow or where you finish, you usually get a medal with a nice ribbon to hang around your neck.

And then it can decorate your car's back seat.

I'm looking forward to getting my San Antonio medal.

Time’s almost out

Because the other important dates in November get here before the half marathon, I need to pester you again about voting.

The last day of early voting is Friday.

And the election, if you can believe it, is a week from today.

So ... Go vote.  Seriously, do it early so you won’t have to worry about a flat tire coming between you and your civic duty on Nov. 2.  And if you have some odd tradition of "only" voting on Election Day . . . Well, you'd better feel lucky.

If you’re in Travis County, you can get information about early voting here.

Go vote.  No excuses.  You’ll feel better, all around.

A really, really cool medal – no joke

Last weekend was a pretty special one in the Watson household.

I got a very nice honor from Baylor.  My alma mater awarded me its inaugural Pro Texana Medal of Service, which is given to folks whose work in the public or non-profit sector has made a real difference in furthering the university’s mission.

You can read the write-up by the university's magazine here.  It was a pretty big deal, and they stretched the commemoration over a couple of days.

Not at all like a half marathon

First, there was an awards dinner in Waco on Thursday night, which was very flattering and even a little moving.  The university introduced the awards recipients with a video that sort of summed up what we did to justify getting an "atta boy." Liz and Preston went up with me to that event (Cooper had to stay home and study for a test on Friday).

The description of my stuff included a photo of me with the law school moot court team back when I was 21 or 22, which was a surprise, since I assumed I’d destroyed photos showing me with that much hair.

Then we were presented with medals.

Needless to say, it was a special feeling to have that medal draped around my neck.  But it felt even better knowing I wasn’t just about to pass out.

The Big Game

On Saturday, I headed back up there – this time with Cooper – for the Homecoming football game against Kansas State.

It was fun at halftime, when we got to walk out on the field and be recognized again.

And then, Baylor won the game.  I actually saw a headline saying we “overpowered” Kansas State.  That’s a word you don’t hear much in connection with Bears football.  I can see why some of you folks enjoy that word so much.

Anyway, here’s a shot of Cooper on the sidelines just before halftime:

By the way, Baylor is now 6-2 and bowl eligible for the first time since Cooper Watson and the Big XII were born.  And it's ranked in the BCS, AP and USA Today Coaches' football polls.  Just sayin'.