Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Big Climb Seattle: Notes From A Stairwell
Crowd was amazing. Thousands of happy people oozing altruism, all stuffed into the Columbia Tower atrium. Nevertheless, reminders of the dead were on every tshirt, every wristband, every face. It was fun, but not too much fun, y'know? Before I knew it, we were off. 69 floors, over 1300 steps, straight up.
I started well, and lucked into a woman in her late 60s ahead of me, who made an excellent pace car. Slow and steady, we'd hit the 20th floor hardly before I'd looked up. But then she waved off another couple of floors to rest, and I never saw her again. A father and his two young daughters kept passing me, only to have me pass them again when they had to rest. I tried to explain the whole tortoise/hare thing to them, but they kept running out of earshot. I'm pretty sure they were at home having lunch by the time I was done.
But I was done eventually, about 25 minutes even. 73rd floor, sweeping view, yay, great, elevator please. Once out on the street, I took a moment to look up, straining to see the steep tower I had just climbed. A lot of loss in there. I hope this made some of them feel better for a while. I hope it actually does some good for someone, somehow. After that, I went to the library, where I had parked my car six floors below.
For some reason, I took the stairs.
Thanks to those who donated to this cause on my behalf, or just to watch me torture myself. Now that I've been so tortured, I'd like to remind everyone that you can still make a donation up until April 10th. Cheers!
