Life of Wry

Dating all the way back to 1978…. Katie and I met in the Exercise Physiology program at UCD* We became fast friends, even as our UCD time together was limited to about a year.. (maybe two?). She called me Pedrohijo**, probably my most favorite nickname ever. (Well… it may be a tie with Jim’s Kari-Wary, and coach Bixler’s Pete.) With the exception of about a 3-hr visit in 2009 — when Peter and I stopped in while on an 8-Western States road trip — we hadn’t seen each other in 43 years.

That’s just crazy.

Katie is a ball of fire, always up for an adventure (literally) and quick with a laugh. She cooks, she gardens, she DJ’s eclectic radio shows, AND she swims, hikes, bikes, skis, paddle boards, canoes and no doubt a dozen more such outdoorsy things. She does all of those things well. She’s got a gorgeous sense of style, has traveled all around the globe, and lives at the top of a mountain with a spectacular view of Missoula and the valley it sits in. She has an incredibly positive outlook on life, a can-do ethic, and just a soaring spirit.

I mean.

We dig each other. And both seemed pretty darn happy to reconnect. Holiday cards and the occasional letter are great, but nothing like an in-person meet up. Twenty hours, however, is too short a visit.

We both hope that maybe there will be some shared adventures down the road.

Here we are on a trip around the arboretum this morning, early enough to avoid the worst of today’s 106 degree heat.

Cute, no? Two 67-year old PE majors still kickin’ it (or trying to). Smile.

~~

(*) Yes, I chose to transfer UC Davis in the winter of 1978 after three years at UC San Diego (including a year abroad and a quarter off) because of UCD’s excellent program in exercise physiology. But, I didn’t get that BS degree in exercise physiology. I am guessing (because I can’t remember exactly the circumstances 40+ years later) that, after nearly five years (four years and two quarters, to be exact), I was ready to graduate and, since I’d started the program in my senior year, I didn’t have enough of the classes required for the ex.phys. major, but had satisfied the requirements for the physical education major and that must have seemed good enough. So a BA in PE it was, and I graduated in June of 1979.

(**) En Espanol: Pedro = Peter and hijo = son. Pedrohijo = Peterson. Ay Carumba!