Walter and Effort. I have to respond to this Russian weight lifting turn that Walter has just lately taken, and it needs more than a comment on the immediately preceding post.

Obviously, this entire thing is mystifying to Sean and it would be to any reasonable person who has not known Walter as long as I have. I think the best way to help Sean and other reasonable people is to tell one of many stories about Walter that we refer to for reference when he does something out of the ordinary, which is not infrequent. (My mind goes to his announcement during one of his Spring breaks that he was going to go to Khazakstan the following summer, but I digress.)

Once upon a time Walter had a soccer coach who was a former Navy Seal. I think Walter was in the 9th grade. This coach, who sometime later was arrested for raising marijuana in his house with an elaborate hydroponics system, had the team run wind sprints before each practice, run them, and run them, and run them. Walter not only ran them and ran them, he ran them with such heedless determination that he broke both of his legs, with stress fractures.

My prayers are that he will not drop one of those things he is now lifting up in the air on his head or his foot, that he won't compress one or more vertebrae, and that he won't decide to take on this Jason fellow in a friendly boxing match. Please join me in those prayers.