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February 17, 2005
Dangerous Times
So things are a little bit dangerous in Denver right now. There is some guy who has sexually assaulted five people in the last week or so, right around our area. As such I have been forbidden by my very caring boyfriend to run in the morning or at night in our area when it is dark outside. This is an irritating situation but this guy is dangerous and as much as I think I am tough and fast I am no match for a big scary dude. So this morning I drove down to the burbs where my gym and office are, and ran from there. It was fine. I ran 8 miles (again! this is quite the pattern this week!), and it was nice, albeit a little chilly out. The only problem I have running down here is that it is more stops so it takes longer overall to get up, drive, run, get my coffee fix, and get to work. However it is absolutely for the best. I just hope they catch this guy soon! In addition, there are way more sidewalks to run on down here instead of dirt which is hard on the feet. But it's cool.
Now let me just rant for a minute. This guy apparently has a very extensive history of this type of crime and yet was released after serving only 13 years of a 20 year sentence. It has made me think a lot about the purpose of incarceration and of our criminal justice system. In my mind, there are two purposes of incarcerating someone: punishment and rehabilitation. However, it seems to me that if a person will get out of prison or wherever and be a danger to society, then they should not be released. I don't know. All I know is that it sucks to be afraid to walk around your neighborhood.
So running this morning was good - Blondie aptly commented yesterday that I am much more upbeat and positive about my running this week, which is absolutely true! I am not sure what I will do tomorrow yet, I might just do a run at lunchtime so I don't have to drive to the gym at the crack of dawn. We are as of yet undecided about skiing this weekend due to the fact that it's President's Weekend which means all the Texans come in to ski.
Hope everyone enjoys their days!
Posted by barb at February 17, 2005 09:08 AM
Comments
hey, this is one of the moments when i hate the world. it sucks that YOU'RE the good person and you have to change your life, right? i remember being nervous about running outside in DC when we had that whole sniper thing too. and we had all these people getting attacked on the trails too. i feel for you (and those women). i hope they catch him soon. be careful :)
-audrey-
Posted by: Audrey at February 17, 2005 03:43 PM
I'm glad that you're playing it safe and staying out of the neighborhood and I agree that it will never be fair that we have to change our behaviors because of a few nasty people in the world.
Barb, you brought up the good old Colorado vs. Texas issue! Hah! I had to laugh. I'm not a native Texan, so it's fun to watch from the outside. I hope those pesky Texans (who ineveitably can't ski because Texas is mostly flat) don't clog up your slopes too much! :)
Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at February 17, 2005 07:14 PM
Barb, gosh yea, please be careful. Hopefully they catch that guy soon. The sad thing is that sexual malfeasants are difficult to rehabilitate; he just needs to stay locked up forever.
Have a great weekend, and enjoy skiing, if you end up going!
Posted by: Leilani at February 18, 2005 02:30 PM