“Man who beat Roger Bannister” visiting Portland

I don’t often link to provincial newspapers in other countries. “Man who beat Roger Bannister”, the headline from last Wednesday’s Yorkshire Evening Post in Leeds, England, tells some of my 80 year-old father’s story. I posted more here, on his birthday back in June.

My dad arrives today for a visit of three weeks with his wife, my mother Pamela. She was a member of the first ever training class of Dental Hygienists in England, and is an all-around delightful person and excellent mother.

My dad used to spend a month here every fall and spring, running the Portland Marathon in September and the Shamrock Run each March. He was due to fly out the Friday after 9/11/01, and has considered flying to the United States unsafe ever since. Except now, well, he’s 80, and time is of the essence. So they are coming.

And time with them is indeed precious. More so than blogging, campaigning, or almost any of the other calls on my attention over the next three weeks. I feel very fortunate to have wonderful parents coming to see me, and intend to make the most of every minute.