Thursday, April 16, 2009

1000 Miles in 1000 hours! (Fascinating Fact #8)

Awesome! Robert Barclay Allardice.

Family lore suggests that my ancestors had similar ambitions as Laird Barclay. Perhaps, these feats of strength and endurance are or were just a Scottish thing. My illustrious Scots ancestor had many reputed hikes and walks and jumping over broomsticks.

I can still jump a broomstick at 3 feet standing still (as could he of polygamous fame) and can hike mountains.

Scotland! We are a hearty people. I guess it makes sense.

Fascinating fact #8: "Pedestrian" used to just mean a racer who was on foot, as "equestrian" was a racer who raced on horseback. Fascinating!

While I was on the bus and reading about Captain Barclay in The Lost Art of Walking by Geoff Nicholson, I had a brief fantasy of just taking off on foot for a vacation and see where I ended up. Could be fun. It fits my heritage.

Perhaps I will jump over a broomstick or two on my way.

3 comments:

  1. Jumping a broomstick means something different here. The illustrious one did it eleven times, I think.

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  2. While "jumping the broomstick" doesn't allude to marriage here, it is interesting that he could do both with such alacrity.

    By the way, in a fit of hubris, I attempted the old broomstick trick. Sadly, I cannot jump 3 feet flat-footed any more. Well at least I couldn't last night.

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