The Maple Leaf Rag

Well, the race didn't go as well as I had planned. My time wasn't that much better than last year's time so I feel I have been wasting my time all year. I know that isn't the case but it seems like it to me right now. 

I think the problem was the hour the race started was about two or three hours earlier than when I usually run. Either I should start to run earlier in the day or I should just not concentrate too much on my times and just enjoy myself.

I'll post my time here later as well as picture of myself from the race, as I cross the finish line. 

Ah, now that is a cool word...buckled. That means I gave in, I quit, I gave up the argument. I guess the term comes from when metal can't take weight and buckles under the pressure. 

I took most of my pictures down, for now anyway. It doesn't seem to matter since I have added two new friends in the days since I removed the pictures. 

It's early, very early on Sunday morning here in Toronto. The weather is now cool, I guess some people would say cold. It gets down to 8 at night and the highs during the day are 12 to 15 right now. We'll have warmer weather again but then I think we are in for the deep freeze! Snow and cold will hit soon. 

I'm up early because this is the morning of my 5K run in the Toronto Marathon run for a local cancer hospital. My son, James, is going to run with me so I am really looking forward to today. The race is at 8. Wish me luck! I'll write more when I get home. 27 minutes, here I come! 

The title of my blog is, "The Maple Lead Rag". So what does that mean? Well it means two things actually, which isn't unusual in English. 

First, a 'rag' is a newspaper. It's slang, of course, and it is generally derisive as in, "Ah, you're not reading that rag again are you?"  

But a 'rag' is also a type of music, fast and usually played on a piano. It's an old term and this title was made famous by an American composer/pianist named Scott Joplin. If you have ever seen the movie The Sting with Paul Newman and Robert Redford then you have heard Joplin's music. One of this compositions was The Maple Leaf Rag! 

I guess I should say that a rag is also an old piece of cloth that you use to clean up a spill with, so that is three things. Um, ok four now since it can also mean an old dress as in, "I didn't have anything new to wear so I wore this old rag." I better stop before I think of more meanings. There is a fifth meaning but I won't get into that!

 So that's where the name comes from. And the maple leaf is the symbol of Canada, as well as the beaver so I thought it was a cool play on words, music and newspapers all in one.