Up In Your Bedroom, After The War

"It's us, yes, we're back again
Here to see you through 'til the day's end
And if the night comes and the night will come
Well at least the war is over."

Stars - In Our Bedroom, After The War


This is one of my favorite Stars (is it "The Stars?" I was corrected once by someone who assured me there was no "The" in the band's title) songs, and have often thought about the meaning while I'm out on the road running. I often have it "running" through my mind (forgive the bad pun, ask my girlfriend, I really can't help it) and it again popped up in my head today while running.

This last weekend I did the Ragnar del Sol Relay from Prescott to Tempe. It's a great race, and tons of fun to deal as a team. I did it the first time two years ago, and this year I was the only veteran among 11 other "newbie" teammates. The race was immensely surreal, as, in the middle of the night during a leg along the dark highway, a teen runner was hit by a vehicle. He wasn't actually running, but handing off water to a teammate before he unknowingly stepped backwards into a lane of traffic and the oncoming car. He was rushed to the hospital and was on life support for several days before he later died of his injuries in the hospital. It was quite a somber mood as we were awakened early that morning by a call from the other team van saying we needed to get up and meet at the next checkpoint where they were going to mass start everyone again. Our team was mostly silent as we met the other runners to restart the race after the road closure.

Some people thought the race should be called off, others were upset that their teams had been delayed. Even after the restart of the race, we all knew it could've been us who was hit, or that it could happen again at any time. That's why this relay can be so dangerous. But with that danger comes such exaltation, from not only the length of the race, but the camaraderie among the teams for what you've put yourself through. Together.

I could overhear people talking about the accident, and what had happened. I heard people say he's now in a better place. That it was his time. Personally, I think this is total bullshit. He was 18 years old, and a high school senior. He had A LOT of life left ahead of him. I think it's tragic that it was cut short, but disgusting that people push their ideals onto the situation. As a parent, I think it's horrible when a parent out-lives their child, and that this should never happen. My thoughts go out to his parents and family at this time, and I hope they remember him happy always. I can't imagine the grief and pain his family must be going through. I just wish people wouldn't turn it into their own theological pulpit.

Anyways, I think this song has been popping up in my mind because of recent events. I don't know that I'm still "as atheist" as I used to be. I know for a good long time, I didn't believe there was a god. I think there's many others that share my sentiment. I know I see things in different situations. I can't help think there's a higher power, whatever that higher power is, I think it's beyond what you or I can comprehend. But I see it in a sunrise. I hear it in a baby's coo. And I definitely feel it on a trailrun when I reach a peak and look at the world around me.

Anyways, thanks for listening.


~Danny