Rough Run and Dinner with England Football Legend Tony Adams

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I started the morning with a horrific 11 mile run down the Champs des Lyses. Dodging mopeds, tripping over cobblestones, and forgetting that the Champs de Lyses slopes upward on the return leg meant that I spent the next few hours recovering in bed. Running the half-marathon a few weeks ago was a great deal of fun, but heavy running can be even worse an addiction than smoking.

On the bright side, I was free to watch the news while lying in bed. One of the features had Tony Adams [former captain of both the English national team and Arsenal Football Club] being interviewed about the upcoming Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona. Only 30 seconds after the clip ended, the telephone rang and it was none other than Tony Adams himself calling for Gary. Since Gary was out, I was able to speak at length with Tony about the upcoming World Cup and we arranged to have dinner together later in the evening.

This was the third time I have gotten to speak with Tony. The first was when I played soccer in England for part of a summer, and Tony approached me after our championship match (which we disappointingly lost in penalty kicks.) He complimented me for several plays I had made, but truth be told it wasn't until afterward that I realized that this wasn't a compliment from just anybody!

The second time I met Tony was when I stayed at his villa in England for a couple of days. At the time, I was studying at Oxford University as part of a summer program (where his wife formerly attended university). I had a fantastic time knocking the football around in his mini-soccer pitch, but I never could manage to get around him to score - surprise, surprise. I still stick to the argument that I was being a kind guest by not showing up the host.

As for tonight, we ate at a terrific French restaurant with a woman from London (beautifully named Saffron), an off-duty Dutch reporter, and an ex-footballer from the Netherlands. I will never forget the dinner, and the uplifting outlook of everyone that attended. The guests all had a composed nature leaves you attentive to everything they have to say. I can only hope that my life will turn out as well some day because it was the kind of night I wish I could relive over and over.