Joanne Firesteel Reid is a Gunn graduate who represented our country in the Winter Olympics as a biathlon Nordic skier. This despite having a heart condition that required an ablation. She recounts her treatment in exquisite detail on her blog. (My father, Paul Weiss, died of a heart attack in Santa Fe, NM in August, 2015 and had two treatments similar to those of Ms. Reid, an ablation and a mapping. His father my grandfather Morton Weiss died of cardiac arrest in Chicago in 1963, at age 67. )

Here is a link to her post.

https://jfiresteel.blogspot.com/2018/01/hiccup.html?m=1

Im thinking of this because Monday at Council apropos of the Arastradero corridor bike path proposal I spoke to urge caution and I referenced a longer argument posted by Russell Reid, Joanne’s father, on the Weekly website a whiles back wherein he said that our bike paths are systematically flawed in that they do not prevent cars from encroaching (accept in rare stretches like from PAMH to Churchill behind Paly)

I’m not much of a skier but I did take a “gut” p.e. course on biathlon from Dartmouth coach and Olympian John Morton in 1983 and also interviewed Glen Ebetrle in 1984 for The Dartmouth after his races in Sarajevo. Also, Pete Gallenz now an architect and institutional real estate investor in Germany but actually from Rockford IL was my dorm mate and one quarter roomie at Dartmouth in Richardson second floor and also coached U.S. Olympic women’s biathlon.

I wonder if Joanne Reid of Gunn and Colorado Buffalos knows or knows of either Gallenz, Morton or Eberle of Dartmouth. Maybe Mts. Reid, aka Beth Heiden knew of those Sarajevo American “Nordies” although she’s a skater.

I don’t know if emoji works at WordPress but me heart Gunn or Dartmouth Nordies.

Joanne Reid was on my shortlist for renaming the schools because I thought having attended Gunn, Terman or Jordan should be a criteria for being a namesake (unlike Fletcher or Greene).

It’s a stretch but both Joanne in her blogging and Russell in his post are offering up info and views that could at least comfort others and potentially save lives.

Wear a helmet.

Try to relax.

Vote.