The Odyssey--Surreal Beyond Belief

As the fatal hour drew near, we headed for Ala Moana Blvd. and our designated starting area. Navigating through the crowd was tricky, like being at a rock concert or at Times Square on New Year's Eve. Bear in mind that it is distinctly night time and that the harsh lights set up specially for the marathon beam at you from every direction. Once in a while, an odd image would dart by: a woman wearing playboy bunny ears and tail, a man wearing a school girl's sailor outfit, and strangest of all, someone dressed as a huge Japanese eggplant. My brother thought that surely, the eggplant was not planning to run. And then we spotted the number pinned to its belly.

We shook our heads in wonder and moved forward. It was nearly 5am.