Good question, Vin.  Where does he get these grandiose ideas in the first place?  These wild visions which drive him to jump off high cliffs – like the ones of his Salmon River childhood - into the boiling, white water rapids of his adult life?  Gabriel Harmony Jennings.  Born and bred in the rugged, remote mountains of Northern California.  From there his intensity only grew; so did his taste for music, art, math, physics, history, classical languages, calligraphy, philosophy, religion, spiritually, and lest we forget to add, zests of competition.

         It was a river, then a 400-meter track, then near death experiences on a road and then the Amazon following something . . . something.  Obviously, Gabe’s addicted to danger.  What else could it be?  That’s why the road he usually chooses to take is neither straight forward nor mainstream.  It’s never the obvious, comfortable one.  It’s usually coiled and venomous, hissing in my maternal mind, like a rattlesnake.

          With each sentence I write it feels as if I’m getting closer to really seeing my boy, but when I stare across the table, he slips away, white jasmine fading in the Mendocino mist.  And I wonder, is it even possible to put a gauge on the “mercurial miler,” Gabe Jennings?  Because I’ll be the first to admit; I’ve been swept away by Gabe’s charismatic reflections, his music, and courageous resilience.  I rationalize his seemingly irrational actions and find justification for his commitments whether they be broken, kept whole, or redesigned.  Yes, and when I watch Gabe race, I experience a kind of transcendence.  It’s inconceivable for me not to honor his journey when he’s been so instrumental in teaching me how to honor my own. 

            But what about the “real” training for world class competition?  How can Gabe possibly be ready in time for next year’s Olympics?  What about his Nike contract, for Pete’s sake?  So many voices.  So many roads from which to choose.  Well, what can I say?  I’m his mother.  There is only one Gabe Jennings.  I doubt the world could handle two. 

            I’m alive!  Alive and on fire!

           We all have our dances to dance.  Hell, let’s race!  This one is mine.  Perhaps someday Gabe will tell his story from his own perspective  - whenever he chooses to slow down for a stretch - which could be around the next bend in the road, over that weather-whipped mountain, or out beyond some fleeting  “shooter” of a star.

Suzanne Jennings lives on the Mendocino Coast, teaches, writes and is chief-of-pretty-much-everything for her son, Gabe, during his run for the Olympics.

     Back to Contents                                    <Back                                                       Page  1  2