Running Commentary

I call this image "Circle Shadow." The blob in the lower left corner is the shadow of my running shoe, which I had set on the edge of the glass table outside, on the patio. I snapped this not because it looked like a deep and insightful metaphor--I snapped this merely because it caught my eye. I liked it; here it is. For those of you who were paying attention for a brief period yesterday evening, you my have seen a "Day 15" in this space at that time. I can't guarantee you're not crazy, but at least you're not crazy if you think that this is not the "Day 15" you saw here. That post was an attempt to humanize myself--to "out" my flawed self, if you will. (As if I don't do that every time I post.) I had found a book of poems I wrote when I was going through my divorce in the late 70's. It wasn't a good poem, actually, but it resonated with me because it took me right back to those days of visceral trauma. I was get...

Summer feels like it's already a-comin' in. Even though I recently accepted a freelance project (work!), the warm days and blue skies have me feeling like I'm retired enough that I can stretch lazily and then plunk myself into a patio chair and enjoy the absence of cold. One activity I've been working at for months--years--is the cussed puzzle known as Sudoku. Ta-da!  This morning I finished the first 3-star puzzle I've ever done without either quitting in the middle or peeking at the solution. My brain feels so agile that I now believe I'm safe from ever succumbing to Alzheimer's. I know, dream on. Note to Pierre: It seems we've lost touch since our days at the ad agency, but if you ever see this, please know that you are the one that inspired me to persevere in this thankless pastime. It's been and still is a long road; I won't feel I can happily quit until I do a flawless 5-star. Moving right along here--. May is the time when little kids ...

Lucky day thirteen, even though it should be day fifteen. Better a late day than no day, right? This has also been a busy day. Wasted almost an hour of it with a First-World Problem: One of the main drags in West Sac has a live railroad crossing mere yards from an Interstate on/off ramp. Traffic in this area gets brisk around 4 p.m., so naturally (?) I thought 4:30 would be a good time to go out and back in a quick trip to the post office. Why yes, at the train crossing there was one slow caravan of evil-looking black tank cars holding things up when I when I went, and another evil-looking one going the other way and holding things up when I came back. For today I'm taking a holiday from any substantive thinking. No, my observations about evil-looking tank cars do not constitute substantive thinking. Thank you.  I am offering instead some random photos from about a year ago. (Sometimes I think the only reason I blog is that it gives me a chance to pore over my million phot...

Okay, okay. So this should be Day 13. I missed yesterday--so sue me. I have no credible excuse.  All I can do today, because yesterday ain't coming back, is to face forward. Besides: Hooray, hooray! It's the first of May! I was a slug yesterday, but not today. This morning I ran / walked over to the gym to meet with my fabulous trainer, Jim. One thing (although not the only thing) that makes Jim fabulous is that he is a strong, agile eighty-year-old. He's a compact, wiry guy who is stronger than you'd ever believe. Trust me, he could bench press Arnold Schwarzenegger  with ease if he were so inclined (and if Arnold would let him). I had a good session--a nice mix of core, balance, and upper-body stuff .  Afterward, I walked down the hall and into the spin-bike room. It was blessedly dim and quiet--not a single meaty gym rat to be seen. I spun for five minutes, just to see how it felt because the last hour-long spin class I did left me with a slightly gim...