Friday, November 28, 2014

Have a Ball

May your weekend be shiny and bright!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

O'Hare International Airport
November 2014

Monday, November 24, 2014

Musings

The phrase on repeat in my head is that sometimes you have to let something go in order to pick something else up.  The door opening and closing as some say.

I've been reading quite a bit more but writing a bit less here.  Instead, I've found myself penning postcards like mad with a bit of poetry sprinkled like a Southern seasoning here and there in pinches or handfuls, depending on the day.

I'm grateful this week for stamps, safe journeys, family visits, books, and songs that still make you pause, standing still in a public place.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Rainy Days and Sundays

It was a cold, rainy Sunday.  After another week of travel, this weather was perfect for tea drinking, napping, reading and/or watching movies.  Hope you stayed warm and a had a great weekend.

As a reminder, our next book up for discussion is The Newspaper Boy by Chervis Isom.  

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Now You Sea Me

I'm working my way to the end of Seabiscuit and will be a little sad to let him go.  It's been an interesting look at the sport and to continue put a bit more context around the 1930s.  My next read will bring me a little closer to the present day with Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder.  This was a title suggested recently by a colleague after talking about The Boys in the Boat.  The lead character is an engineer. And there's buried treasure.  Sounds like a fun combination.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Turnaround...

Nostalgia sometimes rolls in like the first dark evening after the time change.  Despite the fact that you had felt it coming for weeks, it still catches you off guard the first time you leave work and it's there.

Today I ran with headphones outdoors for the first time in years.  The city has a fairly strict "no headphones" rule so I've learned to run in the rhythm of footfalls, nature, and mind chatter.  My route was a path surrounded by trees with changing, falling leaves, near a small creek.  It was a mostly yellow rain.

With the musical accompaniment, I remembered the first time I ran for twenty minutes non-stop; I had been on a similar trail.  I could recall when every song was added to the iPod (and to which playlist) and I got a little verklempt at Five for Fighting.  (Don't judge).

I ran by the semi-circle turnaround for the half marathon (which was held earlier this morning) remembering the only time I ran the race was alongside one of the best work friends I've ever had.  At that mile marker, we sang Bonnie Tyler and made airplane arms. I remembered our last runs, his relentless cheering at my first triathlon  swim, and the Monday morning I spoke to his wife when she told me he was gone.

Today I let myself run into the feelings and not away.  On my way back, a gentleman commented on four strangers side by side for one brief moment on the trail.  Someone said "serendipity" and we all kept moving forward, each in our way.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Horsing Around

Sticking with the same era, I've moved to Seabiscuit:  An America Legend by Laura Hillenbrand.  With apologies to both horses, trainers and the state of Kentucky, I've realized that prior to this book, I had confused some of the accomplishments of Secretariat with Seabiscuit.  (As you may have guessed, other than the Triple Crown races, I have not had a lot of exposure to racing.)  It's fun to read another novel from the same time period with historical context but the sport hasn't pulled me in like crew.  Tom Smith, the trainer, has been my favorite character.  His style reminds me a bit of Ulbrickson (UW coach) as shared by Daniel James Brown.  Men of few words, skilled in their crafts, nontraditional and a little grumpy.  I'm looking forward to the final races of the book.