Love Without A Map

“Sounds like a country song” she said. ” And I’ll write the lyrics which I just happen to have here in my quick and shifty imagination.”

He protested, “No, really, it’s more serious than that”

“More serious than a country song?”

” It’s a phrase that got stuck in my head and I don’t know what to do with it.  Is it a song, a short story, a novel, a poem, a movie or just a throw away line?”

” Let’s work on it together.  I think it should be a work of serious fiction with us as the  characters. We can be thinly or otherwise veiled.”

He thought for a few seconds, smiled and said,” What key should it be in?”

( To be continued)

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Sun Showers

Tags

rain, Running, sun showers

Got caught in a lengthy sun shower this afternoon whilst on the roads.

Started with a humid, sunny sky, miles 2 through 5 were in a downpour and finished with the sun re-appearing and steam rising from the pavement.

I could have stopped and turned around when the rain started but I was already well onto the outbound loop so I pushed on.  Made the turn, headed home and the sun returned warming up me and the asphalt too.

I love to run.

Less Is More

Tags

Running, runs, shorts

The longer the runs get the shorter the shorts get.

Oh Get A Grip

My usual airline of choice for business and pleasure travel is being merged, taken over, swallowed and crushed by another airline company his summer.

I liked the guys I flew with and did not especially go out of my way to travel on the other airline.  In fact, I was so fond of my usual airplane company that a couple of years ago I got one of their credit cards.  See, it has a picture of an airplane on it so it must be authentic.

Now the merger, the synergy is in progress and that can only mean bad things for me, the flying public.  I have been welcomed with open arms to the ” New ” airline company and that includes my frequent flyer miles and my credit card.

I receive a cheerful email at least every three or four days telling me how great life is gonna be once the two airlines become one.  As I said that includes me, my credit card and my miles.

As part of the transition, I know I’m taking a long time to get to the punchline but I think the build up may just be worth it.

As part of the transition to where the sun shines every day, it never rains, planes are always on time and flying is actually not a despicable chore anymore I got a new credit card from the new airline.

OK, cut to the chase.  Today’s happy mail tells me that I can earn a gazillion miles just by taking three, 3, count ’em, three roundtrip flights to Europe. Show of hands please how many of you were planning to take three trips to the continent this summer.  I’ll forward you the message.

As luck would have it I was planning NO roundtrip flights to Europe this summer.  They must have me confused with someone who A – has money, B – has time for three transatlantic trips and C – someone who who thinks the airline merger is a good idea because as we all know large corporate mergers never work out for little guys like us.

In any case I have resisted asking to be taken off the ” Ain’t We Great” email list because those little rays of electronic sunshine are fairly amusing given their lack of grip on any reality including mine.

I am planning a car trip to West Virginia this summer – does that count?

He Ain’t With the Band No More

Tags

gigs, roadies, stories

Worked today at a local venue.  Met a stagehand fella maybe named Ed.  He said – call me Lumpy.  Actually, I don’t recall what his real name is but he answers to Lumpy.  Lumpy it is.

Which reminds me of a story… The thing about being a stagehand for umpteen years and working umpteen plus load ins, load outs and gigs is that you tend to collect a lot of stories.  I got loads of stories.

One time we were loading in a band at a local roadhouse and decided to get ahead of the game before the busses and trucks pulled up by setting the stage according to their rider.  The rider included the stage plot which means where they wanted the  drum riser, the bass and keyboard risers and the guitar risers placed.

So we set everything up according to their floor plan.  The roadies arrives with the band gear and one fella says to me ” What’s this riser for?”

I say, it’s on the plot.  The roadie says and I quote because I couldn’t make this up and it’s priceless.

He says,…” Oh, he ain’t with the band no more. He’s daid.”

He might be daid but on the rider his memory lives on.  I hope they never update the rider.

In The Weeds

Tags

weeds

I came to the conclusion while weeding this afternoon that after almost thirty some years as a homeowner I would make peace with the weeds that populate my garden and flower beds.

I decided I can live with a certain amount of things growing that I did not plant.  Mostly, I think I’m just tired of trying to eradicate every little thing that is not an ornamental flower.

I drew a line in the yard – the weeds get to live happily ever after over there and any of them who cross the line get yanked.  I think it’s an enlightened live and let live attitude and I’m glad I finally figured it out.

See You in November

Tags

Philadelphia Marathon, Running, summer, training

See you when the summers’ through…A song perhaps…?

So for all the whining and complaining about last winter it seems that the summer of 2015 has arrived a good five weeks early.  Which means that my marathon training is already proceeding ahead of schedule leaving me plenty of recovery time for the inevitable aches, pains and unexpected injuries.

Here’s my unscientific but personally proven marathon training schedule:

Get a calendar and circle Sunday, November 22nd which is the day of the Philadelphia Marathon.

Cross out two weeks prior to the 22nd as my last long run will be on Sunday, November 8th.

Work backwards from there – 20 miles on the 8th, a 19 mile run during the week of October 25, maybe 18 during the week of October 18, possibly 17 during the week of October 11 and so on and so on marching backwards through time to where Saturday, August 7th is scheduled to be a 6 mile run. I’m already at 6 miles.  I should be easily be running 10 milers by the middle of June.

Pick a date and add a mile a week until 20 miles and two weeks from the marathon coincide.

The math and the calendar dates work.  If this year is anything like years past I’ll probably top off at a 16 miler sometime during early November and that will be that.

It’s not like I’ll be undertrained, well, yes I probably will but after 9 marathons I know me.  I believe that experience and guile will help me navigate 26.2 miles. I also believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny but 26 miles in Philadelphia in November is like an old friend.

A belly full of bagels and bananas is my race day secret. Bananas and Powerbars at 6 and 13 miles are key.  After 13 it’s off to Manyunk (aka the Valley of Despair) and the turnaround at 20.  I plan to eat a pretty big meal the night before the marathon.  I don’t know but it works for me.

Most marathon training schedules assume that the sun shines every day, you don’t work, you never get sick or injured, your kids are perfectly behaved and self sufficient, the cat never throws up, and if you do work you can avoid working weekends and you like getting up at 5 am to run in August because it’s gonna be 97 degrees by noon.

August brings us a new pair of size 10 Saucony Rides from my local running store.

September has a number of half marathons around here so they pretty much fall right in place when I need to run 13 organized miles.  The week of November 15th is already designated as eat spaghetti every day week.

My goal is run through the summer and fall without getting injured.  Well, yeah, who’s isn’t?

Watch this space for periodic and humorous updates on how the summer running plays out.  Anyone else got big plans for the fall?

Playing Music in Public

Toddled around my lovely downtown this morning.  The weather was great, everyone was out and so were the street musicians.

I’m no expert on what sell musically but I do know this:

Singing your favorite Neil Young song about drug abuse or a murdered girlfriend on a sunny summer like Saturday morning pretty much ensures that your open guitar case will stay empty no matter how many times you salt it.

I read the crowd.  When I’m playing if I see an approaching couple about my age I’ll launch into a Beatles tune.  Older than me – then it’s Satin Doll, Take the A Train or Lady Be Good.

You gotta know the territory.

This Makes Me Crazy

Tags

shorts, summer

At one of the many places I work an edict came down not from on high but from somewhere in the labyrinths of middle management.

Much of the work I do is outdoors and physical in nature.  As summer approaches the weather continues to get warmer which is why this new rule makes no sense.  The rule is as follows:

No shorts.  It looks unprofessional.  Not a safety issue.  It just looks unprofessional.

This from a person who wears a skirt and sits behind a desk in an air conditioned office.