Try your Damnedest
No one really “wins” the game of life. We all start out with grand notions. A few of us realize these notions; Most of us don’t. (Reality has a habit of seeing to that.) Then, eventually, we all cross the finish line and, no
Continue Reading | Add CommentUp is Mandatory! A Father/Daughter Hike in the Grand Canyon
Five or six million years ago, the Colorado River started digging a gorge in a 270-mile stretch of what would eventually be known as northern Arizona. As the gorge grew, it carved through 1.7 billion years of rock. Countless trib
Continue Reading | Add CommentMen Backpacking in Kilts
It took fifty-one years, but I finally got a tattoo. My inner left bicep now reads, “Sed omnia praeclara tam difficilia, quam rara sunt.” It’s the last line of the book Ethica by a 17th century philosopher named Baruch Spino
Continue Reading | Add CommentJust Shut Up and Camp: Our Hike up Mount Wilson
Marilyne and I have been hiking our way through the Pandemic with a small group of friends. Every other Sunday, we pick a new destination, and show up in separate cars, and keep our distance during the hike—although we do all mo
Continue Reading | Add CommentThe Mouth Behind the Mask
Last month I ran my second fake COVID-19 marathon, a self-flagellation ritual meant to keep me semi-sane as I wait out the pandemic. My first fake marathon happened last October. I ran along the beach from Torrance to Marina Del R
Continue Reading | Add CommentTrue North: Running Route Planning for Neurotics
My German friend Patrick wants to do the Los Angeles Marathon this year on the 21st of March. Unfortunately, the race has been rescheduled to a more vaccine-optimistic TBD date in the fall. They also changed the route, removing t
Continue Reading | Add CommentThe Stupid Call to Adventure
Last Monday, I awoke to rain outside my window and a voice inside my head. Both beckoned me to do something stupid that day. They didn’t care what I did, as long as it left a mark. Fatigue suggested otherwise, so I shuffled to t
Continue Reading | Add CommentIs It Safe? Five Steps for Running a Marathon, Man
I ran my first marathon last Friday. Yay! Luckily, I didn’t follow in the footsteps of the first guy to try it, a Greek soldier named Pheidippes whom, word has it, died shortly after crossing the finish line. But still, runni
Continue Reading | Add CommentShe’s Going Down!
COVID-19 played only a minor role in my new running habit. The real catalyst was my dysfunctional competition complex. When I train with others, my outsized desire to crush everyone in my vicinity is matched only by my limited abi
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