Me, posturing with my comment, trying to seem smart on a smart person’s blog: The detritus from abandoned blogs and terminated online relationships makes my last 12 years hard to revisit. I felt like some of those bloggers were among my best friends until one day they disappeared for good. I often think about looking … Continue reading Loss
Running
The Winter of my Discontent
Image from The Day the Earth Stood Still (not the Outer Limits) Despite the similarity of titles, this isn’t about Steinbeck’s novel. In fact I’ve never read The Winter of Our Discontent, and I can’t read it now because I'm slogging through the midpoint doldrums of Fairy Tale, a recent Stephen King publication, a six-hundred-page … Continue reading The Winter of my Discontent
The Sweet Scent of Decay
It started as a running blog. I named it Running, Writing, Other Stuff. Sure, sometimes I wrote about other stuff, but the emphasis was running. Five of my first eight posts focused exclusively on running. It morphed quickly, though. There’s only so much you can write about running, or maybe I should say there’s only … Continue reading The Sweet Scent of Decay
When decorations get disturbing
Susan walked in our house last night, pissed. “That house around the corner with all the body bags in their Halloween graveyard now has a girl hanging from a tree. Hanging! Like a suicide or a lynching.” “Maybe they're going for a gallows scene?” I tried to lighten the conversation. God, she was pissed. Running … Continue reading When decorations get disturbing
Legs
I have attractive legs. No really, I do. I’ve heard it all my life. Hey, nice legs! In high school, twiggy and immature, maybe I wasn't a loser, I had friends after all, but I needed binoculars to even see the popular crowd. I stayed after school one afternoon to run stairs. That’s not as … Continue reading Legs
I don’t love yoga
I love to run. My feet gently tread the roadway or the trail. My relaxed gait allows me to absorb the scenery, focus on breath, and wander my brain. Running, every time, instills a sense of peace. I love to ride my mountain bike, primarily on the road, too many crashes in the woods last … Continue reading I don’t love yoga
Jellybeans
On Thursday morning, a swollen inter-department mailer sat in my mailbox at work. Are you familiar with these? It’s an envelope, ten by thirteen inches, brownish-gold, the color of dehydrated urine. You seal it by twisting a string around a fastener. It’s not for stamped postal mail, my name is simply scrawled on the envelope … Continue reading Jellybeans
Did it count?
Killed it! Nailed it! Crushed it! Do any violence you want to it, but people gotta notice. If no one sees, did it really happen? Yes, this is very much like that tumbling tree in the woods… There’s a saying in my house when someone finishes a run or a bike ride. “Did it count?” … Continue reading Did it count?
Stuck
When I tumbled off my mountain bike two months ago, I knew immediately that I damaged my shoulder. Crumpled on the ground, the sensible side of my brain took over: Get up, get riding. Most people who grew up playing sports know that after a significant muscle strain or joint injury, there is often a … Continue reading Stuck
Traumatized?
C.J. poked me today. Mr Cann, just checking in to see if you’re fine? Feel I’m going to worry that something random and terrible has happened any time there isn’t a blog post often enough! No kidding. She’s not the only one. Last Wednesday, I went to a spin class at the Y. As I … Continue reading Traumatized?
Antisocial Distance
I find myself backing up, stepping away. I want to say too close or give me some space. I want to grab a mask. The mask mandate at work lifted when the CDC told us to relax a few weeks ago. The pandemic ended, at least for the vaxxed. That first week, nothing changed for … Continue reading Antisocial Distance
80/20
Something weird happened. After work this evening I went for a run. That’s not the weird part, I do that all the time. Eli and I are taking a longish bike ride tomorrow so I wanted to save my legs—my run was really a slow jog. That’s not weird either. I recently started following the … Continue reading 80/20
Providence
Do your ever wonder “So what happened next?” I would. My blog is full of cliff-hangers. I write pondering posts questioning whether I should take some action in my life. Some are written just as I take on a new and positive activity. At the crest of a life-change. And then I never mention it … Continue reading Providence
Kathleen Hale is a Crazy Stalker
I’m on a nonfiction kick. Two books in a row, for me that’s a kick. I probably read one nonfiction book about every eighteen months, so this kick of mine is notable. One weekend a few months ago, two books caught my attention: The Rise of the Ultra Runners by Adharanand Finn and Kathleen Hale … Continue reading Kathleen Hale is a Crazy Stalker
Embracing Asphalt
I’m particular. Snobby. High maintenance. Precious. At least when it comes to running. I only run trails. That’s my mantra, my line in the sand. Trails offer solitude, beauty, diverse foot strikes over roots and rocks, tricky stream crossings and steep hills both up and down. Trails are for runners. Roads are for cars, for … Continue reading Embracing Asphalt
BADASS (the book)
Does anyone wonder where I’ve been? Am I being self-aggrandizing to think that anyone cares when I write a blog post? That people might notice when I’m not commenting on their blog? When I go missing for what, two weeks? I just passed my five-year anniversary as a blogger. If you’re astute, you might look … Continue reading BADASS (the book)
Arc of an Athlete
My thirteen-year study: the effects of age on an athlete’s performance. I’ve recently expanded my use of the term athlete. There was a time I would only use it to describe an elite crowd. The professionals, the college stand-outs, the runners who win races but still need a day job because running doesn’t pay the bills. These … Continue reading Arc of an Athlete
Vonnegut
“Any man who cannot support himself by doing a job better than a machine is employed by the government.” This is a bit of dialogue from Kurt Vonnegut’s first novel, Player Piano—his sardonic, dystopian view of a socialist future society. The future: circa 1960 because Player Piano was published in 1952. This quote has nothing … Continue reading Vonnegut
Going for a run
One o’clock in the afternoon. I’m heading home from the office. I’m working part time at a local company. It’s a great set-up for me. It’s right in my town, a mile from home, and the organization’s mission is right up my alley. It’s a domestic violence and sexual assault non-profit. We advocate against... we … Continue reading Going for a run
Those things I haven’t done
Two and a half months ago, I started a new job. And then, the pace of my life picked up. Longer hours, more distractions, coming home exhausted, spent. Five weeks ago, my kids went back to school, and my life-pace picked up again. Mornings were shot—the primary focus became getting the kids on the bus. … Continue reading Those things I haven’t done
The Other Stuff 