Alone above a raging sea.

Melancholy intrudes. What happens when dad comes home and starts dinner and the children all move to their personal spaces in the house and he is left alone to drink beer and listen to all those songs from his adolescence while cooking?

The music did not move me to this mood, I was like this and that drew me to the music. But it was not helpful.

I should be glad, good news is all around. Issue 8 passed and I don't know what would have happened if it had not but it wouldn't have been good. Levies passed, democracy was given another chance (well, Issue 2 doesn't help that department but no one realizes that yet) and the work continues.

Reading great Christmas stories written by Cleveland school kids. Visiting our young actors in schools and enjoying their great work and company. One play is going up this weekend, another is entering the design phase. Today was bright and sunny.

So what gives? No idea. Recently however I have become overwhelmingly preoccupied with the fact that in spite of best intentions I inevitably break everything nice I come into contact with.

A couple of days ago I was in the attic, rooting around in some old papers, and found what was supposed to be an amusing, romantic short story, something I had written over twenty years ago.

It was the saddest thing I ever read.

Distance: 3.4 miles
Avg Pace: 8:13
Route: Boulevard Loop

So, anyway, a run sounded like a good idea. And it felt good, it did, the running. Just not sure what action to take next.

Going to rain tomorrow. Perhaps the last summer day ever.

Temperature: 64°
Climate: warm, humid
Weight: 159.5 lbs.
Mood: not good

Oh, here's a thing. Chris at work reminded me last night that registration for the Turkey Trot would increase today, so I signed up. So that is a good and positive thing.

What's That Lyric?
Just Like Heaven - The Cure

The fear is falling away.

Many years ago I asked for something, a solo trip to Chicago. The wife was pursing her Masters at Goddard College, and I had had a few solo weeks with the children (aged 4 and 2) and wanted some time on my own in the summer, before residency rehearsals began.

The Lakeview Cemetery
Photographs from Cleveland's Historic Landmark
By Barney Taxel

I took one bag and caught a bus to the rapid to work, and then the rapid to the airport. I took a plane to my destination, and another train to the neighborhood where I would be staying. Never drove, never took a taxi. I was proud of that. It's not like me to be out there without a car, not alone.

Today I walked my son to the bus, and walked from there to the Little Italy RTA stop. Perhaps more of a walk than I was prepared for, it really did take about an hour, which surprised me. Then the train downtown.

Throughout the day my right thigh, which had been a little pained that morning, started feeling more and more uncomfortable. That has since died down. The only thing I can compare it to is the meralgia parasthetica I occasionally suffer from, though it feels quite different.

End of the day I took the rapid to the airport, It is at times like these that I notice the solitude, even in crowded settings. How long I go without speaking to anyone, or communicating in any fashion. It can feel calming, not to have anyone to speak to. It can be melancholy.

Trying to find a place to be, or at least a satisfying place to wander before my flight, I came across an exhibit of beautiful photographs of Lakeview Cemetery, taken by Barney Taxel. You can find them between concourse A & B at Cleveland Hokpins. I have spent many runs this year, since the summer, training for this race by taking turns through the cemetery. It felt auspicious to linger over these images on my way to the starting line.

My loving wife with a great deal of forethought had gotten us rewards credit cards, and so I was able to make the trip with frequent flyer miles. And as long as these are imaginary dollars we don't really have that we are playing with, why not go first class? This was new to me. Having so much leg room will be particularly helpful on the way home, when who knows what shape I will be in.

However, what truly got me was the convenience of not having to pay for drinks, of receiving drinks on the ground before we took off - and another in the air - and that these drinks were served in glass.

Not just the alcohol. Water ... in a glass. I felt like a person.

Brothers at O'Gara's

The book I have brought with me is Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Within the first few pages I feared I had made a terrible mistake, due to the subject matter. Adolescence has swept through on our home, sweeping personal items clear of every surface and crashing furniture through walls and I could go on with Hulk Smash devastation metaphor point being this tale of tragedy that befalls a suburban family might not be a good fit for someone in my mental state at the moment.

By the time I had finally arrived in Saint Paul, I'd read half of it. It's really good.

Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 40:43
Avg Pace: 8:11
Route: Summit Avenue to the Mississippi

Temperature: 63°
Climate: idyllic
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: yes

Beautiful fall day in St. Paul, clear and cool and bright. Took a run down the wide, grassy median of Summit Avenue, because people do that. It's a path, and an uneven one, but it's more fun than the sidewalks. Also more dangerous, wen it comes time to cross side streets and not at the crosswalk. But people do. I did.

Today we went to the Expo. More on today tomorrow.

What's That Lyric?
Jump In The Pool - Friendly Fires

Come on over, we're having a party for you.

Young man, old man.

We approach the end. The end of an eventful summer, the end of a two-week long journey. Two weeks ago we were preparing to depart, I was in the office that day. Since we have been to Canada and spent copious time in Maine.

But Michele and her family have gone and the house seems vacant, just the four of us an my folks. Seriously quiet. We took the day on Tuesday to head to Rockland, a first for the kids, actually. Maine to them has always been about staying in and running about the cove. A day trip for movies in an old movie house, window shopping, egg creams and art museums, these big kid things to do. It is a different world.

Distance: 8 miles
Duration: 1: 12:13
Avg Pace: 9:01
Route: Rt. 220 and Martin Point

Melancholy, final run in Friendship for the season. And it's much, much cooler today. Thanks for that, like I didn't know the summer is drawing to a close.

Yesterday was my father's 80th birthday. We had wine hour here at the Barnstable and the entire cove showed up. It was a real party. 

Yes, a melancholy run. Just couldn't build up any speed, I was highly aware of each and every hill. But the sun started to shine the minute I stepped out and the temperature rose. Up Rt. 220 past the cemetery, then back on Martin's Point for a complete eight miles headed back into Flood's Cove.

Who knows. Maybe I will attempt Saturday's four mile run tomorrow before we leave. And then there's Boston.

Temperature: 55° - 63°
Climate: cool and clear
Intake: yogurt & granola
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: no
Stretches: yes

Summer 2015. Greek yogurt, marathon training and Huarache Lights.

What's That Lyric?
Psychic City - Yacht