It seems my weaknesses just keep going strong.

Hey! Me, too!

We settle in. We relax. Long mornings on the deck. No rush. A day can last a long time, if you use it well. Or don't use it at all. The cousins visit, we stay right where we are. We drink, a lot. It's cool.

Distance: 3.5 miles

Duration: 32:29
Pace: 9:17

Monday we planned a brief excursion to Damariscotta, it took the day. That's how we roll, out by ten, or ten-thirty, back around three-thirty, then a nap. We did discover a new favorite spot, King Eider's Pub, so that's news. Our old favorite place there, the one with the Bigfoot iconography, that's under new management. Alas.

The evening spent drinking and reading. Oh, and we visited the library. All good.

Except our other child had their flight bumped two days because of air quality. That's life in the 21st century. Not happy about that. 

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 65°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: good?

Summer Hits of the 80s*

Working for the Weekend - Loverboy

Head Over Heels - The Go-Go's

The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

Don't You Want Me - Human League

Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves

Toy Soldiers - Martika

Faith - George Michael

Addicted to Love  - Robert Palmer ft. Eric "E.T." Thorngren

I didn't make this playlist. Most of these are not summer hits. No, they are not. I will do better next time.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

I'm chill like that.

Pretty epic.

Here's the thing about my last run, or my last two runs. They were slogs. Often, I am feeling down but when I hit the road I feel great. It's kind of why I do this.

The last two runs, especially on Monday, and in spite of the lighter weather, it took effort to lift my feet. And then on Tuesday I just tapped out at work. I almost passed out, twice, I think. Not feeling well. No pain, no temperature, just malaise, dizziness, exhaustion. I slept thirteen hours on Tuesday night.

Distance: 3.5 miles

Duration: 32:19
Pace: 9:13

The consistency, it has been a gift. Sometimes you need time off. We have been driving to Maine, getting in and out of a car has been arduous. Just sitting down. Just walking. Sitting down is actually more difficult that standing up. I need to see a doctor. 

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 67°
Climate: light fluffy clouds & breezy
Mood: good

90s Summer Hip-Hop

Fantastic Voyage - Coolio

Hip Hop Hooray - Naughty By Nature

Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) - Digable Planets

They Reminisce Over You - Pete Rock & C.L Smooth

Full Clip - Gang Starr

Slam - Onyx

Award Tour - Tribe Called Quest ft. Trugoy the Dove

Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

And now, we are on vacation. We are in Maine. I did not know if she would be with me, but she is. Beside me, holding hands, reading, drinking, writing, loving. It was a difficult drive (my leg, the weariness) but here we are. Currently at peace. 

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Feeding the rhythm.

Did it, though?

Forty years ago, we were playing at being adult. What does it do to one's immature psyche to be made to believe that just graduating high school is the most monumental thing you have ever accomplished, and that you are an adult and now you need to do adult things? Which is to say, nothing at all. To not have to think about school. To go out, to dance, to have sex.

Not to work, to learn adult skills like cooking, cleaning, accounting. Or how to properly care about other people, to care about anyone but yourself.

I was so in love. I felt freer than I ever had or ever would again. I was lost in the stars.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:50
Pace: 9:37

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 70°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: all right

Summer 1986 Mixtape

Sledgehammer (Dance Mix) - Peter Gabriel

The Lady in Red - Chris de Burgh

Danger Zone * - Kenny Loggins

Take My Breath Away * - Berlin

Venus - Bananarama

Howard the Duck - Leah Thompson & Dolby's Cube

Boys Don't Cry (86 Vocal Mix) - The Cure

Not actually a great year for music. Oh, well.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 170 lbs. (+5.0)

We indulged this weekend, it was a mania. Got high, saw lots of shows, drank lots of beer, ate lots of fried food. Yesterday, I had the chance to decompress. The wife and I watched Novelle Vague and Kansas City.

We have listened to the Kansas City soundtrack for thirty years, but never seen the film. The soundtrack is better. One thread of the narrative is a young person, a teenager, who has taken the train from Joplin to Kansas City to go to a maternity hospital. They don't spell it out in great detail, but it is made evident that there are many maternity hospitals in Kansas City, and that young women and girls come from all around to give birth there, for adoption.

What if I had seen that film thirty years ago? Would I have made the connection? Would it have made a difference to my father? 

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

I paid for the beer, man.

Still in the Seventies. Last weekend, our elder child humored me, they let me show them Dazed & Confused, Richard Linklater's second motion picture. Released in 1993, it takes place on the last day of school in 1976, in a small town in Texas.

I told my kid that it's not like other "teen movies" though watching it for the first time in decades, I'm not sure they would agree. It's not zany like some of John Hughes' movies, but it does dwell a great deal on the rude behavior of teenagers and some of it must seem downright psychotic.

Don't care. Love Linklater, love this movie. And it was the first great step into the 1970s revival of the 1990s. We'd spent the 80s loudly mocking the fashion and music of the Me Decade, and then we were handed this gem of a soundtrack. 

And the 90s truly began.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:08
Pace: 9:04

Dazed & Confused (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer

Slow Ride - Foghat

School's Out - Alice Cooper

Jim Dandy - Black Oak Arkansas

Tush - ZZ Top

Cherry Bomb - The Runaways

Fox On the Run - Sweet

Low Rider - War

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 78°
Climate: light clouds and hot
Mood: spirited

The run was great, felt great, not terribly hot. No pain. And yet, my continued exercise is certain exacerbating my sciatica. Also, both knees hurt, and sometimes a lot. I've been seeing many shows at BorderLight this weekend, the plastic chairs are not helping.

Maybe I should take a day off. Today was not that day.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

It's you and me. Forever.

A respite, of sorts. I do not know how long. Mornings spent talking, loving. We drink our coffee black now. I used to drink coffee black, until I met her. She taught me cream and sugar. And then only cream. We change. Coffee is a blessing. I mean, it is the result of conquest, so I probably shouldn't call it a blessing. But I am grateful for the drink.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:45
Pace: 9:35

Still a band of pain around my right calf, and when I sit or stand it can be a minor ordeal. Some days. Other days no problem. The wife thinks I should see a doctor, and she is correct.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: (Spirit of) 76°
Climate: sunny & clear
Mood: grateful

Bicentennial Top 10

Silly Love Songs - Wings

Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band

Kiss and Say Goodbye - The Manhattans

Get Up and Boogie - Silver Connection

I'll Be Good to You - Brothers Johnson

Sara Smile - Hall & Oates

More, More, More Pt. 1 - Andrea True Connection

Misty Blue - Dorothy Moore

I made this playlist last month, expecting to use it on Independence Day, but forgot about it. I probably wouldn't have played it then, anyway. These are songs from Casey Kasem's Weekly Top 40 on July 4, 1976.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-2.0)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you.

Homecoming. For now.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 31:26
Pace: 9:40

Music From the Big Love (1994-2024)

For Your Lover Give Some Time - Original company of "Standing at the Sky's Edge"

How Far I'll Go - Auli'l Cravalho

Crosseyed and Painless - Angelique Kidjo

Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show

Missing (Little Joey Remix) - Everything But the Girl 

The Luckiest - Ben Fold Five

Tightrope - Janelle Monae

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: partly cloudy
Mood: hopeful

• London (2024)
• Cleveland (2023)
• Cleveland (1996)
• Cleveland Heights (2022)

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 167 lbs. (+2.0)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Update: 3:00 PM, flashing in my eye, not sure which, started as small arc before expanding into a large "c" shape and then disappearing without my noticing it had gone.

Nobody said it was easy. Nobody ever said it would be so hard.

It has been nearly a week. I want this to end.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:21
Pace: 9:28
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: cloudy, clearing
Mood: sad

Music From the Big Love (1994-2024)

The Scientist - Coldplay

Calling All the Monsters - China Anne McClain

Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand

Make Me Feel - Janelle Monae

Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song - Jarvis Cocker

Shenandoah - Rufus Wainwright

All Night Long - Peter Murphy

A Tale - Cirque du Soleil

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

• Cleveland Heights (2023)
• Cleveland (2000)
• Orlando (2000)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

I don't want to feel like we're apart a thousand miles.

I love to make her laugh. I love to hear it.

Distance: 5.9 miles

Duration: 55:01
Pace: 9:19

Music From the Big Love (1994-2024)

Before Today (Adam F Remix) * - Everything But the Girl

No Tomorrow - Orson

Fare Thee Well (Dunk's Song) * - Oscar Isaac & Marcus Mumford

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark - Fall Out Boy

Hell You Talmbout - David Byrne

Life in Quarantine - Benjamin Gibbard

Rehbab  - "Glee" cast

Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae

Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash

Chaise Longue * - Wet Leg

Wait for It - Leslie Odom Jr.

Flathead - The Fratellis

Run On - Elvis Presley

Honeymoon Suite - Suzanne Vega

Magical Trevor - Mr Weebl

Winnie the Parakeet - Sherry Crane

What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus

Route: Forest Hill-Cain Park Loop
Temperature: 81°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: not great

• Cleveland (1996)
• Cleveland (2018)
• New York City (2016)
• Memphis (2000)

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

Remember me to one who lives there.

July 2, 2006: Four our seventh anniversary (wool) my wife got me five albums that had the word "wool" in them, either the artist or album title. She got me the "TOCA Race Driver 3: Official Soundtrack" It's the soundtrack to a video game, composed by Plastic Man & the Wool One. Pretty sweet.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:58
Pace: 9:39

Music From the Big Love (1994-2024)

Bandits (Live) - Josh Ritter

Doctor Who Theme (2005) - Murray Gold

Old Town Road - Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus

Wise Up - Aimee Mann

Girl From the North Country - Rachel Stern & Company 

Devil Doll - Roy Orbison

Hips Don't Lie - Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean

Dead Sea - Lumineers

This Land is Your Land - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Brimful of Asha - Cornershop

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 81°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: coping

• Tucson (2023)
• Clearwater (2000)
• Memphis (2000)
• Chicago (2017)

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

Pain on the top of my right foot, around my right calf, in my right glute. All down my right leg.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes