Evel Knievel, you got nothing on me.

Beautiful days, busy days, dizzy days. Teaching in West Geauga, interviewing candidates downtown, Wednesday I visited my elementary school in my old hometown. Surprised its lasted this long, I have been wanting to see inside of it before it inevitably disappears.

Elementary School Run (1974-1978)

New York Groove - Ace Frehley

Young Americans (178 BPM) - David Bowie

When the Whip Comes Down - The Rolling Stones

Neat Neat Neat - The Damned

Peg - Steely Dan

#9 Dream - John Lennon

Riding the Scree (162 BPM) - Genesis

Come Together (160 BPM)  - Ike & Tina Turner

Distance: 63°

Duration: 27:48
Pace: 8:57

So it happens, it will be torn down, and very soon. It's an old building -- not as old as I thought it was, it was built in 1947, but still. Almost eighty. Weird to think it was only twenty-seven years old when I started attending that school in 1974. But then, 1974 is also ancient history.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 63°
Climate: damp
Mood: tired

They held an open house on Wednesday, and I am glad I heard about it. It was awkward conversing with fellow classmates -- elementary school classmates -- several of whom I have not seen since we graduated forty years ago this spring. I just wanted to wander the halls. It was a bit too much.

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

That was where I embarrassed myself during the utensil walk. That was where I shat myself doing sit-ups. That's the room where they taught me how not to lisp. That was where I told Tracy she was chopped. Where I learned that Santa's crystal ball was fake. Where I wrote on the mirror with soap and got sent to the office and saw the paddle with nails in it. Where we held the disco.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

Five years, from age six to ten, is all of your life when you are ten, and I spent them in that building.

Move your feet (to the rhythm of love).

Le Hoodoo Gurus third album, Blow Your Cool! was a banger that arrived during spring quarter my freshman year at Ohio University.

It was a hot and sweaty season, we spent a great deal of time out of doors, throwing frisbee, drinking beer, and hanging brain. 

This one played on boomboxes in the quad, out the windows of our dorms, and on my Walkman headphones as I tried, tentatively, to develop a running routine around South Green. 

Party Machine is the closer every album should have.

Distance: 4 miles

Duration: 36:02
Pace: 8:47
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 67°
Climate: overcast & warm
Mood: good!

The summer of 1987 was the peak of New Psychedelia. The trend had started a couple years earlier, with Talking Heads' Little Creatures and Prince's Around the World in a Day. 

But in 1987 (the 20 year anniversary of the "Summer of Love") we received Sgt. Pepper's on compact disc, and the Grateful Dead scored their first and only number one single. The Monkees were on tour for the first time since the 1960s, XTC posing as the Dukes of Stratosphear dropped Psonic Psunspot, tie-dye made a huge comeback, and we got this album. 

Flip your wig. Blow your cool.

Blow Your Cool! - Hoodoo Gurus (1987)

Out That Door

What's My Scene (167 BPM)

Good Times

Hell for Leather

Where Nowhere Is (164 BPM)

In the Middle of the Land

Come On

On My Street

Party Machine

Bonus: Miss Freelove '69

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163 lbs. (-4.0)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Last night, I attended a high school alumni event, a bunch of us went to see The Outsiders. The show is pretty incredible, but I was even more delighted to see and catch up with fond old friends, and beloved educators.

It's been a Big Bay 80s week for me, I guess. Teaching at the middle school, visiting the beach (twice), this show, and these albums.

Hey. Only fools rush in and only time will tell if we stand the test of time.

This week has been challenging. A post-Mother's Day ball game was less-than pleasant because the air was just a bit too chilly (we did defeat the Angels, however.) 

Then on Tuesday, I played substitute at my old middle school (not the same building, but like ship of Theseus, it occupies the same space) and, I'm not getting into this, but agreeing to let my colleague run the class they way she preferred meant I was standing for the better part of five hours.  

I came home and took a two hour nap, which is not my custom, it's not something I can do, sleep for two hours in the afternoon. But I was exhausted. This morning, I woke exhausted, but needed to teach a day-long Romeo & Juliet workshop at my spouse's former place of employment.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:23
Pace: 8:49

I thought I would be destroyed, but it was a lovely day. My throat burns from two days of talking, and I did take a twenty minute nap after work, but you know? Sometimes I feel better after a run.

Even when it is cooler than I would desire

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 51°
Climate: overcast and breezy, nice
Mood: driven

Prom 1986

Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen

Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic Furs

Red Red Wine - UB40

If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

These Dreams - Heart

Your Love - The Outfield

Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes 

Don't You (Forget About Me) 12" Version - Simple Minds

We have this mini-class reunion happening on Friday, so I was in a mood.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 166 lbs.

Here we go. Can we bring it back. We've been enjoying a lot of high calorie leftovers. Also, cake.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

2019 Bay Days 5 Mile Run

Three years ago I said I would never run the Bay Village 5 Mile again. And yet, here we are.

We're in training, and looking for some races, so why not? I was tired of running a community race alone, but this time I brought some folks with me; Chris, Allie ... the girl was going to join us, but she pulled something during soccer conditioning yesterday, her coach told her not to work on it for the time being.

But she did some to cheer us on -- and so did Chennelle! They were waiting for us around mile four.

Allie ran her own race, but Chris and I stuck together. It was hot, from mid to upper seventies by the time we were through. There were a couple of walking stretches but we made it home feeling good.

After we all had breakfast at Bob Evans, which will remain the go-to post-Bay run breakfast spot until someone can tell me where I'm supposed to be going in that part of town, because I can't be bothered to find out.

45th Annual Bay Days Run
Start: 8:30 am
Official time: 48:34.47
Place in division: 13
Place overall: 205
Pace: 09:43

Previous Best: 36:16 (Bay Village 2013)

For the record, I did not go to the gym yesterday. I slept almost eight hours that night, and good for me. But I rose and though, yeah, I could use more of that, so I did. Besides, the girl needed to car to go to conditioning and I figured, why fight it? So I slept.

And good for me.

2016 Bay Days 5 Mile Run

Bay Days 2016
Big empty tent.

42nd Annual Bay Days Run
Start: 8:30 am
Official time: 35:28
Place in division: 4/35
Place overall: 99/526
Pace: 7:06

Previous Best: 36:16 (Bay Village 2013)

Rose at 6 AM, my last night alone for a long while, I hope. Breakfast, two fried eggs over toast. Brought a granola bar for the drive across town.

The time has come, I now know absolutely no one at this race. I do not recognize any of these people, not even the doughy, graying guys cheering us on from the sidewalks, the ones that are probably in their late 40s, they didn't go to school here, they moved here after making it, to raise kids, when Lakewood got too ethnic.

Decided not to use headphones this year, which I regretted almost instantly when the pack thinned out. I was just bored. But I wanted to run fast, so I did. I crushed it. And for my efforts achieved a personal best.

But dammit, I came in fourth in my division the last time I ran this race.

It was pleasantly overcast until the second mile when the clouds opened up and it got hot for a while. I was thirsty, this in spite of drinking a lot before the start. Both water stops almost choked me, because I tried not to slow down, at all.

By mile four I started feeling a little ill. Probably a hydration thing, maybe a running too fast thing. I wasn't keeping my own time, and there was only someone counting off pace at the first mile (7:22 at that point, not bad) so I just kept pressing on, and apparently getting faster.

We get fans.

Around the four and a half mark, I saw and heard Chelsea, Chennelle and Shaun on the sidewalk with a big sign reading, GO OFFICE DAD! (Dave's replacement kid squad).

Big, happy sigh. I am very grateful for supportive friends. We met up at the finish line, I choked down one of those electrolyte drinks (chocolate mint, sounds gross but much better than the fruit flavored ones) changed into some dry clothes and headed off to Bob Evans for breakfast.

On my way across town I stopped in at Mom's place. She'd been to the Lakewood parade and told me about that, and we just talked about everything we'd been up to, memories of the past, just the whole thing, just sitting out on her porch. No idea how long I was there, at least an hour. Very relaxing.

Dad ran the Bay Days Five Mile many times, and so I made a special effort to be there today. But I don't think I'll be running this race again. My favorite things are no longer there. They haven't been for a very long time. Perhaps they never were.

2013 Bay Days 5 Mile Run

39th Annual Bay Days Run
Start: 8:30 am
Official time: 36:16.4
Place in division: 4
Place overall: 120
Pace: 7:15

Clock set for 6 AM, I woke at 5 when the cats decided to have game of Chase the Shit Out of Each Other. The chase woke me, the surprising gash one of them left in my right calf as they tore across the bed got me up. It was raining, but who knows. I got my kit on, packed fresh clothes, and drove all the way across town to where it all began.

Well, not exactly where it all began, the course used to be much more interesting and shaded. Now it is predictable, with far too many turns, no hills, and just flat, flat, flat. For a brief moment prior to start the clouds opened and temperature jumped up about five degrees. Luckily, the clouds moved in again and it was merely very humid, but not bright.

Used to get so anxious prior to a race, having to pee several times, forcing a movement. But now, shoot. Five miles? That's just ordinary. Only the pack freaks me out.

I did feel a bit queasy by the fifth mile, pushing to make a personal best, which I believe I did. I can only find records for my 1980 and 2007 Bay Day runs, six years ago it was 37:01. I don't do these every year, that may have been the last time I did.

Bay High Playlist
Relax (New York Mix) - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Don't Box Me In - Stan Ridgway w/Stewart Copeland
Rock Me Tonight - Billy Sqier
The Glamous Life - Sheila E
Save It For Later - The Beat
We Close Our Eyes - Go West
? (Modern Industry) - Fishbone

Change our pace of life.

Hanging out in the world of Ezra Jack Keats.

Brief sojourn to Athens, to drop the children off at their grandparents and leave them there.

Yesterday I rose with sinuses packed and a nasty headache which lingered for the entire day, which was a shame because otherwise the days was very nice, even the four hour drive.

We broke up the ride with a stop in Akron to catch the Ezra Jack Keats exhibit (closes June 30!) and the wife had gotten sandwiches from Barle so we didn't need to pull over for lunch.

The worst part of the day was discovering the reason that one of our neighborhood streets was blocked off as we were departing was because of a homicide. I am still processing that fact. A man had murdered his grandmother, allegedly, which is how so many of these stories play out. It is commonly someone you know.

Temperature: 65° → 75°

Climate: hot, bright, humid, outstanding!

Distance: 4.25 miles

Gorgeous run by the Hocking. I have been invited to many runs and races in the past several months, none of which seemed "do-able" at the time. Thinking of the Bay Village 5 Mile because it was my first race and so that is fun in a symbolic "look at me now" kind of way. Whatever event I eventually choose will be the first I have tried in zero drop shoes.

Today I ran 4.25 miles without breaking a proverbial sweat, though there was a lot of literal sweat. A flat, five-mile race with zero shade and seriously boring suburban architecture sounds like no sweat at all.

Left To My Own Devices Playlist (dedicated to Zac)
Left To My Own Devices - Pet Shop Boys
Go West - Pet Shop Boys
Panic - The Smiths
Heart - Pet Shop Boys
Sunday Girl - Blondie
Are 'Freinds' Electric? - Gary Numan & Tubeway Army
Everything's Gone Green - New Order
The Living Daylights - a-Ha
Sweetest Perfection - Depeche Mode

Do you remember?

Brent's parents called us The Troublemakers. He was the jokester, his twin the one I remember I could be serious with. I remember their room, Wacky Packages on every surface. Star Wars sheets. Rock And Roll Over. The Westlake Municipal Dump was our playground, where we played Vietnam, and found Playboy magazines. We made cigarettes from their older brother's rolling papers and dried Sassafras leaves from the tree in our yard, and smoked them in the attic over my garage. We ripped off K-Mart, over and over and again, stuffing our jackets with Micronauts and heading out unmolested into the parking lot through the Nursery.

I watched The Interception in their living room.

Hot Rod Lincoln. Cheech and Chong. Pee-Wee Herman. Big Chuck and Little John. Disco Duck. Space Invaders. Pop Muzik. Uncle Vic. Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers. They had cable first, and we watched every movie my parents would be horrified to know I was seeing. I made the most hideous mixed drink ever from their mom's liquor cabinet - like maybe, Vermouth & TAB.

We climbed through the sewers. We investigated all the new houses that were being built near our elementary school. We listened to that bit in Love Rollercoaster a hundred times and debated whether that was really the sound of a girl getting raped. We walked the pipe. We read the graffiti. We bought "near" beer. We stole candy from everywhere. We kept mice. We talked about the girls.

They had a way with girls that I did not. Once he helped me out after a disappointing (for me) game of Spin the Bottle by politely suggesting to his girlfriend that she give me my first tongue kiss, you know, as a favor. And she did. I still think that was entirely awesome.

We met in second grade, the Bicentennial. By 1980 it was as though we had known each other all our lives. Middle School was the most terrible place on earth for me, but I feel my association with them kept it from being the living hell it was for my older brother. By eighth grade, however, the differences were just too great. Their new friends hated me, the "trouble" we were getting into was losing its appeal to me, or it was just getting too deep. I was afraid, and they all knew it. Our friendship never officially ended in any kind of "break up." We just started "seeing other people."

In early 1996 we reconnected briefly ... I cannot even remember who got in touch with whom, or why, but I went over to their house with The Scroll, a fat roll of paper towel we snuck out of the bowling alley and started using as a journal, sharing it at each of our houses. But I was the one who wanted to be a writer, so it ended up with me. The twins told me they didn't really have any artifacts from their childhood, and they wanted to look at it again. This was when we were in our late-20s. I told them I would be happy if they kept it, and they were pleased at that.

His brother Burt told me later how surprised he was at the ending, when I was writing about all of the disappointment and confusion I was feeling, with our friendship ending. I no doubt sounded like a self-righteous little shit, but he understood that, and that it was coming from a thirteen year-old, and that it made him feel better to know that it was important to me. That they were important to me.

Last night my parents told me they saw Brent's obituary in the paper. I don't know yet what I am going to do about that. And I have been mood-swinging about it for twenty-four hours now. When I met him I was only slightly younger than my daughter is now. She seems so much older than I think of myself being, meeting him. God, we did a lot of illegal shit. Dangerous shit. And we had so much fun, before video games, before VHS and DVD, before MTV or much more than four TV stations. Suburbia was our playground, and we survived that.

I didn't play with my brothers when I was a kid. Henrik was always a school ahead of me, Denny (who turned 50 today) was practically an adult. Brent, his brother, our friends, defined my childhood. They were my childhood. We were boys. We were troublemakers. And that was awesome.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Temperature: 68º
Weight: 173.5 lbs.
Weather: nice. humid. at least it's dark.

September Genius Mix
September - Earth Wind & Fire
Let's Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution
On & On (Live) - Erykah Badu
Got To Give It Up (Part 1) - Marvin Gaye
This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan
Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams