The sun is starting to set. There are dark shadows everywhere making it hard to see. I'm out for a quick run. My senses are on high alert. I see the guy walking towards me. I size him up. He's wearing a hoodie. But his jeans are baggie and falling down. He keeps needing to... Continue Reading →
Life’s not fair
When I was in high school, I came home after a disappointing track meet and complained to my mom that I was mad at God. I asked why he gave me short stumpy legs and no speed or endurance. I knew I wasn't cut out for baseball, basketball or football — I was too short... Continue Reading →
Hitting the books
I looked down at my phone in horror. I had charged it overnight, but the battery was dead. One minute The Rolling Stones were singing “I can't get no satisfaction,” and the next I was listening to dead air. I wondered what had happened to Mick Jagger, but I didn’t have time to figure it... Continue Reading →
Getting better with age
Last Saturday, the rain started early and poured all day in Southeastern Pennsylvania. A nasty, cold rain. I bundled up and stayed inside most of the day. A good 60-miles away at the University of Pennsylvania’s 127th Penn Relays, 96-year-old Ed Cox, of Syracuse, New York, earned 5th place in the Master’s Men’s 100-meter in... Continue Reading →
Cry me a river
My breathing was off. I couldn’t get it under control. My running gait seemed off too. The irritation on my foot that had started out as an annoyance was now a raging blister that made a squishing sound every time I stepped. I was running my first marathon. If I was honest with myself though,... Continue Reading →
A walk in the park
The ground is wet. I see that it rained the night before, but the sun is out and will burn-off the two or three puddles that I see along the trail in no time. We’ve taken a small handful of steps, but I can see already that my wife’s pace is brisk and determined and... Continue Reading →
A letter to a former teacher: Pulling me back from the ledge
When I was 11, my basketball coach, who wasn’t much older than my teammates and I, walked the sideline of the small town community hall where we played, yelling and throwing his hands up in the air when we made a mistake or he disagreed with the referee's call. A few years later when I... Continue Reading →
Everything’s gonna be alright
The voice on the other end of the call became garbled and faded out. I saw the senior executive's face on the Microsoft Teams call, but I couldn't make out what he said. When he came back on, all I could hear him saying was "what do you think, Brian?" In this crazy COVID-19 world,... Continue Reading →
Sweet dreams
One night I’m running up a wooded mountain. My arms are pumping, my legs are digging deep, but I’m making little to no progress. I just can’t get anywhere. I look down to see that I’m running on quicksand and, on top of that, my polka dot shorts are starting to fall down. Yea, pink... Continue Reading →

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