My 2013 exercise regimen started in earnest on Groundhog Day. It involves taking my ten year old Labrador on a three mile hike every morning up one of our neighborhood hills. Solo morning exercise usually puts me in somewhat of a trance...a state of creative thought, a stream of consciousness that is only interrupted by motor traffic or wildlife using the same lane.
This is at least the thirtieth time I've resolved to get back into a regular pattern of cardiovascular exercise... after short lapses of slovenly behavior that include: eating, drinking and lounging during most of my waking hours, often clustered around the end-of-year holidays. Never fails, I annually come back to the realization that it's the first mile of any aerobic outing that's the toughest.
Fifty years ago, at age thirteen, I joined the high school cross country team. I was nine when we moved to the suburbs, this was also the beginning of my battle with asthma. Running and asthma combined to make efficient breathing my highest priority. Coach Spade always waited for us, stop watch in hand, at the one mile mark of our much longer training runs. He'd say, "Chuck, how is it going?" and my answer was always the same, "The first mile is always the toughest."
A good syncopation between footfalls and oxygen intake would develop somewhere between mile two and mile three...just in time for me to start catching (picking off) the string of runners ahead of me. This was always too late for me to have impressive results in an actual meet. Over distance training runs were my forte. Any competitive rewards I might have felt were my own private victories...there were no medals for coming in third in a fourteen mile High School training run.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
People Who Fix Things, With Their Hands!
I don't believe the hype...Wall Street says, "Give us your $, everyone is going to get rich ." I am a small business man (two hundred or less employees). Quite possibly the smallest Main St. business man (who owns his own building) in the country. I am not worried. I fix things with my hands.... fewer and fewer people know how to fix the things they own...for a decade they've been buying really cheap things and throwing them away when they stop working. The folly of this mode of operation is becoming more obvious by the day...subsequently, people are looking for "those who fix things, with their hands".
Working with your brain was once considered a valuable skill, however, we've developed machines that work day and night to learn and execute the tasks that once required brain power. Unemployment is an ugly word...it doesn't mean your community is going to give you a handout, as it once did. It means you are not being useful in that community ...you might be plopped down in front of the TV or another entertainment monitor... but, your community could use you as a volunteer at the Hospice Care Thrift store, or in an Elder Care facility, or at the local Library. Or, if you have a "mechanic gene" you can go around your neighborhood fixing things. Word gets out quick, "Ask Chuck, maybe he can fix it."
Being a good samaritan can still lead to gainful employment. There are people in your neighborhood that could use help...why wouldn't you? Quite often, Americans are too proud to ask, but if we go out and meet our neighbors it will result in a better neighborhood and therefore, a better world. We are all going to need help in the times ahead and our lives will be richer if we all work together. Wall Street only cares about your $, not your attitude when you wake up each morning.
Working with your brain was once considered a valuable skill, however, we've developed machines that work day and night to learn and execute the tasks that once required brain power. Unemployment is an ugly word...it doesn't mean your community is going to give you a handout, as it once did. It means you are not being useful in that community ...you might be plopped down in front of the TV or another entertainment monitor... but, your community could use you as a volunteer at the Hospice Care Thrift store, or in an Elder Care facility, or at the local Library. Or, if you have a "mechanic gene" you can go around your neighborhood fixing things. Word gets out quick, "Ask Chuck, maybe he can fix it."
Being a good samaritan can still lead to gainful employment. There are people in your neighborhood that could use help...why wouldn't you? Quite often, Americans are too proud to ask, but if we go out and meet our neighbors it will result in a better neighborhood and therefore, a better world. We are all going to need help in the times ahead and our lives will be richer if we all work together. Wall Street only cares about your $, not your attitude when you wake up each morning.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Like A Newborn Baby...
Barefooting across my icy deck, surrounded by snow laden trees, I heard the fireworks and the neighborhood cannon fire off as I eased into my Snorkel hot tub. Hello 2013! As is tradition with me, I started the new year in a pool of water wearing the clothes God gave me. Rebirth, this is what the Mayans, the Christians and Nostradamus were looking forward to many centuries ago.
I have the usual resolutions...Weight maintenance, be nice to the 99%, more cardio, enjoy (and express joy) every day that I am capable of processing oxygen and excreting toxins. The number of days remaining is Finite, for all of us...so, why sweat the small stuff? There are important events in my future... re-hugging all of my family ranks at the top of my list. So, I'm buying a couple of Amtrak tickets that make a Spring journey to Michigan a certainty.
The arrival of 2013 helps me focus on the here and now...one day at a time. My body is my temple, job one is to keep it humming, keep it well lubricated, keep the gears clean and realize the mind can play sneaky tricks. Don't let this "trickster" jerk you out of the present or sneak up on you in a devious disguise. No room for depression or deception at the Inn. I follow the 'keep it simple/keep it honest/nothing to hide' mantra, I have no time or patience for anything else.
The future looks bright, my partner is a beautiful friend and we have thousands of miles to ride...in California, on the trails of the Pacific Northwest, in the Pyrenees and on the many islands of the Mediterranean. We strive for continued wellness, fitness and open-mindedness that will make these adventures possible. We built our mental capabilities, we built our house, we built our family and we built our business with dogged determination and positive attitudes...and we enter our senior years with the same focus and resolve. Happy New Year, everyone.
I have the usual resolutions...Weight maintenance, be nice to the 99%, more cardio, enjoy (and express joy) every day that I am capable of processing oxygen and excreting toxins. The number of days remaining is Finite, for all of us...so, why sweat the small stuff? There are important events in my future... re-hugging all of my family ranks at the top of my list. So, I'm buying a couple of Amtrak tickets that make a Spring journey to Michigan a certainty.
The arrival of 2013 helps me focus on the here and now...one day at a time. My body is my temple, job one is to keep it humming, keep it well lubricated, keep the gears clean and realize the mind can play sneaky tricks. Don't let this "trickster" jerk you out of the present or sneak up on you in a devious disguise. No room for depression or deception at the Inn. I follow the 'keep it simple/keep it honest/nothing to hide' mantra, I have no time or patience for anything else.
The future looks bright, my partner is a beautiful friend and we have thousands of miles to ride...in California, on the trails of the Pacific Northwest, in the Pyrenees and on the many islands of the Mediterranean. We strive for continued wellness, fitness and open-mindedness that will make these adventures possible. We built our mental capabilities, we built our house, we built our family and we built our business with dogged determination and positive attitudes...and we enter our senior years with the same focus and resolve. Happy New Year, everyone.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Joyboy... Right To The End .
I'm going back to my sixteen year-old self...Joyboy...it' all about the joy! The little twinkly lights on the natural tree inside the house...the smooth taste of eggnog in my French Roast cup of morning joe...soaking naked in the outdoor wood-fired hot tub...taking the dog for a walk on the trail behind our house....riding my bicycle, outfitted with studded tires, across the causeway on the lake to drink in the view of Lassen Peak, (the snow-covered volcano to our North)...Ten days 'til the Solstice...What a way to go!
I've been totally captivated by the History Channel series; Countdown To Apocalypse. There are a lot of interesting angles to this countdown to Dec. 21. The religious angles, the historical angle, the mathematician angle, the astrological angle, the environmental angle and amazingly enough, the least important factor is...the Human Factor. There is absolutely nothing we can do about the whole affair....hide in a bomb shelter?
So, my plan is to thoroughly enjoy the next ten days...and then, to enjoy the next ten days after that and... ten days after that...and so forth. We all would be happier if we lived ten days at a time...actually, each day at a time, but that seems a little too hedonistic to humans with a "serious side".
I asked my wife to take Thursday and Friday off work next week, the 20th and 21st. We are going to sit next to each other and drink tea together, followed by a glass of wine... while playing Yahtzee or Encore or Scrabble... "Laughing all the way".
I've been totally captivated by the History Channel series; Countdown To Apocalypse. There are a lot of interesting angles to this countdown to Dec. 21. The religious angles, the historical angle, the mathematician angle, the astrological angle, the environmental angle and amazingly enough, the least important factor is...the Human Factor. There is absolutely nothing we can do about the whole affair....hide in a bomb shelter?
So, my plan is to thoroughly enjoy the next ten days...and then, to enjoy the next ten days after that and... ten days after that...and so forth. We all would be happier if we lived ten days at a time...actually, each day at a time, but that seems a little too hedonistic to humans with a "serious side".
I asked my wife to take Thursday and Friday off work next week, the 20th and 21st. We are going to sit next to each other and drink tea together, followed by a glass of wine... while playing Yahtzee or Encore or Scrabble... "Laughing all the way".
Friday, December 7, 2012
Reading Too Much / Riding Too Little
Showing up at work, five days a week... mopped the floor, after the flood... from rain pushing on the back roll-up door... set up a few pair of XC skis...just in case Mother Nature decides to do the right thing and drops an albino shitload of frozen rain on this mtn. county. I fixed a couple of flats this week...there are a few intrepid bicycle riders braving the chilly temperatures and occasional ice patches...they need lube, air in the tires and an infrequent tune-up.
So, what I do with all of my extra quiet hours at work is...READ! I'm like a sponge... I'm wearing out my cheater glasses and drinking cups of Ceylon, Yogi and Lemon Grass tea like I'm on Dr. Oz antioxidant health regimen. Pandora's Moondog channel provides most of my background music...it's unpredictable and serves to keep me awake.
It was 27 degrees when I awoke, 29 when I rode to work on my bike...It's dark and 33 when I pedal home pulling the Lab in her bicycle "conestoga" wagon. Without snow on the ground, I'll have to say, I'm not a huge fan of Winter, especially the dark days here at 40 degrees latitude. I want to write more...but, here's the evidence...I really don't have that much to say.
What do I read? This is where it gets interesting... I read a lot about the conundrum our materialistic society is experiencing....we own too much stuff and we no longer can find work producing more stuff because The Peoples Republic of China's distribution network (Walmart) is flooding the stores with cheap stuff...stuff that we sucker for everytime we go out to shop....stuff that we have to re-buy every couple of months...because, it's stuff that doesn't last. Of course, I'm thinking bicycles when I write this.
Global Climate Change is another favorite subject of mine...that too is a crazy conundrum. We are incredibly reluctant to change any of our behaviors until Matt Lauer or Oprah Winfrey tell us to...and it's our consumptive lifestyles, which include collecting a dizzying amount of electronic gadgets and appliances (all made in, you know where, China, or somewhere in Asia).
So, what activity serves to clean a lot of this static and conflicting information out of my ever-expanding bald head? Yep, riding my bicycle or cross country skiing out into the backwoods...or at the very least, taking the Labrador on a long walk during icy mornings...I'm done, the dog's tail just started wagging vigorously when I wrote that last sentence...that's weird.
So, what I do with all of my extra quiet hours at work is...READ! I'm like a sponge... I'm wearing out my cheater glasses and drinking cups of Ceylon, Yogi and Lemon Grass tea like I'm on Dr. Oz antioxidant health regimen. Pandora's Moondog channel provides most of my background music...it's unpredictable and serves to keep me awake.
It was 27 degrees when I awoke, 29 when I rode to work on my bike...It's dark and 33 when I pedal home pulling the Lab in her bicycle "conestoga" wagon. Without snow on the ground, I'll have to say, I'm not a huge fan of Winter, especially the dark days here at 40 degrees latitude. I want to write more...but, here's the evidence...I really don't have that much to say.
What do I read? This is where it gets interesting... I read a lot about the conundrum our materialistic society is experiencing....we own too much stuff and we no longer can find work producing more stuff because The Peoples Republic of China's distribution network (Walmart) is flooding the stores with cheap stuff...stuff that we sucker for everytime we go out to shop....stuff that we have to re-buy every couple of months...because, it's stuff that doesn't last. Of course, I'm thinking bicycles when I write this.
Global Climate Change is another favorite subject of mine...that too is a crazy conundrum. We are incredibly reluctant to change any of our behaviors until Matt Lauer or Oprah Winfrey tell us to...and it's our consumptive lifestyles, which include collecting a dizzying amount of electronic gadgets and appliances (all made in, you know where, China, or somewhere in Asia).
So, what activity serves to clean a lot of this static and conflicting information out of my ever-expanding bald head? Yep, riding my bicycle or cross country skiing out into the backwoods...or at the very least, taking the Labrador on a long walk during icy mornings...I'm done, the dog's tail just started wagging vigorously when I wrote that last sentence...that's weird.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Home For The Hollow Days
Well, sometimes I wonder if I am really here...I feel present, but I'm not sure anyone can see me. This could be a good thing...like the Hollow Man...no one will see that I'm not wearing anything but a smile. My immediate family is busy elsewhere most of the time now....for Work and School. I show up during the hours indicated on the door of the bicycle shop and on a Wednesday or a Thursday, during these cold months, I may not interact with a single soul.
Reading is my refuge...I love to purchase books from my friends across the street @ Books and Beyond, all kinds of books and I read the most far out stories on the internet (also provided via WiFi from Books and Beyond). Non-fiction is good, classic Sci-Fi is better and I'm addicted to near future predictive essays and novels...these ignite my brain the same way a piece of chocolate cake next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream use to.
Some of the predictions are difficult, even dire, like those from Mark Hertsgaard and James Howard Kunstler, others are fun, like those from Kim Stanley Robinson or Arthur C Clark, Richard Heinlein, H.G.Wells or even the zany Carl Hiaasen. I've always been a Tom Robbins fan and I even like the ideas of Stewart Ward, a local guy.
I just finished my second Barak Obama book, Dreams From My Father...I think this guy has a future. In fact, I am desperately hoping that he has a long future. Being a teen in the Sixties, a liberal, at that, left some nasty scars on my psyche...I was working on the Robert Kennedy For President campaign during my last days of high school when he made a visit to Kalamazoo, my hometown...only a few days before he was shot down in L.A. by Sirhan Sirhan.
Reading is my refuge...I love to purchase books from my friends across the street @ Books and Beyond, all kinds of books and I read the most far out stories on the internet (also provided via WiFi from Books and Beyond). Non-fiction is good, classic Sci-Fi is better and I'm addicted to near future predictive essays and novels...these ignite my brain the same way a piece of chocolate cake next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream use to.
Some of the predictions are difficult, even dire, like those from Mark Hertsgaard and James Howard Kunstler, others are fun, like those from Kim Stanley Robinson or Arthur C Clark, Richard Heinlein, H.G.Wells or even the zany Carl Hiaasen. I've always been a Tom Robbins fan and I even like the ideas of Stewart Ward, a local guy.
I just finished my second Barak Obama book, Dreams From My Father...I think this guy has a future. In fact, I am desperately hoping that he has a long future. Being a teen in the Sixties, a liberal, at that, left some nasty scars on my psyche...I was working on the Robert Kennedy For President campaign during my last days of high school when he made a visit to Kalamazoo, my hometown...only a few days before he was shot down in L.A. by Sirhan Sirhan.
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