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Posted by on Jan 4, 2013 in Blog, Essays, Personal, Travel | 2 comments

Still Running — One Year Later

 

Nolan Dalla Adidas Running Shoes

 

Running is pain.

Each and every step is a bone-grinding reminder that I’m not young anymore.  I can’t quite do all the things I used to be able to do — at least not as fast, nor with as much ease.

But I try.

One year ago today,  began my daily running routine.  All 262 lumbering pounds of me shook the pavement with the full force of a jackhammer.  I remember the pain as if it happened this morning.  Perhaps that’s because today I felt many of those same pains once again.  Indeed, I have come full circle to the place I was once before.

One year ago I weighed two-hundred and sixty-two pounds.  Making it a full mile without stopping left me bent over, panting, and breathless.  Running a few miles, even with deliberate stops in between, made my joints ache.  After a few runs, my legs cramped up.  At time, the pain was so severe, I felt paralyzed.

But I ran that first day.  And the next.  And the next, too.  And with every step along the way, the one thereafter became just a little bit easier.  Within a week of my daily run, I was already beginning to feel dramatic changes.  Not only did I feel better physically, but mentally, as well.  I also had lots more energy.

My lifestyle revolution — where I committed myself to running every single day with no excuses — began in the Bell Gardens section of Los Angeles on January 4, 2012.

And now today, it’s one year later.  I have returned again to this place where it all started.

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Posted by on Dec 31, 2012 in Blog, Essays, Travel | 1 comment

The Empty Blue Chair

 

View from La Croisette

 

This is the story of an empty blue chair.

More precisely, it’s the story of a person who once occupied it — someone’s name I do not know.

It’s the story of a loyal companion who sat beside the blue chair, so faithfully  — at the same time and place, each and every day.

This is the story of love and loss, of life and death, and ultimately of rebirth and renewal.

This is a personal story, a search for that special someone who once occupied the blue chair — which is now empty.

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Posted by on Dec 25, 2012 in Blog, Essays | 0 comments

Christmas for Antitheists

Atheist Christmas

 

Can someone who doesn’t believe in the existence of God also celebrate Christmas?

Certainly yes.

Christmas, ostensibly intended to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, has become far more than just a religious holiday.  Cynics might even suggest it’s become the antithesis of a religious holiday.

Turn on the television set or visit a shopping mall during the week before Christmas and you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Commercials enticing you to rush out and buy a brand new Lexus aren’t very Christ-like.   The soccer mom in the mini-van who steals your parking spot isn’t thinking about Jesus, although his name probably comes up in some rather creative combinations of language.

It’s too bad really that the essential message of Christmas was hijacked a long time ago.  Modern Christmas would likely be unrecognizable to those who envisioned its oldest traditions.  It’s become the five human senses all pumped up on steroids.  That’s both good and bad.  Sure, everything tastes better and smells better.  Many of us feel better.  The sights and sounds of the holiday season are more beautiful than other times of the year.  But sensory overload isn’t always synonymous with happiness.  For many less fortunate people, this is a depressing time of year — and none of this has anything at all to do with faith or religion.

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Posted by on Dec 15, 2012 in Blog, Essays, Rants and Raves | 3 comments

When the Worst Thing is to Do Nothing — A Reaction to the Tragedy in Connecticut

 

WEIGHING THE OPTIONS:  TO DO SOMETHING VERSUS NOTHING

 

The horror of the Connecticut school shooting impacts us on so many emotional levels.

Just about everyone I’ve spoken to, or correspnded with, has endured a gambit of reactions over the past 24 hours since the tragedy — from shock, to anger, to sorrow, to (again) outrage, and ultimately (for some) to a renewed sense of determination.

Today’s column is a difficult one to write.  It’s probably the most complicated issue I’ve addressed, to date.  I admit experiencing a sort of “writer’s block” to this terrible tragedy, something that doesn’t strike me often.  The bottom line is — what is there to say?  What can be said?

But as the hours pass, I’ve come to realize that to say nothing is grossly irresponsible.  To do nothing, even more so.

Hence, I shall address the Connecticut tragedy in multiple parts.  First, there’s a purely emotional reaction to these unfathomable events.  As one might expect, these feelings are accompanied by a demand for action.  I’ve also included what I believe to be a few  partial solutions which seek to reduce the frequency and severity of these horrors.

Once again, this is a terribly difficult problem to face.  But we must look to these victims and honor their memory with something better than what we have now.  And then, we must look inside ourselves.  We must do it.  We must do it now.  Righteousness demands nothing less.

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