The SpongeBob Payoff

Whether you call it a shameless publicity stunt or sincere effort to raise money for cancer research, you are right. I laid down a challenge that I would roller skate 1 mile for every $50 raised in a 2-week period and my generous friends came through with $510!! So I am skating 10 miles today…

A birthday wish

I’m too old to get real gifts for my birthday. After a certain age, you start getting “gag” gifts in basic black with an “over the hill” theme, along with Geritol, Depends and AARP subscriptions… and I still have my sense of humor about it. But this year I am going to ask for something…

Running blind

I had a dead battery epiphany last week on my evening run. My GPS battery went out after 2 miles, but I decided to go ahead and run my 10 miles anyway and figure out my average pace at the end. Usually I’m watching my real time pace and trying to stay at 8:50, which…

The edge of the board

Thirty cold, wet, white plastic stairs. You’re grasping the shiny chrome handrails, careful to hang on with each step up. As you rise higher in the air you get a whole new perspective on the landscape and your friends on the concrete pool deck below.  You’ve seen others go off the public pool high dive,…

Half way there: 2012

I wrote a letter to my future self on New Year’s Eve, 2011, essentially laying out my goals for this year. Since it is half way through 2012, let’s take a look at what I projected and what’s yet to be done. Publishing my goals has been my key to accountability. How am I doing?…

The World

Age 10: “The world revolves around me.” Age 20: “I want to change the world.” Age 30: “The world is more complicated than I thought.” Age 40: “Maybe I’ll just change my own world.” Age 50: “The world is a pretty cool place.”