Eyeing Tropics for Hurricane Threats

On this final day of September, we've been keeping an eye on the tropical disturbance developing just east of Florida and north of Cuba in the southern Bahamas.  The process has been pretty slow, but finally yesterday the weather big-shots got around to naming it as a tropical storm: Imelda.  Today Imelda intensified to minimal hurricane status, and after moving northward for several hours is now making an abrupt northeastern turn away from the mainland into the open seas of the Atlantic toward Bermuda, right behind its companion, Hurricane Humberto.  Elsewhere in the Atlantic tropics we see no place of predicted storm development, which is important since I'm planning on traveling by ship through the Bahamas and Caribbean Sea during the first two weeks of October.  Let any potential storms wait until we're safely back home in port...

My Running/Walking/Swimming Report for September

I continued steadfastly training with speed-walking and running throughout September, but pretty much skipped out of going on swims.  This past month I participated in Parkrun 5Ks each Saturday, one at Depot Park and three at West End Community Park.  Except for last Saturday's race, in which I volunteered as a Tail Walker, I mixed up walking and running in the other three.   I think this is the pattern for future races, especially those longer than 5K. Of the four Parkruns I went to in September, three were at West End Community Park and one was at Depot Park. My emphasis, both with training and races, is showing up and completing the event instead of fretting over fast finishing times.  Early on next month Melissa and I are going on a week-long Caribbean cruise.  This will serve as a recovery break in my training, while I'll still have opportunities to exercise in the ship's fitness room on the treadmill or practice a little swimming, if that's available.  On October 25, the little south Georgia town of Boston is holding a half-marathon race that I intend to enter, otherwise there's that Parkrun on the 18th.  Most likely, upon returning from the cruise I'll be scheduled to begin some radiation treatment to bring my PSA level back down to an acceptable level.  Through it all, I plan to remain active and as athletic as feasible.  And maybe, just maybe, the temperatures will start to cool off as well...

My Song of the Month for September 2025

Today it is approaching the end of September, and as I've done in previous months this year, I have a "song of the month" this time around as well.  Once again, for the second month in a row, it is There's No Future in Optimism, by the British alternative group Garbage.  Sung by Shirley Manson, it is a commentary on our times about protests and the State bearing down on them.  But we can design our own futures, based on love, in the midst of all the turmoil.  I like that message, and this song sits well with me in our troubled times.  I don't see anything improving in our society in political terms, and the media, both social and mass, seems hell-bent on aggravating tensions, fear and anger among the population.  Our president wants to wage war against any American who doesn't swear undying and unquestioning personal fealty to him.  I don't feel like following his sick tune...no, I'm charting my own course and this song carries a much better message.  So far this year, here are the "songs of the month":

September    There's No Future in Optimism...by Garbage

August         There's No Future in Optimism...by Garbage

July              The Birds...by Franz Ferdinand

June             Stuck in My Head...by Arcade Fire

May             Walking on a Dream...by Empire of the Sun

April            Nothing I Need...by Lord Huron

March          Under the Rug...by Arcy Drive

February      Starburster...by Fonraines DC

January        Everyone Out...by DIIV

Volunteered for Today's West End Community Parkrun 5K

On a soggy, muggy morning I drove out to West End Community Park and volunteered as Tail Walker for their Parkrun 5K event today.  My only concern with this role is if some runners or walkers arrive and begin late, behind me...and I'm supposed to be the last finisher!  Except for one straggling walker who was clearly challenged by the 74 degrees and 97% humidity, I had nothing to be concerned about as I had no difficulty maintaining a moderate pace while stopping from time to time to pick up flags and signs from the course for next week.  During the second half another volunteer joined me as we finished clearing the course...and I finished, with a time of 1:04:13.  I liked getting both volunteer credit and credit for finishing a race, so I'm getting closer to that 100-finish milestone.  The field was light, and about halfway through my walk it began to lightly rain, staying that way through the end. For the next two Saturdays I'm registered with Melissa to go on a Caribbean cruise, and then maybe I'll try another Parkrun after returning.  As for the rest of the day today, a cold front is passing through our area, bringing with it rain and some storms.  Hopefully, it all will help to steer to the east a developing tropical depression that seems destined to eventually be named Imelda...we'll see what happens.  If you want to view today's results, click HERE...

Eventual Fall Season Running Race Opportunities Appearing

Although here in northern Florida the daily temperatures continue to consistently climb up into the nineties with stifling-high morning humidity, it is technically now the autumn season.  And as such, I'm seeing online notices about upcoming distance running events, many of which are in my general area.  One that stands out to me is a southern Georgia half-marathon scheduled on Saturday morning, October 25th.  It's the Boston Mini-Marathon, as they like to call it: a half-marathon to take place as fall festivities ensue later on after the race.  I'm very seriously considering signing up for it, with the intention of doing a hybrid run/speed-walk mix for the race's duration.  It's located in the little town of Boston, situated between Valdosta and Thomasville (and closer to the latter).  Even if it's still unseasonably warm during this race, I think my run/walk strategy will get me through it without too much adversity.  I guess that will take care of next month, on top of the cruise we're scheduled to take in the first half and another possible Parkrun in mid-month.  November and December present potential problems in going on trips to other locations for distance races because of schedule conflicts involving family, thankfully being blessings centering around my loved ones.  After all, I'm no hermit despite tendencies in that direction and I cherish my love for Melissa...may it continue long into the future and forever.  I also am going to be continuing my cancer treatment in the next few weeks with some radiation therapy...I plan to be active throughout.  Earlier today I speed-walked 3.5 miles on my local gym's treadmill instead of braving the rain puddle-stricken streets.  So I'm continuing my workouts, and they'll come in handy when race day arrives...

About the Star Trek Movie Franchise

I use Roku and a streaming television service for my TV viewing.  One of the free channels offered is Pluto, which offers a variety of programming, including old series and lots of movies.  As a movie viewer, I tend to re-watch old flicks that I enjoyed from the past.  One such series is the Star Trek movie franchise, which to date has thirteen movies. I ranked each one according to my liking...the ranking follows the movie's title below. Here's a list of them with their release years:

THE ORIGINAL SERIES CAST

1979 Star Trek: the Motion Picture...11 

1982 The Wrath of Khan...4

1984 The Search for Spock...3

1986 The Voyage Home...1

1989 The Final Frontier...10

1991 The Undiscovered Country...6

THE NEXT GENERATION CAST

1994 Generations...7

1996 First Contact...8

1998 Insurrection...9

2002 Nemesis (not yet seen)

"REBOOT" SERIES

2009 Star Trek...2

2013 Into Darkness...5

2016 Beyond (not yet seen)

So it's been nine years since a Star Trek movie has hit the Silver Screen, although it seems that made-for-television movies are now being made and shown.  The acting and character interaction in the first movie were very stiff and awkward, but I enjoyed the characters for the rest of that first film series as well as for the most recent.  It was the Next Generation movies that kind of alienated me, as I simply could not relate to the different characters and their personalities and attitudes.  It all seemed so heavily soaked in pretentious Woke culture that the actual science fiction adventure aspect often gave way to the back stories of relationships and dialogue...like in the often frustrating TV series.  The first movie "The Motion Picture" was awful, with extra-long stretches in it composed of extended, expensive special effects passing in front of the Enterprise with the crew shown gaping and staring in open-mouthed amazement...yawn, how boring.   My favorite Star Trek character, both original and "reboot", has to be Doctor Leonard McCoy...chief engineer Scotty is a clear second.  And then it goes on to Spock and Kirk, and so on.  With the Next Generation lineup, I genuinely like the Captain Jean-Luc Picard character...and then it all drops precipitously, with the android Data representing perhaps the most annoying character in the series with engineer Geordi La Forge being nearly as irritating.  As for villains, whenever a movie had one (The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home each had incorporeal adversaries), I had my favorite bad guys as well: #1 Khan (Into Darkness), #2 Admiral Marcus (Into Darkness), #3 Dr. Soran (Generations), #4 Commander Kruge (The Search for Spock), #5 Khan (The Wrath of Khan).  Well, I don't know whether the filmmakers will come up with a new Star Trek series of movies, but there are always the old ones to watch...and again and again...

Partisan Excesses during Memorial Events

While Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone was in the final stage of his close reelection campaign in late October 2002, the plane carrying him and his family crashed in northern Minnesota, killing them all.  It was a shocking event, and a public memorial service was soon scheduled to honor the fallen senator.  Unfortunately, a few of those in attendance...and especially some of the speakers...got a little out of hand with their partisanship.  Mississippi Republican senator Trent Lott, a gentleman who attended the event, even received some boo's after he was introduced: how tacky can they get.  Apparently a bit more, since some of the speakers implored the audience to join in Wellstone's progressive politics and vote Democrat for his replacement...who turned out to be former senator and vice-president Walter Mondale.  There was a lot of negative spin on this event, greatly amplified by the FoxNews channel and conservative talk radio, and Republican candidate Norm Coleman went on to defeat Mondale in the general election.  I remember this because we recently experienced the death of "one of their own": conservative activist Charlie Kirk, assassinated by a sniper while in the middle of a Utah college rally.  The memorial for him was held in a football stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and it dwarfed the Wellstone tribute in terms of partisanship.  It was a "who's who" in politics regarding the right-wing notables attending and being recognized on TV.  Some of the speakers got carried away with their aggression and hostility against Democrats and liberals...it was "let's pick up Charlie's cause and run with it" on steroids.  A local Democratic school board member got in a little hot water recently for posting, on social media, her reaction, which was critical of how the event was conducted. There should always be plenty of room and toleration for opposing opinions, and hers had nothing within it that was inciteful...unlike the venomous words of assistant White House chief of staff Stephen Miller who sometimes sounds to me like a freaking Nazi Goebbels impersonator.  The MAGA regime in power has depicted their political opposition, the Democratic Party, as the Enemy and compared them to terrorists and extremists.  Trump has only been in office a little more than nine months and has thirty-nine more until he's done.  I do not look forward to what he and his supporters have in store for the rest of us during that remaining time.  I have restrained my criticisms of Charlie Kirk and feel grief for his death, although I had no contact with him and did not explore his opinions in any detail.  No one is perfect (including myself), although Kirk's partisan supporters seem to be trying to canonize him as Mr. Perfect "Saint Charlie", and we all have to agree or else...   

Living One Day at a Time in a World Tilting Toward Mass Cult Idol Worship

Each calendar day is an ocean of moments, one piled on top of the previous one.  When I write on the side of this blog that I take life one day at a time, I'm not engaging in shortsighted behavior at all. It's too easy...and ultimately ineffective...to make more farsighted plans further off into the future when I just might be brushing off what is immediately before me in my life.  While it's good to keep track of appointments and come up with some sense of vision extending forward in time, in the end it all comes down to living through it all in the present moment, making my own decisions and accepting responsibility for them. So it's important to show up for what I purpose to do whether or not my physical or emotional feelings line up at the time...once I'm there doing it, then there's always the opportunity for momentum and motivation to kick in and enhance the experience. I am in my late sixties, and on my birthday in a couple of weeks I'll still be there.  What I want is pretty simple and straightforward: to welcome each new day into my life with the confidence that I will meet its challenges while being actively engaged throughout, emphasizing in my communications with others a philosophy of positive encouragement, health and happiness. I have some areas in which I'd like to improve, and some of these involve deeper social interaction.  Well, so far in retirement I haven't become an abject hermit, turning my back on the world.  Not yet, at least, although when I see disturbing spectacles on television like the one going on for hours on end last Sunday I can see myself enjoying just ditching my TV to shut out all the BS thrown my way.  But at least with this I still have choices: pick a different channel or just turn off the TV... 

Fall Begins, Whether You See It or Not

As far as I can determine, the month of fall begins today, September 22nd, early in the afternoon.  I don't think that the weather is all that responsive to this inflection point in astronomy when the sun begins to rise and set at points further south on the east and west horizons, respectively. Let's see, I'm still on the lookout for tropical storms that might someday affect me, and I'm subject to people in the news...some famous and some not...acting in irresponsible and sometimes violent ways against the interests of society.  So life goes on, let's see what I can make from my daily allotment of time...  

Retirement Fine, Encountering and Meeting Challenges

A friend today asked me what I thought about retirement so far, and my answer was quick and unequivocal: I've yet to wish I hadn't retired. Not one instant.  Now suppose circumstances had dictated me having continued on with my postal job, the specific assignment of which focused on receiving, processing and dispatching registered mail that came in from area offices in the afternoon and early evening.  I performed that assignment from January 2019 through November 2024...nearly six years.  In the middle of it all COVID happened, as well as my open heart surgery.  Melissa and I both came down with COVID in July 2023...it wiped out my summer vacation but we both recovered well from it. My son Will tragically passed away in July 2024, and Melissa experienced the trauma associated with breast cancer while receiving excellent medical care. The month following my retirement, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and events were set into motion leading to my March prostatectomy this year.  I have yet to physically feel the direct effects of illness, although my medical treatment...the surgeries in particular...hampered my activity and forced me through some brief seasons of pain.  I'm still getting cancer treatment, so it's a matter of me showing up for each day in a positive, constructive way to engage in exercise and keep my mind active.  Since my country collectively decided last November at the polls to go full-bore fascist and idolize a 34-count convicted felon, I had found myself exposed to the abuse associated with abusive national leadership...and that abuse is continuing.  I have decided, though, to avoid acknowledging its significance in my life and have been cleaning up my social media accounts from sites and posts that only aggravate the situation, instead stressing areas that are more conducive to my mental and physical well-being. I have already vowed to myself not to allow drama and manipulation to govern my daily existence, instead creating my own structure of personal discipline that keeps me strong with a positive outlook. I'm hoping that you're faring well in your own life, and that you don't see yourself as just a passive victim of circumstances but rather have a great deal of responsible control over how your own day goes.  And I mean each and every day...         

Ran and Speed-Walked the West End Community Parkrun 5K This Morning

This morning, amid a warm 70 degrees and positively oppressive 97% humidity, I got up and headed down to West End Community Park where they hold their Saturday morning Parkrun 5K, always starting at 7:30.  I had entertained the notion of running the whole event, but went back to my planned format: run first 3 minutes, speed-walk 3 minutes, run 7 minutes, walk 3 and so on to the end, which I stuck to. The conditions were indeed oppressively sticky-humid, but I had what it took to run hard to the end, finishing with a time of 33:21.  You can view this Parkrun's results by clicking HERE.  I adjusted my running regimen after it was established that I would be undergoing hormone and radiation therapy for the microscopic-level of residual prostate cancer in my body that was recently detected.  The 7:3 run/walk ratio worked for today...under more favorable weather conditions I'm free to adjust the ratios. On the volunteer sign-up board there I signed up to serve as Tail Walker at West End next Saturday...can't wait!  I'm happy with my effort on this difficult course this morning. I had actually been considering signing up and doing a half marathon in Ocala...that would have been unrealistic (and ugly). It's gratifying how different folks gather together like this, each one with his or her own reasons and expectations.  I'd like this sort of friendly community in other settings as well: how about a mathematics community day or one revolving around learning to understand and speak foreign languages? Now on with the weekend...

Subdued Hurricane Season So Far, But Keeping Eyes Open

This 2025 Atlantic hurricane season hasn't been meeting expectations...even with the more subdued predictions for storm numbers and intensity.  Here we are, now past the typical midpoint that signifies the peak days for tropical storm activity, and with only one tropical storm, Gabrielle, that is floundering out in the mid-Atlantic and only posing an indirect threat to Bermuda. Sometimes bad stuff happens later on, though, and I am keeping my eyes open during weather news segments for any new developments.  By October, the likelihood increases for tropical storms and hurricanes to originate in the western Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico.  These storms are far more likely to eventually threaten "my" north central Florida area...if they do materialize, that is.  This 2025 season, so far, has been a blessed bust...but there's still more time left.  Personally, I could do without the suspense of an approaching hurricane to my area, but since we're planning on cruising into the Caribbean during the first two weeks of next month, the notion of some potential storm "out there" doesn't exactly keep my mind at ease.  Nor does the provocative military buildup instigated in that area by our "stable genius" of a president, who thinks it's just hunky-dory to bomb to smithereens unarmed fishing vessels in international waters along with their passengers...

Cancel Culture from the Fascist Side about Kirk

The freaks hidden among the multitudes in our increasingly fascist America are the real menace in our society when it comes to assassinations, whether you're talking about JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., RFK, the attempts against George Wallace, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, John Lennon, or the attempts against Trump in 2024...and the sniper shot against Charlie Kirk recently.  With all the guns floating around in clear view in our gun-crazy culture, an adept, murderous maniac can seize the opportunity and commit a horrendous act, pretty much from the vantage point of anonymity, if he or she has successfully been concealing from others any intentions of taking such action.  It does not require conspiracies from an extremist group, as some in the current fascist regime have angrily gone off about in public rage.  You or I might become famous, and if there is at least a little controversy accompanying that fame then chances are that somebody, somewhere will allow themselves to become offended and at least consider making us into a target.  It's interesting nowadays that the MAGA Trump boot-lickers are the ones practicing "politically correct" cancel culture on anyone they can get away with accusing of inappropriate comments about the murder or Kirk himself...reference recent outbursts by Stephen Miller, JD Vance and Pam Bondi.  This canceling of Jimmy Kimmel for suggesting (in my opinion, presumptuously and probably erroneously) that the shooter just might have been pro-Trump, is a spotlighted case in point.  Long ago I tired of watching these late-night "comedy" spectacles like Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers because of the political ugliness behind much (if not most of) their jokes, so not having Kimmel on doesn't change anything with me.  Besides, you can get your audience to laugh at the politicians you dislike, but try coaxing the same fans to actively and consistently participate in the voting process.  In EVERY available election, even those "boring" local and state contests.  Yeah, good luck with that...I think these smartass professional jokesters need to start ridiculing the electorate instead!  Then again, a lot of these half-ass, apathetic and emotion-driven voters seem to think that the meaning of democracy is going to protest rallies after their side has lost the election. Now THAT is a sick joke...   

Camped Out at Nearby Starbucks, Studying and Writing

It's a little difficult to maneuver myself through each day without the outside news and opinion world encroaching on my attention and my increasing sense of unease at the way things are going down.  Still, here I am, relatively healthy while undergoing greatly appreciated high-level medical treatment that is apparently coming in a timely manner.  While warned about possible side effects of yesterday's hormone therapy injection, I was also advised to be active and go about my business as before.  So that I am doing, sitting here in my closest Starbucks drinking a hot cinnamon dolce latte while studying foreign languages and writing this article.  The day stretches ahead of me, and so does a planned neighborhood walk later on.  This evening they're holding the second "grief care" support group meeting at Trinity UMC...not certain as to whether I'll be attending or not.  One thing is for sure: I have little patience to just sit there and tolerate others with their high-handed self-glorifying speechifying.  Speaking of putting up with people putting up their own walls in front of me, it all reminds me of the frustration I fell into a few years ago when I got more deeply into Facebook and made several friend requests of former classmates.  Many accepted and many simply ignored the requests...so be it.  I've later discovered that the wisdom that's supposed to come later in life and temper people's outlook on themselves, their role in society and their political leanings usually comes slowly, if at all.  I sometimes read how some of my "friends" react to a provocative posting and see that folks have a defensive instinct to instantly respond in a knee-jerk, "offended" manner to viewpoints they disagree with, as if reading a contrary opinion somehow poses a physical threat to them.  After the recent horrible assassination of a young conservative voice, the trolls came out on this social media site in force, causing me to wonder whether I shouldn't just shut down my account permanently.  I used to post links to this blog on it for years, but in early 2021 I decided that the often idiotic negative trolling I'd get...usually from a tiny number of old Nova High School classmates...made the whole exercise and effort unworthy.  So I post my articles independently of Facebook and tend to avoid activity there. And what do you know, the company's algorithms have decided what my interests are and load up my news feed with posts reflecting their conclusions: lots and lots of stuff about the Beatles, especially John Lennon...  

Hormone Therapy Injection for Residual Prostate Cancer

Early this afternoon, as mentioned in yesterday's article, I went down to the University of Florida Medical Plaza, oncology section, to have a prescribed hormone treatment injection to inhibit my body's production of testosterone and consequently stem the growth of cancer in my body as I anticipate radiation treatment beginning in a few weeks.  The injection, done on my rear, has a six-month span of effectiveness and I'm confident that it will help to diminish, if not eliminate, the presence of any prostate cancer within me.  Everyone there was so nice and I barely felt the needles stick when they first drew blood from my arm and then made that hormone-inhibiting injection.  Now my butt feels a little sore but that's all right: time to let the medicine work its magic...

About Tomorrow's Procedure

Tomorrow I have scheduled an injection of testosterone-inhibiting hormone treatment, to last for six months and facilitate the eradication of the microscopic residual cancer after my prostatectomy this past March.  I made the assigned phone call to my oncologist's nurse, who apprised me of the treatment's possible side effects: fatigue and menopause-emulating symptoms like hot flashes and joint pain.  Not that these will occur, but it's always a good idea to know where I'm headed with all this.  The nurse also stressed that in the face of the possible fatigue it's a good idea for me to be intentionally active.  Well, I planned on that all along, so now it's just a matter of once again showing up with a good attitude at the Medical Plaza for the procedure... 

Local Free News Rag Extols Local Coffee Shops

I enjoy the Independent Florida Alligator news rag not only because it is free, but also because the articles tend to be interesting, written with some empathy for the reader's sensibilities.  The September 8th issue, which was available on a news rack at a store's entrance that Melissa and I recently walked by, contained an article discussing some of the writer's (Aaliyah Evertz) favorite coffee shops in town.  Since the Alligator is oriented around the University of Florida campus and favors Gator students' interests, her selection of five places tended to be centered around the campus.  I like coffee shops...that is, when I can find a reasonable place to sit after I buy my drink and if the people working there are friendly.  A few weeks ago I went to the Sym coffee shop near Newberry Road and NW 55th Street and ordered a coffee.  That part of the visit went well until I got my drink and then looked for a place to sit.  The whole place was occupied with student-types, and it wasn't until I gave up and walked outside that I found an open spot.  At least with Sym I could easily find a parking spaces; some of these places Evertz listed seem buried within congested areas with little available nearby parking.  I was a big frequenter of places, like Coffee Culture on NW 13th Street just north of Gainesville High School, that would stay open late into the night.  But after COVID-19 hit and businesses drastically curtailed their operating hours (or even closed down), it's been hard in recent years to find a place that I can go to past nine at night.  I know that Krispy Kreme stays open around the clock as does Waffle House, but Starbucks tends to close early (some of the stores REAL early), and Dunkin' Donuts closes its doors at 7 PM (at least the one near my house).  But you know, I do have a coffeemaker at home and can brew my own coffee, and I'm open "24/7" with plenty of places to sit...even into the wee hours of the morning.  Right now I'm drinking a pot of New England brand Caramel Macchiato-flavored coffee while sitting at our dining room table, sweet dog Daisy sitting below on the floor gazing outside into the back yard.  Now back to UF for a minute.  When I first attended there in the late 1970s, I would go to a Krystal fast-food store just across University Avenue from Library West.  This place was always open, their coffee was good and very cheap, and I got a lot of studying done there (and their chili was excellent).  When that place eventually closed down and a new Krystal was built elsewhere years later, I sadly discovered that this one original place I liked so much was an aberration.  But when I think back to being a student on campus at the University of Florida, Krystal on University Avenue reigns supreme as the place to go.  Years later I made a lot of use of the Krispy Kreme store...also 24/7...three blocks north of campus on NW 13th Street. So I'm not really at all interested in the snooty, more specialized coffee shops that jack up their prices while customers are grateful to have at least been able to park somewhere nearby.  As of now I have no regular place that stands as my favorite place to go to have some coffee in public and study or write some, but the home dining room table is always there...     

Mixed Running and Walking in Today's Depot Parkrun 5K

This Saturday morning I woke up early...before six...after not sleeping well.  But I dutifully got myself ready to go at yet another Parkrun 5K, this one to be at Gainesville Depot Park, a few blocks south of downtown. As a reward for simply getting out there and showing up, I had decided in advance to speed-walk the whole four laps around the park...the 68 degrees race time temperature and 91% humidity reinforced that decision.  This Parkrun location is a lot more crowded than the one held at West End Community Park, so just before its start I deliberately walked backward to near the back of the throng.  Yet I still experienced the jumble of people behind me running around, crowding me out although I was simply walking (quickly) in a straight line.  Eventually it thinned out (a little) and I was able to establish a reasonable walking pace, slower than my best but not my worst, either.  I speed-walked two laps, and felt energized enough then to start mixing in a little running.  During those final two laps I ran a total time of 10:08, finishing the 5K (3.1-mile) distance at 37:08.  You can view the posted results by clicking HERE. During this season of my life, in which I'm about to undergo some mild hormone and radiation treatment for microscopic residual prostate cancer, I need to set aside my "personal best" standards regarding race finishing times and instead focus on that "showing up", either mixing up the running and walking or doing solely speed-walks.  So, supposing circumstances and how I feel work for me to do another Parkrun next week, my plan is to start out the race running for three minutes, then walk four, then run six...until the end, with me averaging six minutes of running to four of walking.  Sounds like a reasonable idea...

About Charlie Kirk and His Tragic Assassination

Regarding the recent murder of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, I have to preface any comments with the disclaimer that, before this horrible event, I hadn't heard or read anything from this individual, only that his name tended to circulate around on the more politically-charged posts on Facebook. In the last couple of days I checked his You Tube channel and he seemed like a composed, reasonable and likable young man who boldly and passionately expressed his viewpoints on a number of issues, some controversial, that I have mixed opinions about.  He avidly and consistently supported and campaigned for Trump over the years while the latter was equally consistent with his nasty and hateful rhetoric...this is the only direct criticism I'll make about Charlie.  Yet I personally know several people who are squarely in the camp of our current demagogic, autocratic "leader", but they're also very caring and generous...Charlie Kirk struck me as someone with that type of personal charm.  The individual that is being portrayed as the shooting suspect seems to have come from a multi-generational family of staunch Trump supporters (who apparently turned him in to the police).  Perhaps his political allegiance is to violent extremist militia groups, but at this juncture I don't see any leftist leanings as our evil president has directly insinuated without providing any evidence, trying to stir up division and anger while making the Democratic Party opposition into a scapegoat.  The suspect seems to have been well-trained with a sniper-level of firearm accuracy, since the act was committed at some 200-yard distance, and how his deft scampering off a high roof implied some special military-level training.  I remember how, in the late 1990s, popular late-night radio host Art Bell, well-known for his conservative political views, still ran afoul of some extremist right-wing militia group that harassed and threatened him.  Sometimes one's supposed "allies" can turn out to be the real enemy. My inclination toward Mr. Kirk is to honor his courageous life and defuse the propaganda that evil players like Trump are perpetrating upon the shocked population, who could use a real leader at this trying and sad time instead of this presidential fraud...a 34-count convicted felon...inflicted upon us last November by my fellow Americans... 

Napier Finally on the Hot Seat

University of Florida head football coach Billy Napier, ever since he's been at the helm, has presided over a team that has under-performed to fans' typically ambitious expectations.  So the question each season is: how long will he go before he's described as being on the "hot seat"?  I've jokingly been entertaining this notion for 2025, a year that the Gators have been hyped as being a breakthrough season that could even propel them to the college football playoffs at the end.  They had a couple of "soft" home games to start off the season.  On August 30th they played Long Island University and performed well for that level of competition, winning 55-0.  Their opponent this past Saturday, South Florida, had opened their own season with a surprising walloping of Boise State, 34-7, so I wasn't very sure about how they'd do against UF.  As it turned out, Florida was a disorganized, undisciplined mess, unprepared for this game, a close contest ultimately decided because one of their childish, unsportsmanlike and entitled players decided to spit at an opposing player at a crucial moment, resulting in an 18-16 loss to the Bulls.  After it was over, I had no trouble at all finding references to Napier now being on the hot seat.  The question was, would he do like he did last year and say something snide about his critics?  I haven't heard anything of this sort yet...let's see how the Gators do on the road this Saturday in Baton Rouge against #3 Louisiana State.  If he survives that contest, then Napier will "get to" travel down-state to face #5 Miami the following week: oh joy...

Support Groups, Fight Club and Grief

When I was nine, I was going to a brand-new public school: Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School, known then more commonly and simply as Nova Elementary.  Over time I made a few friends out there in Davie, cowboy country in south Florida.  One day a few of us got together and informally established our own fight club, transforming into a sport and ritual an activity usually reserved for bullies and angry kids.  Surprisingly, it lasted longer than you might think, although with my ribs poking through my chest...making me look like a concentration camp survivor...I quickly got tired of the good-natured blows that naturally would come my way.  So I totally got the meaning behind the concept of an adult fight club, presented with such force in that 1999 same-titled movie. My son Will revealed, though, that this movie went down into a rabbit hole of plot twists and deeper meaning, so one evening I began to watch it...from the beginning.  Presented in the first person, the narrator...played by Edward Norton...is suffering from extreme insomnia stemming from his depression about his mundane, boring life.  He hits upon the strategy of participating in support groups to cure his insomnia, even though he usually doesn't have any connection with the groups' themes.  So my exposure to support groups, along with the way they go around in a circle during discussion time with the members spilling their hearts out, began in full earnest with this movie.  Earlier this evening I attended a "grief care" support group presented at a local church...Melissa suggested it.  I'm not sure what I see myself getting from it, but there I am, within this group.  We're committed to anonymity about the people in it as well as the specific stories told. Had I still been working and not retired like I did, I'd have the perfect excuse for avoiding it...I just DON'T LIKE support groups.  Earlier I mentioned that Will was the one who told me about the movie Fight Club: his recent passing is the core reason behind this support group having me "in" it.  Like the protagonist Jake Epping in Stephen King's wonderful novel 11/22/63, I am not a crying man by nature...although the tears are often simmering just under the surface.  I just never thought of life as being endless: it's mortal, with our life spans on Earth bracketed between the year of our birth and that of our deaths.  This mortal physical body that goes by the name William "Bill" "Billy" Irwin belongs to the life span begun in 1956, and the end year has yet to reveal itself.  I am dead to the year 1856, and most likely won't extend to the year 2200 as well (unless Putin's dubious immortality vaccine comes to the rescue).  I'm also dead to wherever my body isn't...I'm looking out the window and my life isn't there: it's here, seated at this keyboard writing this.  The HERE AND NOW, in essence, defines me in a subjective sense and cannot be quantified by physical science in any objective manner. My eventual experience of dying will, of necessity, be conceptually very different from what others experience about my death from their viewpoints.  It's a great quandary, this gulf between subjective awareness and objective observation, and since time marches on without regard to how I feel about anything, I might as well relax and entertain a sense of inner peace about it all, tedious support group or not.  Either I'll survive others or they'll survive me...

Society Becoming Unhinged and Violent, Mirroring World Leaders

I'm looking around me and it doesn't look good.  People in society, and leaders around the world, are becoming mentally and morally unhinged, holding tight to their resentments and grudges and then exploding into acts of terror.  Putin keeps sending drones to bomb his neighbor Ukraine, knowing that the main result of his actions is murderous terror against ordinary civilians.  Yet in the interests of longevity he touts a vaccine that is supposed to ward off cancer, and in personal visits comes off seeming like a reasonable and congenial individual.  Those two children massacred in a Minnesota church by a sick monster, and the young Ukrainian immigrant woman who finished her work shift, boarded a Charlotte, North Carolina commuter train, and was promptly stabbed to death in random fashion by the young man who happened to be sitting behind her seat, are just the more recent examples of what I see as a complete breakdown in civil society. And this president of ours, I'm sure, would be an active part of this chain of violence and terror as he is governed by vengeance, fear and anger. I don't need to watch the national news to get more than my share of disheartening news.  The local news shows consistently come up with stories about people who shot up their own home or of others who got mad at someone at a party, workplace or bar and then went back to their car and returned, guns blazing with fury.  I go out of my way on my neighborhood walk/runs to keep my mouth shut and eyes trained on the road ahead of me, but this doesn't stop some motorists around me from slowing down and checking me out from safely behind their tinted windows as if my mere existence posed a kind of threat to them.  Life is fragile: that's a lesson I already learned but which was brutally reinforced in the last two years with the deaths of my son and sister-in-law.  Stephen King wrote a 2006 novel titled Cell, in which cellphone users would suddenly become violently deranged and go on killing sprees.  I don't think we're so far off from that scenario, I'm afraid. Lord, get me through this day...  

Further Plans for Cancer Treatment

This morning I had my consultation appointment with the urologist who performed my March prostatectomy.  Since my follow-up PSA blood test revealed a slightly increasing trend that probably points to the presence...at least on a microscopic biochemical level...of residual cancer in that part of my body, he laid out the future treatment strategy.  It includes both radiation and hormone therapy, and this will be scheduled in the next few days.  Sure, I would have preferred to have maintained that earlier low PSA level, but my doctor is very upbeat about my prospects following this treatment regimen, which we will schedule around our upcoming cruise.  I don't know how this will affect my overall energy level in the next two or three months, but I've already decided to focus on showing up and finishing regarding the running races I'm going to participate in with a mix of running and walking.  The main hassle as I see it will be driving across town to my treatment sessions and back.  Still, I plan to be positive and active through it all...

Happy Anniversary, My Dear Melissa!

Happy anniversary to my beautiful sweetheart Melissa. We're celebrating thirty-nine years together, with hopes of many more to come, along with joy and laughter.  I love you, honey!

Ran and Walked the West End Community Parkrun 5K This Morning

This morning I got up early, once again proving that I can indeed engage in this suggested habit if I have a good reason behind it.  And that reason was today's Parkrun, held Saturday mornings at 7:30.  My Parkrun of choice (Gainesville has two) was the West End Community Parkrun, the eighth event since it began in early July.  That location is a former golf course-turned community park, a few blocks west of 122nd Street off Newberry Road. For me it was my third official finish there, and I had my strategy set before me: alternate five minutes of speed-walking with five of moderate running...starting the race with three minutes of careful running as we passed over a long stretch of cracked up concrete sidewalk.  The conditions were predictably inhospitable: 72 degrees with 94% humidity, and a glaring sun rising in the east without any clouds.  The course has so many twists and turns that it is indecipherable...just follow the signs, arrows and volunteer marshals.  Although it was a bit taxing under such heat and humidity, I found this regular switching between running and walking to be very workable, a template for my future races although I might adjust the walk/run ratios.  Let's see, when I finished it at a time of 34:36, I figured that I walked a total of 15 minutes and ran for 19:36...not bad.  You can view today's posted results by clicking HERE.  Next week I'll most likely cross over to Depot Park.  The West End Community Parkrun this morning had relatively few participants, but that Depot Parkrun usually swells up.  I do like the fact that after West End is over, I can cool off and change at the gym across Newberry Road and then enjoy a coffee or chai latte at Patticakes next door.  And now it's time to face the rest of this weekend, whatever it brings us. As for tomorrow morning, let's see what motivates me to get up early...

Adult Family Members Suffering from Medical Issues

Today my family is undergoing some medical problems, and we are in a state of mobilization to help out when and where we can.  My daughter and brother-in-law both have some serious issues going on, and they are seeing doctors and medical help.  Your prayers are welcome, and we rely on God to heal them of their afflictions.  It's tough when two different issues seem to come out of nowhere to cause such distress among our loved ones...bless and comfort Rebecca and Keith...

62nd and 23rd

I'm sitting here in that same old Dunkin' store facing the same scene I showed in a recent article.  There's a street sign right there ahead on the corner: NW 23rd ST on top facing in one direction and NW 62nd AVE on the bottom facing the other. Cars come and go, but I don't see pedestrians making any use of the provided sidewalks here.  That's a lot different from the Manhattan, NYC streets I see on my YouTube live feeds at night...click HERE to see an earlier video.  On them the cameraman, with seemingly endless endurance, walks a brisk pace for miles upon miles, up and down Midtown Manhattan streets and avenues...it makes me tired leaning back on my couch watching all the fast-walking people, and they, too, seen to possess boundless energy.  But were I there among them, I probably wouldn't be tiring either, no matter how much real estate I covered.  I've been wearing a FitBit watch for a few years, and when I was working (at the post office) the last couple of years I would almost always be in continuous motion, often deliberately walking when I probably could have just stood or sat still.  I would regularly amass more than 20,000 steps in a workday, and then when I got home as often as not I would do some running-in-place before going off to bed. Now that I am retired, am I unconsciously scaling down my physical activity when I don't have to? And if so, is that a good thing?  On today's neighborhood 3.3-mile walk/run, I originally set out to speed-walk the whole loop, but at the 5-minute mark I switched the project to 5 minutes of walking alternating with 5 of easy running...and it worked! Beforehand I had thought that running would be a little too rough, but I discovered that I could get into a nice groove for five minutes knowing that I'd be back walking some.  No problem...this is actually a step up from my earlier plan to institute a 6 minutes walking/4 minutes running routine.  So maybe this 5/5 system can get me through long distance races...the first half-marathon is coming in November.  Then in early December it's a 15K, followed in January by a choice I have between a marathon and half-marathon.  Let's see how far I can take this, in the old "postal worker/ big-city walker" spirit...

Rob Dial Argues Against Comparing Oneself to Others

On his Mindset Mentor podcast today, personal development coach Rob Dial discussed how people tend to compare themselves...usually unfavorably...to others.  He says we're naturally wired into doing this assessing the relative social positions of ourselves against others, but it's not a good way to live out the day.  Folks like to scroll Facebook and other social media, but they tend to see what others post...which is usually the peak-best of what they are and do...and take it in as how they ordinarily live their lives.  I've seen this with the Canadian brothers' YouTube running channel, in which the two come off sounding awfully elitist about their chosen sport and tend to put down others that they don't see measuring up.  Well, it doesn't ruin my day to watch them, so let it be if that's how they want to present themselves...I'm still feeling fine.  My problem with others is in ordinary public conversation when they...usually it's men...go about, with false modesty, bragging about their own accomplishments and social standing.  I guess their expectation is for me to immediately defer to them as my superiors, but my reaction is usually one of aversion, wanting to put distance between them and me. This Parkrun experience I have habituated myself to partake of weekly is an example of the leaders openly stressing that it is NOT a competition...and then running in it like it IS. Rob Dial says that the only person you should be comparing yourself to is you, and whether or not you're improving over that past version of yourself.  That's how I see Parkruns and other races: how am I getting through the race and does my finishing time meet with the standards I set in past performances?  That's how I get myself looking forward each week to going down there and giving it another go.  For example, this coming Saturday morning I plan to try out the West End Community Parkrun for the third time, running it this time and seeing if I can't beat my initial finishing time there.  In the final analysis, whether I succeed in that is secondary to the main thing, which is showing up in the first place.  In any event, I'm sure there will be some annoying people who will try to make it all a personal contest between us...I say let them do that if that's how they want to limit themselves...

Self-Imposed Structure and Discipline an Issue So Far in Retirement

I'm writing this a little past 1 PM on a weekday that I normally would be driving to work had I not retired late last year after 37 years.  I'd be in the post office parking lot, no doubt eventually finding a free space somewhere in the disastrous mess that postal management created after they moved all the carriers into the processing plant on SW 34th Street.  Although if still employed I wouldn't be looking forward to being in that fishbowl of a building with all its peepholes and cameras and obnoxious "career" ladder-climbing supervisors trying to act tough, my mind and actions to a significant extent would be free to venture down whatever paths I felt inclined to follow.  The intermittent fasting that led to a heightened level of fitness and athleticism in 2023-24 (and was hinted at as being an "eating disorder" by loved ones) was able to take place under a work routine that saw me free from undue pressure by others to ravenously consume food.  I'd like to return to at least a modified version of that regimen, but I need to respond to the clearly different cues presenting themselves to me during these times of zero job-imposed structure.  For one, my priority is to include Melissa in as many activities that I can...but in the times she doesn't feel like going along I need to continue with my agenda while being sympathetic to her feelings.  People's moods and emotions fluctuate over the course of any day, and so do mine.  Each of them can speak for themselves...but not necessarily for me, although I welcome their input.  It does me little good to listen to podcasts from Rob Dial or Andrew Huberman about instilling self-discipline and structure if I get static for being proactive and showing up.  Being inclusive of others is not at all the same as depending on direction from them. My inclination is to make living simpler in a material sense and to avoid making mountains out of molehills.  Living in the present, or mindfulness, is the opposite of overthinking.  How about some mindfulness...and a little gratitude for the blessings in our lives? As for responsible activity, I think it's better to get little habits going to the point where "good living" just naturally becomes a part of my daily existence, instead of shutting down my life to focus on a specific massive maintenance or clean-up project (directed by someone else). I've learned over the past sixteen months with two tragic family deaths and three different cancer diagnoses that life is indeed fragile and we're all subject to eventual death in this world, and I value the present moments accorded me, aware that I don't know far ahead they will stretch out. I do my share of complaining about the news, but this is the time of my life. No, I'm far from perfect and have a long way to go. But I don't think that I'm being unreasonable to ask for a little consideration and respect when I am earnestly seeking to live in a disciplined and structured manner as I approach my 69th birthday...

On This Labor Day Starting Off September

Welcome to the month of September on this Labor Day Monday.  The Weather Channel meteorologists seem to be enjoying going to pains to explain that today marks the beginning of the meteorological fall season while the astronomical fall begins on September 22nd.  I'm not sure how that affects my life, but it continued to be very warm and humid outside as I walked around the neighborhood earlier this afternoon. I'm not counting on any sustained cooling in my surrounding weather.  No, it's tropical storms and hurricanes I'm on the lookout against, and the "experts" don't seem to think that anything of substance will develop within the next week or so, although they say there is a "robust" tropical wave out there.  We've had a pretty light Atlantic hurricane season so far, with the only developed hurricane staying clear of land, far out in the Atlantic Ocean...may the rest follow this pattern.  Melissa and I would like our planned cruise into the Caribbean Sea in early October to go off without complications. Not only do I need to take the weather into consideration about this, but apparently our mentally ill, creepy drama-queen of a president seems to think it's a good idea to manufacture yet another crisis by amassing warships just off the Venezuelan coast to provoke armed conflict with that nation...we're scheduled to cruise to the nearby islands of Aruba and Curacao. You probably voted for the felon: what excuses are you making for him this time? In any event, there's a limit to what I have control over in my life...let me focus on today and what it may bring...