After Medical Consult, Looking Ahead for Fitness Rise

 This morning I had my medical appointment, seeing oncological nurse practitioner Amy at the UF Neuromedicine building off Archer Road.  I first had my blood drawn and analyzed (results encouraging) and provided their customary urine sample.  Knowing beforehand the often fickle, arbitrary and cruel way cancers can intensify and spread, I felt that the best strategy for this meeting was to be talkative and upbeat about engaging in life, particularly focusing on improving my level of physical fitness.  When I'm sitting at our dining room table looking at my reflection on the facing wall, I look a lot like John Lennon of the Beatles from early 1967 when he was making the controversial video for his song Strawberry Fields Forever that revealed how much he had already aged...appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show with Penny Lane and confusing and riling my parents at the time: they wouln't be buying any more Beatles albums after that!. Yet in spite of my more worn-out appearance, I feel that I have the potential to improve my endurance and fitness against the sometimes discouraging conclusions of physicians and their staff assigned to diagnose and treat my brain cancer, which can be aggravated by aggressive glioblastoma.  I can't rightly predict my exact lifespan, but then who can with their own?  My consultation went quite well, and I spent a good part of my time at home exercising, either running in place on the carpeting or emulating running advocate Martinus Evans in our backyard, slowly jogging back and forth across it from privacy fence to privacy fence.  Now, where I stand, I just might be able to transform this challenging athletic activity into something fun.   The morning after tomorrow has yet another Depot Parkrun 5K scheduled.  If rain and storm don't wash it out and the asphalt and concrete surfaces stay dry, I I'll have a good chance to walk the whole course...and get scanned and posted online.  My plan...should weather permit the event to go off and continue to its proper conclusion...is to listen to a lengthy recording of rock music I like a lot: Led's Zeppelin' first boxed set, which was originally released in 1990 and drastically improved my opinion of Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham.  Maybe my Amazon Music account will permit me to listen to many of its tracks while on the course.  And a good degree of self-control is in order.  I won' tbe able to keep others from being irritating during the Parkrun, but I can control how I react to them.  Right now our living room TV is set on a live baseball game, and I just brewed some flavored decaf coffee.  May tonight be enjoyable for you and yours, and that your lives have much in them to be grateful for.  Good night!

Welcome, Month of May. New Parkrun Strategies

 Now that I woke up around 3:30 this morning and have already done my 16 minute routine of running-in-place on the rug on our living room floor, I am now seated at our dining room table, sipping on some freshly brewed coffee in front of this computer console. I'm looking ahead at the day to come.  Some more reading is in order, and it's a distinct possibility that Melissa and I will be heading down to our community pool to hang out and walk (and possibly float on my back) while the country music on FM 103.7 booms in the background on this first of weekdays. We might also just pay a visit to the post office I once worked at to check into a money matter we were contacted about. I intend to do some more slow-as-all Bowie running in the back yard, letting the day slowly envelope me without letting time constraints stress me out.  Reading, a little bit at a time, is something I can easily handle, as long as I bookmark my progress with the chapter and pages read...with today's date.  As for running, I will run my yard laps nice and easy, keeping track of the time i take to accomplish them before my mind counsels me to cut them short before i get too uncomfortable.  There's more live major league baseball in store on television, so I'll be able to groove into that.  I'm keeping up with Mr. Martinus Evans by working on my running without trying to lose weight or pigging out on sweets.  As for this approaching Saturday morning's Depot Parkrun 5k in Gainesville, my plan is to run when I can...slow AF...and be willing to end my run/walk with my head held high.  In other words, I want to show up there and, to my limiting mind's greatest extent possible, follow through and just see how far I can go.  I don't care how long it takes or who the other people are, i'll just try to avoid colliding with them. If my slow running efforts lead me to mentally interpret it all as too stressful to my body, then this will be a successful, albeit learning, experience no failure here.  Looks like I'll be trying some more Amazon Prime music albums, and foreign language and self-help podcasts, perfect for a weekly Parkrun.  And I'll be sure to be amenable to walking a lot of it, practicing a better attitude and keeping properly hydrated carrying a small Propel bottle... 

I am a Runner in the Mold of Martinus Evans

 Martinus Evans wants us to come on out, feel it,and declare openly, "I am a runner!", even if we're a bit reticent on signing up and taking part in races.  I remember how I would use our spacious back yard to design feasible, relatively flat running paths in order to enhance my  endurance.  After 2009, i would get home from work.  Rebecca and Will, at home, greeted me.  but then I'd dress up for a short night run and then go out and tackle it...I did this more or less regularly for several days.  Then, in 2016 after David Bowie's passing in January from liver cancer, I rediscovered his vast catalogue of excellent music and put past albums I liked on my mp3 player.  Then I'd go out into our back yard and spend time (and dry-hacking) running back and forth for months, thoroughly  unpleasant from my irritated throat and esophagus but still able to cover the longer runs (and enjoying David's musical treasures).  And now here we come to mid-spring 2026 and the back yard is now even more open and available.  I'm still struggling to regain my running endurance after surgery and some cancer treatment, and I've found a champion in Martinus Evans, who has informed and encouraged me through his recent book that I just checked out from my public library...and the audiobook version on their Libby app.  Now that I've finally recovered enough to finish a Depot Parkrun 5K and get scanned and posted online, it's time for me to reclaim my identity as a runner.  Running a little during the day will doubtless challenge me, but my intention at this stage is to wear the good Brooks running shoes I've been using and jog on the uneven grass, challenging my mind and body to grow.  Then once Saturday morning rolls around again...it'll be May 2nd...I can strive to maintain progress walking the Depot Parkrun 5K course,throwing in some small jogging stretches at the end.  The worst case scenario? I'll poop out during the race and have to cut it short.  But now I think it's a foregone conclusion that I'm a runner.I'm back in business with my early morning rising, coffee brewing, home exercise and blog writing.  Now it's time to return to the back of the house and rile up sweet Peewee Daisy (who wants to get riled up) after I flick on the air conditioning...

Wednesday's Final Book Sale, Mentally Preparing for Upcoming Parkrun 5K

 Retirement for me has given way largely to a lack of time management structure in my daily life, with medical appointments providing a sense of having to be somewhere by a certain time.  Otherwise the day has opened up...that is, until the day before yesterday.  The Alachua County Friends of the Library Wednesday  finished their twice-annual used book sale, hopefully (for them) clearing out their warehouse offering books for a dime each.  Melissa drove us down there near Main Street and downtown Gainesville, and we walked an uncomfortable distance from the car and back.  The foreign language book section had already been completely cleaned out.  I quickly found some Junior-level novels and a copy of Marilyn Ferguson's 1980s' fad best-seller The Aquarian Conspiracy practically lept up at me from the display...it sure has declined in influence and availabilityover the years.  I remember once going to the public library decades ago, picking up a copy, and comfortably sitting down with it, reading for a few hours.  Now it's again in my possession...no telling where I'm going with it.  Tomorrow morning will be the weekend again, Saturday and (at 7:30) time for yet another Depot Parkrun 5K event.  If things go according to design (that is, Lord willing), we'll be there as I try to cover, mainly walking slowly, the park's four-lap course and then get scanned and posted.  My main aim is to show up and give it all a good effort while maintaining civility among the event staff and participants without trying to "beat" anyone.  Just enjoy listening to the loud, silly birds and keep trudging on ahead.  I exercised a bit today, but feel that progress at improving my endurance hasn't been as forthcoming as I have hoped.  Recognizing that there is a huge mental component to giving up during races (Martinus Evans and Andrew Huberman concur), I have decided to take it all one step at a time and to extend my efforts tomorrow long before my mind convinces me to stop.  Well, sleep a bit tonight, get up early enough tomorrow, and keep a positive mental attitude toward things.  And you, too...

Just Finished Reading Slow AF Run Club by Martinus Evans

 Back in 2023-24 my running and walking endurance and speed had increased to the level that I successfully completed a 26.2-mile Marathon and a number of half-marathons.  My eating habits had naturally changed to the point where I had abandoned the notion of binge dieting and instead found it easy to space, by hours, between meals.  I never stopped loving food and never was remotely in danger of having an eating disorder. During those two years my dear boy Will accidentally died and we had to deal with the grief of that loss, of which I am still going through.  I made a quick decision during summer, 2024, to retire from USPS and the process went smoothly.  By 2024's end, coinciding with my peak time of physical fitness, I was being scanned...and a biopsy removed...to diagnose a serious case of prostate cancer...it would be surgically removed on 3/6/25.Still, I was in good enough shape to run 5k's such as at the DepotParkruns.   My weight crept back up into the mid-100's.  Then on 10-21 I received a preliminary diagnosis of brain cancer, confirmed 3 days later during tumor removal surgery as being of the aggressive glioblastoma variety.  Since my recovery from Dr. Koch's surgery, I received radiation and chemotherapy both of which produced side effects that interfered with my level of physical fitness.  So far in 2026 I have experienced a drastically reduced ability to run or walk continuously  for moderate distances like 5K (3.1 miles). I have been training at home on my own with running in place.  Each Saturday morning I walk laps, one at a time (two lately), at Depot Park.  i am optimistically showing up for Saturday morning Parkruns with the hope of getting in four walking laps, covering enough course distance to be scanned and posted online.  Recently at our Millhopper Public Library I checked out a running guide by Martinus Evans titled Slow AF Run Club, published in 2023 by Penguin Random House.  Read in person by the author, I got it on my Libby app and just finished listening to the entire audiobook.  Evans has a compelling, helpful message as he reveals his experiences of returning to an activity he feels too many people avoid out of fear of being watched or ridiculed. I've recently weighed myself at 200 lbs...that seems fat.  Aside from properly hydrating before and during runs, Evans has parts in his book where he lists and describes different types of rest and recovery, something he thinks highly of. I say, get online on your library account,put a hold on Slow AF Run Club, and get down to reading it!  As for me, my training continues, and this coming Parkrun should reveal me covering the course to completion...  

Cancer Chemo, Martinus, Baseball TV includes Florida, Carbs and Hydration for Training

 Yesterday Melissa drove me down to UF Health Davis Cancer pavilion for my periodic Avastin anti-cancer infusion.  First I had a blood lab draw, after which I gave a urine specimen.  Then Melissa brought over an Opus hot latte coffee.  First I waited for the test results to come in, after which the nurse connected the IV line to the incoming infusion.  While sitting there waiting for it, I listened to some Amazon Prime Music on my Android.  Then I tuned in to my public library Libby app, which played the audiobook Slow AF Run Club, written by Martinus Evans.  It's a good, compelling piece of literature about running, and how you can swing it if you stick to the author's suggestions, backed by his own life experiences.  He says he's completed some eight marathons and more than 100 other races, simply by going through the prescribed courses without ever trying to pick up the running pace.  For the neighborhood I live in, I can see me running around the block "slow as F" and then applying that standard to longer road distances.  I'm already doing a tapered version of this in the back yard, trotting back and forth between the east and west privacy fences.  While at the doctors', Melissa got me hooked up receiving the 2026 regular season live schedule featuring visual coverage of the Florida teams Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins.Today I plan to review the rosters of Tampa Bay, Miami and Atlanta...should be fun.  Speaking of running slowly (for long distances} Martinus impressed me discussing pre-run carb-loading, along with his wise emphasis on proper hydration.  It makes me want carry a long a little bottle of Propel fitness water, easy AF to tote as I go..for this early morning, I was faithful in getting up just before three, when I did some bathroom business and ran in place for 16 minutes before writing this.  And now, another good day to look forward to...

Back from Daytona Beach, Training to re-enter Long Distance Running Picture

 Today Melissa and I finished up our overnight stay at the Hampton Inn in northern Daytona Beach...then she drove the both of us back home.  Right now it's 5:55 PM. Today is the start of a new week, with its five weekdays.  It reminds me of my old, grueling high school routine, going back to the spring of 1971 when I was stuck (and not doing very well) in the ninth grade at Davie's Nova High School. The air outside back then was beginning to stink of smoke caused by a local drought and wildfires spreading across the South Florida Everglades.  Today, though it all seemed clean out on the beach.  I exercised, running in place for 36 minutes.  It's late in the afternoon now, and I've exercised for ten minutes so far.  Tuesday afternoon I am scheduled to be at UF Healh's Davis Cancer Pavilion to undergo some more IV chemotherapy for brain cancer.  Right now our living room tv is showing an old, melodramatic medical series, on which the actors are portraying characters full of troublesome life and relational issues..there's plenty of stuff on it that feels wrong to me1.i am continuing to listening, on my own public library's lLibby app, an audiobook from Martinus Evans titled Slow AF Run Club, in which the author humorously and frankly lays out his own experiences about returning to SLOW long distance running and presents several practical suggestions how I (or anyone interested in running) can get going with it.  I have a long history of running, both with training and participating in public races.  I have entered and completed two 26.2-mile marathons, along with 19 13.1 half-marathons.  With the lengthier distance, I have little interest in adding to my "accomplishments".  I simply want to return to my  old ability for lasting reasonably long distances dating back to the year 2010,  Consistently sticking with daily training can build up compounded positive effect over the next few weeks and months.  I'm still counting on progress in my  ongoing struggle against cancer. May this spring and summer bode well for you and yours...

Going to Beach with Melissa Today

 This morning would be the birthday of my late father and son.  Daddy would be turning 100 while Will would be 36.  Melissa and I are planning to stay overnight at a Daytona Beach Hampton Inn and then return home Monday.  After Saturday's double-lap walk through Depot Park, I got up early, around 4:30, and did ten minutes of running in place on the living room rug floor before brewing some coffee and writing this. Earlier yesterday evening I listened some more to a library audiobook about running and the first chapter of an annoying Hardy Boys adventure story...it reminded me of an old South Park episode titled "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce" when the gay lads keep "getting a clue" You know,  Joe and Hardy each sound like their privileged brothers, the only missing words being their "clues"that no one ever holds them accountable for . Later this morning, Melissa and I have a reservatioto at a Daytona Beach hotel, where we hope to enjoy the ambience of our room balcony and the poolside.  It sure would be nice to recover some walking and running fitness on that sandy beach, too.  The beach looks like the perfect location to practice running softly.  

Today's Parkrun Effort Promises Compounded Fitness for Endurance Running and Walking

 Melissa and I went down to Gainesville's Depot Park this morning for their Parkrun...or at least my attempt to substantially lengthen my training session walk there.  Today I doubled my distance walked, from a .7-mile lap to two laps totaling 1.55 miles.  It took me 34 minutes in all, and that's all right since I am in no way concerned about how fast I go.  You see, during this half of a Parkrun I listened to my Alachua Public Library Libby audiobook app containing the book I just checked out: Slow AF Run Club by Martinus Evans. His message is informative, humorous and inspirational...in other words, very useful!  Next week I'll try to 'up' it to three laps, and there you have it: a definite feeling of progress doing this resistance walk and letting my daily, consistent training efforts compound in their positive effects on my fitness.  Back in 2007 I could barely run around my home block, the road surface feeling way too rough for my feet.  But in '08 I managed a solid eight-mile neighborhood training run that I have yet to duplicate (or want to).  My effort today wasn't scanned or posted, and I'm not doing any of this for any reason beyond personal betterment. I do want to get to Martinus's level of running softly and slowly...all I care about is covering the distance.  Now we're left with the rest of Saturday, along with any more walk/run training i might see fit to do.  So after this encouraging effort, I intend to continue keeping up with the consistency, resistance and discomfort (and rest & recovery) and let the fitness compound...

Checking Out Library Audiobooks, Exercise, TV, News

 This morning I avoided getting up super-early, and ended up getting a pretty reasonable night's sleep.  During the course of the day, I did some 32 minutes' worth of running-in-place...add to this that I walked a couple of inner-perimeter backyard laps.  Now it's around 7:45 and darkening into the evening time.  My intention is to throw on a light "Mister Rogers style of sweater and sit around on the front or back porch.  Baseball is on the TV schedule and I'm looking forward to enjoying some of it.  Tomorrow morning they're holding another Depot Parkrun 5K.  I'd like for Melissa to drive me down there, and it sure would be cool if I were to manage completing the entire four-lap 5k course,without any attempt to be fast.  I've also been trying to check out on Libby an audiobook version of D.S. MacHale's fantasy nove Pendragon1: The Merchant of Death.  So far I haven't been successful with this clearly-flawed app, and that book remains unloaded.  I do have a couple of old Hardy Boys adventure books ready to read, along with the original Foundation novel from that classic old Isaac Asimov series.  I think tomorrow morning during the 'race' I'll try listening in to a story.  Well, tonight I'll be tuning in to our MLB Channel to watch a couple of live contests...their presentation has been very good so far since the 2026 regular season began late last month.  I'm tired of all the war news and how our politicians and media hounds are trying to manipulate my emotions while offering little-to-nothing of value.  So, I wish you and yours a great day if you're "down under' and a wonderful, blessed weekend...

New Book Series, and My Reactions to Streaming MLB Channel at Start of Season

 Now that I finished reading Joshua Khan's dark fantasy novel Shadow Magic and began Martinus Evan's SlowAF Run Club after updating my public library registration, I have been looking for new books to read.  D.J. MacHale is the author of the young adult Pendragon fantasy series, and I got the first installment, titled The Merchant of Death, which is now on my Chromebook.  So far I'm enjoying reading it and can somewhat relate to the personality and life circumstances of its chief protagonist Robert "Bobby" Pendragon, who is starting out at the start of high school enjoying more popularity than I could ever muster in this so-called real world.  His uncle soon intervenes and Bobby finds himself whisked away on a motorcycle, fearing that he might never return. I liked the characters and could relate to the story's modern, suburban American setting.  I'm looking forward to many more hours of enjoyable reading here.  Regarding TV, I've been watching our subscribed MLB Channel and generally enjoying the live game coverage.  It does annoy me how much the announcers tend to criticize the newly-implemented ABS challenge system that makes the umpires' balls and strikes calls more equitable.  When I first click on a game, I have to get past a little disorientation as I try to find out who's playing, who's at bat, what inning it is, how many outs are leftin the inning, who's at bat and pitching, who-if anyone- is on which base-the superimposed strike zone, and the short countdown timer that seems to rush the pitcher into quickly letting go of the ball.  Since the challenge system has become less subjective, to me it shouldn't upset a batter, manager or pitcher whenever they strike out walk a batter.  That part of the game I like. As for the teams and blackouts, in Florida "my two" cities, Tampa Bay and Miami, have all their games visually blocked, but I can hear their audio coverage.  When I signed up for comprehensive live baseball coverage on MLB Channel this spring/summer, my aim was to get to know each team in a more complete way, including who their players are and what they are like.  I think this is likely to happen the more I watch, and it is a very good sign.  I also dig "being" at the 28 assorted ball parks spread over America and Canada...it "kind of like" feels like tourism, especially when the cameras focus on the crowds.  Today, it being Thursday, the available MLB games are limited, so I'll get my schedule set and enjoy what's coming up...

Run Club Author Evans Providing Fitness Hope and Workout Information

 I woke up at at little past one this morning.  I had to linger in bed for time to "catch up", but eventually it did and I set out, in the living room, to do some 12 minutes of running-in-place.  The air conditioning in the house was mostly on, but I took some of the "off" time to brew a pot of coffee.  Yesterday I took some time to switch around running-in-place with walking back and forth through the house, using the initial training formula of Slow AF Run Club author Martinus Evans' suggested timed ratios of running to walking at a ratio of one to three, building up to a total of twenty minutes leaving pace out of it...I worked my way up to ten minutes.  Later today my plan is to go a little further with the Slow AF workouts, without going overboard with them...I'm enjoying reading through this funny, helpful book. Melissa earlier gave me a good report on my most recent MRI brain scan.  It's still something I need to be cautious interpreting, since these tests can easily quickly turn toward the worse.  I have to be reasonable about my own medical expectations, especially regarding the detection and growth of cancer in my own brain. Living onward for a multitude of years is something I'd like to be a part of, and being effectively active during that hoped-for span places high on my list of priorities...especially concerning running and walking long distance endurance events.  Completing race events of 5k to half-marathon length, regardless of finishing times, are goals I'd like to attain as 2026 progresses into the spring,summer, and fall months. I've already experienced a severe, seemingly random brain cancer diagnosis bomb dropped on me from last October, with the brain surgery and subsequent chemo and radiation treatment side effects having their own negative effects on my athletic endurance and general fitness level.  Let's see if this morning I can't at least approach the exhortations of Mr. Evans, who believes that factors limiting running and walking distance attainment are more than 90% mental in origin.  I say let's get mental with it all and crush it...

Just Checked Out Running and Beatles Books from Library

The other day I finally completed my reading of Joshua Khan's childishly dark and forgettable 2016 fantasy novel Shadow Magic and promptly wrote a mainly negative blog article review on it.  Now I'm ready for more books.  I persuaded Melissa yesterday to look in my old wallet for my ancient, dilapidated public library card.  We eventually found it and went on down there.  After discovering a thick, very heavy volume claiming to discuss every Beatles song ever recorded and released, I found a book about running for absolute, rank beginners by Martinus Evans titled Slow AF Run Club.  We checked both out for 4 weeks and renewed my library registration.  I started reading Evans and found his unapologetically Earthy language did not interfere with his book's compelling message, which claimed that running is 90% mental and that his goal with the book was to light a fire under readers' asses and have them get up and start running, with speed playing no factor in the process.  That really hit the spot with me, for I couldn't care less about running a fast race...only getting through them no matter how slowly.  Evans has a training protocol that mixes light, limited running with more time-extended walking, interspersed with rest and recovery breaks.  His simple plan is something I'd like to get started with soon, and I'm on board with his notion about how much of a role the mind plays regarding how runners limit themselves.  I'm 69 and a half and firmly believe that light, light running is the way to go for me. And my future running aspirations are pretty much set in stone: let me get to where I can cover the distance, and then on race day show up, finish and walk away with the medal. Or the Parkrun postings on Saturday mornings..

The Beatles were such extreme head cases that I was somewhat turned off by their combative attitudes toward each other during their studio recording sessions, lead by George Martin.  I watched on YouTube, on its Film Retrospective channel, showing how different famous rock albums were recorded, and how disruptive and chaotic the sessions tended to be, mainly with acts like the Beatles and Rolling Stones often on drugs, carrying on with their fighting.  And then I saw a show about the making in 1970-71 of Led Zeppelin IV and was impressed (and surprised) by how that band was depicted as being professional, not at all subject to runaway egos. So this Beatles book stands at home as couch reading, not a reading endeavor project per se but rather as something I might look at based on the topic...

Early Rising, Day Planning

I woke up and got out of bed this morning a little past three...did ten minutes of running in place while brewing coffee.  Now I'm sitting here looking ahead to the coming day, just a little past four.  One item on my agenda is to go down to my local public library branch, update my card and account, and check out one or two interesting books.  Unlike the case with 2nd and Charles a few weeks ago, I have no intention of picking out books out of desperation because I'm too tired and can't find a place to sit.  i do know that this is now post-Easter and we're now back on the regular calendar. It's a foregone conclusion that further exercise for me today will tax my ability to accomplish it.  If i do more back-yard inner perimeter laps, then I know what to expect.  And my eating will be measured and recorded., with the notion that spacing of meals and snacks is to be recommended. Yesterday evening i did watch a YouTube video listing and explaining 7 simple habits I could easily adopt...probably would be better off writing them down and implementing them, 1 by 1.  i want to install and begin using a smartphone app that identifies wild bird species by their songs...this afternoon on the back porch sounds like a good time to get that going.  And hydrating a lot more, that sounds good. Life is good, and I am a person in charge of my own happiness...

Just Finished Reading Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan

 During Anita and Jim's recent visit to Gaineville, we tried looking around the used bookstore 2nd and Charles.   There was such a dearth of interesting books or magazines...and I was feeling physically exhausted...that I almost jumped at the opportunity to buy a 2016 juvenile-level fantasy novel by Joshua Khan titled Shadow Magic. It took me a while to get going reading through it, especially when I quickly discerned how depressing and hopeless the setting, characters and social order were.  Imagine that the "good" place, called Gehenna, is where the dead are brought back to life.  Society is worse than the Taliban and women can be put to death for simply invoking magic. Lilith Shadow rules over Gehenna although she is suffering through a 3-year engagement to an entitled little creep of the opposite ruling house named Gabriel and trying to solve the mystery of recent assassinations and attempts.  The novel's hero is a rough little boy named Thorn...he and Lily hook up and are pretty much on their own to solve the mysteries and save the day. In the background is a scary (but principled) man named Tyburn: he is the official executioner, and no one wants to find themselves on his bad side.  Let me explain my reactions.  I found nothing in the story's setting attractive or stimulating to my imagination, which was the case in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Twilight by Stephenie  Meyer, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling...J.R.R.Tolkien's two sagas The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings also stand out.  Rick Riordan wrote the Percy Jackson series bringing classical mythology to a modern-day level, and until filmmakers ruined it for me by over-dramatizing it, I enjoyed the occcaional tongue-in-cheek repartee. But not with Shadow Magic. On the book's jacket he is quoted as saying,"I defy you not to love this story." 

Well, I stand defied. 

I had little trouble reading through Joshua Khan's narrative, but found it all pretty boring...it didn't matter to me what happened to anyone, including the so-called "good guys", who I would no doubt have disliked in real life.  So I don't recommend Shadow Magic and only bought and read it just to be able to say I read a book.  i won't buy or read the next one. No, I think I'll just bide my time and choose something else with a special, appealing nature to it...

Baseball, Early Rising, Reading, Media Junkie, Gratitude, Exercise

 Yesterday evening I enjoyed watching the MLB premium channel for the regular lineup of contests, minus those being visually blocked for including Florida teams like Tampa Bay and Miami.  It's fun to follow the flow of an inning, with the pitcher scrambling to get in his throws before the timer expires.  My favorite action involves fly balls that compel fielders to chase the dropping ball, sometimes resulting in collisions and comedic falls.  So far I've been impressed with the pitching and general play of the Texas Rangers,  especially with regard to attaining and maintaining middle-and-late inning leads against Baltimore.  Philadelphia provided some late-game excitement against Washington when centerfielder Brandon Marsh bravely chased down and caught a deep fly ball that came close to escaping the ball park...that play ended the game.  Today I'll be checking out the schedule to see what's available. This morning I, too, bravely rose out of bed to run 10 minutes in-place and brew a pot of coffee.  There's still that Shadow Magic novel by Joshua Khan I have as a reading project.  The narrative still seems uninteresting to me...the gloomy Gehenna setting is something that I would like to thoroughly avoid, and I simply cannot relate in any fashion to the characters.  Still, this is a good habit I'm working on. And speaking of the news, I expect our presidential media whore to monopolize TV coverage while he continues his prima Donna life's mission to transform my already-humble existence into a reality TV episode.  Let's just see if I can't stay at home and live a peaceful, grateful life away from the manipulation while watching my eating and hydration.  And making progress with my fitness efforts would be quite fine, too.  So how about sitting placidly outside and/or watching YouTube self-improvement channels... 

Question about Scariest Stephen King Villain

 There was an open question posted on my Facebook news feed: which Stephen King villain character is deservedly the scariest?  The comments varied, but the one that resonated with me the most was Randall Flagg, the murderous manipulator from his epic The Stand.  Donald Trump, who speaks and acts like he thinks he's the Supreme Dictator and expects his lapdogs to obediently follow suit, to me seems to pattern his entire presence on the King antagonist.  In that novel Flagg takes advantage of a deadly pandemic in order to establish absolute tyranny over a stricken planet.  i wonder just how far he is willing to go as he attacks civil order here, vulnerable internationals, and even entire nations.  "Our" Trump mentioned in passing that Cuba is "next"...I wonder what unprovoked violence he is about to inflict on a place that, in a more peaceful, reasonable world, could have become a very prosperous, attractive tourist destination.  When I was growing up, Fidel Castro and Krushchev were scapegoated for being America's Cold War antagonists.  But now that they're gone, the Playground Bully seeks only to incite passions and fury. When is he going to turn against his own people? He's already been vilifying our erstwhile allies in the last several days.Where are Hegseth, Noem and Bondi going on all this?  It makes me want to switch to all-day, live Major League Baseball.  I recently watched the Dodgers play Arizona, the Yankees play San Fran, Milwaukee play the Chicago White Sox, the Rockies versus the Marlins, the Reds against the Red Sox, and Philadelphia against the Chicago Cubs.  In viewing the MLB Channel, I'm getting to know each team by their players and staff. 

I can't stand our so-called leader going off at the mouth with his brash, offensive remarks and dismissals: he sounds just like the guy on Twilight Zone (Sounds and Silences episode) who wouldn't shut up. Now it's 4:30 AM and time for me to sign off and get our sweet Peewee Daisy all riled up....

Squeezed in Article Late Today

 It looks like my right small toenail cannot currently withstand tight-fitting, floor-hugging socks.  The nails are too long and get caught up and bent painfully backward by snug socks...this morning I'm going barefoot in the heat. I need to charge up the computer, too. Also,there's this headache that bothered me for most of today.I never did find my Joshua Khan Shadow Magic book. Melissa happily was able to get me watching live major league baseball, the Yankees versus the Giants in San Francisco. Tomorrow morning is yet another Depot Parkrun 5K.  My plan is to go down there and attempt to walk 5 full laps...Melissa told me she would drive us there and back.  Later tomorrow morning they've planned yet another anti-Trump protest rally, which I intend to avoid.  While I continue to receive oral evening chemotherapy treatment, I'll be grateful to find that book and make inroads on it.  It's still just barely Friday March 27, with Saturday the 28th just around the corner.  Late this morning a friend came over to do some lawn service...later Kim, our friend, p aid us a nice visit.More exercise, reading, writing, rest, recovery...and baseball...would mark tomorrow as a successful day.  I'm glad to have been able to squeeze in this little blog at the close of today, looking forward to the weekend...

Up and At it Early Again Today

 Over the past several weeks I accustomed myself to waking up (and staying up) two or three hours before sunrise.  I would take care of bathroom business, adjust the air conditioner/heater, and brew a pot of coffee. Then, as was just the case, I would exercise by running in place on the living room rug for ten minutes.  And then I would pull out the computer and write and post the new day's blog article.  And now, to today.  Melissa, always the expert, knowledgeable nurse and loving woman that she is, has brought up that I appear to be suffering from a deficiency of potassium in my diet, only particularly alleviated by an increased consumption of bananas. This evening I tried going to bed at an earlier, more consistent hour.  The intent tonight was to get up around two or three...and stay up.  Now it's nearly 6:15 and still nighttime, after my bathroom, exercise and brewed coffee. I probably could use a good brief shower and hair-washing and rinsing on this, Thursday March 26th. I watched a good rerun of the old The Prisoner episode Dance of the Dead on my Tubi channel, as well as the Star Trek movie The Voyage Home.  On the home news front, it looks like our president is frightening his own followers with the stock market plunge, a Congressional deadlock in place against paying TSA workers, spiralling gas prices and no end in sight to the missile war between the USA and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.  Personally, I would like, in a more humble way, to work some of my habits by reading Shadow Magic some more and go for longer walks.  Walking around the block at least once would be pretty cool, too.  And some of the personal development podcasts that YouTube presents seem pretty attractive as well.  This includes the late Jim Rohn, Andrew Huberman, that doctor who wants me to walk, and a half dozen others who usually have something significant to say..

Fresh New Day Lies Ahead, Possibility for new Routines

 This early morning I woke up between one and two, finally making it official with some fresh coffee and ten minutes of living room floor running in place.  Along this journey I missed about recovering my ability to cover 5K distances, most preferably through light jogging.  Will I be able to do any of this during the approaching Saturday morning?  Dunno, will have to see what comes.  My progress will need to come in small, humble steps without anything overtly ambitious.  Ultimately I want to return to a habitual routine of doing weekly 5K Parkruns, and maybe down the line an occasional race of longer distance...I'm talking Florida Track Club  or US Road Running.  A few weeks ago I was experiencing some difficulty staying vertical during shopping and medical visits, and asphalt-surface walking was markedly limited when I noticed how taxing lifting my feet and legs was during these attempts.  Anyway, this coming Saturday I'll see if I can't get myself up early enough, show up...and follow through!   in the meantime, growing a reasonable routine during the rest of the day, including watching what I eat, reading and studying, will determine my success level.  once the day gets going earnestly in a few hours, I'll have chances to take some personal initiative with my life.  That will include trying out the white Camry, to see if it runs properly, and maybe spin it a little down my neighborhood streets.  The plan includes intentionally avoiding the excessive media news/politics/war/opinion coverage plaguing us over the last few years and weeks...