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Showing posts from July, 2024

July 3, 2024, To Infinity and Beyond the Oil Light

  July 3, 2024, To Infinity and  Beyond the Oil Light As I awoke in Denver. I realized I had to leave early and had no clue what environment I’d be running in the city of Denver. I was apprehensive. I figured to get out early and get a short run of no more than five miles in. Partially because I had no clue of the structure of the streets. When I’d driven the night before, I saw a tired city. I saw the potential for crime. I had a person I’d trained in self-defense tell me she’d never want to be me. When I asked her ‘why?’. She stated, “You enter an area and immediately you’re sizing the area and the people up.” I remarked, “Well, I have to. It’s what I usually do.” She shook her head. She came back with, “But it’s so…” I replied, “Yeah. I want to make certain I see the problem before it happens.” I live like that.  I’ve ran and walked through major city streets such as in the Bronx (many NYCity areas), Albany, Flint-MI, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, ...

On Bullying...

Many won't want yo hear this... There's more to a violent act than we could ever completely ever understand... Now let me lay it on the line. There still is no safe houses for kids that are bullied. No, there aren't.   As the 1970s approached and as my being a girl, we were told girls didn't physically fight back. "...Just be quiet. And the bullies will go away..." That is a fallacy, bullies do not go away so easily.  Bullies, they just don't go away. They demand rule over others, who ever they can incorporate into their realm to make them feel superior. And no, bullies don't all come from broken homes. Nope, they don't.  People who are bullied usually go away. These victims hide. They are less social, even as adults. They don't all get over it. Nope. Actually, they may act and say they got over the bullying. But that is mostly not the truth. Many of the people who bully understand what a criminal understands early. The bully understands that...

Day Seven... June 25th, California Dreamin'

Day Seven June 25th..California Dreamin' Waking up in Lone Pine, I knew it would be a much shorter drive than even Cedar City Utah to Lone Pine California. It would be a 272 mile journey. I decided to run a bit more than a ten miler before leaving Lone Pine.  I thus went for a mountainous run up towards Whitney Portal. I took Whitney Portal Road, bypassing detours and such. I ran to about 6,000 feet elevation from 2,000 elevation. Then ran back down Whitney Portal Road and took a left as if I were in a car driving to Yosemite. I doubled back and ran past my hotel to get in twelve miles or so. It was breathtaking.  I had time after I'd cleaned up, and checked out to go drive up to where I ran to and take pictures before I headed off to just outside Santa Barbara to the town of Goleta. I'd been there twice before, stayed over in Goleta once before. I love the town and hoped it still remained as beautiful as I'd remembered it two years ago. The drive from Lone Pine C...

Day Six... Utah to Lone Pine, CA

Day Six: As I awoke in Cedar City Utah June 24th realizing I had time to do ten or miles of running.  I saw that there was a quiet residential development just meters away from where I stayed over that night. The next drive would be 391 miles, pretty much all desert.  On my morning run, I saw one person walking on a path I'd just discovered after running a little over a mile. The path wound up and around behind the residential area. There were hiking trail heads to my left as I ran north then west on the paved path. The hillyness of the path seemed to have such a steep grade as 26%/about 15 degrees. Going down I nearly felt as if to walk a section. I'm guessing on the numbers of steepness. The air was a delightful clear skied 74 to 78 degrees.  As I ran I felt the coolness of some of the desert plants that surrounded me on either side. It was ohhhh, so tempting to make a 90 degree left turn into the wooded trails. But I'd left my Natrapell bug spray back at the hotel in m...

A Moral Compass

Bullying 101, 102, 103, etc... and A Moral Compass I understand Bullying beyond many person's capacities. It had occurred throughout my childhood. It had occurred by family, by people who were thought as friends, acquaintances, classmates and strangers. Because I am a optimistic fatalist, I act as though nothing had occurred. Yet, when I'm alone I reflect upon it, daily. It arrives without me wanting it to. However, amazingly enough, I having not delved out retribution. In that, I realize I am unique. I also realize my moral compass is way strong. There are those of us who continue to bully and as more than likely, no one called them out on it in their younger years where they may have paid a small price and not damaged society in their future. However, when a person has been given free-reign to do all as they please without much punishment then they become unyielding.  They become more ferocious to the point, that they cannot be stopped unless by an act of God or gods. Si...

The Michigan Adventure

  As the heat increased in New Jersey. I realized it was time to turn on the air conditioning. I’d been able to hold off, keeping our home with windows open throughout the spring. And what a spring we had. I believe it had been the best spring in thirty years or more. Actually, I’d commented to my weekly walking friend Star, that it was perhaps the nicest spring I could ever remember, perhaps for even four decades. The rain arrived as it should’ve. The grasses looked awesome. We had frost around April 21 st  which made me reseed grass for a third time for the north and west sides of my property. My lavender garden blossomed so perfectly in its purply array. Even the lavender on our front stoop was flourishing. I spent nearly all but three days from March 20 th  through May 11 th  outside doing landscaping from two to nine hours per day, even in the rain. I’d put in 100-115 miles per week between my running, walking and hiking miles. By the first week in June, I’d exp...