Tell Me More About This "Dark Side"...

One thing that must not be lost in all the discussion about the dark arts and Jedi training and all that is that the Dark Side clearly is more powerful. We see it in the movies, time and again; badly outnumbered Sith kicking Jedi Council asses left and right.

Tell the truth, Yoda! It's easier AND better. It's just that most people approach it in the wrong way. Why couldn't I just give in to my emotions and employ the dark arts, as long as I know I am still in control? It would still be me in there; I'd know right from wrong. I am positive that I would have the strength of will to harness the dark side and use it for good.

So Much for the Breakthrough

So, those running trips that helped put Lucy to sleep? Started working a little more inconsistantly, which resulted in me getting home all sweaty with a girl who was all of a sudden going to bed quite a bit later than I intended.

Another breakthrough, though, came about as I was just too tired to embark on stage three (with stages one & two being a failed run and laying for a few minutes upstairs). Lucy (as I was expecting) popped up in the bed after a couple of minutes and said, "I want to go in the car!"

To which I replied, "You know, Loo, Daddy's just too tired. We're just going to lay down and try to go to sleep here for awhile." It was a longshot, but I was exhausted and just trying to eke out a few minutes of laying down prior to what I saw was the inevitable failure. Lucy protested and then began a little back and forth that will go down in history (and that has transpired in a form very similar to what is below, every night since):

First, understand that my little girl does not hate me-this whole "going down" procedure is preceded by a 15-30 minute ritual of brushing teeth, changing into jammies, holding hands up the stairs, then crawling into the bedroom like lions "bed-a-RRRRooom!" then reading stories and/or a session of "talk about it." All magical, wonderful times. But then, a mere few minutes later, when the lights go out...
Lucy (in tears): "I want momma, I want momma, I want momma, I want momma, I want momma, I want momma..."
Daddy: "Lucy, I know you want momma. But it's daddy's turn."
Lucy: "But it's momma turn!"
Daddy: "No, Loo, I know you want it to be momma's turn, but it's daddy's turn tonight."
Lucy: "But it's momma's turn tonight!" (continues crying-tears are genuine, but the vocalizations are about 50% forced)
Daddy: "I know you're sad Lucy. But daddy's right here and he loves you." Can daddy put his arm here? (try to put arm around her-she flings it off)
Lucy: "I want momma!" (continues crying)
Daddy: "Lucy, I know you're sad. But even if you're sad, and even if you're crying, it's still momma's turn."
and so on & so forth. It usually includes a moment when I am told I'm on momma's pillow and I have to move over to daddy's pillow and be far away from her. She also flops her leg up on a safety bed rail and there's a little testing of boundaries that I indulge until I eventually tell her the foot must come down. Then, after I've apparently been insulted sufficiently, she relaxes a bit. After a few more minutes, she flops her little bottom across the bed and nestles against me and says, "Put a arm around you" (put your arm around me). Then, after a few more minutes, the blessed drift has overtaken her. Gornack has returned to his underground cavern, and flights of angels are carrying May Smallburrow gently off to sleep.

Total procedure once lights go off: 30-45 minutes.

Life is Good!

Thus, continues the dilemma (of Zephyr or Minneapolis). The pendulum swung back a little the other way in the last couple of days, as Sharon & I discussed some of the ways in which we are currently sharing a relatively blessed existence. I may be currently experiencing the best years of my life so far.

We love our little house! We bought at just the right time and are paying less per month than any of our peers. Obviously, we carry that equity forward with us wherever else we may choose to go, but we also face the risk of burning through that equity through bad decisions, etc. Right now it's tied up in the house and we simply face a 5.25% interest rate on a $70,000 mortgage. On top of that, the various little home projects we are interested in doing are pretty much within our means and not too outrageous.

I have recently discovered this theatre opportunity. Sharon has been considering joining the Camden Garden Club (no relation to the album of that name). Those couple of associations, while not compelling enough on their own, are part of a larger sort of realisation we've had concerning our neighborhood. We're discovering, in our own ways, that community is where you find it. Especially in a big city like this-it doesn't necessarily just come to you.

My art renaissance: since not being in school, I've had time to explore more recording, more performing music, and acting. Opportunities for any of these in Zephyr (well, not the recording, I guess) would be a lot tougher to come by.

We just love love LOVE Lucy's new school. Looking back, we were under an enormous amount of stress, when Lucy was in a less-than-ideal situation, daycare-wise. But now, the environment she is in is wholesome, engaging, and constructive; and the head instructor is patient, loving, and wise. BAM-what was previously a huge boner for city living that has gone totally out the window.

One of the biggest detractions remaining is my current work situation. But Sharon & I have vowed:. if we decide to go, we want it to be because Zephyr is compelling enough that it wins out in the end, NOT because we're running away from anything (job for me at the head of that list).

Man-it just gets tougher and tougher. But at least nobody has to pity me-it really looks like we're choosing between the good life and the good life.

The Unholy Alliance

Inexplicably, I turned on the TV last night. I was rearranging the living room and for some reason desired the company of the tube. There was some sort of MTV-ish thing happening on Fox and, for the 2nd inexplicable act, I started half-watching while I worked.

It used to be that I thought the Unholy Alliance was between the corporate fat cats and the religious right. Now, having seen a live duet between Tim McGraw and Nelly, I'm not so sure.

An Open Invitation

Be my guest, be my guest,
Put my magic to the test!

In anticipation of Escalante, I've been sort of banking my vacation hours. Since that's not happening this year, though, I've got a few to burn. And I just checked my paystub-I'm at 102 hours and still accruing (at the rate of 4.9 hours per pay period).

In the past, when I shared the city with Gibbons, I also had to share all out-of-town visitors. Since the Twin Cities are now mine and mine alone, I crave the opportunity to tailor my hosting to each unique visitor, and give you the extended weekend (or however long-hell, I don't care) of a lifetime.

Come, visit me and experience the wealth of nonstop excitement the great city of Minneapolis has to offer. In light of recent developments concerning southeast Minnesota, this may be a limited-time offer...

Well, Now! Look Who Waltzed in and Got the Lead!

So, the Director has landed on a couple of one-act plays for the Camden Civic Theatre's next production. One is a 15-minute Woody Allen piece, and one is a 30-minute play called "The Actor's Nightmare." I have the main part in the 2nd one. There's a ton of lines to memorize, and we really only get together for four rehearsals plus a dress rehearsal before we perform on May 24. Basically a ton of work outside of the official rehearsals to get ready.

Very excited about getting my chops back into the whole thing. We did a read-through last night and I was only into it for a couple minutes before I started getting very comfortable with the whole thing again. I'm not positive the choice of plays was ideal for our neighborhood-just seems that there's a lot of obscure theatrical and literary references that might be lost on a lot of the audience. But they should both also be pretty fast-paced and slapstick, so I think they'll go over well. Theater audiences love comedy. Especially people that don't go to a ton of plays.

Anyway, for those of my readers in the area (what, all one or two of you?), if you could set aside the evening of Tuesday the 24th, I'd love to see you there.

Back from Zephyr Again

Originally thought I'd either post a bunch of pictures here or create a temporary website, but I'm kind of working on life-efficiency, and am trying to cut down on those times when I expend a lot of extra effort for just a little extra impact. Thus, the photo attachments I sent out late Sunday night. Where there I accompanied the photos with some details of the actual visit, here I can maybe say a few words about where we're at in the thought process.

Somehow, there's a kind of magic and peace exuded from the valley-we get a sense of it as we wind our way down the dirt roads to Zephyr, and are really struck by it when we park & get out of the car. It reminds me very much of the feeling you get when you go camping-the last time you were out of the car is either in a city, or at a gas station along some interstate along the way with cars whizzing by. Stepping out of the car at Zephyr, we are struck by the stillness and peacefulness of the setting. Not really silence, since you hear countless insects, frogs, & birds (though the silence must be deafening in the middle of winter); but definitely a different backdrop than in the cities. A very telling sort of contrast-that when we get out of the car there we can just feel stress and pressure slipping away. When we got out of the car after the trip, we could hear sirens in the background and I got to see a Cheet-Os wrapper & some cans that someone had discarded in my front lawn.

Probably the number one hangup at this point is the general uncertainty of unknowns. Stress-free environment only carries you so far, if you have crappy employment. Right now, I'm considering quitting work to finish my masters at a college in Winona, but then what? And what of Sharon? She's got a really, really nice gig in the cities. There' s a few nature centers down there (including Eagle Bluff: where one Cory worked at near Chatfield), but the turnover is amazingly low at such places. We could be here 10 years without a permanent opening occurring. Other uncertainty revolves around the expense of either building or buying an existing structure. We have about $100,000 of equity in our current house, but a huge chunk of that is gone if we rent for a year and/or I'm not working while I go to school. Oh yeah-there's a 15-month waiting period from the time you give Zephyr a letter of intent-to avoid either you or them entering into this arrangement in a foolhardy manner. Sharon is also concerned about the commute. Right now we both commute at least the distance from Zephyr to Winona (and the drive is about 50x less scenic), but in the Twin Cities there is always at least the hope that you could land employment along public transit routes and/or biking/walking distance. At Zephyr, unless something crazy happens like Sharon ends up working on the farm (which may not be quite as crazy as it sounds), you're pretty much locked into a long commute for the rest of your life. And not just commute: for kids' school, for groceries, for coffee. Of course, no pizza delivery and no high-speed internet (though that last one's only a matter of time, I would think).

And leaving Minneapolis: I just started this new theater experiment. Wow-as unlikely as it might seem, in Minneapolis, there's the outside crazy chance that I turn acting into a career. If not that, though, at least I have this opportunity to pursue it regularly as a hobby. Maybe such opportunities exist in Winona. But as with all other amenities: coffee shops, visual art, libraries, etc; all of Winona's offerings are pretty much pale in comparison.

*sigh* Still so much to consider.

Down to Zephyr Again

We're heading down tonight and staying two nights. Might be a bit stormy off and on this weekend, but we're really looking forward to visiting right as Spring is getting in full swing; tromping around in the hills, exploring the farm, and just some good hanging out with some of the people we met last time that we'll be getting to know better.

A couple of other things on the adjenda: Zephyr raises 20% of their own food-tomorrow morning we're being treated to a breakfast that includes farm-fresh eggs. As Mr. Breakfast, I'm definitely looking forward to that. We also want to visit a couple of the closest small towns (Witoka, Rushford) and see what kind of character & amenities there are in what would be the closest towns to us for the rest of our lives. Also maybe explore some of the dirt roads that would be our running routes, and then have a picnic (weather permitting) on that goat prairie on top of the hill to the NE, admiring the view of the valleys surrounding it.

Anyway, as much as we're totally struggling with all these different pros & cons in our minds, we're really hoping that this weekend will make things clearer one way or the other. There will likely be some very important things discussed as Lucy snoozes on the way home Sunday night.

Breaking Down Hylton

Point Guard.

Good points:

• Good ballhandling skills. Can dribble with both hands, through the legs, around the back pretty easily.
• Pretty good at penetrating and getting a shot off. While not blinding fast or able to jump amazingly high, very good at controlling the ball and finding the basket.
• Fair amount in the offensive repertoire: scoops, lay-ins, reverse lay-ins, hook shots.
• Good ability to jump far. Can't jump all that high, but there's hang-time. This allows for some pretty decent & sometimes creative finishes near the basket.
• Knows the game well-where teammates will be/should be. How to run an offense. Positioning. How to shoot for percentage (e.g. close to the basket).
• Good passer.
• Very accurrate on mid-range jumpers.

Challenges:

• For someone this size, surprisingly not all that fast. More specifically, not all that quick, in a first step or reacting to anothers' first step. In terms of the game you like to play (slashing to the basket), this is a major boner.
• Not able to jump all that high. Definitely a hinderance in getting shot off. Would venture to say that with more speed & a better vertical, you'd be very difficult to stop. Of course, I guess who couldn't say that?
• Love of attacking the basket can lead to getting into the lane without any idea of what to do, which leads to getting in trouble and getting blocked a decent amount.
• Flying directly in the face of the infamous "perfect form" comment, jump-shot shooting form is far from it. Jump-shot, most of the time, is a bent-arm sort of flick of the wrist that doesn't look quite right.
• Effort vs. return equation historically way off balance. Much too much needless energy expended in futile actions as a result of some kooky notion it is the "honorable" way to play. Would behoove you to give up the outside shot more often, let the crazy bounces go out of bounds, and not race off after fast breaks on the 15% chance the guy will miss the layup. You probably won't get the rebound, anyway.

The City in my Blood?

Just talking with Mixdorf about a seemingly recent upswing in violent crime in North Minneapolis. On the surface, it definitely seems like just another of the many compelling reasons to high-tail it to Zephyr Valley.

On the other hand, I wonder if despite my oft repeated claim that I am "not a big city person," if I have actually slowly become one through the years. In addition to (and perhaps as a result of) celebrating it's wonderful and diverse offerings, do I actually feel obligated to stand with it through its assorted challenges? There's something that ties me here, and it's not just the opportunities to indulge my newfound cultural elitist fancies. It;s something more under the surface. I must sit and scratch awhile.

Camden Civic Theatre: The Above Broadway Players

I started in on a theatre class last night-a guy here is trying to kick-start theatre for the north side of Minneapolis and is starting to get people involved through this project, which is supported by the Minneapolis School system's community ed program. I've been feeling the ache from being out of acting too long, and interested in finding out if there really is a "use it or lose it" component to the art. I felt like I was a pretty good damned actor at the end of the 80s, but haven't really done it in an official capacity since then.

Last night was a lot of getting to know each other and a few improv warmups, then readthroughs of a couple of possible one-act plays we might take on. It was a lot of fun and felt pretty natural, though character acting is not really done best on a blind read-through. Definitely looking forward to the next meeting/rehearsal though, where we'll figure out what the next performance is going to be.

Breaking Down Gibbs

I'll make sure he gets this.

Power forward, power forward, power forward. Though you does have a pretty good history guarding centers.

Good things:

• Through the years, you have learned to take those areas of the game which are most effective (not necessarily the flashiest) and work them to your best advantage. Your game is really built on your strengths, rather than wasting time on that which you don't do well (unless it all goes out the window-see challenges, below).
• The anti-Mixdorf. You realize the shots fall better when you're closer to the basket, and you're not afraid of working to get the ball in closer, even if there's not much working room. You're not afraid of contact; in fact, meeting a little resistance can fire you up. You have a powerful upper body and you use it, to re-use a word, effectively (though see challenges, below).
• Kind of related-you definitely have a "game-face." You're all about business. You'd rather not chit-chat; you're not on the court to make friends, but to win ball games. It makes you really focused.
• You're hands are amazing on defense. Lightning quick, you are able to wreak havoc on ball-handlers-even guys much smaller than yourself.
• While maybe not to Cory's level, you have a bit of the ability to "smell blood" and take advantage of situations.
• For someone we wouldn't necessarily classify as quick-footed, you'd developed a remarkably quick spin move right next to the basket. Couple that with your penchant for a little contact in there, and it's a pretty tough move to stop.
• Generally-really good stamina. A big part of this is just that you play with a lot of guts (e.g. you're willing to endure a lot of pain).
• On the contact thing, you're really good at bodying up on big men. For big men that don't love contact, it can completely take them out of their game. I've seen you absolutely shut these "gentle giants" down.
• Little turnaround fadaway that, if it's falling-can be very tough to stop.
• I think when a big man is good at catching passes and not bobbling them away, you say their hands are "soft." You have "soft hands."

Challenges (to my recollection):

• Like all of us, you can be streaky. Unlike most of us, you sometimes seem completely unaware when you are on a downturn. As in, continuing to ride a particular shot into the ground as your consecutive misses mount 8, 9, 10, 11...
• Related-when you get down, you tend to think that only the long shot can get you back in the game. Usually, that's the beginning of the end.
• In your intensity and willingness to initiate contact, you will sometimes repeatedly enter a gray area that is probably but not definitely an offensive foul. You create space with your shoulder or elbow right next to the basket. Whether it is actually a charge every time you do it I cannot absolutely say for sure. What I can say is that can make playing basketball with you at those times about as much fun as getting your dick caught in a zipper.
• Those lightning-quick hands sometimes slap. Not a detriment to your game, since we don't foul out, but not all that fun for being on the receiving end.
• You KNOW the pick and roll well. In fact, I've played with you when you've used it. But it seems that very often (especially in 2 on 2) the team concept sort of goes out the window. Not even in being selfish or anything, but in sort of spacing out being active when your teammate has the ball. Kind of just standing around at the top watching, while they get doubleteammed down in the paint. Being more continually active on offense without the ball is something I think you could work on.
• While you protect the ball well, your ballhandling skills seem to be pretty limited. You have no left, I know for sure.
• Your vertical is not very high at all. You can hardly be faulted for that, but it's a challenge. And it results in you not really using much of a jump shot in games. I think that hurts because, in order to not get blocked, almost any shot inside the free throw line has to be a turnaround and/or fadeaway.

Breaking Down Cory

I originally tried to post this right after the Mixdorf one, but the post bombed out on me. Haven't been able to get in at Big Buy since then-hopefully, that's not the new step internet treachery by my workplace. Would certainly be the last straw.

But on the the breakdown...

I've definitely played less with Cory than with either Pat or my brother, but this will be to the best of my experience and, admittedly, not drawing on any changes to your game in the past couple of years. But I do picture you as a 2-guard (shooting guard). Somewhat of a scorer's mentality, relative to a "run the offense" mentality.

Good stuff:

• Able to get "in a zone," where you are nearly unstoppable (though see bad points, below). This happens, in particular, when things are going well and you are in the lead. Actually a very underrated ability-that of being able to step on an opponent's metaphorical throat when you've already got him down. Something Duke does in to 16th seeds. It is human nature for 95% of us to get lazy and let our guard down when we get a big lead. Not so for Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, or Cory Levendusky.
• Very good at playing the "back to the basket" game. Kind of working back and forth until getting good position, then hitting a nice little baby hook or fadeaway, either of which is relatively high percentage and very tough to block.
• Fast, with also a very quick first step. If you get your man beat, you're in for a score. You also have a good ability to finish with a reverse layup.
• Considering that you didn't have much of a background in your three favorite sports growing up, your ability to master the fundamental skills (in basketball, shooting, dribbling) to the extent you have is nothing short of phenomenal. Obviously, your learning curve is a lot less steep in the last number of years, but you didn't really do much of anything until college, and then you really were a natural. If you really think about it-it's amazing.
• Slightly related: considering you don't do much cardivascular exercise, your ability to play for long periods of time is extraordinary. Not something I'm sure I could do. Sure, you bitch a lot, but somehow you keep going.
• Surprisingly good at shot blocking. I don't think you're vertical is all that high, so it must be timing-which would be related to "being a natural" (above).
• You have a good sense of where teammates are and are good at keeping moving in the offense (e.g. moving without the ball), rather than just standing around at the top.

Challenges (in my recollection):

• As the counterpart to getting in a zone, when it rains it pours. Once you're get down, you can begin a tirade-laden, hot-and-sweaty spiral down into despair and failure. You wear your frustration on your sleeve and thus send out perfume-scented invitations for your opponents to enter your head. A very difficult thing to do, when shots aren't falling, is to concentrate on those things that you DO have control over: defense, decision-making, effort, and positioning-all of which can get you back in the game. You have gotten better at this over time (and maybe in your time being a teacher, your patience and frustration tolerance have been elevated to new heights), but it is something I recall you struggling with throughout our history of playing.
• Defensive positioning. Maybe it's too high of a stance, or not cutting off the angles, but for how quick you are, you can be driven around. Sometimes your footspeed helps make up for it somewhat, but you'd do yourself a favor by hitching up your shorts and widening your stance (though it wears you out faster), cutting off the driving lane, and giving people low percentage shots if they want them.
• Rebound positioning. You tend to sort of watch shots go up and run to where you think the ball is going, and then just waiting to jump for it rather than getting a bead on where your opponent is and then driving that ass back at them.
• Those shots you take often are pretty high percentage and work well for you, but overall you seem to have a somewhat limited offensive repertoire (drive to the right, outside shot, back your way in). I think I big part of this is that almost all of your experience has been playing in real games or one-bounce, rather than just sometimes taking a ball out to the nearest hoop and working on different moves, footwork, and shots for countless hours, something the rest of us have done. I think if a couple of moves you really want to do aren't working, this can lead to extra frustration-you don't feel like there's a lot you can fall back on.

Breaking Down Mixdorf (a reprint)

I do picture you as a small forward, though I think your 2nd best position is center (albeit a smaller one).

Good stuff:

• Shot blocking.
• Other defensive "hands" things. One of the reasons why you're a pretty good small forward. You can pretty much keep up with people, and if you can't you have pretty good timing and a good reach for defense.
• Good mid-range shot (though, as with any of us, you can be streaky).
• Pretty good "post" moves.
• The prototypical "good-passing big man." You "know the game"-where you should be, where your teammates are likely to be, and you get the ball to them where they want it.
• You're in good physical shape, endurance-wise.
• You're pretty coordinated, from a basketball standpoint.

Challenges. In my recollection:

• You tendoversell the perimeter fake.
• You tend take outside shots with no teammates in rebounding position.
• You seem to not be that interested in contact. Not necessarily bad for the health of all those playing, but possibly makes you a little less effective in the post. Perhaps another argument as to why you're more of a natural "3" than a "1."

Two Birds with One Stone

Lucy's big issue is going down for naps & for the night. She's had a tradition of nursing to sleep so it's always kind of been Sharon's responsibility, unless she happens to be gone. Well, birthday number two is approaching, and I thought Sharon had borne the burden about long enough, so I offered to start alternating nights with her from now on. With Sharon in the house, it is absolutely impossible for me to get Lucy to go down in the bed. However, just this last weekend (during Daddy-Daughter Day), I hit upon the most amazing of solutions. When it was nearing time for her nap, I told her daddy was going to go for a run and that we'd go in the stroller. She loved the idea and a nice 2 1/2-3 mile run was about perfect for her to zonk out. Came back with her totally asleep and was able to shower up & then get a bunch of other stuff done.

This was a landmark moment, seeing as she has actually been an impediment to going for runs up to this point (through cold weather, darkness in the evenings, etc.). Now, with daylight savings in effect (or out of effect or whatever), this is a tactic I can use in the evenings as well. Last night was my first run at night to get her down and it worked like a dream.

The Most Recent Daddy Daughter Day

From a daddy-daughter day on Saturday. On our walks, we always stop for a bit on this little concrete dam and do a little phenology. Usually this includes looking for birds, looking in the water, and closing our eyes and naming off all the things we hear. In the picture above, Lucy is ready to move along and look in the creek for ducks. She is wearing tiny little hiking pants and a long underwear top with little dogs that glow in the dark.

Still Looking for a Focus (out Boston way)?

Consider the Boston chapter of Architecture for Humanity:

www.architectureforhumanity.org
http://afh.meetup.com/29/about/

"Welcome Back" to an Old Friend

My plans are to have (make?) a little more time for myself over the lunch hour at work, going forward. It is with promise in mind that I felt the urge to do a few headlines.

http://headlinescoalescence.blogspot.com/

I think the golden years really were when there were co-writer comments, and I would propose this:
- The former staff take up the torch again and do some headlines, just like old times.
- Maybe shoot for a couple-times-a-week pace, so the reader(s) doesn't feel that (t)he(y) has to check in amazingly often or fall behind.
- Once again make comments. Just enough so that the writer doesn't feel like he's headlining to the void.

For anyone that was never a regular reader, I recommend jumping on board for a funky, obscure-reference-laden adventure of a lifetime.

Welcome to the World, Little Elsa

Congrats to the Johnsons-definitely looking forward to some future play-dates.

http://ablogofhisown.blogspot.com/2005/03/ladies-and-gentlemen-i-present-to-you.html

Zen Where you can Find It

A few years back, I moved from semi-regular Yoga to regular meditation. I still do a little Yoga from time to time, but a particular writer on the general subject suggested an unnecessary link between contorting your body and freeing your mind. Also that there was this notion in Yoga of clearing your mind. Meditation, he argued, had to do with opening up your mind and welcoming all of what you are into that space. In other words, don't worry about pushing thoughts out of your head. Find a rhythm to them, rejoice in them, and just relax. The type of meditation he talks about we have all experienced just by happenstance, though we have probably just attributed to being spaced out. Just getting lost on a thought, or being taken in by the peacefulness or beauty of something you come across in life.

Anyway, a couple of great moments in recent days:

The first was driving down to Waterloo for the weekend. Lucy sleeping in the back, Sharon half-sleeping in the front. Me driving. Full moon, so bright that it was making the remnants of snow over the countryside glow blue, and actually casting long shadows of telephone poles across the road. u2's Joshua Tree was on the radio and I had just picked up a medium cup of coffee to go. I enjoyed an amazing state of peace & contentment that lasted for basically the length of the album.

The second was yesterday. Got out for my first run of the spring over my lunch hour. It was around 60 degrees and sunny. I've really not been out a whole lot recently, but this was spectacular. The sun was just strong enough to warm my cheeks, and I was surprised to find how comfortable and easy my stride was, even though it had been on the shelf for a few months. Signs of impending spring all around, I took a loop through the Wood Lake Nature Preserve, lost myself in the soft thudding of my feet and my rhythmic runners' breath and emerged a happy man.