Excellent articles, please read and stay informed

http://www.snopes.com/veteran-kaepernick-take-a-knee-anthem/


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/trump-electoral-college-minority.html

Admit it

If, like me, you haven't slept well since November, advice from John Pavlovitz

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/09/29/havent-slept-since-november/

For all those forks in the road

Beautiful

Hiking - "I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."

- John Muir

"And all at once, summer collapsed into fall." - Oscar Wilde

Trying to remember this!

It's a gorgeous autumn day today

     I couldn't hold out any longer though, and had to turn on the furnace once it got down to 58 deg. in the house.
     It looks like I won't make my yearly goal of running 2200 miles, but I will do my minimum of 2017 miles in 2017.  I have a ways to go before that happens.

Dallas sportscaster and Viet Nam Vet speaks out for NFL protesters

     You've probably read or heard this, but it is so well said! 

http://www.9news.com/sports/nfl/dale-hansen-unplugged-national-anthem-protests-flag-nfl/478703999

Thanks to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for sharing this on twitter

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

[Remarks on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, 13 March 1962]”

― John F. Kennedy

US Supreme Court, 1943, WV Board of Education vs Barnette, re forced saluting of the American Flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance

 "Compulsory unification of opinion," the Court wrote, was doomed to failure and was antithetical to the values set forth in the First Amendment. The Court eloquently stated: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." To underscore its decision, the Supreme Court announced it on Flag Day.

The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.

     Doesn't this whole standing vs respectful kneeling with head bent in prayer during the anthem remind you of "The Sound of Music?"    The Von Trapp's come home from their honeymoon to find swastika flags flying throughout Austria, and everyone Sig Heiling, which you had to do or face prison or death.  Does no one see the connection?  "Compulsory unification of opinion is antithetical to American values."
      trump says Nazis are good people, and now he is adopting their principles.     The Supreme Court settled this back in 1943. Don't fall for it. We are so far down this slippery slope already.


https://www.britannica.com/event/West-Virginia-State-Board-of-Education-v-Barnette

“Patriotism isn't about making everyone stand and salute the flag, it’s about making this a country where everyone wants to.” David Fuerer

Seen on a sign on FB:
     "Stop pretending your racism is patriotism."

Health-related articles of interest

Food for thought.

An interesting article on vitamin supplementation:
https://www.drcarney.com/blog/entry/vitamin-supplements-may-increase-risk-of-disease?utm_content=bufferdd012&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Preventing Alzheimers:
https://bluezones.com/2017/09/researchers-say-alzheimers-disease-cases-preventable-find/

Glyphosate in our food, highest in cereals and legumes due to farming "dry down"
http://safefoodmatters.org/2017/09/14/glyphosate-in-our-food-ii-highest-levels-in-legumes-cereals-because-of-farming-dry-down/



     It is a drizzly chilly fall day.  It has been a long time since we've had moisture.  I've forgotten the pervasiveness of "wet dog" smell.

“The good man is the friend of all living things.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

     Compassion is the most attractive character trait a person can possess.

This woman is my hero.....

     Watch this short video and she will soon be yours, as well.  Mirna Valerio....Mom, teacher, ultra-runner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5-CSQcYeXk

So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow.....

     Happy autumnal equinox!

     I was thinking about tiny miracles as I walked the dog this morning.  In the past week there was a Painted Lady butterfly migration that passed through our area.  I would run past a rabbit-brush bush and it would burst into an explosion of butterflies....so cool.
     This morning I was passed by a shiny red SUV with yellow lab and black labrador heads hanging out of one rear window. It is beautiful sunshiny day with a few leaves starting to change. It was striking and  picturesque.

The Red Wheelbarrow

William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

(Favorite word of the day.....dotard!   LOL. Say it five times fast.  Funny)

At last the GOP has come out in the open and said it out loud.

     They plan to end social security and medicare.

http://www.politicsnc.com/mchenry-end-social-security-and-medicare/

I'm training for life

(also for a marathon next April)

I do have a body. I've filled out an entry form. I'm in training.


"If you have a body, you are an athlete."
                        Bill Bowerman


I've read that "runners are wild; joggers are runners that have been domesticated."  And I am basically a jogger.  Have I been tamed???

but.........

The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.

George A. Sheehan

Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not.

George A. Sheehan

I will not last forever. But I am damn well going to know I have been here.

George A. Sheehan

I have met my hero, and he is me.

George A. Sheehan

(I'm seeking self-motivation, can you tell? I hope that the experts that motivate me will also motivate others)  

No  one ever said, "Let's play marathon."

Remember that woman who gave up?  Neither does anyone else.                    

And the street is singing with my feet.-------"Mirrorball," Elbow

I try to remember this.  I get to do this every day.  Not everyone does.

What is wrong with these people???

Good to remember

                                             Farewell coffee for a friend.

     For the first time, it feels like fall....Cool, gray day.....Time to break out jackets and hats.

The great nutrient collapse that may be occurring due to climate change.....

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511?lo=ap_a1

Become the journey

American foot binding

     This is an interesting read. It is so difficult to find American shoes, especially for women, that don't damage feet. I'm glad this physical therapist is speaking out.
http://returntonow.net/2017/09/10/american-foot-binding/

Have a Pawsome 6th birthday, Charleigh!!

We remember

Going for a hike today!

It was a nice day for a hike.  Ya gotta love nature.

Winter Distance Series

     So this happened today.  I want to stay in shape this winter.  I'm not a winter runner....cold is okay but ice and snow are not my friends.  But I will be giving this a try.

Santa Stampede 10K   Dec.16, 2017
Frosty's Frozen Ten Mile   Jan. 20, 2018
Snowman Stampede Half   Feb  24, 2018

"I run, therefore I am. And given the years improved fitness adds to our lives, if I did not run, maybe I would no longer be." — Hal Higdon

“The road to success is always under construction” ― Lily Tomlin

You've got this.

Every Damn Day

          Run Streakiversary...1096 days=3 years=6198.9 miles done.  3.2 very slow smoky miles today. I don't think the photos below do it justice.  It is difficult to breathe.

Per Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment:
Outlook: Moderate to heavy smoke from fires in the northwestern US and western Canada are being transported into eastern Colorado. 

Satellite image of smoke:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

     I just finished a delightful running book, titled "Running with a Police Escort, Tales from the Back of the Pack," by Jill Grunenwald. The author started running 5 years ago and has been a back-of-the-packer since, once coming in last and being escorted by the police car sweeper. She talks about the trials and tribulations of her training and the races she's run. She writes well, starting her career as a librarian in a men's prison.  So of course one of her races was to celebrate the movie "Shawshank Redemption" which was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, where the race started and ended. She started blogging, then podcasting, and those led to this book.
     Anyhoo, the book made me happy.  It is so nice to hear from others who are out there doing their very best but who will never win a race, and who are just competing against themselves. The last author who wrote for most of us runners in that regard, was John "The Penguin" Bingham, since retired.

   

     
     Yesterday I ran a 10 mile trail race.  It was small, but fun.  Not technical trail, just single track dirt with rolling hills, but we did have to wade through a small stream twice which was interesting and made me feel badass.  I was worried about getting blisters running in wet shoes and socks, but it wasn't a problem. And there was a little food and beer left at the finish line for us slow 10 mile runners....the 10 K people and the 1 mile and .2 mile kids had eaten up most everything and gone home.

Believe