The Reader

When the view in your mind from what your are reading is more appealing than a scenic overlook in the Catskill Mountains.

Validate at Checkout

High demand in 1976

I miss the days when library books had cards inside the covers to stamp when you checked them out.

Sure, scanning a bar code to check out a book is convenient. It’s quick.

But the process is also wasteful. Now, instead of one piece of paper that stays inside the book and is used over and over, a new piece of paper is printed every time a book is checked out. Garbage. Garbage. Garbage.

Now there is no way of knowing how many people checked out the same book before you. Part of its soul is missing. Part of your soul is neglected in the process. Now you’re just an isolated reader. You don’t know who held that book in the past. In the future no one will even know that it had passed through your hands. It’s like you don’t exist. Further proof: you can renew your books online so you don’t have to interact with a human.

Maybe I should sign my name and write the date on this card. There must be some way to validate my existence.

Guess What Happened AGAIN

Guess what happened again.

What?

A nor’easter.

Again??

Yes! Again!

I give up. My hopes of running up significant trail miles are dashed. How many miles did my lunatic plan call for this weekend? 15. And I haven’t gone more than 6.7 miles on any given run yet. With several more inches added to the trails, forget it.

I did not attempt the Delaware Water Gap this weekend. Instead I stayed closer to home and ran at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. “Ran” is not exactly what I did for most of the time I was out there. The first mile wasn’t too bad. After that, forget it. The farther I ventured on the 6-mile trail, the deeper the snow got and the less the trail had been traveled. I plowed through snow for 5 miles. That took me 2 1/2 hours! My feet were pretty dang cold and my socks were crusted with ice by then. There’s a camping area near mile 5 with a paved driveway that leads to the main road. I got out of the snow at that point and ran on the road for a mile and a half back to my car. The road was scary! No shoulder, hills, curves, and cars going way over the speed limit! I was glad to be done when I reached the parking lot.

Below are some pictures from this early morning adventure. I’m not reaching any of my training goals, failing pretty hard and considering dropping out of the upcoming race. But at least I’m getting some nice photos. Enjoy.