Cats

Creepy staring cats
Creepy staring cats

I was in State College, PA for a few days this week. The weather was perfect for running and I ran each morning through Penn State owned farmland and around the very large football stadium, which stands there like a gigantic alien spaceship in the midst of pastures and mountains.

It was on the second day that I spotted these creepy cats staring at me from the cement wall at the entrance to a tunnel beneath Interstate 99. I stopped and stared for a moment, baffled that I ran past them the day before and did not notice them. I am not a morning runner. At first I thought maybe I was having a pre-breakfast, hunger-induced hallucination. But no. Those cats were definitely there, staring at me, thinking fiendish feline thoughts, waiting for me to enter the tunnel.

I ran like hell.

I hate cats.

Jonathan Livingston Swallow

Nice swallow posing. CLICK TO ENLARGE.
Nice swallow posing. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

As best I can tell from the collective ornithological knowledge on the internet, this is a tree swallow. He seemed to enjoy sitting on a wire and gazing at an open field rather than hanging out in a tree. Jonathan Livingston Swallow.

“That’s Crazy!”

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I went running this afternoon despite the pouring rain that has been soaking New Jersey all day (and is forecast to continue into tomorrow). Five soggy miles that were the most refreshing part of my day. With the amount of aggravation I’ve been coping with at work lately, I was pretty much living for this run today. In the morning, a coworker asked, “You’re not going out there in this weather, are you?” I assured her, “Yes! I need to get away from my cube!” To which she replied, “That’s crazy! You must really hate your job!” I ventured out around 1:30 in the afternoon.

The rain wasn’t all that bad. It stung my face a little now and then. It got chilly in the wind for a while. But I must have somewhat of a half-drowned spectacle near the end because somewhere close to the four mile mark, while my sweatpants and jacket were thoroughly soaked and weighed half a ton each, a car slowed down. The driver lowered a window and blew the horn as I was passing by. I stopped thinking that maybe she needed directions.

“Do you need a ride somewhere or something?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do YOU need a RIDE? Can I help you?”

“Ohhhh! No! I’m out for a run!”

That gal’s eyes opened so wide, I thought she was Marty Feldman for a second!

“THAT’S CRAZY!”

“Noooo! I only have a mile to go! Thanks!”

I sloshed my way through that last mile.

I guess some people think going out in the rain is crazy. It’s just water. As long as there is no lightning and no high winds, I love running in the rain.

Here is what is crazy: at the end of that five miles in the rain, I am still 25 pounds overweight. THAT is crazy. That is like carrying around a large bag of dog food every day. I am 214 right now. I lost 8 pounds over the last 3 weeks. Four years ago I was tipping the scale at 236. I lost 40 pounds over several months. Slowly over the next three years, I gained over half of it back. That has to change. I’m tired of carrying dog food. I’d rather be healthy, even if it requires being a little crazy once in a while.