Tarmac Meditations #78: Longest, Furthest Yet.

2/13 Up Martin-made the turn at the "Saddle"...the meadow where all roads cross on the way to Spencer Butte summit...took me an hour...took the Bigfoot, Merlin and Flash 40 minutes. My longest, furthest yet. Easy to hate young legs at my age. Took 50 … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #77: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Went for coffee after a long run. had my camera in the car. A friend was sitting, lost in thought, as the saying goes. I thought to see if the camera might record lost. Grey light and drifting rain, exhaustion of the long hills and the metaphors of … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #76: Big Steel Rails

2/12Gonna walk to my meeting. Gonna listen to Gordon Lightfoot. Early morning rain, big steel rails, Canada when I was young and so was love...gonna walk slow and steady, gonna drift along the floodin' river, gonna let the rain wash my hair and the … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #75: Interval Training

Went out earlier today. I walked 30 minutes on account of coach said so. Afterwards Merlin and I did a minute run, a minute walk, on the track, and finished by walking the quarter mile. Then we did it again. A kind of interval work out except not … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #74: Nickname

Met the usual suspects, Flash, Merlin and Bigfoot (don't ask) We call me F-Stop, OldNSlow, OldDude, Shooter. I figure there is so much of me these days that I can use a few names. In fact it seems that there is no consensus on MY nickname. It is a … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #73: It Rains here in February except sometimes it snows. Part One

Long day yesterday. Track work, doctors, coaches, photo shoot. I got it all done but found myself thinking that beauty in the world has a moral imperative. Or does it? I'm not even sure I know what that means except that I think that as a writer and … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #72: Grace is Where You Find It

A Lion had come to the end of his days and lay sick unto death at the mouth of his cave, gasping for breath. The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him on the point of death they … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #72: Overnight Summer had Ended

I woke up that morning to find that overnight summer had ended. The morning wind brought a hint of winter chill and the lake was flat. The fog lay heavy in the weeds, blue in the absence of sunlight. The steel boats tied to the floats had a resigned … Read more →

Tarmac Meditations #70 – Martin, Howard and Ed

Did the Martin Trail and across Foxhollow yesterday morning. Easier and a bit faster. Quiet and moonlit. The creek is high with snow melt and winter rain. The lights of town fragment in the mist. Real becomes fairy tale at the edges. In my relentless … Read more →

Doc Jocks: Dr. Ronald J. MacDonald

The Fastest Doc In Canada – “What a grand doctor he’ll make”, the old folk said. “He’ll just grab up his bag and set off on the run, and be half way there before a horse could be hitched up. He can beat any horse.”

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