When Santa got an upgrade:
The new ride looks both modern and classic:
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas day and a peaceful week ahead.
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23
Dec 17
People we saw today
We ran in the cold, wet, early morning air. It was a 5K run benefitting the Houston food bank. I was in brand new running shoes. I bought them Thursday, laced them up and then shuffled through the 30-degree morning.
But before that, we met two Santas!
We got those hats and red shirts with a giant Santa beard print on the front.
This evening we went into New York City to have dinner with our friend Emily:
She’s an art scholar and world traveler and a wonderful person and it has been too long since we have seen her. (She’s probably been to two more countries by the time I finish writing this sentence.)
More on Instagram and, of course, on Twitter.
21
Dec 17
You can here reflect on substance
I’m the sort of guy that sees reflections and tries to figure them out. And that’s why I found myself standing in an alley across the street from the office today, waving my hand around like a big goof, trying to interrupt the light that was hitting this wall:
Sometimes you just have to know where the bounce is coming from. Only, this time, I could not find it. The neighboring building was too close to throw light from the roof, the angle was all wrong. There was nothing directly opposite on the wall, obviously, and no trash can lids or aquarium bowls or anything else in the alley that corresponded to this shape, either. This does nothing to dampen my curiosity.
Think on that: We aren’t always aware of the light being cast upon us, or on what we’re sharing with others.
More on Instagram and, of course, on Twitter.
19
Dec 17
We made it back to the house
I wrote about this the other day, because good gracious we just made the same seven-hour drive a few weeks ago, but Allie travels well.
She roams around the car. We don’t let her sit with the driver for safety, but she’ll make laps around the back and with the passenger and, occasionally, the back shelf.
I can never decide which would be more interesting to know: the reaction of people in other cars, or what the cat sees whirring by.
These are the days of that, though. Back in just after a regular dinner time tonight, just in time to unpack, eat something and go to bed. Back to work tomorrow. A few days in the office and then back on the road once more.
More on Instragram and, of course, on Twitter.
18
Dec 17
A nice medium-run on old haunts
If you look way down this pedestrian lane, you’ll see The Yankee:
This is a mile-long bridge, and if it wasn’t for all of that chainlink, which is at times brings up feelings claustrophobic, and then absurdly pointless, it would feel meditative. It is a relatively new bridge. It’s only about 15 or so years old, already on its second name. It was originally the Patton Island Bridge, but now it is the more elegant, and historical, Singing River Bridge, which is the name the Yuchi tribe gave to the Tennessee River.
Most of the road traffic goes over this bridge, but it hasn’t always been that way, of course. Just a few miles away, there’s a dam.
This is a view from Wilson Dam, which was built between 1918-1924 and was later incorporated into the Tennessee Valley Authority:
It is a narrow, two-lane dam. It was always a bit intimidating when I was a kid. My mom and I would drive it, one of the last little bits of road on the two-hour trip to my grandparents. And she would tell me about how she learned how to drive on that dam, in the snow.
Well, I haven’t done that. But last summer I did ride my bike over the dam. And this weekend I ran over it. (On the sidewalk.)
It has less traffic now, because of the Singing River Bridge, but it is still narrow:
Here we are on the dam, midway through our run, still on the sidewalk:
The dam, named after President Woodrow Wilson, was put on the historic registry in 1966, and boasts the highest single lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains.
And here’s the Wilson Dam, once more, from the Singing River Bridge:
It was a seven-mile run, and it was fun, the weather was pleasant, and uncomfortable. I was beginning to think my shoes might be done. And after a three-mile run today, and checking the miles on this pair of Saucony, I decided it was official:
So, at 300 miles, on the nose, actually, I have to go shopping for new jogging shoes.
Elsewhere, there was plenty of family and visiting this weekend. Heading back out tomorrow for a few more days of work, and then more holidays.
