Skip to main content
I can't believe it has been so long. However, the past couple of weeks have been very hectic both professionally and personally.



There are two important things I must update: I have written my first letter for the fundraising campaign, and this coming weekend I will be running the San Francisco Half Marathon.



Completing that letter was a big deal for me. I felt like it was hovering over me every time I sat down to write something else. In fact, the weekend I wrote it I had to begin a rewrite on one of my scripts (for some producers who optioned it... long story), but I felt I HAD to get the letter done. It just so happens that the day provided me with enough inspiration to put down into words what I have been feeling for the past couple of months. The whole process was very cathartic and I only need to type it up and mail it out. Easier said than done. However, that's my goal for this week.



My motivation that day was hearing about a girl I mentioned last year, Jessica Strisower, whom we met at a CF function I gave a speech at last year. This past winter, her condition was grave due to a deadly bacterium called B. cepacia. She caught the bacteria and it deteriorated her lungs so badly that she needed a lung transplant. Two live donors saved her life and now she has a bright future again.



The news that rattled me, though, was her doctors telling Jessica's mother that the lung transplant is only good for 5-10 years, and then she may die. The girl is in her early teens. She hasn't lived a full life! And of course, I grappled with the thought of Jacob ever having to face this news; how we as a family would face this news.



You can see where I was able to draw inspiration from this story. Finding a cure is more important now than it ever was. It is the ONLY way that people afflicted with CF will be given the same opportunities to live out their life like the rest of us.



And I don't buy into that crap like "well, you could walk into the street and be hit by a bus tomorrow". Yes, that type of tragedy could happen, but the odds aren't already against you in that situation.



I'm not trying to be a pessimist. Hardly. I'm just trying to drive home the pint to any of you out there trudging through my ramblings that this is serious business....





And then there was the half marathon.



We're leaving town on Thursday to go to SF in order for me to run the SF Half Marathon. I have to say that, physically, I feel great. I ran 8 miles on Saturday (after 12 last weekend) and my body has recovered splendidly. True, my damn knee continues to snap every time I walk, but I don't notice it when I'm in the middle of a run. I am really looking forward to the race. More importantly, I am thrilled that we're getting out of town for an extended weekend. Once Sophie begins Kindergarten (!!) in less than a month, the opportunities to skip town for a couple of extr4a days will be slim.



That's all for now. It feels good to be back at the blog. With my formal marathon training beginning a week from Saturday, I feel like I've done enough blog training to jump right back into the daily bore...er... entries like I did last year.



Aloha.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records...

100 and Counting: Introducing The Epic Playlist

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of ...

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts "Up Your Alley"

Column 1, Row 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Up Your Alley In 1988, hair metal was on the rise and straight forward rock and roll was losing radio airplay. If the music wasn't a little slick and the mix didn't sound like the record was recorded in a sports arena, there was little chance of getting heard. There were exceptions, of course (Tracy Chapman comes to mind), but for the most part, loud and echoey was the sound of the day. At that time, Joan Jett and her latest version of the Blackhearts had been together for a few years and were clicking. The band members were Ricky Byrd on lead guitar and vocals, Kasim Sulton on bass and vocals, and Thommy Price on drums. Jett was coming off of co-starring with Michael J. Fox in Paul Schrader's film, Light of Day . Although the film wasn't a hit, it was high profile enough to bring the rock legend back into the public eye after years working the road and trying to rebuild the success of her early 80s albums, including the s...