Thunderbolt

I have not written about our incident last Thursday and Friday, yet. On Thursday I wrote my thoughts out and was prepared to add it to the blog when Julie called me to come home again. I would rather wait until tomorrow when I can look at what I wrote, place it on the blog and then write with a little more perspective. We've been pretty crazed here as we worry about Jake's digestive troubles. He sometimes complains that his tummy hurts and we now question whether these complaints are his way of getting out of eating, or if he really has some discomfort from something blocking up his bowels. At this point we're kind of in a wait and see state of mind, which, when your child has an illness, isn't a comfortable way to be living. You want definite answers. This past weekend really cleared my head out, though, and I'm through worrying about how many runners we get for the marathon and whether or not my friends are running. At this point, I have to concentrate on my...

Haven't written for several days. We had some pretty emotional days since Wednesday and I wasn't ready to write about them in detail. I'll have something tomorrow. We took two trips to the emergency room with Jake and it wiped us out. I did make the long run yesterday morning. 8 miles. I started off pretty ragged, but found my legs by the last two miles. I felt great at the very end and for the first time in about a month, I felt optimistic about the marathon and my running. So far, we have raised about $1,600. I'm very happy about that, but there is still a long way to go. That's all for tonight. Aloha

It has been brought to my attention that, at times, my blog can be quite depressing. I was a little surprised to hear this. I don’t want to come across like our life here in California is one big major drag. Quite the contrary. We have a wonderful life. Our children adore each other and show a great deal of love and compassion toward their family and friends. And Julie and I seem to being closer than ever. Last week was a tough week. A lot of crap fell in one week. I believe it was the alignment of the stars. How else can you explain how the Indians were one game of first at the beginning of the week and then promptly dropped seven in a row? For those of you who aren’t into baseball, I apologize. However, I will make an attempt to find something positive to say in most of my entries. I believe that the only way to find your way out of the dark places is to generate some kind of positive thinking. And here is how the week ended on a good note: Friday night Budd and I took in...

Yesterday was one of the hard days. Financial worries are the most stressful thing in my life. The most discouraging news we received was that we've been turned down for California Children’s Services. Apparently we make too much money. Strange, when I look at our taxes from 2002 and 2003, we made almost half what me made in 2002 in 2003. And yet, we qualified last year. I really don't know how we'll make it when we have to begin paying that 20% for all of Jake's medicines and doctor visits. And I haven't gotten a raise in 3 years. And I can't really quit my job and go look for a new one because I can't afford to lose our benefits. And whose really going to hire a 35-year-old man as an administrative assistant? And it's too late to start my career over, not with a family and our situation. To make the day more pleasant, my dentist had a field day grinding away at one of my teeth. The fact that I've been grinding my teeth at night is not mak...

After the great feeling Monday morning, I was a bit distressed at how unprepared I was to run this morning. Stress, mostly, was bearing down once again. Worried about the California Children’s Services application. If they deem us too "wealthy" for the service, we're suddenly responsible for that portion of the medicines we haven't been paying for a year. I don't need to tell you how fast our credit card debt will increase and how fast out Savings will be depleted. At some point it has to get easier, doesn't it? Times like these I wish I could curl up in a ball and squeeze my eyes shut tight to make everything go away. However, I have enough of a grasp on reality to know that this method only works when you are three to five years old or if you are insane. Still, I was able to squeeze out a decent run this morning, taking on the Decoro hill and pushing myself to run a little faster than usual. In the end, it was worth it. The day was filled with old fr...

Today was Sophie's first day of kindergarten and she did AWESOME! I can't believe how well she did when Julie dropped her off at the school. While a little nervous at first, she settled right in and even waved goodbye to Julie when her teacher took the class outside and the parents were leaving. I am so proud of her. Still, it's kind of sad, she's growing up so fast. I am constantly amazed at how bright she is, but it tugs on my heart. Julie is sad, too. Sophie is now going to be in school every day for the next 13 years. That "freedom" of a certain age of childhood is slipping away from us. Still, you can’t beat hearing the tremendous level of joy and excitement that she had when she called me before and after school. I ran for about 45 minutes this morning and I felt great. The first good Monday run I've had in a long time. Must have something to do with settling in to the Pasadena runs on Saturdays. The rest of the day, for me, was average....

I didn't know what to expect this morning when I arrived at the group run down by the Rose Bowl. I was pleasantly surprised to see my old training partner, Sebastian, on hand to train for a half marathon. We ran two miles together until he turned back. I ran on. I wanted to get in 8 miles. Up ahead of me for the first 4 miles was a man named Peter Lyons, who is from Valencia and is also running for CF. When he turned around at mile 4, I was about 100 yards behind him and so I ran the last 4 miles back with him. Although I had to switch from a 5/1 to a 3/1 for the run back, it was worth it. It's always better to run with someone. It makes the time go by faster and you get to know someone you might not otherwise meet in your daily life. Peter's nephew has CF, so the cause is close to his heart. We had a nice conversation all the way back and I hope to see him again in the upcoming weeks. I'm going to send him my letter this coming week to help him get started wi...

And finally, I wanted to post the letter I sent out, just so it's there to read.... August 10, 2004 “Run, Daddy, run!” That’s what my son, Jacob shouts to me when we’re chasing his older sister, Sophie down the street. While Sophie pedals away on her two-wheeler, Jacob’s little arms pump and his legs gallop in red, scuffed up hand-me-down cowboy boots. It’s at times like these that I’m filled with hope that his little body will continue to be strong and that his lungs will remain healthy. It’s been a year since I first wrote most of you about my marathon fundraiser. Last year, I trained for the Honolulu marathon and raised over $11,000 to help combat Cystic Fibrosis, the deadly illness that afflicts 33,000 children and adults in the United States alone; the deadly disease that inhabits my precious son’s body. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus often creating potentially life threatening lung infections, as well as a host of other prob...

It's turned out to be an excellent day. I ran this morning for about 40 minutes (after lathering Ben-gay like gel all over my back) and I felt pretty good. I held an ice pack on my back for the drive into work and there hasn't been too much discomfort all day. Had a good meeting with one of the producers of my next project and got some good feedback. Most important, though, is that I have sent out about 100 letters. I am surprised at how much of a weight has lifted off of my chest. I have just returned from dropping the envelopes in a mailbox and, man, I feel good. So, like I said, it's turned out to be a real nice day. I am looking forward to getting up at 5:30 tomorrow and driving to Pasadena for my first long run with the group. Aloha Wait a minute. Did I say 5:30?

You all know my Springsteen obsession. This song just came on and, well, it's just about one of the most beautiful songs I know. It was written during his turbulent "Tunnel of Love" days, so it may be more about his first marriage. However, it spoke to me as a parent and I hope to play it for Sophie and Jacob someday when they go off to college. Enjoy. Aloha WHEN YOU NEED ME by Bruce Springsteen (found on the box set "Tracks") When you need me call my name 'Cause without you my life just wouldn't be the same If you want me come sunny skies or rain When you need me just call my name If you miss me, I'll be there To brush the sunlight from your hair I'll be there to guide you when trouble walks beside you If you need me I'll be there And when this dirty world has been cold to you I got two strong arms waitin' to hold you And when those mean days come along We'll stand together and we'll take 'em on So if you need me just cal...

So, upon Julie's request, I have begun emptying out our email box. In doing so, I came across this poem Jan sent me last year. I'm not sure if I posted it back then, but here it is (again?). Enjoy A Little Tooth by Thomas Lux Your baby grows a tooth, then two, and four, and five, then she wants some meat directly from the bone. It's all over: she'll learn some words, she'll fall in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet talker on his way to jail. And you, your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue nothing. You did, you loved, your feet are sore. It's dusk. Your daughter's tall. From New and Selected Poems, 1975-1995, published by Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Copyright © 1990 by Thomas Lux. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Feeling better this morning. Jan Denman sent me a link to a neat Olympic site that details the "origin" of the marathon race. I thought I'd share it with you: "The marathon was never one of the ancient Olympic events, although its origin dates back to another episode in ancient Greek history. In the 5th century B.C., the Persians invaded Greece, landing at Marathon, a small town about 26 miles from the city of Athens. The Athenian army was seriously outnumbered by the Persian army, so the Athenians sent messengers to cities all over Greece asking for help. The traditional origin of the marathon comes from the story how a herald named Phidippides ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory and died on the spot. Phidippides was sent by the Athenians to Sparta to ask for help; a man named Eukles announced the victory to the Athenians and then died. Later sources confused the story of Phidippides, also called "Philippides," with that...

I am an incredible crank right now. I had a tooth drilled out and a temporary crown put on this afternoon. Man, it seemed to take an eternity (which, of course, is impossible). Still, after three Novocain shots and an hour and a half in the chair, I can't feel my tongue and my face feels like a balloom. No, balloon. It's been a miserable week as far as training goes. My nagging back has kept me limping and after I ran yesterday morning I seriously doubted whether I should do this marathon. Of course, that's not an option. After this marathon, though, I believe I will settle down and run 1/2 marathons. My body just can't take it and it's so damn discouraging. Not that I want to be 20 again, but to have that body for just six months would be nice. Then again, if I were 20 again, I wouldn't abuse my body like I did. Hindsight is 20/20, right? Posted a picture of Jake on the donation page. It's temporary until I get a picture of Sophie and Jake to put...

The donation page is up and running. I'm pretty excited to see how it will work. There is a link on the blog, so... anyone reading this should test it out! I'll try to work on the web page in my spare time. Ran for about 20 minutes yesterday morning. I was still recovering from my very long weekend in which I spent Thursday and Friday nights (and early mornings) remixing "King's Highway." It's really going to be awesome once the remix of the entire movie is complete. Of course, I'll put up some kind of link when a trailer is online again. I didn't run on Saturday, choosing instead to sleep in. Wise choice on my part. But I did not fully recover until sometime yesterday afternoon. I look forward to running tomorrow morning. Sophie has kindergarten orientation yesterday morning and I took Jake to his gymnastics class. I don't know how much he really learns in this "class", but he enjoys jumping on the trampoline and playing with ...

Sorry I haven't written in a couple of days. It's been a loooong week dealing with King's Highway and editing a reel for Tony. I don't think I'll be able to go to marathon training tomorrow. I really need to get some good sleep, especially since I'll be putting in another late night tonight. The plus side to this is that we'll be done remixing the movie. It's doubtful I will get to sleep in tomorrow, knowing my children, but that's okay. At least I have the weekend to recover from the past three days and start fresh on Monday. Besides, my left foot has really been bothering me today. I'm having problems walking on it. That's all for now. Look for fresh entries next week. Aloha

It’s the Tuesday after the half marathon on Sunday. What a great excursion up to the bay area this weekend. It was just a wonderful getaway. Chilly, but a nice change of pace. We arrived in San Francisco in the afternoon on Thursday. The kids great in the drive up the 5. The portable DVD player has proven to be a worthwhile investment. The hotel we stayed at in the city was a Holiday Inn on Van Ness and California. Turns out it was at the end of the line for a trolley car, so we easily hopped on one of the trolley cars whenever we wanted. Thursday night we rode down into the city and had dinner at Mel's Diner. We wound up turning in pretty early. That drive can take its toll. We were all bundled up in sweatshirts and pants. Since we've been experiencing one hundred plus degree weather in Santa Clarita, it was refreshing to feel a cool breeze. It really reminded me of Cleveland in late September, in which you wear a sweater in the shade, but have to take it off in the...