When Things Fall Apart

I’ve achieved a new personal record as we runners like to say.  I now have a small collection of little amber pill jars; 3 actually.  That’s the most I’ve ever had at one time.  My previous personal best in pill jar collecting was two and it usually came after oral surgery; antibiotics and the ever popular Vicodin. 

Lance and Fair Play

“I’m deeply sorry for what I did.” ~ Lance Armstrong.

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..”  ~ Book of John; Chapter 8.

Let’s make one thing clear from the start; I loathe drug cheats in sports.  And that’s both ironic and understandable because three of my favorite sports, baseball, cycling and track and field, have made as many headlines about doping as they have about competition. 

Turning the Century

Every now and again we do something that attracts the admiration of some and makes us the laughingstock of others.  There’s skydiving, buying a motorcycle (or if you’re over 50 buying a Corvette convertible), scaling the face of El Capitan and most recently in my case, riding a bike 100 miles; in one day.  A few months back I signed up to do the Livestrong Challenge bike ride in Davis CA.  My co-worker across the hall expressed a fair amount of admiration.  My boss in the office next door thought I was nuts.  And that was more or less the mix; some thought admirable and others certifiable.    

Riding for a Cause

"The most moral act is one which is actuated by disinterested motives...from the viewpoint of the author of an action, unselfishness must remain the criterion of the highest morality."
Reinhold Neibuhr

“If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them.  When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope?  We have two options, medically and emotionally:  give up, or fight like hell.”
Lance Armstrong

"Cancer changes your life, often for the better. You learn what's important, you learn to prioritize, and you learn not to waste your time. You tell people you love them. My friend Gilda Radner (who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 at age 42) used to say, 'If it wasn't for the downside, having cancer would be the best thing and everyone would want it.' That's true. If it wasn't for the downside."

Joel Siegel