I dreamed of 747's over geometric farms

I just had to make a change in the music I was listening to. I was a couple of songs into AC/DC's Back in Black, but it didn't fit the atmosphere I wanted to convey, so I switched over to Travelogue, Joni Mitchell's orchestral leap into the sublime. It was the right choice. It's late Sunday morning, the one time of the week when one's tastes should be refined. It's a time for quiet reflection, NPR, coffee, jazz, the paper. And Joni Mitchell. I'm sure Craig, who's fast asleep in the next room, appreciates the change in music.
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I got a call from Spira as I was on my way to the grocery store yesterday morning. She wasn't feeling very well -- a little bit of heartache -- and asked me to come over and help her work through her malaise. So, after getting my groceries, I grabbed a couple of lattes at Starbucks and headed over to her apartment.

It was evident, after talking with her a while, that she would benefit from a run. She was tense and her mind furiously orbited the events that led her to this depressed state. She needed the healthy distraction a run would provide. Earlier in the week, I had mentioned to Spira that I wanted to expand the geography of my runs. One place I had in mind was the Middlesex Fells Reservation over in Medford. "We're going to the Fells for a run", I told her yesterday. "I can't think of a more suitable elixir."

So to the Fells we went. Neither of us had been there before, even though it's close by. I had heard about it from Sara, who had gone there on a first date and gotten lost within it's grip. When we got there we approached a sign that had a map of the area. We picked a trail that looped around a series of small lakes back to our starting location. I silently hoped we wouldn't share Sara's fate.

It was a great experience. We walked, ran, and hiked at various intervals. It was a satisfying, almost transcendent, feeling being out in the woods and away from the city. At one point, deep into our trip, I noticed a profound change in Spira's physiology. She was enjoying herself.

We almost got lost thanks to poorly marked trails, but we made it out okay. As we approached my car in the parking lot, Spira announced, after consulting her pedometer, that we had travelled nearly five miles. It was only last week when we marveled at running three miles. I offered up a high five (My policy regarding high fives, by the way, is to distribute them only after legitimate accomplishments. You will not see me high fiving someone over the fact that Pepsi has a new-look logo or because I had just expelled an impressive bowel movement). It was one of the more rewarding workout experiences I've ever had. I basked in the memory of, and its implications, for the rest of the day.
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I've decided, because money is tight, but more because I was really getting ahead of myself, to lay off purchasing books for a while. I have a lot I need to finish and many I haven't even started. For the past few weeks, I've put some effort into remedying the problem.

To that end, I finished reading Watchmen the other day. Kind of a disappointment, truth be told, though there was much to like about it. I wasn't thrilled with the illustrating and for such a convoluted plot, it didn't seem to have much substance. I say that with some doubt, however. I'm not sure it's a very fair assessment because, although the story didn't resonate with me as much as I hoped it would have, doesn't mean it lacked substance. Anyway, whatever the cause, I came out the other end of the book feeling a little robbed of what could have been.

I'm almost done reading Lonesome Dove, a book I've been savoring for the last several months. I hope to finish it over the next week. It's such a good read that I know it will be a bittersweet experience when I reach the end. O' Augustus, I know of your fate --some asshole posted it on a web page I visited -- but I somehow believe, by sheer force of will or imagination, I'll be able to save you. So naive.

And there are other books that beg my attention. I hope I have the sack to read a good many of them before I break down and buy another book. We will see.
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It is approaching one o'clock and I was just informed by Craig, who has just awoken from his slumber, that Luke Warm is scheduled to make an appearance here today. I better go freshen up. Have to look and smell good for the guests. Especially one as dreamy as Luke Warm.