I’ve discovered that when I run, my mind and body tune into each other and everything in my life becomes clear. Recently, I’ve been doing long runs a few weekends each month. I run a little over 13 miles, from the Ferry Building in San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. It is certainly one of the most beautiful runs in the world. The proximity of natural and man-made wonders, the contrasts between the City and Presidio National Park, all the wonderful scents of seafood and sourdough... Read→
A few years ago, my brother died after an illness of about 6-months duration. This week I nearly lost my mom. I can’t say that one is preferable. The pain involved in seeing a loved one suffer is simply unparalleled and difficult to bear. A certain clarity comes with these things, though. Things that seemed important to me last week seem less so now. Conversely, things I took for granted last week, I now hold more precious. My mom remains in the hospital, in the ICU, but has improved to the point... Read→
I missed an important telephone call—7 calls actually—over night Friday night before finally being reached by my sister who informed me that my mom had been admitted to the hospital ICU. It’s a jarring kind of thing to hear, something that quickly placed into perspective all the other life problems that I had taken inventory of the night before. So I got the first plane down to San Diego to go and be with my family, to offer my support and to simply be present during a time when being present... Read→
Just a quick note to say that there was a significant earthquake here about 20 minutes ago. I was lying in bed watching Discovery Channel, thinking about last weeks’ fires and that sometimes we get earthquakes when we have hot weather out here in California—we call it shake-n-bake—when suddenly everything started shaking. At 5.6 on the Richter scale, it counts as a big earthquake, but since the Bay Area has been pretty widely strengthened since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, I doubt there will... Read→
Fall is in the air, and it’s rained extensively here over the past few weeks. San Francisco is one of those places where it is cold when everywhere else is hot, warm when everywhere is cold, and windy, always windy! Basically, there are only two seasons here: mild and wet, then cool and dry. When it rains, it really pours. When it is dry, it is dry for months at a time. But I love it all the time! When I first moved here from San Diego on January 21, 1993—the day after President Bill Clinton... Read→
