"Woke last night to the sound of thunder..."

"How far off, I sat and wondered." Actually, it was about 5 a.m., which, while still dark, is not night. And while sometimes the thunder sounded far off and I wondered just how far off, several of the crashes were explosively close, as were the accompanying flashes of lightning. So I got up, thinking I might just capture some interesting video. I love the rain (sometimes) and flowing water. 

A number 2 by a sewer line. Apropos.

I grabbed a video camera, my cheap Flip knock-off from Sharper Image (via JCPenney), called the U-Video, and headed outside. Nah, too dark. That camera just wasn’t up to the task. I went back in and exchanged it for my new Olympus point and shoot. Much better results. Video to come later.

All that bright light illuminated more than the predawn sky. I was struck by a flash of inspiration:

News flash! Blogs are not news. Blogs are entertainment. Blogs may be a source of information. Blogs may spread the word of new stores, new products, old haunts, favorite night spots, etc. But mostly blogs indulge a writer's whims – and give us a chance to exercise our chops – and perhaps a reader's guilty curiosities. Ultimately, though, blogs are entertainment. If you don't find the writing entertaining, read elsewhere. There’s a lot of material out there in the blogosphere.

“One man's trash,” it has been said ad nauseam, “is another's treasure.” That's what I am on the lookout for when I run. Cataloging and commenting on those “treasures” is the point of this blog. And I have found a few treasures. Were they considered trash by someone else? Sometimes. The mattress and box spring I picked upduring cleanup week were on the curb with a lot of genuine junk. And yet, they were in fine condition, certainly better than the 40-year-old set I had. Other items, like the pair of stocking caps that started me on this quest last November, were simply lost to their original owners.

Apropos of nothing. I just happened to run past L.T. Stone, my former
grade school, which is now privately owned and seemingly vacant.

 However, oftentimes one man's trash is simply that. Garbage, Waste. Refuse. And when it ends up on the street, it becomes simply everyone else's trash. Some of it I pick up, usually just the interesting stuff or the things that have some value – aluminum cans, for example – most of it I leave (sometimes I photograph it just because it strikes me as weird). I swear to myself ... someday ... someday I'll make a run dedicated to picking up the trash. Or take a walk just to pick up trash. I even bought one of those reach-extenders – you know, the handle with the pincers on the end of a 3-foot stick – with the intention of doing just that without having to bend over so much. In the seven months since that purchase it hasn't happened.

Old newspapers line the windows in the east
wing of the former L.T. Stone School.

 OK, diatribe done. Had to get that off my chest. But if you’re like me, you really hate when people post cryptic rants and gripes on Facebook, so I’ll tip my hand. The inspiration for this missive came late yesterday afternoon when a co-worker sent me a screen-cap of a Facebook post railing against my previous blog entry. As I have joined the stable of Register-Mail bloggers at galesburg.com, I am apparently catching a few more views. One reader took offense at my subject matter (I doubt he really read the whole thing but was mostly turned off by the photo of a condom on the street). Not sure how my co-worker found the FB post but she noted the person’s page was public. Here’s what he had to say in the comment accompanying the link to my blog, which he so kindly posted for all his 600+ friends to check out. Thanks! Two of them actually read the blog but found it confusing. C’est la vie.

“I want everyone to see the kind of TRASH our newspaper is putting out and calling news.”

So, the purpose of today’s blog steps beyond simple, base entertainment into the realm of education. Let me be utterly clear: blogs are not intended as news (at least not this one). If you do not find this entertaining, the please don’t waste your time here. Ironically, in addition to trash like my blog, The Register-Mail publishes a lot of other stuff that it does pass off as news, like the two-thirds of a page we devoted to this guy recently. So I guess newspapers aren’t a total lost cause.

Today's Stats

Temp: 81 degrees F

Distance: 3.6 miles

Weekly Total: 9.1

Treasure: 1 number 2 on yellow plastic; 27 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne

Owner of a Lonely Heart – Yes

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (Anthology) – The Beatles

Bold As Love – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Detox Mansion – Warren Zevon

Part I – Festival Junction(Live) – Duke Ellington (This piece from Newport is amazing!)

Good Times Bad Times – Led Zeppelin

Save a Horse, Ride aCowboy (Dance Mix) – Big & Rich

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (Live) – The Rolling Stones

Hasten Down the Wind (Live) – Warren Zevon

Mr. Roboto – Styx

Plaid Jam – The Rogues