Rain, rain, come again

In a run of records — record highs, record lows and record snows — it would be a shame if we fall short this month of a rainfall record. John R. Pulliam, Register-Mail business reporter and intrepid weather-wiseacre, writes in today's paper a rather intriguing tale of Galesburg's flirtation with a record for April rainfall.  Like everyone else lately I've been cursing the weather, but now I'm sort of cheering for Thor. Bring on the rains; let's set that record!


When I stepped out the door this morning to run I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not raining. It was, however, damp, almost misting — shall we say simply misty? Thus it was fitting that the lead tune on the Nano was Owl City's "Hello Seattle." And to add to the coincidences, last night as I sorted through old college-era papers to continue my mid-life weeding of accumulated stuff, I came upon two manila folders of demographic information I collected on communities to which I thought I might like to move: Boulder, Colorado, and Seattle, Washington. Ah, the dreams of youth.

It was difficult to pitch so many interesting papers from my past. So difficult, in fact, that I kept more than half. Still, most of the political science crap went into the waste can (I saved the record of my illustrious grade appeal in which I fought for the D I had earned over the Incomplete kindly professor Villanueva had awarded me in hopes that I would complete my term paper — never started it — and achieve a better grade. Oddly, it appears the class was about environmental politics or something that should have interested me.) 

Just a pretty flowering tree I saw
by Cottage Hospital. Ah, spring!

I am somewhat enthralled by the BS I spewed in literary analysis essays and I imagine finding a way to do something creative with pages of notes from lit classes written in my tiny scrawl. Maybe I'll Mod Podge some into objets d'art. I often fancy the notion that my heirs will be equally intrigued by my material history. No doubt that is a fantasy. They don't know they stories behind the stuff. I don't even remember all of them and many aren't all that interesting.

And yet, there is no little excitement in the rediscovery of something now mysterious. Like the lovely thank-you note I found from professor Vos for my assistance as quiz master in the Foreign Language Quiz Bowl for high school students. I have no recollection of that. Nor of sitting on the grade appeals panel for the English department during my senior year.


OK, enough reverie, back to the run. Today's oddity of the day: An all-black bicycle with no tires resting against a hitching post on Bateman Street just a couple doors north of the Buck Girls' Homestead. It's like a black Ghost Bike memorial, a Shadow Bike if you will. What does it mean?

Oddity number two: No dandelions. I snapped a photo as I left church Sunday of a patch of the weed brought to us by our beloved George Washington Gale Ferris, inventor of the Ferris Wheel (thanks, George) but two days later there is no sign of them — and they weren't mowed. Strange indeed.


Not so odd but a taste of things to come as warmer weather ramps up to summer: first flat snake of the season. I came upon a pretty good sized garter snake squashed on the bricks of North Cherry Street. As I snapped its photo with my phone, a fella heading to his black pickup called over, "Got a frog?"

I didn't hear him at first, as my earbuds were a little loud, but he repeated the question while walking toward me as I pulled out the right bud.

"No, first squashed garter snake of the year," I replied.

He commented on the healthy size of the snake (a good 18 inches at least), considering it's early, but noted, "Out at the farm I get bull snakes, some of 'em that big around (making a circle with his thumbs and forefingers of both hands slightly overlapping, indicating a whopping 3 inches or so in diameter).

"Sometimes they'll get in the hay; they go through the baler, they're dead," he added.

Yup.

Today's Stats
Temp: 56/60/62 degrees F (Radio said 56, Time and Temp said 60, chiropractor office sign 62)
Distance: 4.97 miles (Can we call it 5?)
Treasure: 1 car lighter; 1 mini CD (Hayward Phantom: "Discover the World's Only Top and Bottom Pool Cleaner"); 1 plastic washer; 1 Easter-themed burp cloth (I honestly don't know what else it might be); 14 cans. Oh, and a dead garter snake, first one of the season.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Hello Seattle - Owl City (Had to link to video with horrid spelling, too)
I'd Have You Anytime - George Harrison
Apologies to Pearly - ZZ Top
Wrapped Around Your Finger - The Police
Savoy Truffle - The Beatles
Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band
You Crack Me Up - Huey Lewis & The News
Dark Island - Off Kilter
It's All Been Done - Barenaked Ladies
One Slip - Pink Floyd
You've got the Touch - Alabama
Old Dan Tucker - Bruce Springsteen
Hey Girl - Billy Joel
Parker's Band - Steely Dan
The River - James Taylor & Joni Mitchell
Baby - Justin Bieber (featuring Ludacris) — That's what you get for letting your kids use your iTunes

Update: Mattrass Haul

Forgot to mention yesterday, it was a mile from the curb in front of 830 N. Broad St. to my place. That's a fur piece with a mattress on your back. Much rather go a mile on my back on a mattress.

Apropos of nothing. When I returned to my desk after lunch Thursday I found a cracked robin egg — yolk visible inside, yuck — by my keyboard. Learned last night it was an Irishman's idea of a practical joke. He figured I might mistake it for a chocolate egg and scarf it down without proper inspection. Wrong. And, again, yuck.

He Collected

I am back with a vengeance today. What a day for a street scavenger! It's Clean Up Days (sic) in Galesburg. For my fellow grammarians out there, it should be Cleanup Days or at the least Clean-up Days.

I hit a new high (or maybe a new low) in street scavenging today. Ironically, I forgot to snag a bag when I left home this morning, so focused was I on the run — since it's been a week. I didn't even think about it until I hit the tracks at North Broad Street. At that point I figured, what the hell, and just kept running (and huffing and puffing, having rested on my laurels for a week).

Cleanup Days means lots of junk on the curb. And lots of potential goodies, too. I've always wished I had a pickup and the time to cruise the streets and break the law by scrounging some salvageable items from the curb. We call it Curb Shopping or Trashin' or Junkin'. It's a step above Dumpster Diving. But it's a shame we have become such a throw-away society that we're so inclined to pitch stuff that is either perfectly good but we just don't want it anymore or that has some minor malfunction or reparable damage we just don't feel like messing with.

I didn't have aspirations of truly trashin' today, mostly because I was on foot and on a schedule — working the day shift, in by 9! And while I was loathe to pick up something like a mattress from someone's trash pile, a chair or good wooden TV table or the like would be tempting — again, except for being on foot.

I am reminded of the Berenstein Bears story
"Too Much TV."

But there it was, on the sidewalk leading to the curb in front of a house in the 800 block of North Broad Street, next door to my friend Stephanie's house, a really nice looking twin mattress and box spring. I mean, it was in good shape, no noticeable stains or odor, puffily quilted on both sides of the mattress.

Ah, but it was early in the run — not gonna haul that for three miles! Besides, I had enlisted the help of my friend Bill last night to move a twin bed from my folks' house — my old bed from childhood — and it seemed silly to have gone to that effort only to undo it less than 12 hours later. So I continued on my merry way.

One block east and one south I noticed a pretty blue rocker-recliner, again in quite good condition. Not gonna carry that home, though. Nearby I did spot a cute little toy car with a shark jaw for a front end, so I snatched that up off the ground. And a few blocks later I happened upon a perfectly good and seasonable plastic Easter egg bucket. Nice. 

Then, as I approached Seminary and Losey and was about to head south for home, I veered west instead and back to Broad Street. I gave closer inspection to the mattress. Very good condition — way better than my frayed and stained, smoke-infused, 40-year-old flopper (no, I was not a bed-wetter; it was that way when we got it used). I climbed the front steps of the house and rang the doorbell. A young man, perhaps in his late 20s or so, answered.

Which one came from the curb?

"Sorry to bother you so early," I began.

"No problem," he said.

"Is there anything wrong with that mattress?" I asked.

"No."

"Can I have it?"

"Yeah. You can take the box spring, too."

"That's OK. I don't have any way to haul it, but I think I can carry the mattress on my back." (I was hoping he would offer to deliver them, what, with a van and two pickups in the drive.)

When no offer came, I hopped down the steps and back to the curb. Hoisted the mattress to my back and hustled off. Really, I almost jogged for a few yards, but the damned thing was so springy that it started bouncing and flopping like bird's wings, so I slowed to a hasty walking pace. Then I slowed to a normal walking pace. After a couple blocks I slowed to a stop to take a breather and give my aching arms a rest.

When finally I made it back to my apartment I paused for another breather, then called my buddy Shubie at my church down the street.

"Are ya busy," I asked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to get everything ready for this 10 o'clock service."

"Today? What service?"

"Maundy Thursday, dude. You're on the session, you approved it," came his snarky reply.

"Oh, I forgot. Well, can you spare a minute to help me?"

Shube, ever the faithful friend, said he could and I explained my mission. We had some laughs about junkin' and the possible foibles of such behavior. After sticking the box spring in the back of his Honda Element we headed started down Broad Street.

Yikes! Books in the trash.

"Wait, turn left here," I exclaimed as we approached Sanborn Street. "There's a nice chair on Cherry Street (make that Chairy Street?).

We detoured and I checked out the chair. One small stain on the seat cushion — and a dried cranberry or cherry that was easily flicked off. Dibs! Into the Element it went and we were on our way.

Great day for a street scavenger.

Today's Stats
Temp: 38 degrees F
Distance: 4.5 miles
Treasure: 1 twin mattress and box spring; 1 blue rocker-recliner; 1 toy shark-car; 1 Easter bucket.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
She Collected - Joe Ely
Do You Want to Know a Secret? - The Beatles
Love Over Gold (live) - Dire Straits
Groaning the Blues - Eric Clapton
Check It Out - John Mellencamp
A Great Day for Freedom - Pink Floyd
The Woman He Loves - Alabama
Untitled (live) - Garth Brooks
The Ostritch - Steppenwolf
The Scientist - Coldplay
I'm An April Fool - Ronnie Lane
Yer Blues - The Beatles
Don't Let Him Go - REO Speedwagon
Railroad Bill - John Jackson
Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
Media Vita In Morte Sumus - Gregorian Chants by Monks

Six Months of Scavenging

Today I'm doing a photo essay on Lost & Found, the Street Scavenger blog. The other day I emptied the dark blue Rubbermaid tub in which I store all the goodies I pick up and sorted out the trash, the giveaways and the keepers. Below is a series of photos of all the cool stuff, minus a couple of items (notably the red Nike shorts, the Let It Snow yard banner and the Rubbermaid tub itself (found along the roadside, though not while running).

I kept all the Magic gloves. Mostly black, they come in assorted sizes. I
figure my daughters will lose some of theirs and these can fill the gaps.

 One assortment includes the Spider-Man rubber ball, an Air-Soft pellet gun, assorted socks, some ponytail holders, a thank-you note, a page from a book about firearms, a boy's clip-on necktie, a couple scarves, the Victoria's Secret bra and other trinkets.

 Soft goods include a 3X denim halter top, a black T-shirt, a white T-shirt, a brown women's vest, boxers, boxer-briefs, velour pants, a Hollister T and an A&F T.

Loads of little stuff: Much of it went into the trash.

 More soft goods: a black do-rag, a plush fish dog toy, a couple of shop rags and a variety of washcloths. I kept all of these but the do-rag.

These come in handy for dusting, shop work, bike work and general clean-up.

 I saved the Streaks stocking cap, the Monster cap (I think) and the camo face mask. The rest are going to Sal-Val or the shelter.

A mismatched mess of gloves. Some are right, some are left, some fit either hand. There are a couple of complete pairs in here and a couple of the Magic gloves -- I took this photo before deciding to separate the Magic gloves for their own display.

Also included here are some plastic candy cane decorations, a Polaroid pic and a lawn light.

Yes, go toward the lights

 It was strange running so late at night; it's been a while since I've done that. With a co-worker on vacation, the Farmer's Forecast section to finish and the weekly Out & About entertainment section to do, I had a long day at work (went in early). Made a mad dash to church for the Wednesday Night Live! program only to find out I'd forgotten there would be no worship service, thus no need for my A/V services. I did get dinner, though, so that was a plus. Then it was off to buy a very special chair at Salvation Army.

Daughter No. 3 and I picked up the funky furniture and spent some time together doing math homework (fortunately she didn't need my help after all because I remember none of that stuff) and then we read a chapter of Suzanne Collins's "Catching Fire." It's getting quite exciting.

So it was that I couldn't take to the streets until after 11 p.m. Wednesday. Admittedly, there might have been some procrastination in there, too. Being off schedule is too easy and makes it all the harder to run. And like any exercise it becomes physically more daunting with delay. Gotta change that attitude.

 Well, I must say it was mostly enjoyable running up North Broad Street and later North Prairie, following the line of ornamental street lights for which homeowners in those neighborhoods were assessed a fee for restoration 20-plus years ago. Individually they're not as bright as the generic big street lights, but there are more of them and at closer intervals along the block, so the result is better, more even lighting. That's a plus when you're running along the gutter and hoping to spot any lurking limbs, potholes or debris that might send you headlong.

Best find of the night was a pair of classic Adidas tennis shoes (updated Superstars). You know the ones: white leather, three black stripes each side from lace-holes to sole, groovy rubber toe. Thankfully they appear to be about a size 12 or larger (I only held one up sole to sole with my left foot) or I might be tempted to fumigate and keep ’em. They are definitely cool kicks. But this pair is pretty battered and certainly smelly.

And for some reason I am still compelled to pick up cigarette hard packs if they’re in really good condition. They just seem useful — I hate wasted packaging. Maybe it’s because my friend Shubie has a Marlboro hard pack that’s been used as a housing for a mini-amp for a guitar. Apparently some guys produced a number of these back in the day and thought of even taking the idea into mass production. Supposedly the tobacco giants wouldn’t let them capitalize on their garbage. Dicks. (Amended: I gather from the Google results that people do make and sell these. Damned urban legends always stick it to the corporate mopes.)

Today's Stats

Temp: 63 degrees F

Distance: 4 miles

Weekly Total: 4 miles

Treasure: 1 Thinsulate glove (left); 1 pair classic Adidas (size 12+); 1 white washcloth (dirty, obviously);1 nut, two washers; 1 pristine Marlboro Gold Pack (empty, of course); 9 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

Rock of Ages - Def Leppard

Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks

Da Tu Amor - Santana

Genuit Puerpera Regem - Cregorian Chant

Salt of the Earth - The Rolling Stones

You Speak My Language - Morphine

Scuse Me? - The Rogues

83 (live) - John Mayer

It's Hard to Keep from Fallin' Apart

I'm over the hill, out of sorts, under the gun and off schedule. I did so well for about 10 months — regular running, three times a week, minimum 3 miles. I averaged 13 miles a week through the fall and winter, even when we were blasted by a blizzard back in February.

But life has been taking its toll these past few months and self-discipline has been elusive. And good Lord, I think it's only going to become more difficult. I miss cold-weather running. Cooler temps in the fall and early spring were wonderful, but today brought an early taste of summer — at 7 p.m. no less. It was rather sultry out there. Hopefully the impending deluge will cool things off a bit.

Time to check out some new music again. I found another homemade CD today — rap again — this one by D.J. Acosion. OK, a quick Google reveals his MySpace and Facebook links. I listened to about 6 seconds of one of his "songs" on MySpace (DJ Acosion A.K.A. Mr. Saturday). I guess I'm too ignorant to figure out the title of whatever is in the MySpace player (maybe it's just a Mac/work computer system issue). Click either link above and you can check it out for yourself.

Today's Stats
Temp: 83 degrees F
Distance: 3.6 miles
Weekly Total: 8.6
Treasure: 1 CD (D.J. Acosion); 1 purple knit glove (left hand, woman's).

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Detox Mansion - Warren Zevon (One of my favorite Zeve tunes)
Persuasion - Santana
Mystery Train - Jeff Beck & Chrissie Hynde
You're All I Need to Get By - Aretha Franklin
So What - Miles Davis
Hejira - Joni Mitchell
Jack and Diane - John Mellencamp
Alejandro - Lady Gaga
As Tears Go By - The Rolling Stones

Mind your step

An important lesson Boy Scouts learn about hiking is to not step on logs, branches and loose rocks on the trail. These obstacles can been unstable and lead to twisted ankles or worse. It's best to walk around or carefully step over. I guess the same lesson applies to running, as I was reminded tonight.

Instead of altering my course to avoid the branch across the sidewalk I decided to extend my stride and attempt to gracefully leap over it. Bad plan. I didn't stumble, but my left shoe caught on some of the twigs sprouting from the main branch and spun it around into the back of my left ankle, leaving a nasty looking scrape. Actually it wasn't that bad, but with dirt and sweat and fresh, caked blood it looked pretty gnarly. Washed up, not so bad. Still, a lesson relearned.

Today's Stats
Temp: 63 degrees F
Distance: 5 miles
Treasure: 1 spoon; 1 blue pencil; 1 John Deere lawn tractor product info placard; 1 commemorative state quarter (2006, Denver mint, South Dakota); 1 scraped ankle; 23 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
John Henry - Bruce Springsteen
We Work the Black Seam - Sting
Time for Me to Fly - REO Speedwagon
El Fuego - Santana
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
Knife and Fork - Stan Ridgway
Don't Take Me Alive - Steely Dan
Oooh Baby - C+C Music Factory
Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass
Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business) - Aretha Franklin
Lovefool (Snooper Version) - Snooper Persson
The Long Riders - Ry Cooder
Carry That Weight - The Beatles
The Stealer (live) - The Faces