I'm Gonna Cry a River (Little Milton: 1934-2005)

Little Milton died on August 4. I didn't find out until the weekend (consistent with my daughter's accusations that I'm "so two weeks ago") and for this morning's run in his honor I had "Tin Pan Alley" on the iPod and bid him farewell. Rest in peace.

This mornings run was a 4 mile Franklin Field loop. They still had all the movie trailers and assorted stuff sitting at FF. The weather is cool and pleasant now, with a bright morning sun to illuminate the Furness Library's red sandstone exterior, one of my favorite run-by sights located on Penn's campus.

Speaking of people passing, this mornings route also went by Koch's Deli, a legendary local institution where Bobby Koch held court with amazing sandwiches and bad jokes. He passed recently as well, as had his brother Lou some 7 or 8 years ago. He too, will be missed by many.

They say death comes in threes, so we need one more for the hat trick. 4+ miles went by at the speed of a funeral procession in 38:54.

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Did a double today by meeting J, A, and TK at the Art Museum after work. IC laid out a course but conveniently declined to show up, so I had three of the uninitiated ask me where this "bloody nipple" thing is. So I led the lambs up Kelly Drive to the slaughter, with TK changing the words around as he sang the chorus of Sunday Bloody Sunday. But I hyperbolize, as I'm known to do every so often, as all three chugged up the hill just fine and have now been inducted into the Order of the Bloody Nipple. It was one of those rain in the sunshine afternoons where the river revealed the complexity of its moods and made me feel I was in a Thomas Eakins painting.


I was commenting to TK how we often take for granted the beauty that surrounds our beaten path around the Schuylkill: both the natural beauty and the statues, bridges, architecture, etc. interspersed among this.

A got the hardcore runner award as he did three more miles (I'm taking him for his word) after we all did the 10+ mile route. I hammered the last mile (6:30ish) and finished in 81:58.

So I ran 14 miles, biked about as much during the course of making various appointments throughout the day, and walked about a mile with M to get back and forth to Saad's for some felafel and baba-ghanoush after coming home from the run. It's been a good day.