Musical Freedom

Greetings! In the 80s MTV followed the pattern of radio stations and repeatedly played popular videos in short intervals. I became keenly aware of this one long night while I was trying to stay awake in Lawton, OK. I felt like the video music channel played a George Michael video, every hour, with I Want Your Sex being played the most. At the time, I was far from a George Michael fan. I didn't care for his solo work or for the music of Wham! As a teenager, I saw fit to remain true to the heartland rock genre, like the music of John Mellencamp.

The repetition of videos that one night, though, had an impact on me. I became a "secret" George Micheal fan. I kept that secret for decades. I listen to George Michael's music a lot while running, with Freedom! 90 being a favorite selection for speed workouts. In 2008 George Michael's Twenty-Five Live tour came to Atlanta. I felt that as an adult it was time to break free. I asked a friend to purchase tickets for us, as Shannan and I were traveling the weekend the tickets went on sale. My friend bought the tickets and much to my dismay, she revealed my secret to many of my co-workers. I came through the exposure with my soul untouched. Moreover, Shannan and I really enjoyed the concert.

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, thank you for the music and the memories.

Enjoy Freedom. Run.

Tom

2106 Review & Reflection

In graduate school I didn’t fully understand the power of reflection. It took me much too long to get on board with the concept. For me, blogging is more reflection than reporting or sharing. Over the years I’ve posted serious reflections at unscheduled times following the death of a friend or family member, as well as more traditional times like birthdays, anniversaries and the end of the year. I’ve come to appreciate how reflections can help guide my path and steer me clear of deep holes on the journey ahead. 

Today, I took out my calendar and looked back over 2016. Once again, I had a magnificent year personally and professionally. We explored with a fair amount of domestic and international travel, highlights being visits to Ireland and two trips to the west coast. As always, we spent many weekend get-a-ways visiting cities in Georgia and around the south. We toured museums and other interesting sites near and far.

Professionally, it was a record year to be involved in academic lectures and I was honored to curate two displays in February. The first was the After Malcom Digital Exhibit: Islam and the Freedom Struggle at National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The other was the display of the only full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry on the North Metro Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College. Otherwise, I took on leadership roles at the College in the areas of Online Teaching and Learning Innovation and Open Educational Resources.

It was fun to run a few road races this year, including my failed attempt to complete the Triple Peach. Lastly, I posted a great deal of varied material on my website, http://publicscholar.weebly.com/

In January of this year I posted this as part of my reflection blog: “While visiting Costa Rica a fellow mentioned a popular phrase, ‘Pura Vida.’ It means pure life. In context the man said the phrase means, getting the fullest out of life. I like it. Pura Vida is my theme for 2016. In all that I do, I’ll strive for Pura Vida.”

Pura Vida absolutely describes my 2016. I am deeply grateful for that reality. I strive for greater heights in 2017.

Live Well. Live to the Fullest. Run.

Tom

Learning to Run

Greetings! I hope all is well with you and yours. As you might imagine, I post information on the Internet all the time. I have no idea who reads it or when. This week I have a tiny celebration. For the first time since October 23, I ran with no pain during or after the run. I am ecstatic.

Since the first procedure on my left foot, I ran three miles on a treadmill once in November. I felt every step of it, but pushed through because I’m not smarter. It’s funny, with a total of three procedures over 8 weeks, I completely changed my walking pattern. I noticed that a bit as I started when I tried to run again last week.  The entire episode was quite awkward. I felt like I was learning to run all over again. After about 10 minutes I worked into a normal stride. I know this celebration is a minor one in the reality of the rest of the world, but I am so happy right now. I had to share.

Thanks for listening.

It’s cold outside. Keep moving to keep warm and stay healthy. Run!

Tom

One Thing Leads to Another

 Greetings! I’ve long been a fan of the The Fixx song, One Thing Leads to Another. However, I don’t care much for the cliché, when used in a negative connotation. Since late October I’ve encountered a number of physical obstacles following the procedure on my left foot. I will not chronicle them, but suffice it to say, I have certainly felt the domino effect.

The good news is I had a follow up visit yesterday, and I’m on the mend. I’m getting around today close to pain free. I look forward to jogging in the very near future. I’ve had a lot observations about the full range of movement and pain management over the last 7 weeks or so. The most interesting occurred recently when I was in an urgent situation. I found myself running and I was not aware of pain at all. Adrenaline is a fascinating thing, for sure.

I am grateful for the fine medical care I received. I know once I get back on the road that will be one GREAT thing that will lead to many others.

Stay the Course. Run.

Tom

Blog in Beta

Greetings! I’ve been blogging since we called it “Web-Logging” in the late 1990s. Over the years, I’ve used a handful of platforms before I landed with blogger/blogspot as a long-term home for notes on The Streak. I use a couple other formats in the blogosphere for work and for my personal/professional posts (http://publicscholar.weebly.com).

Sure, sometime I feel as though I’m posting cyber notes to nowhere. The truth is, for me, it’s not about garnering “likes” or reposts. I am committed to living in beta. I enjoy putting information out there, regardless of who reads it and when. Many occasions, the posts are locked in time, others are dissemination of information. In any case, I delight to be able to share.

I know I was influenced by a John Mellencamp song I used to sing over and over in my late teens. These are the beginning lines to Mellencamp’s song, Check It Out:

A million young poets

Screamin' out their words

To a world full of people

Just livin' to be heard

Future generations

Ridin' on the highways that we built

I hope they have a better understanding

Post. Blog. Run.

Tom

2 of 3 Peaches

Greetings! Oh how I dislike it when a plan doesn’t come together. As it turns out, I planned poorly on my foot procedure timeline. The bad plan cost me as I didn’t have enough recovery time. As a penalty for my bad planning, I did not run the Atlanta Half Marathon to complete the Triple Peach. I was bit upset, but not enough to cause any distress on an otherwise picture perfect Thanksgiving Day.

Though I like the concept of the Triple Peach, I’m not committed enough to give it a go next year. I did enjoy a return to the Peachtree Road Race after a four-year hiatus, however am happy to let my 21^st be my last. As noted in an earlier post, the Atlanta 10 miler turned out to be a terrific event. I am very happy to have participated.

On to completing other goals on my list for 2016.

Resolve. Recover. Run.

Tom