December 2006 Archives

Ran today for the first time since last Wednesday. I was dangerously close to sliding into a vicious cycle of not running until XMas Day when training for the Pine Line officially kicks off. Did four miles outside. Felt great. Blah Blah. Whatever.

Okay...running news is out of the way. Here's what's really bothering me.

Last night after we put the Children of Fat Runner to bed, Wife of Fat Runner was perusing the selections on television and happened upon a made-for-tv holiday movie called "The Year Without Santa Claus." The following exchange took place:

WoFR: A Christmas movie!
FR: You know that's going suck, right?
WoFR: It'll be fun...
FR: There is no way that this movie is not total crap.
WoFR: But, Honey....it's SEASONAL crap!

Seasonal. Crap. I assume this means that because this complete piece of drek is centered around a holiday, it's okay for us to volunteer to have our intelligence insulted. As if the basic premise of the movie wasn't enough to disuade WoFR (which I am sure you can surmise from the title), this movie boasted Delta Burke in a supporting role. Delta BURKE! My God, how much can a man take? I blame myself for this. I should have known better than to argue with a woman who was late to dinner at Brother of Fat Runner's house one Sunday evening because she wanted to catch the end of Grease 2. That's right. Grease 2. A movie so horrible that the best they could come up with was a song about bowling.

We only made it through a half hour of this drivel (including commercials). After WoFR relented and turned off the television, I began to see her point about seasonal crap. It seems that the horrible specials that were aired in our youth were in some way not as crappy as the current holiday fare. Could it be that we are now older and look back on those things with sepia-toned nostalgia? Were they really as bad as a Christmas movie with Delta Burke? I like to think they weren't, but chances are if I were to watch them again, I would think they were pretty much horrific.

So...what are good holiday movies and specials? Here is a small list of Christmas/general holiday viewing approved by the Fat Runner. Watch anything else at your peril.

Yesterday I began my 30th year on the planet Earth. I am closer to 40 than I am to 18 and more than halfway to 50. I have been able to legally drink for 9 years. I have been able to buy porn and cigarettes and cast votes for 12 years. I have been licensed to drive an automobile for 14 years. My senior year in high school saw freshmen born in the eighties. I have a wife, two kids, and a three-bedroom house with a yard and a dartboard in the basement. I have concerns about and subsequently deal with home equity, credit card debt, lawn care, college funds, finding sensible business casual clothing, graduate school, keeping the kitchen clean, my golf game, and proper automotive maintenance. I am in the process of setting up retirement savings accounts. I don't want to leave my job anytime soon because they offer good medical and a pension plan. I wear the same pair of comfortable shoes almost every day. I am in bed and asleep by nine most nights (including weekends).

It might be cliched, but it seems that you really do wake up one day and you are your father. That's not a bad thing...I wouldn't trade any of the things I have now for anything I had then (well, maybe the credit card debt). Adulthood doesn't just happen. It's incremental. I still don't feel like an adult. But, whether I like it or not, it's here and it's not going anywhere. So, here is a brief synopsis of the first 30 years of the Fat Runner (with special emphasis on anything running related...

Not much to say today, except that I hope one of my cherished childhood memories isn't completely obliterated by Hollywood.

Every morning I update myPod with the podcasts I intend to listen to during that morning's workout. During this morning's update process, I went to IMDB on a whim and noticed a trailer for a new children's movie coming out based on the Newberry Medal Award winning book Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson. This really struck me as I can vividly remember sitting in my small fourth grade classroom as Mrs. Judge read to us from this wonderful book. I probably couldn't remember the names of three people that I went to fourth grade with, but I remember Mrs. Judge and I remember the story of Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke.