To Be Honest

Today I ran in the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. Although it was cold, rainy, and a bit crowded, the race itself was quite enjoyable. It is a very popular venue and is restricted to 15,000 entries. The course is flat and traverses the National Mall along the Potomac river in DC. As the name implies, runners are amongst the cherry trees which are in full bloom now. If you are into organized races then I highly recommend it.

One thing that caught my attention was the number of supporters cheering along the route. A lot of them had made signs for their friends and family that were running, but they were cheering everyone. I always love the feeling and am so thankful for their encouragement. It really makes a huge difference. Thanks to each of the volunteers and fans. It was especially great that they braved the elements.

Another thing that struck me during the run, was the large number of women in the race. I really enjoyed seeing so many women participating in such a healthy activity. I believe our culture has neglected the participation of women in these types of activities and I hope things have really started to change for the better. These were women of all different shapes, different ages, and probably different socioeconomic backgrounds.

I believe men should encourage women to participate. Examples include not negating their efforts (cat calls, directly competing, critical observations of their training outfits, etc.), directly encouraging them if you know them, making them feel secure by providing safe places to run, and running with them.

If you were one of the women out there running today, congratulations to you all.

I love dogs. I love them so much that I want them to be able to take advantage of their pack instincts and lead happy, healthy lives. Dogs want to engage in the pack power struggle, hunt with the pack, devour the kill, then come home and regurgitate it for the pups (ponder it the next time they eagerly “kiss” you when you come home).

I am a runner. I love to go out on a nice day, get a good pace going and maintain it for a healthy cardiovascular workout. It is also a time to think and plan for me. I sometimes run with friends, but most of the time it is just some good quality me time.

For the most part I have no problem with the owners of dogs that I encounter on the trails and sidewalks. But a couple of things continuously occur.

1. I can’t help but think about the dogs who have been couped up all day (either in a house, apartment or even a cage) while their pack was out (working, school, etc.) only to get a short walk with the pack in the morning and evening. For a few minutes the dogs are extremely excited, but I can only feel for them as their instinctive behavior is so restricted. Then again if they are rescued dogs, I can see that it is better than the alternative and there are of course weekends. And I acknowledge that smaller breeds can roam quite a lot within a smaller space.
2. I hate coming across owners who do not have control of their dogs. As a runner it is either a safety issue or a courtesy issue. If the dog is leading the owner it can be a problem of aggression by the dog or of the leash/dog cutting across the path of the runner. There is also the issue of sharing the path. This is particularly tricky when approaching people from their back. Even when you make sounds to try to warn them they often show no common sense. Thus, you may have to come to a stop or risk injury by going off the path to pass.

So, why is the second issue such a nuisance to runners. Other than the obvious safety issue, it can cause an adrenaline rush and affect the pace. This can throw off the whole run and definitely takes some of the joy out of running.

In summary, I applaud all dog owners who take responsibility for their dog’s health and happiness. I also urge them to share the trail with runners (and walkers for that matter).

To be honest, I don’t want to know about a politician’s sexual relationships. I don’t want them to be publicly questioned about it. I don’t want it to be reported by the media. I also don’t want a politician to make a pre-emptive public statement about it. What I do want is for them to effectively perform their duties to their constituents within the government. Their relationships are private matters between themselves and whomever they form relationships with. Specifics:

• If a politician commits a crime (e.g. prostitution) then they should be tried and if found guilty then removed from office. The media doesn’t need to harass their family and the politician doesn’t need to publicly apologize to his/her family. I think it just does more harm to the victims of the crime and the innocent.
• When one politician or political party attacks their opponent based on the private relationships of their opponent, I lose all respect for that politician/party. Forcing a politician to publicly admit or deny something about a personal relationship (e.g. sexual orientation, affairs) is a position they shouldn’t be placed in. Perjury and other career ending stigmas occur because of questions that never should be asked.
• Sometimes a politician takes a proactive stance and makes an unsolicited statement about a private relationship that they feel could be used against them by their opponents. Again, this is not something I want to know about them and I don’t approve of them.

One of the themes that I think occurs in a lot of the circumstances above is that there is usually a victim who is not the politician. It is often the spouse of the politician. I am not saying that the activities of the politician are something I commend. The spouse may already have been hurt by the politician’s activities, but now they get to be publicly humiliated and taken advantage of by the media too.

The public often also suffers. These petty, media hyped distractions take away from the real business of running an effective government for the people. Politics has enough drama already, let’s leave relationship drama to the TV soap operas.