I went penniless on this morning’s run with moments of gratitude that I’m able to do this every single morning without fail. I’m suffering from what I think is a stress fracture or possibly shin splints on top of my left foot and have switched to the other side of the road crown to relieve some of the impact. Ice before and after seems to help, while the fresh air revives my spirits. It’s tough being stuck inside all day, so the forty-five minute stretch of exercise is essential to my mental health. I’m fortunate that my foot injury is not getting any worse. Aging leads to lots of new aches and pains, and hopefully this too shall pass. 

My wife and I finally finished House of Cards and have moved on to Yellowstone. It’s my second time to watch the Kevin Costner production, but wanted a refresher on the first two seasons before investing in the third. It’s good that we find something to watch together every evening since the rest of the day we’re often on different paths. I have finished my A Killer novel at 80,000 words and will hopefully find a couple volunteer readers before I do any more refining. This has kept me from going insane from the pandemic isolation, but has also exposed a degree of hidden personal insanity through the characters. 

Speaking of insanity, I heard an alarming story on the radio this morning. There are rumors of COVID-19 parties down in Alabama. It’s the modern version of Russian Roulette, with the virus substituted for a gun. To play, you invite a group of friends over to your house, along with people who have tested positive. There’s a cash reward for anyone who catches it! “I wanna party with you,” if you’ve ever seen the movie Stripes? These folks are just as insane as I am, trying to maintain a silly personal streak that’s been part of my life for the last 11 1/2 years. 

From another perspective, Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Some people might say that if your foot hurts, why not rest it for a few days and allow it too heal. Why expect it to heal by repeating the same action that caused it? Granted, running with pain is insane, but I would counter by saying that not running just might drive me crazy. I wouldn’t expect anyone to understand why 4,204 consecutive days is important to me. Maybe insanity all starts with running every day?