I play a lot of silly mental games while I’m running, trying to keep my mind off the task at hand. Sometimes, I count steps or blocks and on other occasions listen to the lyrics of a song on the radio. I write poems in my head and gather ideas for this blog. Some of my thinking is constructive, but mostly it’s just nonsense. I switch from street to sidewalk to avoid monotony and try not to step on cracks. Since I run by a number of parked cars, lately I’ve been counting the number of flashing security lights on the dashboards of these vehicles. This morning I only found 8 but yesterday was a record 18.

On this morning’s run number 4,342, I found two quarters. The first was one that I had previously picked up more than a week ago, but had somehow  missed getting it in my pocket. I found it again this morning hidden in the leaves and then picked-up a surprise second. Fifty Cents is a big find any morning, having long abandoned collecting all change but silver. Pennies were once my main quest, winks from angels, but they’re no longer worth the risk of viral contamination – a silly distinction, I know, but so are the mind games I play every morning. Of course, I disinfect these stray coins once I get home along with my hands. 

Fifty Cent of course made me think of Curtis James Jackson III, the American rapper, songwriter, television producer, actor, and entrepreneur known for his impact in the hip hop industry. Since I was in a silly mood, it was worth looking him up on Wikipedia:

“Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age 12 during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after Jackson released the compilation album Guess Who’s Back?, he was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under the aegis of Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.”

“With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre (who produced his first major-label album Get Rich or Die Tryin’), Jackson became one of the world’s best selling rappers and rose to prominence with East Coast hip hop group G-Unit (which he leads de facto). In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. Jackson had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He released his fifth studio album, Animal Ambition, in 2014 and as of 2019 is working on his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal. He executive-produces and stars in the show Power, which airs on Starz.”

I’m fifty cents richer this morning and more knowledgeable about Fifty Cent. It’s a silly combination, created along my standard 3.1 mile route. Speaking of silly, the final mile has been designated the trail of B’s, starting with the defunct restaurant Byways and ending with Bentley Bagels. Butch has recently gone out of business between the Bradshaw Building and the wall of Bricks. Once again, it’s a mind game to get me through that last mile every morning, while I’m counting Blinkers.