Montana news
The plague of fires burning up Montana downtowns seems to have subsided. Also, in Missoula, we've stopped robbing and murdering for the moment (dude, we're too busy slacklining). Instead, what we're dealing with now, every single day, all over Montana (in addition to MTV film crews), is airplanes coming out of the sky and landing on the ground very unelegantly. Occasionally the occupants of these airplanes survive but usually they do not. It just keeps happening, man. Over the last few years I have been getting over my theoretical fear of flying, but I think now I might be just as afraid of flying as ever, theoretically.
News about me/running
My ever-increasing fame continues to increase ever so much. I recently discovered that I have made a cameo appearance in a short-form documentaryish film/clip about a race I did last month. In my most dramatic theatrical performance to date, I appear two-thirds of the way through the clip walking very quickly through the Oval. Those five seconds are perhaps not the highlight of the film, but it's a special moment nevertheless. Also, I or my feet were probably on the news last week, along with the 200 other people or 400 other feet in my running group. (We are a large group.) I don't have a teevee so I don't really know, but it may or may not have been on KPAX. (If you would like to request a copy of my autograph, please contact me through one of the various ways I can be contacted.)
(Soundtrack to the entry)
For the first time in maybe forever I don't have a race this weekend. That means I could sleep in on Saturday morning if I wanted to, and I do want to. I won't be able to, I'll wake up at 6:00 like I always do, but I will lie in bed for hours and hours after that pretending to be asleep.
The running season is going very well and somehow I'm much faster than last year. For months I have been writing an essay in my head for the running club newsletter about how I'm getting so fast I will probably become invisible very soon (or blurry at the very least), but this essay is having a very hard time getting from my head into a computer. I think I'd like to write it but apparently I just can't be bothered to. Anyway, I may or may not in the near to distant future buy a pair of Reeboks.
Please skip this paragraph if you are not interested in my dreams. This morning I had a stressful dream about the half marathon in July. I was planning to run the race with a sister or two, and we arrived at the race not early, and the starting line was in an airport, and in order to check your gear bag you had to get a head x-ray on a waterbed, and it was 5 minutes to race time and they messed up my first x-ray so they had to do it again, and my sister was saving my place in line for the bathroom but when I went to find her she wasn't in line anymore because she and some of my running friends had used this special bathroom operated by this wily brown guy. He charged people to use his special bathroom but didn't charge my running friends because. I don't know, they made friends with him or something. And so I went into this bathroom, and there were lines of toilet stalls with glass walls. (A recurring dream theme of mine is bathrooms with privacy issues.) Each toilet had a special show it put on before you used it - a magic trick or something. It was a very special bathroom. 50 seconds to race time, I hoped they'd start late. Then I remembered there were timing chips, but I realized I didn't have a timing chip. I picked a stall in the corner. There was this urinaly thing, and, like, a plant in it or something, and the special toilet performance or magic trick started and then my alarm went off and woke me up. What happened? Did I make it to the race? Did the wily guy get mad that I hadn't paid and didn't know him? Did I ever get my timing chip? We'll never know.
I have been learning a lot of life lessons through song lyrics recently.
Animals of Missoula (cats and dogs)
The other day on my way home a white and tan cat ran up to me on the sidewalk. It was a very friendly cat. I petted it for a while and then said goodbye, but the cat wanted to continue the acquaintance and decided to walk with me. We went a few blocks, the cat meowing and being friendly and walking right beside me all the way. We crossed Arthur. It became apparent that the cat was lost and had decided to adopt me. I decided to put my new cat in my garage while I went to my running group, give it water and tuna, call the animal shelter in a feeble and insincere attempt to find its previous home, and then keep it forever and ever. But then my new cat found a sympathetic yard and decided to stay there. I don't know where it really came from but I hope it's okay.
On Sunday I opened my back door and there was a very large gray cat sunning itself on my back stoop. The cat lives in my basement (which is not mine).
Yesterday I saw a little dog escape from its yard. The other little dogs in its yard were yelping at it. I don't care about little dogs, nor do I trust them, otherwise I would have saved it. The little escaped dog knew it was being bad and it was hard to tell if it was enjoying being on the lam or if it was not enjoying it. It ran across the street, ran back to its yard, then ran back across the street. Later, boys were playing basketball in the driveway in front of the little dog's yard. I don't know if the little dog went home or not and I don't care. I doubt anyone does, other than its owners.
I saw a greyhound in the mall last weekend.
