Halftime!

Grab some water.  Catch your breath.  Focus on what lies ahead.  

 

The second half of the year, and everything after, awaits.  

-AK 

The Search For Happiness

 

I know not whether Albert Camus lived near the seashore or spent any measurable time there but Sunday morning as I ran along the Atlantic Ocean shortly after sunrise, I could not help but think that for me at least...

17th Avenue Boardwalk and Beach - Belmar 

17th Avenue Boardwalk and Beach - Belmar

September 11 Memorial - Spring Lake

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar

...the search may well be over. 

-AK 

One Final Stomp

Sunday, November 7, 2021 is the 50th edition of the New York City Marathon.  In 2015, having gotten into the Marathon through the lottery, I ran it solo.  I did not train properly for it, I struggled through it and crossed the finish line in five hours and seventeen minutes.  

In 2016 and 2017, I ran the Marathon as part of the Team Stomp the Monster Charity Team.  Stomp the Monster is a New Jersey-based 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit that provides assistance to cancer patients and to their families.   They are a great group doing great work for a great cause.  

When I crossed the finish line in Central Park in 2017, I did not anticipate the day when I would once again be running the New York City Marathon.  As it turned out, that day has arrived.  This past Friday, I spoke with Tracey Levine of Stomp the Monster.  STM had three slots to fill on their charity team.  Now, they have two.  

At age fifty-four, I am confident that the 2021 New York City Marathon is the final marathon I shall run.  I do it with two goals.  First, to raise money for Team Stomp the Monster.  Second, to complete the marathon in under five hours.  

If you are inclined to help with the former, then you can do so here.   As for the latter, it is a self-help project every step of the way.  

-AK 

Raise A Glass To Futures Past

How is it possible we have already arrived at June's final Sunday?  It seems as if it was only yesterday Wilma and I were celebrating the fact that the distance between where we were then and there and Memorial Day Weekend was finally able to be measured in weeks instead of months.  Now?  Memorial Day Weekend is a month's worth of days in the rear-view mirror and getting smaller and harder to see. 

Life is a forward-moving exercise.  Always has been.  Time spent lamenting the water that has now passed beneath your boat's hull is time wasted.  The older I get, the faster time seems to move.  I have no time to waste contemplating what was, what never was, and what might have been.  

As June cedes its time on the stage to July, it is true that the days get incrementally shorter.  But it is also true that the Colorado branch of the family business will come east (I still say "home" silently, to myself - OK not silently but I use my inside voice - as if the place where they have not lived in more than a decade and not the place where they have lived continuously for the entirety of that time is their home).  Their number shall include our newest associate, my granddaughter Shea.  

She is fast approaching her first birthday and when I see her in July it will be the first time that her Pop Pop has laid eyes on her or has held her.  Three-fifths of my Dream Team are July babies and they will have the opportunity to celebrate together on a day that is not any one of the three's birthday, which makes it a day they can share.  

And a day that old Pop Pop is looking forward to very, very much. 

-AK 

The Final Case

-Detective Harry Bosch

While I am always hesitant to make listening or viewing recommendations - for I respect that one's taste (even when it favors that which I might consider inexplicable) is a personal thing, I am looking forward to sitting with the Missus and watching the final season of Bosch on Prime Video.  

All of this season's episodes dropped yesterday.  With only this season left to consume, the two questions facing Margaret and me are whether to begin watching it Sunday night or hold off until at least Monday; and how to restrain ourselves from binge-watching the eight-episode final season in one or two viewings.  

Not a bad dilemma with which to be faced.  

-AK 

Remaining Sane

Good advice to which to adhere on June's final Friday...

...and on every other day too. 

Be careful out there. 

-AK 

A Report From The Crossroads

The venerable courthouse 

with its majestic halls and stately courtrooms

engenders a respect for the rule of law

upon all that enter.  

This is a place where life-changing decisions happen.

Holding court on Zoom is like church 

in a supermarket parking lot.

There's a reason that parishoners who tried it

during the pandemic were eager to return 

to their sanctified spaces - the experience is different.

The same is true for courts.

Remote proceedings cheapen and trivialize 

the sacred ceremony that is a trial. 

-Hon. John C. Coughenor, U.S.D.J.

I, for one, agree wholeheartedly with Judge Coughenor.  I applaud him for writing this opinion piece for The Seattle Times.  It is, in my estimation, a worthwhile read.  

Peruse it and make up your own mind.  

-AK 

I Have Now Decided On My Golden Retriever Name

 

Do not feel compelled to take my word for it.  Ask my canine brother from another mother, "Chunk" (and yes that is the answer to the question posited in the title of this piece), who apparently went missing from home two weeks ago and was found swimming in the Barnegat Bay.    Kudos to State Trooper Ryan Koehler and State Trooper Vincent Ferdinandi for bringing Chunk home to his humans.  Kudos to the two runners and the fisherman who kept a watchful eye on Chunk until the Troopers were able to coax him into their boat.  

"Chunk f/k/a Chuck".  I like the ring of it.  

I hope Chunk does too. 

-AK 

Like Sunshine On A Sunny Day

In case you missed the news, Sunday was the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere.  

Old Willie the Shakes had a real way with words. 

Me?  I am more of a fan of photographs.

-AK

 

Blue Jay Way

In the three decades that I have lived in the Borough of Middlesex, I have actually spent scant little time in town (other than to sleep).   Neither of my two kids went to school in the Middlesex Public Schools and while I rooted enthusiatically for Margaret's nephews, Joe and Frank, while each played football and wrestled in high school, I have not set foot on the high school's property since Frank graduated.  He will be twenty-nine next month.  

While I know neither the coaches nor the young men who represent the high school as its baseball team, I have long been impressed by this little town's ability to produce top-notch baseball talent.  It is nothing short of uncanny.  On Saturday afternoon, Middlesex High School captured its third Group I State Championship since 2017 when it defeated New Providence 4-3 in thirteen innings.  

It was the third straight game, beginning with the Central Jersey Group I Championship and continuing with the State Group I Semi-Finals and, finally, Saturday afternoon's Group I Championship, in which Middlesex won in its final at-bat.  

It is the Blue Jay Way. 

-AK 

Keep On Walkin'

Well now the years have gone

And I've grown

From that seed you've sown.

But I didn't think there'd been so many steps

I'd have to learn on my own

Well, I was young and I didn't know what to do

When I saw your best steps stolen away from you

And I'll do what I can

I'll walk like a man

And I'll keep on walkin'

"Walk Like A Man"

-Bruce Springsteen 

Happy Father's Day.

-AK 

As Long As There Are Stars Above

I may not always love you

But long as there are stars above you

You never need to doubt it

I'll make you so sure about it.

God only knows what I'd be without you. 

"God Only Knows"

-Beach Boys

Twenty-eight years ago today Margaret and I got married.  We had been dating for two years, almost to the day, prior to our wedding day.   Three decades later, I know not what the appeal is from her perspective.  

God only knows...

-AK 

At Week's End...

A morsel or two of thought for a Friday...

...and let us all be careful out there. 

-AK 

A Case for Flip Flops

I read a piece in the New York Post yesterday afternoon that made me think of Mark Twain...

I post the link to it here not because I have a dog in the fight regarding the career of Daniel Elder but because I think it serves as both a cautionary tale and as a profile in courage.  

Read it for yourself and decide for yourself. 

-AK 

Basic Math According to Bosch

It really is this simple...

Be careful out there.  

-AK 

A Day Is Just A Day

In the event that today is one of those days for you...

-AK 

Laying Down More Footsteps

COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's New York City 5K on September's final Sunday in 2020.   This year, it shall not.  This year, the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that claimed FF Stephen Siller, three hundred and forty-two of his brothers at the FDNY, thirty-seven members of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey Police Department, and twenty-three members of the New York City Police Department among its almost three thousand victims shall see the return of the T2T 5K.  

Less than fifteen minutes after I received the e-mail from the Siller Foundation announcing its signature event's return, I registered for it.  

  

I truly cannot wait.

-AK 

A Day in the Life of This Funny Old World

 For the birthday girl...

My mother was bright, happy, 

she'd merrily make conversation 

with a broom handle.  She believed

that there was good faith, good heart,

and good hope in all citizens.  

She gave the world a lot more credit perhaps 

than it deserves, but that was her way. 

"The Wish" {Introduction}

Bruce Springsteen 

My mom was truthfulness, consistency, good humor,

professionalism, grace, kindness, optimism, civility,

fairness, pride in yourself, responsibility, love,

faith in your family, commitment, joy your work, 

and a never-say-die thirst for living - for living.

For living and for life. 

"The Wish" {Introduction}

Bruce Springsteen 

She was all that - and a cup of coffee too.  

Happy Birthday, and much love always, Mom. 

-AK 

Just A Boy Trying to Save His Dog

 

You need not take my word for it just how right Charles Bukowski was in his juxtaposition of dogs and angels.  Ask a much better man than I.  Ask Bryson Kliemann.  

Bryson Kliemann is eight years old.  Bryson lives in southwest Virginia with his family and his best friend, Bruce.  Bruce is Bryson's puppy.  Recently, Bruce fell ill and when Bryson's mom took him to the vet, the news was devastating.  Bruce had Parvo, a serious and potentially fatal illness.  Treatment is expensive and, unfortunately, Bryson's family did not have the money to pay for it.  Faced with the far-too-early death of a beloved family member, Bryson's mom, Kimberly Woodruff, created a GoFundMe page for Bruce's care, which she titled, "Just a boy trying to save his dog".  

Since Bryson is just eight years old, he apparently has not yet commenced full-time employment.  Apparently, being a second or third grader occupies most of his day-to-day.  Unable to work but desperate to save Bruce, Bryson went all in.  He sold all his Pokemon cards to raise money for Bruce's treatment.  

Bruce is apparently doing much better and is on the road to recovery, on which road he shall happily accompany Bryson - and hopefully do so for many years to come.  And Bryson?  Apparently when news of what he was doing in an effort to save Bruce reached the folks who make Pokemon cards out in the great state of Washington, they decided to do something for Bryson.

Just when I think that goodness in this world is in short supply, a child reminds me that perhaps I am simply not looking for it in the right place.  

-AK 

Looking Forward To A Trip Across Canola Fields

 Take my hand Marie

Take a death grip on some part of me

Keep me from drifting out to sea

Or I'll be lost out there.

"Canola Fields"

-James McMurtry

Wednesday afternoon, my brother Bill shared two great pieces of information with me.  First, on August 20, 2021, James McMurtry is releasing his next album, The Horses and The Hounds, about which he himself says, "The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks.  Don't know how he got in there.  He never signed on for work for hire."  I pre-ordered my copy on Wednesday night. 

He also shared with me the first song McMurtry has released/dropped from the new record...

...and it is terrific. 

-AK 

The Habit of Excellence

Some Aristotelian food for thought for a Thursday... 

-AK 

Who She Is

 

She is nothing short of extraordinary.  Hell, she is miles beyond extraordinary.  

-AK 

That Place Where The Neon Lights Are Bright

 They say that I won't last too long on Broadway

I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say.

But they're dead wrong I know they are

'Cause I can play this here guitar

And I won't quit till I'm a star on Broadway. 

"On Broadway"

-George Benson 

In case you missed yesterday's announcement (and if you care not, I am quite confident you have at least an inkling just how little I care about your position), the Poet Laureate of the Jersey Shore is crossing the river from the Jersey side and reprising Springsteen on Broadway.  

JUNE 7, 2021

‘Springsteen On Broadway’ Returns For Limited Summer Run At The St. James Theatre

Bruce Springsteen will return to Broadway this summer for a limited run of Springsteen on Broadway performances at Jujamcyn’s St. James Theatre. Shows begin Saturday June 26, with additional performances taking place through September 4.

Tickets for Springsteen on Broadway will go on sale Thursday, June 10 at 12pm ET through the show’s official ticketing provider SeatGeek. See a full list of performances and information on purchasing tickets HERE.

“I loved doing Springsteen on Broadway and I’m thrilled to have been asked to reprise the show as part of the reopening of Broadway,” said Bruce.

Proceeds from Opening Night of Springsteen on Broadway at the St. James Theatre will be donated to a group of local New York and New Jersey charities including the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Food Bank for New York City, Fulfill (Monmouth & Ocean Counties Foodbank), Long Island Cares, NJ Pandemic Relief Fund and The Actor’s Fund.

The creative team for Springsteen on Broadway includes Heather Wolensky (scenic design), Natasha Katz (lighting design) and Brian Ronan (sound design).

Based on his worldwide best-selling autobiography Born to Run, Springsteen on Broadway is a unique evening with Bruce, his guitar, a piano, and his very personal stories. The show’s original run included 236 sold-out performances at Jujamcyn’s Walter Kerr Theatre, beginning in October 2017 and concluding in December 2018. Springsteen earned a Special Tony Award for the performances, which were later adapted into a film and a soundtrack album.

Audience members will be required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter the theater. For more information, visit jujamcyn.com/springsteenFAQ.

A Stomach's Worth of Sunshine

 I got sunshine in my stomach

Like I just rocked my baby to sleep.

"The Cinema Show"

-Genesis

This weekend, sunshine was plentiful at the beach.  Irrespective of the time of day.

Spring Lake September 11 Memorial 

June 5, 2021

Spring Lake Beach

June 5, 2021

Belmar Beach

June 5, 2021

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar

June 5, 2021

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar 

June 5, 2021

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar 

June 5, 2021 

Spring Lake Beach 

June 6, 2021

Spring Lake

June 6, 2021

Belmar Beach

June 6, 2021

-AK 

Nobody Rides for Free

-AK 

 

Bolder on the Run

Weather scuttled our plans to spend the Memorial Day Weekend at the beach.  The Missus and I headed north fairly early in the day on Saturday.  While it had been my intention to complete my 10K run for the 2021 Bolder Boulder by running along the water at the Shore on Saturday morning, I ended up fulfilling my obligation shortly after sunrise in Middlesex on Memorial Day.  

Well, a bit of clarification is in order here.  I commenced fulfillment of my obligation shortly after sunrise.  It took me slightly more than sixty-seven minutes to complete it. 

Clearly, no land speed records were broken by Yours truly.  Nevertheless, it was nice to participate and it was a pleasant surprise to learn that I could still run 6.2 miles.  

Proof of Life Photograph

It was also nice to honor Margaret's great uncle, Pat Barbato, who was tragically killed in action by friendly fire on July 25, 1944.  

For me, no run through Middlesex is complete without me spending a moment to pay my respects at Middlesex Borough's September 11 Memorial.  Monday morning, having been gifted an American flag by the good people of the Bolder Boulder, when I stopped, I placed it there on my way home near the end of my run. 

Middlesex Borough September 11 Memorial

Time well spent, from beginning to end.

-AK 

The Wisdom of Whitman

I have a favorite place.  I have a favorite time of day.  I never feel more at peace than at those moments when I am at their point of intersection. 

This past weekend proved, meteorologically speaking, to be less than ideal start to the summer.   Friday morning, however, was exceptional.  

Spring Lake September 11 Memorial shortly before sunrise

May 28, 2021

Spring Lake a few minutes after sunrise

May 28, 2021

Belmar several minutes after sunrise

May 28, 2021

17th Avenue Beach - Belmar several minutes after sunrise

May 28, 2021

Once upon a lifetime ago - or what feels as if it was a lifetime ago - I would arise early to run long distances.  I rarely, if ever, run long distances any more.  I have come to realize that it is not the amount of ground covered that counts.  It is the destination.  

My destination?   Peace.  

It is, indeed, beautiful. 

-AK 

 

Forty-Eight Months

 

...or the sunrise over the ocean.  

17th Avenue Beach, Belmar, New Jersey

May 28, 2021

A moment in time so perfect, so serene, and so complete, you pray in your heart of hearts for it to last forever.   Knowing all the while that it will not.  Knowing all the while that it cannot.   

Its impermanence does not cause you to appreciate it less.  Rather, it causes you to cherish it forever...

The late, great Joanie K. and her youngest child

(way back when before my beard went gray)

You notice your mom 

Staring back from a photograph

And quick as you turn

You're certain you hear her laugh.

"The Music is Hot"

John Hiatt

...and the cherished memory of the person you think of every time you look at it.  

-AK 

Of Blouse Buttons and Other Permanent Fixtures

Twelve years ago today, my wife's heart broke.  Try as I might, I have not been able to repair it.  In my defense, my failure is not entirely my fault.  Once something is broken, it is never again unbroken, irrespective of the best efforts of the one tasked with the repair and the amount of Gorilla Glue expended in the effort.  It was on this very day, twelve years ago, on which Margaret's mom died.  The indomitable Suzy B., a woman of unmatched courage, determination, and heart (in other words, her daughter's mother), fought a valiant fight against cancer for the final five-plus years of her life.  The fight ended twelve years ago today. 

What appears here, in this space today, is in large part what appeared in this space on this date last year.  It appears here again not because I was unwilling to write something new to honor my mother-in-law's memory.  It appears here again because I believe, perhaps immodestly, I cannot honor it - or her - any better. 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Taking Her Place on the Path Unwinding

Margaret, Suzanne, Nanny, and Suzy B. 

June 2007...and Maggie (May 2017)

The Fifth Generation

Eleven years ago today, my mother-in-law died.  Suzanne Bozzomo waged a spirited, courageous, and pitched battle against cancer for the final five-plus years of her life.  In the pre-dawn hours of June 2, 2009, her body, irrevocably broken and wearied beyond exhaustion, gave out.  

Her spirit never did.

Margaret misses her mother every day.  Joe misses his wife every day.  We sold our home in Middlesex seven years ago and moved cross town.  Margaret moved back into the home in which she had grown up.  We did so at Joe's request. He needed Margaret to be even closer than the 6/10 of a mile away that we lived.  Truthfully, she needed it too.

I do not know whether Margaret shall ever totally be over losing Suzy B.  Nor do I think she ever has to be.  Their relationship transcended mother/daughter.  Each was the other's best friend.  Is there a statute of limitations on how long one mourns the death of her best friend?  It seems to me that there should not be.  Margaret not only shepherds Joe and Yours truly through our day-to-day (and believe me, one of us needs a lot of shepherding and the other one is Joe), but she is the adoring, doting Nana to four (soon-to-be-five) grandchildren, including three who she sees on an almost-daily basis.   

For proof regarding just how well Margaret navigates her day-to-day, even though she grieves still, I need to look no further than her namesake, Maggie.  Sunday morning down the beach, Margaret and I were sitting with Maggie on our front porch. Out of the blue, Maggie looked at Margaret and said, "Nana, you are my best friend."   

I smiled.  Margaret smiled.  And somewhere, Suzy B. looked in on her daughter and her great-granddaughter and smiled. She smiled in knowing that a lifetime of teaching - not merely through words but through actions - is already being paid forward to another generation. 

"Keep Me In Your Heart" 

-Warren Zevon

-AK 

Their Arrival at a Unified Scene

An important piece of business must be acknowledged on this "Return to Work" Tuesday, which is that today is the birthday of one of my favorite humans, my daughter-in-law Jessica.  I still remember the first time I met her, which was in Newark Airport.  She and Rob had flown east to New Jersey (separately but together) for visits with their respective families.  Initially, part of Rob's itinerary was taking the old man with him to see The Hold Steady play at a club in New York City.   

However, a week or so before he was scheduled to arrive (and as I tried to figure out the over/under on naps I needed to take the day of the show to give me a puncher's chance of being awake by the time the gig started), he telephoned me to ask me if I would mind if he took someone else instead.  "You see, I've met this girl...", he said as he said Jess's name aloud to me for the first time.  While I do not remember precisely what I said to him in response, it was something along the lines of "If you take me with you instead of her, I will disinherit you!" (as if the 11 cents coming his way from my Estate will make him or break him).   

I am the designated "airport pick-up" guy in our family.  There I was that evening waiting for Rob to walk from his arrival gate to the point in Terminal C in Newark Airport where one can greet arriving passengers when I saw Jess for the very first time.  It was impossible to miss her as she and Rob were walking side-by-side and hand-in-hand.  My son has always been a man of few words.  I learned way back when he was a little boy the importance of reading his non-verbal cues, such as the glint in his eyes and the look on his face in an effort to get a read on him.  From one hundred and fifty feet away seeing his face that which I saw made me smile.  

Almost one decade, and two beautiful little girls, later, Jess and Rob continue to walk side-by-side and hand-in-hand.   One might say they themselves have held steady.  Me?  I would say they have done more than that.  Much more.   

They not only started with a positive jam...  

...they have seen it through. 

-AK