Saturday, December 30, 2006

Nature

The first thing that motivated me to make a nature post was the proposed listing of the Polar Bear to the Threatened Species List of the Endangered Species Act this week (and a special Thank You to Nicole for correcting me on the specifics of it merely being a proposed listing). As I looked into it further, I saw that dozens upon dozens of newspapers immediately editorialized that it was about time. For those of us who saw An Inconvenient Truth, it turns out that little cartoon was no joke. The heavily studied bear population of greater Churchill, Ontario has dropped to 935 from 1,194 between 1987 and 2004 according to the Fish & Wildlife Service. This is kind of big, considering the rate at which human population has grown since my kindergarten days of 1987. But most of all, respect to those beasts who are the namesake of the act of jumping into icy cold waters on Xmas day all around the world strictly for the purpose of feeling life more coldly and deeply.

I later came upon an article about Goldsborough Creek in Mason County, WA talking about the noticeable return of salmon to the Goldsborough watershed in the five years since the breaching. In spite of my 130-page tome on salmon policy from 2004, I am still uncertain about what is best for salmon within the framework of our society. That said, there is something in my gut about a free-flowing river. I'll be the first to admit that our beloved Quabbin is itself a product of the dammed Swift River, but it is hard to argue with the sound of the rushing creek out my window, singing it's lullaby to me every evening after a hard rain. Anyway, on the dam front, there appears to be more on tap where that came from.

Finally, we have a brief polemic on the Quabbin. Amazingly, this Thursday stood as my first ever voyage into Gate 8, the nearest entry into the reservation from my house. I can blame it on laziness, poor fitness, or poor judgement. I think I will choose all three. It was a beautiful trip, all 25 minutes of it. I ran from my house up to Knight's Pond and down Packardville Road until I skirted around the metal gate into the boundaries of the Quabbin. The road, already gravel, turned soft and comforting immediately. I saw bogs and pine stands alike off to my right and left as I ran further downhill, in the direction of drifting water toward the big reservoir. I imagined moose and hawks and bears but saw none. After about a mile I turned left off of the arterial onto a smaller road that crossed a creek, then went uphill and hit a slight clearing. It was there that I stopped, pissed and turned around. The majesty of the Quabbin pushed me to negative splits, even with the considerable elevation gain coming home. I anxiously await the days when I can actually run 8+ miles on a regular basis, and thus the Quab. The next day, mental imagery in tow, I drove up the Daniel Shays Highway en route to Hwy 2 and ultimately Maine. It is hard to beat the path along the Pelham highlands past Shutesbury and New Salem with lookouts stretching far out into the hills, a deep, deep lake somewhere below.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Two Americas

Or, as Kraus would say, Two Uh-Mare-I-Kuhs. Such is the theme that John Edwards says he will continue touting in his now-official run for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the Presidency. The Sunshine Boy threw his hat in a few days ago now, giving me time in my blograstination to think a little bit more on the subject. My initial reaction was that Edwards appeared to be a little too much of an everyman in his announcement speech from the still devastated 9th Ward of New Orleans. He was either clearly or deliberately unscripted as he talked about the things he felt were necessary for a better America, casually gesturing to the neighborhood around him with a well-casted crew of young black children in the background who have helped him do clean-up work.

My initial reaction was, No, not Presidential. But over a couple of days I came to realize that it is December of 2006, not July of '08. Maybe you don't want to come on too strong, too soon. But what really got to me was the heart of the announcement. The former Senator felt it was important “to show what’s possible when we as Americans, instead of staying home and complaining, actually take action and take responsibility.” It was a bit of a shock for a Quabbiner, living some thousand miles away, to see just a glimpse of the massive amount of work that still is left down in Cajun Country, and kudos to Edwards for pointing that out to people.

You certainly don't see Dubya reminding people of their civic duty to look out for their countrymen. In fact, as an aside, our President seemed to feel that Saddam's execution was a matter of
little importance to him as he slept and sent one of his employees to comment. To quote Wayne Campbell, "As if!" As if Bush didn't give a damn! The sensibility of death penalty aside, it irked me to see Bush once again display a nonchalant attitude toward a major event that, in this case, he created. The haughty and presumptuous air of expectation is verrrry un-Quabbin.

Back to Edwards. The experience thing and the looks-like-he-is-40 thing will be hurdles, but I am starting to think that there could be a turning tide for 2008, which I will discuss in more detail in some future query. A tide that is more hospitable to larvae and less so to barnacles. Plus, his facebook
profile lists his two favorite activities as basketball and running, just like we do here in Quabbin Qountry.

I think it is appropriate to close with some quotations about Gerald Ford, our 38th President:

"Gerald Ford was almost alone in his understanding that there can be no healing without pardon." - Dick Cheney, Nixon apologist.

"In 1974 America didn't need a philosopher-king or a warrior-prince. We needed a healer, we needed a rock, we needed honesty and candor and courage. We needed Gerald Ford." - Dennis Hastert, backhanded complimenter.

And now we go to a time of Three living ex-presidents, which might be the fewest in our modern history. I would be interested to find out.

Rest in Peace, Gerald Ford. A football player, a sailor, a civil servant, a President.
Certainly not an Arrogant Bastard, which sits in my mug as we speak.
















Ahoy,
BTB

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Old Man Weakness

This morning I got a stark reality check when I predicted my time in a local, low-key 5k race and proceeded to run almost a full minute slower. What makes matters worse is that I thought my predicted time was conservative. Today's race was my slowest non-hungover 5k race ever. I mean ever, by at least 45 seconds. After I finished I turned back onto the course and ran until I picked up my mom and finished with her. Unfortunately, the race was so low-key that they didn't even record our home towns. I have yet to be identified as Bryan Bissell, 25, Quabbin Qountry; and my mom was unable to fully represent Tacoma on coolrunning. What a shame.

As I write this entry from my bed, with the family just outside the door, I am suddenly reminded of the image of that bridge in the North End of Boston with the Christmas lights strung all along it's side. I want to go there and look late at night, with a slight buzz and ideally a place to stay. I want this to happen at 2:20 in the morning. I want to smell the harbor, and feel the cool night air.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Bye, Bayh

Whatever song is playing over the speakers here at the M&D sounds awfully similar to Bob Dylan's Tryin' to Get to Heaven from Time Out of Mind, but there are no lyrics this time around, and it is becoming more and more Celtic with each passing bar. I wish that it were Tryin', because that's a beautiful song about hopelessness and optimism, and it references both Missouri and New Orleans. Most people might say Texas or California, but I think that Missouri and New Orleans are the two most visceral US locations out there. I have no personal basis for this claim, and I think that is why I feel the need to make it.

My favorite editorial columnist, the smug and biting Frank Rich, wrote a particularly insightful article today about the possible pitfalls of GOP moves to the right socially when the rest of the country appears to be headed in the opposite direction. In it, he calls out John McCain for his blunder on ABC's "This Week":
"Are you against civil unions for gay couples?” he asked the senator, who replied, “No, I’m not.” When Mr. Stephanopoulos reiterated the question seconds later — “So you’re for civil unions?” — Mr. McCain answered, “No.” In other words, he was not against civil unions before he was against them.
Now that is leadership.
On the same side, Newt Gingrich has announced that he will be sitting on the sidelines until the fall, leaving the frontrunners to duke it out through the summer and hoping that his late splash will prove beneficial to his campaign. In the meantime he called today's social challenges, presumably gays, God, and guns, "greater than any since 1861," and is touting his new slogan "Real Change requires Real Change." Hey, we here at 3Q approve of that motto because, hey, let's start with the obvious. As for likening same-sex marriage to slavery, we might be getting ahead of ourselves a little bit.
Getting back to the title of the post, Sen. Evan Bayh has changed his mind after years of preparation and decided to end his courtship of the Democratic nomination. Every article about this says the same thing, how everyone is shocked to hear the news. Well, I am, too. Not to mention disappointed. From what I could gather he seemed to lack charisma, but I was nevertheless interested to hear what he had to offer, especially in contrast to the Big 2. Indiana, the Crossroads of America, has lost it's hope for the big stage.
The warm winter is continuing here in Quabbin Qountry, which made for a great run this afternoon. Yesterday as I was running toward Knight Pond I was flagged down by one of the local residents asking me if I had seen any xmas tree poachers on her property. I hadn't, but I used the opportunity to ask the woman if she would allow me to run on her property, which was dotted on either side of her house for a few hundred meters with dozens of No Trespassing signs. She obliged my request, saying that the signs were only there to deter ATV riders who illegally and dangerously romped through her woods on a regular basis, destroying trails and annoying anyone in earshot all the while. Today I took her up on her offer, and set off into the trails, which are wider than singletrack, and not too rugged. Ideal for running with a small group of people. I anxiously await the days that I can show them off to my cohorts, from the early pine forests to the rickety marsh bridges, and through to the clearcuts that remind me of my childhood days in Oak Harbor.
It has been a long and trying weekend here at QQHQ, time to go home, rustle up some grub and read until I fall asleep. Should only take about ten minutes.
Early on the campaign trail,
BTB

Saturday, December 16, 2006

No Code

I spoke with my friend Angus a couple of nights ago and he sarcastically uttered something along the lines of "awesome, we're all gonna die soon" in reference to this week's string of globally warm 40- and 50-degree high temperatures here in the East. He has been riding his bike all around Cleveland, Ohio to and from his job at a local bookstore, presumably stocking shelves and reading story time to three-to-five year old kids. I anxiously await the day that he reads My Pet Goat.

The unseasonably warm temperatures create a winter of far more discontent than one filled with blizzards and ice-slicked roads. The reason? Dread. While I cherish the days that I can go outside without a coat, not having to worry about it being stolen from a bar, I dread the onset of freezing weather and the idea that it may never come. Worse yet, the idea that it may not arrive until mid-January and, by logic, stick around until April. I say give me my winter, and that right early. I could more than stand a few dumpings of snow, and the particularly clear way the night sky looks when the mercury drops into the teens. When the stars shine so brightly that they instigate the battle of how long you can stand being outside looking at them before you rush back into the cabin's warm fire-lit shelter, confined to the disappointing glow of filament light. All this, and the promise of a springy March. Instead I run with SportHills and a long sleeve instead of three layers on top, thick tights and a stuffed sock in my crotch to keep warm, and count my blessings that I can get on clean trails for another week.

The warm weather also facilitated a late night drive a few hours ago with no weather worries. On the road I was able to reacquaint myself with one of my all-time favorite albums, and one that I think is one of the most underrated albums of all time by a popular artist, Pearl Jam's No Code. It marks the beginning of PJ's transition from a grunge/hard rock band into the more subtle, ambient sounds that ruined albums like Binaural. As they matured out of vs. and Vitalogy their lyrics become more thoughtful, touching on themes like the transition into adulthood and the emotions that come with it - drifting away from old friends (In My Tree and Off He Goes), bitter respect toward love and lack thereof (Hail, Hail) and self-righteously shunning the mainstream culture (Habit and Mankind) before summing it all up on a beautifully hopeful note with Around the Bend:
I am wishing you a well
Mind at peace within your cell
Covers up, I cast you off
I'll be watching as you breathe
I lie still, you move, I send
You,... off around the bend

I hold your head deep in my arms
My fingertips they close your eyes
Off you dream, my little child
There's a sun around the bend
There's a sun around the bend

All the evenings close like this
All these moments that I've missed
Please forgive me, won't you, dear?
Please forgive and let me share...
With... you... around the bend

You're an angel when you sleep
How I want your soul to keep
On and on around the bend


Please, give this album a listen whether or not you are a Pearl Jam fan. In fact, come on over to the Quabbin Qountry Qabin, I'll be more than happy to oblige you with a full listening experience and maybe even some venison. Let's be mid-to-late 20-somethings for 45 minutes. Lord knows I am quite experienced at it, even at this young age.

Off to explore Mount Lincoln on foot,
BTB

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

It Begins, again

Briefly, the news has been fast and furious on the 2008 front lately. As soon as I figure out links, the 3Q should be quite a bit more informative (editor's note - I figured it out and have since added links). But the rundown for those not in the know - a couple days ago Barack took his first trip to NH since all the speculation. Clinton met with governor-elect Spitzer to discuss the viability of a run. Pataki met with a half dozen governors who were in office ca. 1995 for a tour of ground zero and more Presidential feasibility chat. That same day, McCain was the keynote speaker at a prominent gathering of a Jewish group in the city. Today's Dowd column in the times compares Obama and Clinton vis-a-vis their respective whiteness and manliness. Tom Vilsack of Iowa officially threw his hat into the ring, and a bunch of people set up exploratory committees.

I don't know if it is just because I am paying more attention (possibly) or because it is an open contest (probably) but it seems like this cycle's primary season will be far more high profile than the past few elections. I wasn't in NH for 2000 but I was able to stand, alongside a German exchange student and a croud of ghetto children, behind Bill Bradley at a Boys and Girls Club in Hilltop Tacoma for a photo op without any scrutiny. Meanwhile, it seemed like loads of people were being gladhanded by McCain and Teve Torbes on the television. In 2004 I shared a Sam Adams and a few words about xc with Senator Kerry at a Portsmouth pub, watches John Edwards among a crowd of roughly 25 mostly homeless people who were only there for the free hot dogs that the Sunshine Boy handed out afterward.

Am I being cynical when I wonder aloud that no such grassroots action will be achievable with Hillary, Barack, McCain, and Giuliani? Or am I just starstruck?

In other news, I spoke with the Holyoke High track coach and it looks like I will be volunteering a couple times a week with the distances squad with the hope of an asst. coach position opening up for the outdoor season. GO KNIGHTS?

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Sunny Day

I woke up before 11 today, which is always a bonus on Sunday, and managed to avoid the temptation of seven hours alone with the NFL at my house, or in the bars. As usual I drove down to the Black Sheep to pick up a scone for breakfast, and as usual I came away empty handed. This time they actually had a few on stock, but I have no room in my diet for rum raisin, even in an ice cream cone. Another Sunday, another cookie for breakfast.

Back at home I started looking into the USATF trail series for this summer. On the negative side, I realized that the guys who win it seem to be pretty nasty runners, but on the bright side I got pretty psyched for it. I spent a good hour checking out the different races like Wachusett, Loon, Ascutney and Northfield and made a pledge to myself to make a good faith effort to boost my fitness up to the point where I could make a crack at a few top-five finishes up the mountain this summer. Last night, shortly after 2:30am, I was reading from Yvon Chouinard's chronicle of Patagonia's rise to power. In it he gives a brief description of the zen approach to archery. To shoot in the zen manner is not to focus on the target, but rather to make each piece of the technique of shooting the arrow a priority and the target will, as a result of the focus and care taken, become a successfully foregone conclusion. I decided it would be a good idea in life as well. If I can, among other things, run up mountains quickly I should be on track to achieve across the board in life. Now let's find the other things to include among the mountains.

Peace of mind in hand like a hat, I set out on a run down into Cadwell Forest and down the M-M trail into Buffam Falls. I had really hoped to get down into the piney trails of Buffam and maybe see a few creeks in the early winter sunlight, all within a 7 or 8 mile run. The run itself started as planned, stumbling down the M-M toward Amherst Road and across into the Reservoir. The trails felt good throughout, and felt wonderful each time I would happen upon one of those pine stands that seem to increase the winter temperature by 5 degrees, and somehow soften the ground beneath.

I turned around when the trail met the crossing at the confluence of two brooks whose names I need to learn, and after momentarily missing a couple of turns on my way back, I came back up to Meetinghouse Road. Instead of taking the path I came in on I decided to follow a new trail, where I heard some barking dogs enjoying their walk in the near distance. The trail was wider than most, an old road or something, and it followed a brook for about a half mile until it became a reservoir and the trail cut up and to the left. From there on out as each turn failed to reveal a road, or even the distant sound of a car wishing by, I knew I was in for a longer run than I had planned. I finally found the road at just over 52 minutes, and figured I was about three miles from home. I took roads all the way back, and staggered down my driveway at 1:12:35. What today was probably less than ten, felt like the seventeen of old. I guess the zen approach has to start somewhere.

The goal is to write more about politics than running, but I am interested to see how the subject matter asserts itself. I look forward to the day when endorsements are made based on Quabbin Qountry values, when assessments of strength and wisdom are presented with passion and authority, and when I can relate them back to the woods of Western Mass over the warmth of a cold beer. Life is about having adventures and using them to make the bland parts bold. Because being bold is tough to do, but in Quabbin Qountry it is a little bit easier.

Signing off from the M&D with a Piraat and a Kwak,
BTB

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Quabbin Qountry Queries

I have been thinking about creating a venue for writing for quite a while and today while I was running up Mount Lincoln I decided that now was as good a time as any. My hope is that I will put something up at least once a week, and more importantly that I will have something interesting to say, and even better that I will live my life with the intent of discovering interesting things to say. Here's to Solley, and all the other bloggers out there.

From the shores of the Quabbin,
BTB