Author: Matthew Groff

I promised myself that I would do it, and today I accomplished it. I got up at 6am and went running for 30 minutes.

And yes, it did hurt.

But I’m glad I did it.

I have let myself go since the kid came along and the whole work thing blew up, but that was two years ago. It really does feel like I am just now putting my life back together after those two huge life events. I have been to inactive for far too long.

I have a pot belly now.

And that is what the running is, a small attempt to get things back on track. To take control of my health, which is also to say to take control of my future.

Okay, this is getting to sound like a personal pep talk.

Maybe it is…

The wife is going to the gym and doing yoga, and I can admit that I am being shamed into taking care of myself again.

But at some point, I get to say that I don’t care anymore, right? I have some sort of right to accept my old age and just let myself go? I mean, my weight won’t always be under control. The joints will not perform like they used to, and well, mobility becomes an issue. At that point, I’m allowed to stop trying, right?

I think the new getting old is trying to stay in shape as along as possible.

So, I spent 24 years living in Texas, and I don’t think I really noticed that Summers were stupid hot until I was in 9^th grade. That might be one of the weirdest things to say, but when I hit 14, I started hating how hot it got during the Summer.

I also remember that the local news used to have a 100-degree count over the Summer, which was something that people liked to keep track of. In fact, when we moved there is 1982, people were still talking about the summer of 1980, that was an awful Summer.

Now, growing up, down the street from my neighborhood was a waterpark, and that might be part of the reason that I never paid too much attention to the heat. My family got season passes to the water park, and I sent days there up to 7^th grade. (At that point, I thought it stopped being cool to go there… No reason, just fear of being in 7^th grade and be seen having fun someplace.) My mom would take me, and she would sit in a beach lounge chair, and I would run around the park. Then we’d head home at lunch, only to return for a few more hours before dinner. Not that we did that every day, as she was a part time nurse, but I would say, twice a week for a few Summers.

That White House Correspondence thing happened over the weekend, and it would appear that some people were offended by the comedian, and then there are some people who are shocked that the integrity of the event has been ruined.

As with all performance, it only means something if you let it mean something…

What I have read is that this is a new reality of the tribalism we live in, with regards to America today. (I think I heard that on This Week) This isn’t new outrage, this is the old outrage. I find this whole situation funny, because where have these people been the last 20 years? I seem to remember Don Imus going after the Clinton’s, and then there was Stephen Colbert and George W. Bush. The Outrage, the Strum and Drang… The adults behaving like children claiming to be adults… “Won’t anyone think about the children…”

What I get tired of is the fact that before an event like the WHCD happened, I already knew that the Trump side was ready to fire back at whatever was said. I mean, Trump was in Michigan that night making the point that he didn’t want to be at the dinner, anyway. SO, that side of the reaction was expected, and rather pedestrian, if you ask me.

What I didn’t expect is that the press was “outraged.” That is what rings the most hypocritical of the lot. The event was to celebrate the 1^st Amendment. I can understand some journalist not like the humor, but the should be defending the exercise. The 1^st Amendment allows you to be offensive. That’s kind’a the point.

The Bill Cosby verdict came in, and I am happy, and even relieved, that it was guilty. The hung jury last time was bad, but a not guilty verdict would have felt like nothing has changed in this world.

As I read about the trial, I wondered if Cosby thought that he could get away with it. That he would never be caught. I believe that he didn’t view women as equals or even as human beings, but at the same time he knew what he was doing was wrong. I wonder if he thought that he could run out the clock? I wonder if he thought that other men had done this, and died, and no one was the wiser. He must not have any remorse for what he has done, and living without a conscience is unfathomable to me.

Which also brings me to the Golden State Killer, who was captured this week. There are a couple of different thoughts that I have on this, the first one being, like Cosby, did he think he was going to get away with it? He was old, his 70’s I think, and that point in his life, was the thought that he wasn’t going to get caught crossing his mind. Also, why did he stop in 1986? What little I know about serial killers, it’s a compulsion they cannot control. What made him stop?

These are question that might never be answered.

As I get older there are several things that I am trying to avoid. Most of them involve my death. Such as I am trying to eat better, work out, go to the doctor to get checked out. Now that I know the value of life, I want to preserve mine.

The other area that I want to do some upkeep, is my political philosophy, and my desire to hang onto my liberal bent.

The adage goes that the older you get, the more conservative you become. Especially if you watch Fox News. This is true for my parents who went from Marching for Civil Rights in the 60’s to believing that Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization. Part of it I do blame on Fox News, because that channel has made them feel like they are under assault and their way of life is being destroyed. The other part is that the world has changed, and they didn’t always change with it.

And that is the other truth that cannot be avoided; the world will continue to change. Will I be able to keep up with the changes? Will a future generation put forth something that I cannot wrap my head around, and my answer will be outrage a disgust? (For the record, that Tide Pod thing didn’t bother me.)

So, how do I remain open minded? Is there an exercise program I should follow to accomplish this? I know the stock answers are reading, engaging with new people, asking questions. I think I want to travel more. I have no proof that this will help, but I think going new places would help.