He's Out There Running Just To Be On The Run

I never was much of an athlete; even walking the mile to school and home again was more than enough exercise for me. I would much rather read a book - then and now. Only now, in order to keep moving as long as possible, I have to keep moving, so I try to walk a mile several times a week.
There was a time in my life, my mid-thirties, when I became interested in running. Well, not really running, more like jogging. But I wasn't self-disciplined enough to stick to a routine.

Which I believe is one of the reasons I was so fascinated by Bud when I first saw him running. He had the dedication to run in all types of weather. (See my June 7, 2011 blog, Fifth Force.) I imagined that I would magically become a runner, too, if I was with him.

When we first met, I was into raising my own food, cutting my own wood for heat, generally trying to be independent and self-sufficient. I subscribed to Organic Gardening magazine.

He subscribed to Runner's World. Could two such personalities find happiness - even if Rodale Press did publish both of those magazines? There were other differences - I listened to country western music, he liked psychedelic rock.
There is a John Prine song that makes me think of Bud and those first few turbulent years. It is the:

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

"You come home late and you come home early
You come on big when you're feeling small
You come home straight and you come home curly
Sometimes you don't come home at all

So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

Well I got a heart that burns with a fever
And I got a worried and a jealous mind
How can a love that'll last forever
Get left so far behind

It's a mighty mean and a dreadful sorrow
It's crossed the evil line today
Well, how can you ask about tomorrow
We ain't got one word to say

So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run"

It has been almost exactly thirty-one years ago since I fell in love with Bud. We had only been dating a few weeks when he went to a family wiener roast with me. I remember it so clearly. We were sitting around the fire at Mom's. Ron and Ruth and their kids were there, too. Everyone was talking, laughing, having a good time. Bud looked across the fire at me. Without words we told one another, "I love you."

Not long ago once of my nieces told me she was thinking about doing some running and wondered if Uncle Bud was still a runner. After several years of being a walker, last year he decided to try running again.  This week he did his longest run in a long time - five miles.

The main reason he is running is to stay fit and healthy, but he's also out there running just to be on the run.