***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

Be sure to stay tuned to this blog over the next couple of weeks. There are some fundamental changes in the works for this blog.

October 21, 2011

Changes revealed...

Please join me in unveiling the new directions I will be taking with my blogging by...

Changes Unveiled at Midnight (and the End of the World)


Five months ago I married the most amazing woman that I ever met and I couldn’t be happier.  Emily, I love you!

Today is also the end of the world according to Harold Camping.  No worries.  He predicted the Rapture to be on May 21 (my wedding date) and that all worked out well for me!

Today also marks the date for the big changes I have been promising for my blogging.  Everything will go live at midnight tonight.  Tomorrow morning, roll out of bed, grab your cup of coffee, flip open your laptop and pay this blog a visit… unless of course the world really does come to an end.

If so… I wish you the best of luck in the rapture!

October 19, 2011

We are running out of excuses.

When I share with people that I completed a marathon I often get the response of, "I could never do anything like that."  I certainly understand this thinking because I was there at one point.

When attempting to comprehend such a difficult goal as running 26.2 miles all at once your mind naturally rationalizes excuses as to why it can't be done.  "I'm too busy." "I have kids." "I'm too old for that." "I don't have that kind of endurance."

Enter Amber Miller and Fauja Singh

Amber Miller - 39 weeks pregnant, ran the Chicago marathon (and subsequently gave birth)
Fauja Singh - 100 years old, ran the Toronto marathon (not his first, probably not his last)

With these accomplishments, we are running out of excuses (no pun intended) not to do big things with our selves (not just running marathons either).

October 18, 2011

Change is in the air.


I should be hyping this much more but I have had a busy life outside of my blog writing.  As I havehinted at in earlier posts, I have been working on some big changes for my blog.  In less than three days the changes will be unveiled.  Changes will go live at midnight Friday night.  Coincidentally, Friday is the new date for the rapture/end of the world.  I can assure you that these two events have nothing to do with each other!

The changes are much more than just a new list of hyperlinks, countdown timer, or new gadgets/widgets added to the page.  The reader will see a fundamental shift in the nature of the blog.  Readers clicking through from Facebook will definitely want to bookmark and visit frequently.

I’m pretty excited about it.  You keep navigating back and I will keep working.

October 17, 2011

26.2 miles in brief


Brief and 26.2 miles (AKA the marathon) don’t seem like they fit in the same sentence.  I have been too busy to comment at length on the Rochester Marathon a few weeks back.  I did leave the reader at a cliffhanger… bad blogger Glen! Bad.

On the cool and comfortable morning of September 18, 2011 I ran in the Rochester Marathon.  Conditions were perfect.  It took me 4 hours, 1 minute and 36 seconds to run the 26.2 mile distance.  Among the loved ones cheering me on, I had my loving wife Emily, my supportive parents (Ron and Carol – with dog Angel tagging along) and Emily’s parents (Bill and Sue – with Brian tagging along).  Fellow runners; Pete, Brad (and girlfriend Jamie) and Chris were all there as well.

The first 2/3 of the race contained most of the emotional highs of the race.  Excitement and anxiousness pushed my mile pace down to about 8:30 to 8:45.  The final 6 miles was by far the most difficult physical activity I have ever undertaken. At the low point I laughed at the thought I had two days earlier pondering where my second marathon would be.  All I could think was, “I’m not doing this again.  This isn’t any fun at all!”

Coming into Genesee Valley Park my legs just gave out and they slowed to a walk.  “WTF!? There’s only 4 miles to go!”, I thought.  Typically on long runs you get into a rhythm.  Your legs just move naturally.  It’s kind of like breathing; you don’t have to think about it to do it.  Keeping my legs moving at a steady jog required significant amounts of thought and mental energy. At the turn onto Plymouth Avenue (about 1 mile left), I met up with Chris and told him I realized what it really felt like to be running on an empty tank.  All those other times where I thought I had no more in me… I really did.  This was a painfully evident demonstration and reminder to me that we are all capable of so much more than we think we are.  That lesson is going to stick with me.

I ran up Plymouth towards the final turn and the finish line.  It was the most amazing finish line experience I have had.  I immediately hugged my parents and wife and thanked them.  I thanked my wife especially because nearly every Saturday morning since we got married was spent with me out on a long run.

So that is my marathon experience in brief.  I have climbed my Everest.

September 17, 2011

Attempting the Summit in less than 24hrs.

I just completed watching “Spirit of the Marathon”.  It was about 3 years ago when I watched this movie in the theaters with former Nazareth teammates Brad and Chris (all marathon virgins at the time) and I said “I will run a marathon” as I left.

Since then I have been through my share of ups (here and here) and downs and encountered difficulties that ground my training to a halt.  I pieced together a breakdown of the ultimate goal of running a marathon calling it my Mount Everest.

All week I have been anxious and filled with energy because tomorrow I make my attempt at the summit.

Chris, 2 time marathoner, will be there cheering and encouraging.  He’s waiting to see if he can run Boston a second time.  Brad will be running the half marathon (not sure what number this is for him). Kiel, a fourth teammate with 2 marathons under his belt and regular runner with us last year, will be unable to make it due to illness.  He’s working on training for a third marathon.

I will have my wife, parents, in-laws and friends I made with the Fleet Feet Distance Training program all rooting me on.  On top of that, in my mind there will be the encouragement of my fundraising donors, the readers of these blog posts and everyone who has encouraged me on Facebook.
I’m psyched!

September 13, 2011

In Conclusion, For the Sake of Posterity

This will be the sixth and concluding post for the series (one two three four five six-today) I have written on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  By now you are probably sick of navigating to this blog and reading about it.  Some of the writing has been rather long winded, violating the unwritten rule of 250 words or less for a readable post.  You probably think it is time to stop focusing on this and get back to living our lives.

It is precisely this reason that prompted me to write so extensively on the topic.  Posterity must comprehend present reality.  We lived these events, but those who have not lived them need to read and understand accounts of these events to insure history does not repeat its self.  This is our responsibility today.

Irresponsibility is exemplified in the words of Tom Engelhardt's Al Jazeera English editorial calling us to forget 9/11 and Paul Krugman’s New York Times editorial suggesting "it has become an occasion for shame". As demonstrated over the past few posts, serendipity permitted me to capture the events of 9/11 in my own words in real time ten years ago.  Left unchecked, irresponsibility will erase the weight of those words.

The six posts I have written will be printed and sealed in dated envelopes and tucked away in a safe place.  When the time is right and my children are mature enough to understand the significance, they will receive the envelopes. Mr. Engelhardt and Mr. Krugman, so long as there exist people like me, your wish will never come to fruition.  I hope it never does.

September 12, 2011

A Decade of Challenging Assumptions

This is a continuation of my series of posts discussing the 10th anniversary of 9/11, today I discuss some of the ways the events effected me in the years to come.

The events of 9/11/01 were not over when the sun went down that Tuesday evening.  We all know it took months to clean up the site of Ground Zero and years until plans were officially put into place for how it would be rebuilt.  September 11 was just a day where the initial event took place.  It was a single point in time that served as a pivot point for everything occurring afterward.  The effect these events had on me personally came in the months and years after.

I am the type of inquisitive person who wants to know how everything works.  I'll take things apart, break things into their components and learn as much as I can along the way.  Here is an account of how I had to break apart my Faith, Knowledge and Patriotism in the past decade and challenge my assumptions.

Faith.

Like many Americans, on the day after 9/11, I went to a church.  Nazareth College has a chapel in the Shults center where they set up an altar with candles to be lit in remembrance.  I kneeled in those pews and prayed.  I prayed for the victims and prayed for answers.  The main question on my mind, "Why?"

At that point in time I was a confirmed Catholic and was relatively comfortable with my faith.  My worldview held the position that there were many different religions and paths in which people experienced generally the same God.  We as a people had to learn to accept and tolerate this, hence my perception of how religious tolerance worked.

As we learned more about al Qaeda and Islamic extremism, it did not make sense to me. How can a group of people believe in killing thousands in the name of their God?  How can that God also be my God?  If God has a plan for this world how could it involve flying planes into buildings and killing thousands?  If that's the case, count me out... I want nothing to do with this "plan"!

I was angry with God.  For at least six months after 9/11, I wanted nothing to do with organized religion.  I loathed having to go to church with the family when I returned home from college on my breaks.  I just went through the motions, present in body and not in spirit.

On the first anniversary of 9/11, the local public broadcasting network (WXXI) aired a special on 9/11 and faith.  I watched the special in the Shults center, adjacent to the same chapel I prayed in a year earlier.  A man told a story of going to a peaceful solitary beach after September 11 where he frequently went previously to be in the presence of God.  He had it out with God. He screamed and yelled at the top of his lungs.  He was angry at God too.  I sat and watched holding back tears because I learned I was not alone in feeling this way.

It was not until 2 or 3 years later until I became comfortable going to church again.  But I returned asking questions.  I returned questioning my assumptions.  I was searching for understanding and continue to do so to this day.

Knowledge.

The answers to my questions never came.  Instead of giving up my quest for answers it only prompted me to dig even deeper.  It just so happens, I was in a perfect position to do so.  I was a freshman at a Liberal Arts college campus, the world was my oyster.

For the next four years I crammed every possible history, philosophy, religious studies and political science class that I could fit into my schedule around the required courses for my Biochemistry degree.  I wanted to know everything I could about how this world worked.

I juggled my schedule to attend lectures and seminars on philosophy, ethics and religion every chance I could get.  I studied the foundations of Buddhism and meditated regularly.  I made it a point to follow and understand the news and read about it as much as I could.

I read books with titles I would no doubt have passed over prior to 9/11.  A few years later while visiting my brother in college for Family Weekend we visited the book store.  On a shelf I saw copies of the government's "9/11 Report" and a copy of the "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran".  I bought both.  When I set them down at the register, the cashier looked at me and said, "Trying to figure out this world we live in?" "Yes, I am." I answered with cold unwavering determination.

I resolved to myself that even if it takes my entire life to do so, I will work towards understanding how this world works the way it does.

Patriotism.

Understanding our nation following 9/11 was tougher than I thought.  I began to look differently at the Pledge of Allegiance, National anthem, freedoms, liberties and what it meant to sacrifice your life as a member of the armed forces.  I gained a whole new respect for all of this. At the same time it felt as if our attitude regarding our freedoms and liberties got us in trouble to begin with.  We were America... we could do whatever we wanted in the world!  We enjoyed an economic boom through the 90's and we took it for granted.  We got complacent and took our security for granted.  It was only a matter of time before someone came along and slapped us down to size. Right?

Immediately after 9/11 I resisted the urge to become one of those people who immediately put the flag decal in the window of their cars and wear a flag pin everywhere at all times.  Excessive patriotism is what made us arrogant enough to get into this mess to begin with, right?  Anything in extremes, be it religion or patriotism turned me off.

It took me extensive studies of our history, particularly our founding, before I accepted American exceptionalism again. It took me years to challenge my assumptions. We truly are a nation that is blessed in its resources, freedoms and ability to persevere and rise to the most formidable of challenges.

Yesterday dug a flag pin given to me by my grandfather out of my dresser drawer and wore it... proudly.

September 11, 2011

My Recollection

In a continuation of my series of posts on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, The following is a more detailed account of the events of September 11, 2001 as I remember them today.

The Tuesday morning of September 11 was a beautiful, clear cloudless day on the Nazareth campus.  In the early morning it was slightly crisp as one would expect on an early fall day.  The light chill was just enough to require a jacket, but I hurried off to my 8:00AM Freshmen English class without it.

My class was an 80 minute Tuesday/Thursday class held in Carrol hall.  Technically it was in a trailer in the parking lot adjacent to Carol hall containing two temporary classrooms.  Upon arriving at Nazareth a few weeks earlier, I was astonished I had to take a class in a trailer after all the money I was spending in tuition!  Much like most Americans that morning, I followed my normal routine and paid attention in class unknowing of the events that were unfolding in the skies above my head.
 
At 9:20 AM after class was dismissed, I chatted briefly with Drew after class.  He was coming to a second section of the same English class as I was leaving so we typically chatted a bit each morning.  Drew asked me if I had heard about the events in New York City.  By this point, both WTC towers had been struck by planes but I don’t think Drew had herd about the second plane (I could be wrong).  All I could think was “How could a pilot accidentally hit such a big building?  What a tragic mistake.”  Drew suggested terrorists, but that just didn’t make sense to me.  People who hijack airplanes ask for a million dollars ransom, not crash into New York City, right?

I wandered through the narrow section of grass behind Carrol hall towards the second floor of Smyth Hall for Dr. Hallahan’s Freshmen Biology lab at 9:30AM.  Some seemed somber and concerned while others knew nothing.  Everyone had differing levels of knowledge of the events.  I promptly began carrying out the assigned experiments for that day’s class.  Seven minutes into class, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon and 5 minutes later the FAA grounded all flights.

At some point just before 10:00AM, before the collapse of the South tower, Dr. Temple (one of my favorite biology professors at Nazareth) came in and was quietly discussing the events with Dr. Hallahan.  While I was practicing my pipetting technique, Dr. Temple addressed the class telling them that two hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers with a third crashing into the Pentagon.  All flights had been grounded but there were unconfirmed reports of more hijacked planes.  In the skies above us, the fight for Flight 93 was unfolding at 9:57AM.  Afternoon and evening classes had been canceled.  We were free to complete our work and head back to our dorm rooms to contact our loved ones.

Several people left.  Some were actually excited because they didn’t want to be stuck in a boring Biology Lab any more.  Not comprehending the full weight of the situation, I wrapped up my experiments (South Tower collapses at 9:59AM), packed up and casually left class sometime around 10:20AM (Pentagon collapsed 5 minutes prior).  Walking back to my dorm room I thought “How bad could this really be?  A few hundred people probably died on each flight.  They will put out the fires.  We will fix up the Towers and Pentagon and things will be as good as new.” The North Tower collapses about the time this thought is running through my mind.

I return to my hot, uncomfortable corner room on the fourth floor of O’Connor 2.  My roommate Brian was not there.  Of course I wanted to know what was going on, so I turned on the TV.  Having just moved in a few weeks prior, I could not remember what channel CNN was located on.  I actually had to search around for the channel listing we were provided when we moved in!  Then I could not find the remote!  Standing no more than 2 feet from the TV I manually flipped to CNN.

There have been very few instances of this happening to me in life, but my jaw actually dropped when I reached CNN.  I gasped.  I physically took two steps back in shock.  On one half of the screen I watched looped footage of the towers falling, on the other, live footage of a permanently changed skyline of New York City with a monstrous dark grey cloud over it… no Twin Towers.

Suddenly… this was serious.

Then began the phone calls.  Dad… no answer at work.  “It’s ok, he’s a machinist working at a secure facility, he will be fine.”, I thought.  Mom… got ahold of her. As a secretary at Lake Shore High School where I had just graduated, she was doing her best to keep the kids calm.  I learn dad’s company went on lockdown.  I learn that my younger brother… witnessed the second plane hit the South Tower on live TV.

My thoughts then begin to turn to others who I may know in New York City.  Heather… a classmate from Lake Shore who is attending New York University.  My Nazareth classmate Andy’s friend Josie… also attending NYU.  Sarah, a new friend we made at Nazareth… whose mother worked at the WTC.  Her mother was 15 minutes late for work that day.  She survived because of this.  As the day continued, the web continued to grow.  Everyone somehow knew someone who was there.

As the number of firefighters and first responders killed in these attacks became apparent, my thoughts turned to several of my friends from High School who were very active in the local EMT and fire departments.  In the days following I remember calling my friend Megan and telling her that I did not want her to be an EMT any longer for fear of losing her in an event like this.

As the afternoon of September 11 wore on, most of us stayed inside huddled together in front of the TV news channels, occasionally stepping out to make or answer phone calls.  Learning the true depth of the events that happened that morning was too much.  We sought release from this cruel world we woke up to that morning.

We learned that the MTV studios located in Times Square had shut down broadcasting.  The silver lining to this was that the channel began to live up to its name and broadcast non-stop music videos.  Normally they broadcast crappy shows that no one had any interest in but now we could enjoy some of our favorite music videos that we had not seen much of in years.

In the evening, we had rented some movies.  They were comedies, though I can’t remember exact titles.  “The Mask” sticks in my head as one of the movies we watched part of.  Either way, there was not much laughing going on.  I don’t recall seeing the president address the nation at 8:20PM that night.  We had enough by that point.

As the night drew to a close, I remember trying to fall asleep concerned for what attacks tomorrow would potentially bring.  Questions raced through my mind. No answers. I had no idea that this one day would put me on the path it has in the years to come.

September 10, 2011

My Lost 10 Year old 9/11 Commentary

This is the third installment of posts focusing on the ten year anniversary of 9/11. Much of these posts are excerpts from a now inactive personal website I kept and wrote to at the time these events unfolded.

From the shambles of virtual pages that made up my old personal website there is a commentary piece written there titled "Something Has Been Taken From Us" dated 10/7/01.  Here is what I wrote. There is some editing of grammar and emphasis added by me today.



Something has been taken from us.

It hurts me deeply to know that the day I walk the streets of New York City, I will not be able to gaze upward and see the enormous twin towers looming over me. I will not see this magnificent sight which so many others before me have seen. My children will not be able to see this sight. Only in pictures and movies will this site continue to live on. I and those who come after me will see nothing but the blue sky. For this great and awe inspiring sight has been taken from us. It has been taken by a group of people who had a point to prove. They decided it would be proper to prove it by destroying a landmark of one of America’s greatest cities.

People have been taken. Over five thousand* 2,996 people can no longer walk, live and work among the streets of New York City. These people were mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. They were grandparents, uncles, aunts, and nieces and nephews to someone out there. They were friends, family and coworkers alike. These people were only carrying out their day to day activities, yet the lives of these people were taken because someone decided to take them in order to show the hate they feel.

Our security has been taken. We can no longer progress leisurely through airports. We are under the constant watch of FBI, police, U.S. Martials and customs Agents. We are no longer allowed the conveniences of curbside check in and so forth. We are now forced to go through two-hour lines at airports, sporting events and even Disney land, as we must allow security to inspect every bag to ensure that everyone is safe. Our children have been shaken and now they sleep each night in a state of worry. All this is because someone took our security to scare us into respecting his or her beliefs.

Jobs have been taken. Thousands of jobs have been lost. Billions of dollars of money has been lost in income. Businesses have been destroyed. [Over] Two hundred stories and 10,000,000 [square] feet of office space between both towers have been decimated. Other buildings around the World Trade Center towers have also been destroyed along with their businesses. Our economy has been shaken as deeply as the foundations of the World Trade Center its self. This was done just because a group of people in this world wanted us to notice them.

What has not been taken from us is our freedom. It has been set forth in our Declaration of Independence that we have unalienable rights, which [among them] are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Though lives were lost, our foundations of liberty shaken and happiness shattered they are unalienable rights and are stronger than ever. What has not been taken from us is of far greater value than all that has been taken. It is not something to take for granted but it is not something to overly brag about. All we need to do is look at the flag in honor and respect and remember what we have gone through to gain those rights we continue to retain. Indeed, we have had something taken from us, but think about what has not been taken.

~~Glen~~
10/7/01

*At the time this original commentary was published, the estimated death tolls were much higher than they actually turned out to be.


Note the line in the last paragraph regarding our unalienable rights, "It is not something to take for granted but it is not something to overly brag about."  This foreshadows some of the attitudes I carried over the longer term towards 9/11.  I'll explain further in some of my next posts.

10 years ago... from Monday, 9/12/01

Yesterday was the first post in a multi-post series on the 10th anniversary of September 11.  I shared what I wrote as a college freshmen to the journal section of my own personal website (which is now thoroughly defunct).  Just innocent typical concerns of a young college student in a quiet world.

Here is what I wrote on September 12, 2011.  The Wednesday after the September 11 attacks. Again, no editing, just the words I wrote that day.



Wednesday, September 12, 2001

    In response to yesterday's events I hope that everyone back home is ok and good and calm. Classes were canceled here in the afternoon and evening and most of us just hung out and watched the news reports. After a while a bunch of us needed something to get our minds off the tragedy so we rented some good funny movies.

    It is a lot different experiencing something like this in college rather than in our little town of Derby/Angola. It seems that everyone here knew someone or has family there in New York. I am friends with a girl who has a mother and father who live in New York. Her mother worked in the World Trade Center and if she were 15 minutes earlier for work... she would have been dead. She is ok though. Her daughter was a wreck but she's doing well too. I thought about Heather, because if you don't already know, she is attending NYU. She too is ok. Just so everyone knows.

    My grandmother even called me yesterday afternoon and mentioned how this resembles Pearl Harbor in her time. I can see the parallel here. For our generation this is the closest thing to Pearl Harbor we have lived through. We have witnessed the Oklahoma City Bombing, the World Trade Center Bombing and several Embassy bombings. These were cowardly acts of terrorism which were done for no better reason than to scare us. This tragedy though is much more. It is a coordinated effort in which targets were systematically determined. An economic center like the World Trade Center, a strategic military center like the Pentagon and possibly other targets which we don't yet know about. These targets were hit multiple times in the case of the WTC. Although our own transportation system was used against us and no conventional weapons of war were used, this attack was not merely a terrorist attack, but an act of war.

    In the following weeks and months we will be finding those responsible for this act of war and I am confident that we will make them pay. As the land of liberty and freedom, we well certainly make sure that those responsible will not be capable of such an act again. If this requires a war... then we must face the future. It is too soon to tell yet. So, I pray for everyone at home, the victims, the relatives of victims and everyone in this nation to be strong and come together so we can face this. I urge you to do the same thing too and keep a positive attitude as we continue on from here.



In  a second entry dated September 21, 2001 when it became more apparent who perpetrated this attack against us, this is what I wrote.



Friday, September 21, 2001

    Hi everyone. Well, it looks as if the United States is kind of going to war, I guess? It is a terrible thing that has to be done but we just have to come together as a nation and face this. There is no need to worry your selves about this. We are the world military super power. We will prevail over the evil that is responsible for this. Once again I want to urge everyone to say a prayer (or just think a minute if your are not religious) for the soldiers who will be shipped out and the victims and their families. Then maybe we will finally take those words in the pledge of allegiance more seriously than taking them for granted like we have for the past 12 years of reciting them in school.

    I for one will never listen to the words of the Pledge or National anthem and feel the same way again.

...


I find it an astonishing coincidence that I just so happened to be writing a personal journal on a personal website at this point in history.  It is amazing to me that I inadvertently captured the somber feeling of those days in writing.

September 9, 2011

10 Years ago... yesterday - 9/8/01

I'm going to write a short series of posts this weekend reflecting on the 10th anniversary of September 11.  I know, my self diagnosed ADD is taking me all over the place in terms of topics these days, but I feel compelled to write as the ideas come.  After all, the events of 9/11 affected me pretty deeply and had a pretty significant effect on shaping me in the past decade.  It deserves some pause and exploration.

Ten years ago yesterday was 9/8/01.  It was a Saturday.  It was only my third weekend away from home attending college at Nazareth.  It was a time before blogging became as popular as it is today.  Facebook was still a figment of Mark Zuckerberg's imagination and the internet was still somewhat of a new technolgy present in day to day life.  I was into toying around with the internet in high school, so I built my own web page (Titled "Take a Seat Next to Me")and taught my self how to code simple HTML.  I was much more of a nerd then than I was now.  (Who am I kidding... I'm still a nerd.  Probably more so!)

Here is what I wrote to the jouirnal page on Saturday, September 8, 2001.  Ten years ago from yesterday. No editing, just the words I wrote that day.



Saturday, September 8, 2001

    Well after another very busy week of college I am enjoying the weekend. It's so fricken hot in our room! If anyone back home just happens to have an extra air conditioner lying around, please send it to O'Connor 2 Rm. 417. Thank you!

    Well, I am starting my job next week. I have the best job. I am getting paid for doing nothing right now because our training session ended at 12 but was scheduled to go until 3 so we get paid till 3. I am working in the computer service department so I get paid to watch the computer labs, help people out and do my homework. It's an awesome job! Now with my schedule getting filled up my goals for next week include mastering time management. We will see how that goes!


I find it funny that I mention mastering time management.  That's something I have yet to do a decade later!  This is just typical activities and concerns in the quiet world of an average college freshmen.