In the Beginning

I started running 40 years ago. I was too skinny for football, not quite coordinated enough for basketball, but determined enough to try my hand at distance running. Growing up in the small town of Abilene, Kansas, I enjoyed a steady diet of the exploits of Jim Ryun. I can remember in particular watching a documentary on KAKE TV about Ryun, thus I was inspired to become a miler. I can remember running laps in a large field situated next to my elementary school. I would run eight to ten loops of the field figuring that was about a mile.

I didn't actually go out for track until my eighth grade year. The only problem was the longest distance was a 440. But I was not dissuaded. I would occasionally talk a teammate into a hard 880 and once ran a full mile against one of my friends. As I recall I clocked in at a shade over six minutes. It was a fun experience. I tried a little bit of everything that spring from hurdles to the pole vault. By the end of the season I was actually decent at running a quarter mile. I missed out on making the team for the last meet of the season by one spot.

The whole running thing didn't click until my neighbor, Greg Morgenson, talked to me about running cross country. I think Greg, two years older than me, was hoping to snag a training partner, which he did. It wasn't much in the summer of 1970, mostly two and three mile runs. But we were consistent, running five days a week. Greg was a very good runner and showed nothing but patience and encouragement to me.
Greg Morgenson 1972

Greg with the help of a great coach, Bob Chatham, introduced me to a book, which helped me understand what I was getting into and why. It was called "The Long Green Line," written by greatest high school cross country coach ever, Joe Newton. The book laid out the hard work, the commitment to team, and the fun that running cross country could bring. Newton's team the York Dukes not only ranks tops in Illinois year in and year out but is considered a national power. Chatham used it as a basis to build a very successful cross country program at Abilene. My freshman year the Cowboys took third at state.

It was a difficult time, that freshman year at Abilene. My mother was in the process of getting a divorce and moving the family back to Lawrence. I actually made the varsity squad for the first meet of the season at Wamego. It was a huge invitational with nearly 100 runners at the starting line. It was a muddy day but I somehow survived and finished in the top 40, the top freshman in the race and was the sixth man on a seven man team that finished second that day.

Our next meet was a casualty of a freak September snow storm, global warming anyone? But that was that. I had decided to make the move to Lawrence. I could have stayed with my grandmother and finished the semester and been part of a great cross country team, but I had grown weary of living in a small town, where everybody knew everybody else's business.

I don't regret the decision to move. I went back to Wamego for the state meet that fall and watched my teammates win a trophy with pride and satisfaction knowing that in some small sense I had contributed to the team. Greg moved away to Lincoln, Nebraska the following year, where he became a state champion in the mile. He will always hold a special place in my heart for helping a young runner learn what it takes to strive for success.

Roxana Update

The Iranian government has finally come out and charged Roxana Saberi with spying. The Iranians claim that she was carrying out spying activities under the guise of a reporter. Iran is also claiming that Roxana is an Iranian citizen. That's a pretty big whopper considering she was born in the United States.

Roxana's father is Iranian, her mother is Japanese. Both parents are now in Iran and have visited their daughter at the notorious Evin prison. According to news reports, both parents have met with their daughter and have found her in good spirits. Reza Saberi says he plans to stay in Iran until this mess gets sorted out.

Remember this remarkable woman in your prayers. Here's hoping that Roxana is home soon.

Keeping it in perspective

Few things thrill me more than seeing a high school distance runner work hard and achieve some measure of success. Just across my neighborhood lives a coach who in the six years that I've been here has had two unbelievably talented runners in his program. Jeff Sommers is a great high school coach as well as being a top flight masters competitor.

When I first moved here he had a runner, Bona Jones. She ended up being a Footlocker finalist and finished second at the junior nationals in cross country in 2007. Bona went to North Carolina State where injuries have slowed her down.

Now Jeff's coaching a young runner I've mentioned before on this blog, Erick Montoya. Erick's made his mark his first two years in the 3200. A couple of weeks ago Jeff told me he was hoping that Montoya was ready for a fast 1600 at the Florida Relays. He was. Erick clocked a 4:15.47, a personal best by more than ten seconds over the weekend. Given his fast times in the 3200, I'd like to think that Erick is looking at breaking 9 minutes in the next two years. He's just a junior.

So is a young man who will remain nameless that has already made a name for himself in cross country in the Sunflower State. Some of you may guess the name of this individual. His father was a very dear friend in high school and college. Somehow he's managed to raise a star athlete who appears to have kept the priorities in order. I don't know how he's done it.

His son is a very good runner, even better academically, and has excelled in other pursuits outside of running. I can't begin to state how much I admire what this father has done with and for his son and his other children as well. He's proud of his boy's accomplishments to be sure, but my impression from afar is that he's not trying to push him one way or the other. The restraint is remarkable. I don't think if I had raised a budding star, I could have kept my perspective.

Fork in the Road Part 2

The CD/DVD arrived in the mail today so I thought I should give an update on my impressions. Normally my first thoughts of a new Neil disc are not very good and this is much the same. I hated Mirror Ball the first time I heard it but now it's one of my favorites.

A few of the ten songs stick out to me. Namely, "Just Singing a Song, "Johnny Magic," "Cough Up the Bucks," and "Light a Candle." It's going to take a few more listens. The DVD is a must simply for the video of Neil singing "A Day in the Life" at a concert in Calgary last year. It's awesome!

I loved "Living with War." It was so raw and emotional and was a great snapshot of what Bush was putting the country through. Neil's attempted to take another snapshot with "Fork in the Road." Much like the photo on the album cover the shot is a little fuzzy and shaky, and that would match my first take on this CD. But what else would you expect from Neil. This country is a little fuzzy and shaky right now. It's not his worst by any means. I'm sure some of these songs will stick with me in ways that I haven't yet dreamt.

Fork in the Road

One of my favorite artists, if not my favorite artist, Neil Young, is about to release a new album called "Fork in the Road." It sounds like it's a take on the latest economic woes facing this great nation. Neil's been busy in the last nine years. This will be his seventh album of original material since 2000. That's an amazing amount of material in this day and age. Of course critics complain that some of his material is less than stellar but I disagree. I enjoy the dialogue that Neil is having with albums like "Are You Passionate", "Greendale", "Living with War", and now "Fork in the Road."

I thought I would list my 10 favorite Neil Young albums and why.

1. After the Goldrush: It's an amazing record from the aching beauty of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Birds" to the hostility of "Southern Man." I fell in love with this record when I was 15 or 16 years old. My oldest sister had it and I started listening to it on a whim. I couldn't stop listening. A lot of the songs dialed in on my teenage angst.
2. Silver and Gold: I don't know what it is about this CD but I keep coming back to it again and again. I love putting on the DVD of the concert and zoning out while watching it in bed. It just grabbed me from the opening song "Good to See You" all the way through to "Distant Camera" and Razor Love."
3. Freedom: This album put Neil back on the map after some less than stellar efforts in the early 1980's. "Rockin in the Free World" is a classic but I dig so many other tunes off this disc. "El Dorado" is a particular favorite, after all how many times do you hear castanets on a Neil Young song. And then there's "No More". His performance of "No More" on Saturday Night Live may be the best rock out ever on live television. Number two might well be Neil's performance of "RITFW" with Pearl Jam on MTV more than a decade ago.
4. Rust Never Sleeps: This record capped an incredible decade of music for Neil Young in the 197o's. Songs like "Pochantas" and "Powderfinger" stand the test of time. "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black) has aged well and remains one of his classic rockers. This album is the mirror to "Freedom" much like "Harvest" is to "Harvest Moon" "Rust" showed that he could still rock.
5. Ragged Glory: This was a magnificent follow up to "Freedom." It's great simply for "Love and Only Love", "Over and Over" and "Love to Burn." It's Neil thrashing with Crazy Horse at its best.
6. Harvest: Neil says he headed into the ditch after making this album. It's probably the best produced record he ever made. Songs like "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" are timeless. For tenderness I still enjoy "A Man Needs a Maid" as much as anything he's ever done.
7. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere: Three of his best compositions grace this record. "Cinnamon Girl"is great even if it boasts a one note solo. I never grow tired of the two epics, "Down By the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand."
8. Mirror Ball: I'm sure Neil fans everywhere are howling right now. I just like this record. Pearl Jam is just great and the songs all work. "I'm the Ocean" and "Throw Your Hatred Down" are just flat out great tunes.
9. Zuma: It's a fun record. I enjoy the country tinged rockers on this album. Of course there is the all time classic "Cortez the Killer" which holds this record together. I know he's made better records than this but this is one I listened to over and over again.
10. Tonight's the Night: I probably listen to "Sleeps With Angels" or "Comes A Time" more, because I have to be in the right mood for this album. It's the haziest, booze injected record ever made in my opinion. It's the after taste in my mouth after an all night beer fest. It reminds me of why I'm glad I don't do those things anymore.

Before I wrap this up I know that there are a few of you out there that are screaming over how I could leave "Harvest Moon" off this list. It's simple. I never really liked the album. The songs are beautiful, but when it comes to acoustic Neil, "Silver and Gold", "Harvest", "Comes A Time" and even "Prairie Wind" are more to my liking. I know it's wrong on so many levels because "Harvest Moon" marked a second comeback for Neil much like "Freedom" did a few years before it.

Finally I want to mention three of my favorite Neil songs not on any of these albums. First there's the opus "Ordinary People." For years I had to listen to a decent live bootleg version of this song. Why he waited more than 15 years to release this song is beyond me. You can find it on "Chrome Dreams II." Then there's "Change Your Mind." This is another Neil opus penned in response to the death of Kurt Cobain. This haunting tune is on "Sleeps With Angels." Finally there's the simple "Interstate." Again this is a song I first heard as a live bootleg that he did with his country band The International Harvesters. This song can be found on a German CD with another great song called "Big Time." This version is a complete 180 from the bootleg version but I still love it.

Fargo is the center of the universe

My assignment editor at KVLY TV Julie Holgate used to proclaim that Fargo is the nexus. Everything eventually comes back to this city on the Red River.

The last two months certainly seems to give weight to that theory. Roxana Saberi remains in an Iranian prison. News regarding her situation has been scant.

The city of Fargo is expecting the Red River to hit a second record crest. The community barely survived the first round of flooding last week. A lot of areas south of Fargo/Moorhead suffered but the two cities so far have survived the high waters.

Finally there's the matter of Ed Schultz. When I worked at KVLY, Ed was the host of an extremely popular local radio program called News and Views. I had the pleasure of being a guest of Ed's on more than a couple of occasions. In fact I recall substituting for Ed once. Ed had the ability to get people talking and to piss people off.

The show aired on KFGO AM, probably one of the best local commercial radio stations in the United States. The popularity of the program was such that the ad rates charged for News and Views rivaled the rates for the local TV news programs. That's unheard of.

Ed was an old TV sportscaster. About a year before I left Fargo our popular longtime sports anchor Dan Hammer, yeah it's a great name for a sports guy, decided to move into radio sales. Ironically he took a job with the same ownership group as KFGO. It didn't take long for Ed to begin nosing around about the possibility of returning to TV as Dan's replacement.

My GM and I actually went to lunch to Ed to hear what he was proposing. Ed wanted to keep doing his radio program and just anchor sports. The idea had some merit given Ed's high profile. The problem we needed a sports director who could do much more than just anchor so the idea never really captured our hearts. I think Ed's found his spot. I'll be interested to see how the nation embraces Ed's brand of populism.

Red River Shore

"Sometime I think nobody ever saw me here at all, except the girl from the Red River shore."
Bob Dylan

Let's all say a prayer tonight for my friends in Fargo. I spent three years as a television journalist working at the NBC station just a hop skip and a jump from the Red River. Tell anybody that you're from Fargo or lived there and immediately the comeback has something to do with the Coen Brother's classic film "Fargo."

Across the river from Fargo sits Moorhead, Minnesota. Between the two counties you have a little more than 125-thousand people. It seems everybody knows everybody else, sort of like one big high school. While the folks there are very friendly, they have a way of keeping outsiders at an arms length.

There's no crime, no traffic congestion and good schools. But the winters are awful, the land is flat and largely barren. And every few winters they get too much snow and when it melts all it once, it brings nothing but trouble and heartache. It's doubly cruel as the floods come just as you've survived another difficult season of numbing cold and treacherous snow.

The residents of Grand Forks lived through the terror of a rapid melt after record setting snows 12 years ago and the Red River inundated much of the community. Now Fargo-Moorhead faces the same battle. The levees were raised after 1997 because the flood that slammed Grand Forks, which sits about 90 miles to the north, nearly took Fargo. There's a lot of sandbagging going on right now. Some of it not more than a mile and a half from the house I used to own in Moorhead.

I spent a lot of miles running the trails along the Red River. It's not very wide or deep. It's one of three rivers that flow north in the United States. The Red River makes its way into Canada and eventually to Lake Winnepeg which is connected to Hudson Bay.

So I pray tonight for the communities I once called home. I pray too for their native daughter, Roxana Saberi, still languishing behind bars in an Iranian prison.