This morning's run had a little bit of everything. Just before I left the house I went out back to look at the lunar eclipse. Just a thin rim was visible at that time (about 5:20). As I started on my run, the clouds were partially obscuring the moon, but I had a great view of Sirius just coming over the mountain in the southeast. I seriously considered skipping this morning's run and hauling out my reflecting telescope, but I didn't want that excuse to show up on one of Sasha's top ten lists :)
I noticed that there were a lot more people out today. Maybe they got up to watch the eclipse as well. Just before I made the turn to head north on 48th west, I saw a spectacular shooting star that came from the northeast and shot towards the moon in the southwest. I couldn't help but think that was some sort of omen. Especially when it was followed a few moments later by flashes of lightning in the northwest.
For some reason, I didn't feel that great this morning. My left hip was a bit stiff and sore and I had some bowel discomfort going on. As I came up out of the Highland Glen Park I had an increasingly urgent need to find a restroom. Fortunately, I made it to the Chevron station at the corner in time. Outside of that distraction, my thoughts were occupied with my brother who suffered a series of mini-strokes yesterday. In each instance he had a sharp pain behind his left eye and was unable to speak, raise his right leg or touch his nose with his right hand. I was at the hospital during one of the incidents. They transferred him from Pioneer Valley Hospital to University so that a neurologist could see him. The doctor we talked to was a little concerned that he'd had several incidents in a short time and that we have a family history of atherosclerosis (my brother died at 44 from a heart attack, my father had bypass surgery in his early 50's and my grandfather died of a heart attack at 62). My brother text messaged me just before midnight to say that everything seems to be OK.
I was a little later getting home from my run, so I really had to hustle to get ready so I could take my oldest daughter to school. I was rewarded with an incredibly beautiful double rainbow in the west. The sun was up and shining through the clouds and a light rain was falling. It was quite an eventful morning. | 