July 17, 2017 A CHANGE WOULD DO YOU GOOD

If someone told me 25 years ago that I would become a runner--I probably would have laughed in their face. I always "thought" that I hated running--it was TOO MUCH WORK--I'd get too SWEATY--it was too much EFFORT.   It's funny how attitudes and thinking evolves. As we grow and mature--it's our DUTY to re-evaluate and change our lives in positive ways or we'll get STUCK--sometimes repeating learned patterns that are self-destructive. Yesterday while out on a long run with a few comrades, we started talking about change. We all agreed that change is GOOD and NECESSARY but it's actually really HARD. It's REALLY a state of mind and a willingness to be dedicated to that change until it becomes a habit. Whether you're working on self-reflecting and making behavioral changes or trying to change your diet because of long held values--IT IS NOT EASY. Change is a HUGE commitment--it takes time-energy-focus and PERSISTENCE. You have to really want it and THAT'S THE HARDEST PART. So if you're thinking about making a change--DO IT NOW. It's never too late. CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE--CHANGE YOUR MIND--CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

If Vince Camden, the main character of Jess Walter's winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award,  Citizen Vince, took my advice, he would have changed his life after entering the witness protection program. Vince is a former mobster, relocated to Spokane, Washington, after testifying against the mob. In his new life, he's a donut maker and petty thief. He hangs around a seedy bar, where he plays poker, deals in dope and has a hooker for a girl friend. He hasn't changed much. He is also involved in a credit card scam that leads him into a world of trouble as his old friends show up in Spokane for revenge. Vince decides he must go back to New York--clean up some loose ends--if he wants to live. This is a humorous crime drama with a drop of politics as the story is set one week before the Presidential election in 1980.  Vince actually gets caught up in the politics of the time as this is the first time he is able to vote and he's taking it seriously. He's got one week to get back to New York-- survive the police and mobsters who are out to get him--so that he can become an upstanding citizen. Find out what happens to Vince when you read this page turner for yourself. It's about 290 pages of fun--like an episode of The Sopranos. It's a slow 4 mile run that will make you a huge Jess Walter fan.