September 5, 2016 RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON MY HEAD

 Now that I'm back at work, I no longer have the luxury of running every morning----which drives me crazy. I schedule my running week much like people schedule a doctor's appointment,--hence--the reason I ran in the pouring rain on Thursday. Don't get me wrong--I actually don't mind running in the rain THIS time of year. It is refreshing after working all day even though --I REALLY HATE RUNNING AFTER WORK. Anyways, back to the rain. This time of year, the rain feels wonderful--that might sound weird but it's true. YOU SHOULD REALLY TRY IT SOMETIME. That's the great thing about running.  It affords me the opportunity to stand in the rain--navigate giant puddles--and just get soaking wet. It is great fun and makes me feel like a kid again-- temporarily. Running on a rainy day when it's cold outside-- is another story--IT'S AWFUL. I have run two half-marathons in torrential rain and wind in the cold. IT IS NO FUN. The trails were flooded, it was muddy, dangerously slippery and CROWDED--by the end I was shivering and frozen from head to toe. Those are the runs that make me think of hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters. I have read many books about disasters--I don't know why--must have been in my disaster phase as a reader. One that really stands out in my mind is David McCullough's book The Johnstown Flood because it was a disaster that could have been easily avoided.

First of all, you should know that McCullough is an incredible writer, historian and lecturer.  He has won two Pulitzer Prizes, a National Book Award and the Presidential  Medal of Freedom. In this book,  McCullough tells of one of the most horrific events in our nation's history. Fifteen miles above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1879,  an elite mountain resort was built. The resort was owned by Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick,  Andrew Mellon and other tycoons from the time period. It was called The South Fork Fishing Club. The club housed beautiful cottages around a  man-made lake held back by the South Fork Dam--originally constructed with much controversy in the 1840's. As new owners of the dam, the club neglected to replace sluice pipes, they lowered the top of the dam, and even set up fish screens over the spillway---a recipe for disaster.  On Memorial Day 1889, a huge storm caused the lake to rise and water eventually poured over the top of the dam. It then gave way and raced 15 miles down the mountain destroying everything in its path. Of the 27,000 people who lived in Johnstown, 2200 were killed. The National Guard was called in to keep order--Clara Barton and the Red Cross spent 5 months helping the townspeople--who lost EVERYTHING --EVEN WORSE THE CLUB NEVER TOOK ANY RESPONSIBILITY.  This is a real page turner of about 300 pages--a mere 4 mile run--about a dismal time in history. Sadly, the more I learn about history though, the more I realize that things haven't changed very much. As a society, we should be learning from the mistakes of the past, so that we can make the world a better place for future generations. Right?