September 14, 2016 ONLY THE LONELY

Running can be a lonely endeavour---especially when I am back at work. It's hard to run with my comrades during the week because we have so many commitments after work--laundry, dinner, tutor, chauffeur, caretaker, dog walker--you get the idea. Running alone is important though because these are the runs that force me to run harder--gut it out. There are NO jokes NO silly banter NO occasional walking breaks on these runs--I need to get out there and get it done now--time is ticking. Doesn't that sound stressful--it is sometimes. Although running alone during the week gets lonely, it helps me to appreciate my weekend runs when I get together with my friends for our SORT OF fun runs--it's also much more enjoyable to kill yourself running if you know your comrades are doing the same! Anyways, we can all feel lonely at certain times (except when the college kids keep coming back) but it is a fact of life. We come into this world alone (unless we have a twin)--and we will leave the world alone too. I read this haunting book a few years back (actually I have read it twice)  set in a poor Georgia town in the 1930's whose major theme was loneliness called The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.

Although McCullers wrote several books, she is best known for her first book, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter which was published in 1940 when she was only 23 years old. The story revolves around the main character, John Singer, a deaf-mute. Singer and his long-time companion Spiros, also a deaf-mute, live together and manage life together because they are able to communicate through sign language. They are actually quite happy with the arrangement because no one else understands them. After Spiros goes insane and is relegated to an asylum, Singer rents a room from a poor family called the Kellys. Here he meets the other memorable characters in this book including Mick Kelly, Dr. Copeland, Biff and Jake. Each character is lonely and longs to escape their life. Each feels a connection to Singer and seeks him out for comfort as they take turns visiting him on a regular basis. They share their innermost secrets with him-- all the while-- never really "seeing" that although Singer is listening to them--he doesn't understand them--and he too feels the same loneliness and isolation but has no way of communicating this to them. The story is beautifully written and the characters  will stay with you forever. At about 360 pages, it is a bit of a commitment--about a 5-6 mile run--but worth every painful step. OH--I almost forgot--the ending is quite a shocker--but I'll leave it at that. Enjoy!