Feeling Forrest Gumpish

After completing the grocery shopping detail and bonding with Josh while doing so--[Me: "We need green beans?" Josh: "I dunno. Is it on the list?" Yeah, it was that intense.]--I decided to go for a run. I wasn't sure how long I'd go for, but I figure the max I'd do was 12 miles. I told Kathy I'd be back in one to two hours depending on how far I felt like running. She asked me for the general route I was taking in case she had to come looking for me. She also told me to take some ID in case someone else found me lying alongside a road somewhere and got curious as to who they should call, or if they were real considerate where they should bring the body.

I took Farwell to Fairview to Stoneman to Hawthorne and back to Hwy 2. It had only been an hour and I was feeling pretty good so instead of taking Hwy back home I continued on Hawthorne to Waikiki/Mill Road and then Hastings and Farwell to Hwy 2. Down Hwy 2 for a bit and then Pittsburgh and Mead St. and back to the house. And all without having someone asking, "Who is he?" and someone else answering, "I don't know. Let's check his pockets. Hey, five bucks!"

Yeah, I took some cash just in case there's a fee for delivering the body.

All in all it was just a shade over 12 miles and I took 1:44 to do it which is about an 8:40 mile pace. It felt great. I was breathing comfortably and not pushing it. No need to anyway because I'd rather enjoy it, which I did.

And I still have my five bucks.

Cuspidor Carry Out

As Josh and I left the house today I asked him how many dads take their sons out and spend some quality time together grocery shopping. He did not know of any. Pretty unusual, huh? On the way home we saw this.


Me: "What the heck is that?"

Josh: "The worlds largest spittoon."

Watering The Tree Of Liberty

A fellow named Gary Warren has a letter in the Spokesman Review today.

Will we accept our democratic republic coming full circle into functional, if not oppressive bondage? The willful usurpation of both the Constitution and the lawful desires of the plurality of the people corruptly morphs representatives into rulers, liberty into servitude.
It is tragic how many of our originating 28 grievances towards the Crown can be objectively leveled against the federal government. Must “We the People” again be forced to restart the eight-stage cycle by watering “the tree of liberty?”

The Declaration of Independence has a laundry list of grievances that I suspect most Americans, including me until this morning, are unfamiliar with. After all, not many of our citizens have a complete history of their country thoroughly embedded in their minds let alone at the forefront. Reading through the list of grievances, I am unable to find a single one that applies to our government today. Curiously, I do find a similarity between the very first grievance, refusing assent to laws and the practice of signing statements that presidents, beginning with Ronald Reagan, have used to challenge or interpret the law as passed by Congress. George W. Bush's statements contained 1100 challenges. But other than that, I don't see that any of the other grievances apply.

At the end of his letter, Mr Warren mentions watering "the tree of liberty" which makes reference to a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote not long after the new U.S. Constitution was completed, some eleven years after the declaration was issued. In that letter, Jefferson makes reference to a single insurrection.

The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, & what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusetts? And can history produce an instance of rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it's motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.

Jefferson complains about the lies printed in British newspapers claiming that America is in a state of anarchy. Then he makes light of the Shays Rebellion which he says was founded in ignorance. I don't understand what he means by saying we shouldn't go 20 years without a rebellion borne of ignorance. His next two sentences are prescient.

The people cannot be all, & always well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.

The parallels to the nonsense coming from the Tea Party are striking.

If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independent 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century & a half for each state. What country before ever existed a century & a half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure.

We have always had plenty of people who preserve the spirit of resistance. The Ku Klux Klan, the John Birch Society, the Aryan Nations and the Watchman on the Walls to name a few. There are more out there and they all have one thing in common. They are borne of ignorance. Yes, I am being selective. I'm leaving out those who protest government actions such as war, violating civil rights, making unfair trade agreements, etc.

Jefferson said we should set them right as to the facts and then pardon and pacify them. But if a few die then so what? It's the natural manure for the tree of liberty. I take that as a calloused remark.

Gary Warren should not be so hasty to have the tree of liberty watered. Not that giving him the facts will make a difference to him.

10 On The Stupid Scale

Since we have a three day weekend and we don't have much planned and I like a good laugh now and then, I've been looking for a really good practical joke to pull. But the one I found is in the NOT category.

Barefoot Running - Lab Rat Style

(Photo by Josh Greer)
It is winter and the roads are slushy today, at least in my neighborhood, so I used that as an excuse to try barefoot running on the treadmill. I can sum up my experience in two words. Hated it.

But then I detest the treadmill and its ilk anyway. Give me the outdoors and fresh air.

In the plus column I did not get any blisters. I could feel every time my feet moved on the belt--mostly when I'm lifting--and that helped me focus on my form.

On the downside, it just didn't feel the same as running outside on pavement, cement and ground. The smooth surface on the belt gave my feet very little feedback. I know that runs counter to my focus on the form point earlier, but I'm referring to the stimuli my feet receive courtesy of the wide variety of textures on pavement, cement and ground. I also ran it at different speeds and found I was smoother at faster ones. But instead of being out for an enjoyable run, I felt like I was being tested or something. I called it quits after 35 minutes and half expected someone to show up wearing a lab coat and making notes on a clip board.

So the treadmill will be used as a last resort, which it is anyway. I don't remember the last time I was on it before today.

Keeping A Sharp Eye Out For Sharps

Last night I went to an establishment in Spokane County that has tons of patrons. While in the bathroom a needle disposal unit on the wall piqued my interest. I have no idea how much time it takes for a disposal unit to become full at this place. I imagine there should be specific procedures for disposing of used needles.

(Sorry for the crappy Blackberry photo.)
There doesn't seem to be a state-wide standard. According to the RCW 70.05.070 the local health officer may:

Take such measures as he or she deems necessary in order to promote the public health, to participate in the establishment of health educational or training activities, and to authorize the attendance of employees of the local health department or individuals engaged in community health programs related to or part of the programs of the local health department.

The Department of Ecology has guidance on pharmaceutical waste.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner uses the incinerator at Holy Family Hospital for its medical waste, including used needles, but that guidance seems to only apply to their office and not the county in general.

According to Waste Management they offer "a safe, confidential and cost-effective medical waste disposal system. It provides individuals, companies and institutions a way of disposing of used hypodermic needles, lancets, test strips and other medical waste. Each system includes a specially designed container, a postage-prepaid return box and tracking form; to ensure your medical waste will be delivered safely by the U.S. Postal Service to a certified medical waste resource recovery facility for destruction."

You have to call for details which seems appropriate since they operate in a number of states that would quite likely have differing regulations.

The Spokane Regional Solid Waste center addresses the disposal of household medical waste and has separate guidance for used needles coming from businesses.

Sharps containers from businesses cannot be commingled with other solid wastes. Businesses such as dental offices and doctors offices may dispose of sharps at the Northside Landfill located at 7202 N. Nine Mile Road. Businesses do pay a fee for sharps disposal.

Businesses may also hire a private medical waste company to manage the disposal of sharps. Please check your local phone book under "Waste Disposal / Medical."

Now it's my understanding that the Northside Landfill has been closed for a number of years now. Since the businesses mentioned are medical in nature I'm still not clear on the requirements placed on a non-medical establishment that provides containers for their customers' used needles.

So I guess I'll ask the next time I'm out there.