Author: CW Spencer

My New Workout Plan at 70

May 20, 2020 Sunday was birthday number 70. Bonnie baked me a giant dark chocolate cake. It took me two tries to blow out the candles. There were only two, a seven and a zero. This might be funny if I was making it up. My friends—mostly ones younger than me—say 70 is not old. I could train to do a marathon or thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. People my age even compete in the Ironman Triathlon. I chewed on my cake and considered those options for cardiovascular training. Glamorous, but they are probably not going …

Walking Then and Now

May 14, 2020 For the sake of some exercise and free vitamin D, Bonnie and I have been getting out for some walks in our neighborhood, basically our first miles together since we finished the 1,440-mile Buckeye Trail last fall. Hiking the trail was a great adventure, but now it’s nice to take a lazy stroll and just reminisce about our journey. “Only 14 miles to the car,” I joked today. A couple miles later I said, “Only 12 to go!” The beauty of it was that I was kidding. I was merely bringing back …

Do You Want a Moe or a Curly?

May 6, 2020 My hair had gotten so shaggy during the COVID-19 business closings that I felt like some kind of action was necessary. Who knew when the barber shops would reopen? I would have to take matters into my own hands. But first I had to make a decision, the same one I had to make 64 years ago: burr cut or bowl cut. I remember it like it was yesterday. Me, a sad little boy on the front porch in The Chair, with a purple polka dot sheet Mom had wrapped tightly around …

Sheltering in Place with a Lizard

April 30, 2020 A Lazarus lizard has taken up residence inside our house during the COVID-19 lockdown. It’s not that I don’t like lizards. I do. It’s just that Bonnie and I prefer to enjoy them in their natural habitat. Maybe our guest thinks it has to stay 14 days so it doesn’t infect its buddies. But we watch press briefings every day and we’ve heard nothing about any lizards catching the virus. Bonnie first spotted it in the bedroom, right before it scooted under the closet door. Next it appeared in the living room. …

Candy Dish Games

April 23, 2020 Bonnie and I are trying to stay healthy while we are quarantined. We’re eating plenty of fruit and veggies, drinking a lot of water, and taking our vitamins. It looks like we need a little push, though, to cut down on our visits to the candy dish. Each of us wants to help the other be good. But not by a set of rules. We decided it would be a lot more fun to make a game of it. It’s very simple to play. When one of us hears the clinking of …

Study Hall Shenanigans

April 16, 2020 A gray squirrel family chose to “shelter in place” with us this year. Mom and/or Dad built the nest on top of a large, front porch pillar. It was only a few weeks until I heard the first ruckus made by the babies. Must have been milk break time. What else do newborns have to do but eat and sleep? Sadly, the noises stopped early April. Mom might have taken her brood and upsized. Maybe they were driving her nuts in those close quarters. I imagine people moms and dads in our …