My neighbors , the Old Bird and her offspring , like to leave out food and water for the neighborhood cats . Naturally , the cats like to hang out on my porch . And it 's not just the strays ; there are also pet cats with collars present . They are obviously well taken care of , even the strays ! People are feeding them , and it 's not just the neighbors giving these cats treats . These cats are fat ! During the day , they 've taken to congregating on my porch , sleeping on my windowsill , and playing on the steps . On warm nights , they like to hang out on the walk way and by the doors . Even some of the pet cats don 't go home on those warm nights . For the most part , I 've ignored them and let them be . But every now and then , I 'm reminded of their presence and their effect on my life . On the one hand , the cats have reduced the number of the birds who used to sit in the tree in front of the building . That means less bird poop on my car . On the other hand , the cats leave dirty paw prints on my windshield and hood , especially after I get my car washed ! It 's like they purposely walk in mud before deciding to climb up my car to nap on the roof ! Bastards . I try to ignore them as I enter or leave my home ; I 've also avoided feeding them , you know ? Because that would mean I cared for them and I would feel some sort of responsibility toward their well being . And everyone knows that once you feed ' em , they 'll never go away ! Still , as much as I try to ignore them , a couple of them like to run up and rub against my legs , purring and meowing while I 'm trying to lock or open the front door . I 've been able to resist reaching down to pet them so far . But I confess to breaking down and having fed them on two separate occasions . I was coming home from grocery shopping when a group of them ran up to me , meowing . A few skittish ones ran to hide in the bushes , but they peeked inside my door while I was putting away groceries . And it was the little kittens , born to a stray , meowing that got to me . I didn 't have any cat food , but I did just buy a couple of can * * * Posted by I 'm late ! I 'm late ! For a very important date ! ~ White Rabbit , Alice in WonderlandI was off today , and I had plans . I was going to wash my car , get it inspected and renew my tags ( they expire this month ) , go shopping for some items that I needed ( and wanted ) , then call some friends to go out for happy hour and dinner . Of course , since I knew that I 'd be off today , I was up all night , hung out with some friends who were off this week , and made some calls to the other side of the world . I didn 't go to bed til about five this morning . But I had set up my alarm clock to wake me up in a few hours . I figured I 'd catch up on my sleep by getting a nap in the afternoon . While waiting for breakfast to be done this morning , I turned on the t . v . and channel surfed . That was a mistake . I stumbled on Disney Channel showing Alice in Wonderland , a classic ! So , of course , I started watching it . When that was over , the Princess Diaries sequel was on . Well , I didn 't see that one , and I was mildly curious , so I figured , eh , why not ? And by the time that was over , I had passed out on the sofa . When I woke up , it was after six in the evening . I was late , very , very late . The tags office was closed and I was probably going to miss happy hour , but I figured I still had time to wash my car and do the shopping . Then the promo came on saying the Peter Pan sequel was coming in an hour . Curse you , Disney ! Tempting me with your movies ! So naturally , I skipped the shopping and dinner but got to wash the car instead ; and I got it done just in time to catch the movie . Well , at least the car is clean . Tomorrow , I 'll do my tags during lunch and maybe some shopping after work ; at least that 's the plan . I 'll keep in mind to avoid the tv tomorrow . I 've been incredibly busy these last few days with work and life . Things happened . Some good , some stressful , most just unexpected . Whatever free time I had was spent scurrying about trying to get things done , things I thought I needed to do for others , to make the holidays a little more pleasant , for them at least . And in between running errands and obligations , I found a few , precious minutes to do the things I needed to do for me . Last year , my two feet high , prelit , predecorated Christmas tree of over five years died . It was an artificial tree that I just set on the table , plugged it in , and watched it light up ( blinking or continuous , depending on the setting ) . So this year , I decided to look for a replacement . But I found out that they don 't make any more trees like my old one . Rather , they have some new ones that frankly , didn 't quite have what I was looking for . Most look quite pathetic , actually , very cheap and just dull looking . Rather than despair over the lack of good table top trees , I thought maybe I ought to expand my search to include trees that I normally wouldn 't consider . Thus , I ended up with a battery operated table top tree , less than a foot high . Behold , the Winnie the Pooh table top tree ! Actually , it 's like a toy . It blinks and it can play the tune of jingle bells if you so set it . It runs on batteries . And it only cost me ten dollars . They had a Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse versions , but I refuse to have rats in my home ! Besides , the yellow ribbons work better with the tree than the red ones found on the other versions . Still , I thought the tree needed something more . So for a dollar and ninety nine cents , I bought a train to circle the tree . I call the train , the Equatorial Express , since it only went around the tree in a circle , not towards the north ( or south ) pole . It did make the table top tree look more inviting , and I was pleased at first . Still , I miss the fun of plugging in the tree to watch it light up . So imagine my surprise when I wandered through a thrift store and found a two f * * * Posted by Part Three : The main course7 people were seated around the large table . The other guests had opted to eat in the living room , to be entertained by those who were singing karaoke . Dinner and a show , I suppose . I took a moment to take a mental picture of the group assembled at the table . Tools was at one end , carving the tradition holiday turkey ; the ham had all ready been sliced . On his left side , facing towards my way , sat Prodigy , who was discussing the prospects of the local team in the upcoming game . Across from Prodigy sat Cupcake ; there was an empty seat between Cupcake and Bling ; I took that seat as Shopgirl directed , and then I smiled at the other guests . Shopgirl took a plate of food and joined the group in the living room . Across from me sat Belladonna , who gave me a quick knowing glance before resuming her conversation with Gypsy and Roses , the daughter and mother lesbians . That 's right . A daughter and mother who happened to be lesbians . Roses , the mother , sat at the other end of the table ; her daughter , Gypsy sat next to Belladonna . I said hello to Gypsy , since I didn 't get a chance earlier . She was singing at the time . Gypsy smiled and returned my greeting happily , a twinkle in her eyes . I looked around for Roses ' partner , Guns , but I didn 't see her in the dining room . I had seen her earlier ; I wondered where Guns could be . Roses was actually Shopgirl 's aunt . Roses worked as a financial officer in one of the larger accounting firms . Her partner of about ten years was Guns , whom Roses met during an after work drinks with some coworkers . For as long as I 've known Guns and Roses , they 've had this on again , off again relationship . Arguing , splitting up , but then getting back together a few days later , only to argue some more . I used to think , good gawd , just end it all ready ! Move on and stop the misery ! I never understood why they stayed together if they argued so much ! Seriously , being together shouldn 't be that much work , and it certainly shouldn 't mean shouting matches and daily drama . Guns was a former * * * Posted by Part One : AppetizersFriday morning . The cold wind snapped at my face while I was fumbling with my keys , trying to find the right one that would open the door . The early morning sun was obscured by thick clouds , hiding most of the light and warmth . Last night was cold , but not as cold as two nights ago when the temperature dropped to the low 20s F . The news two nights ago warned of a hard freeze ; that was really freezing cold in these parts . In fact , it was so cold that I actually closed my kitchen window ; usually , I like to keep it open when I 'm home ; I like the fresh air . Finally , I got the door open , went inside and closed the door quickly . Ah , it felt good to be back home . I locked the door , kicked off my shoes , and dropped the keys on the coffee table . I really needed to take a long , steamy , hot shower so I could feel clean . But first , I wanted some hot tea to warm me up this morning . As I made my way to the kitchen , I saw my answering machine blinking . Three messages . Huh , wondered who that could be . Soon as I set up the water to boil , I pressed Play on the answering machine , half expecting it to be messages from telemarketers . Bastards . But surprisingly , it wasn 't telemarketers . In fact , all three messages were from the same person . It was a friend of mine that I had seen yesterday evening no less . Earlier in the week , she had invited me over for a holiday dinner party held last night at her place . Two of her messages were left the night before . The first one was a thank you for attending and she hoped I had a good time . The second one was her checking to make sure I got home safe . The third message she left early this morning , wanting me to give her a call . It didn 't sound urgent , so I debated on whether or not to call her now . I really needed to hit the shower so I could feel fresh and ready to deal with rest of the day . But I decided to wait for the tea to be ready before I made up my mind . In the meantime , I set stereo to play CDs at random while I dug through my cupboards , trying to decide what I should e * * * Posted by It 's been a crazy weekend for me , though the truth is , it started Thursday . I 've worked late from Wed to Friday , but the at least I got the weekend off . Though , due to circumstances and happy chance , I didn 't get to do what I had planned on doing . Mainly , I didn 't have time to do laundry on Sunday , my laundry day . Luckily , I have clean stuff I could still wear ; I 'll do the washing and ironing tonight . I 'll update later on tonight , and I 'll be visiting blogs to catch up as well . In the meantime , I 'm home for lunch after having made a quick stop at a local shop . It 's one of the more popular ones in the shopping complex about five minutes away from home . I parked the car , got out , and was about to cross into the store when a voice yelled out , " You , there ! " I ignored it at first because I was waiting for the cars to pass by so I could cross . But then I heard an even louder , " You there , young man ! " I turned to see who was doing all this shouting . It was an old woman in a Cadillac , sporting large sunglasses and a huge beehive ! I wasn 't sure if it was a wig or if she 'd put a serious dent in the ozone layer with all the hairspray used to freeze that monstrosity . Even more surprising than the feat of her tiny neck holding up such a gargantuan hairdo was the fact that she appeared to have been calling me . I had no idea who this old bird was , and I looked around to see if perhaps she was calling someone else . Nope . Just me . " Young man , " she addressed again , " Yes , you , " she sounded exasperated , as if she couldn 't believe how much time she was wasting talking to me . I was thinking , okay , rude . I probably should walk away . But in the tiny corner of my brain , that die hard sense of courtesy ingrained in me since birth railed up , asking me to go over to see what the old lady wanted . Damned sense of courtesy ! But what the hell , maybe she was lost and needed some directions . So I walked over to the old lady and asked , " What can I do for you , ma ' am ? " Up close , her face had more wrinkles than a whore 's dirty linen in the laundry pile . And * * * Posted by I was sitting on the sofa , feet up on the coffee table , drinking a screwdriver . The dishes were all ready washed ; the leftovers packed away in the fridge ; and the trash can was emptied . All that was left to do was to check out the tv listings and see what shows were on to entertain me . But before I could read the listings , the phone rang . It was one of my older sisters number . I debated whether or not I should answer the telephone . I wondered what my sister wanted . We aren 't particularly close . I mean , we love each other , but we don 't see eye to eye on a lot of things . Most of my older siblings are not really close to the three of us who are the youngest , my two brothers and I . It might have to do with the age differences . I mean , most of my older siblings are more than ten years older than the three of us who were the youngest . Somehow , our older siblings feel like they had the right to tell us young ' uns what to do , always judging us , like we were still children . News flash , we 're not children , and we 're not your kids , either ! It 's like they 're always looking down on us , thinking that they 're better somehow . Nothing we ever do is good enough for them . Not that their lives are any less chaotic than ours . I mean , they make mistakes , too . I just don 't care to listen to them go on and on about what they want me to do . My life , my choices . It does bother them when I don 't listen to their instructions . When they start bitching at me , I enjoy telling them , you 're not my mommy or my daddy ! You can 't tell me what to do ! When I 'm feeling really mischievous , I like to say , you 're not the boss of me ! It 's not that I don 't love them , I mean , I do . It 's just that I don 't care for their judgments and their interference in my life . I 've learned to ignore their attitudes and dismay at my decisions . I 'm happy with my life , and I think it pisses them off that I don 't listen to them , because I enjoy really making my own choices . Most conversations with my sister end up with her telling me what do and expressing her disapproval . I didn 't know if I wanted to pick up that ringing phone and talk to her tonight . I thought about letting the machine pick it up . If it was something important , then she 'd leave a message . But at the last minute , before the answering machine kicked in , I picked up the phone instead . I was surprised to hear that it wasn 't my sister on the other end of the line . Rather it was my niece who had called me . At eight years old , she was the youngest of my sister 's four kids . It was a surprise to hear her voice . Well that was unexpected . But she was at that age where kids start to question things . I wasn 't sure how to answer . So I asked her , " Well , why do ask ? " She said that some kids at school had said that Santa Claus wasn 't real . And when she got home , she asked her older siblings , and they too said Santa was not real . When she asked her parents though , they both assured her that Santa was real . But she now had doubts . So , she thought she 'd call me and see what I had to say about Santa Claus . Oye , now I 'm really wishing that I had let the answering machine pick up this call . My niece was having a crisis of faith - - in things magical ; and I wasn 't sure I was the right person to help her . I mean , she was at that age where reality starts to tear away at mythical beliefs and magical wonder . I wasn 't sure how to handle this . Should I be honest with her or let her enjoy that childhood fantasy just a little while longer ? But wouldn 't encouraging her to believe in Santa Claus hurt her more when she finds out that maybe we 've lied to her ? When I was a child , the concept of Santa Claus confused me . I mean , I liked getting presents , but I had a hard time understanding why some old man in a red suit would give me presents and only on Christmas . And trying to get pictures with Santa was a confounding experience . I was very unsure about that , and I didn 't want to do it . I 'm supposed to sit on some old man 's lap and tell him what I want for Xmas ? I thought I wasn 't supposed to talk to strangers ! Hello ? Mom , Dad , I 'm getting conflicting messages here ! We didn 't have a chimney either , so I wondered , how would Santa get inside our house ? So I asked my parents about that , and how would Santa know which house was ours ? I was told , he was magic ! And I believed it . Of course , when I got a little older , I became more disturbed at the thought of Santa Claus . Have you ever listened to some of the lyrics of Santa Claus is coming to town ? He knows when I 'm sleeping or awake ? He knows if I 've been bad or good ? Oh , my God ! Is Santa spying on me ? Is he watching me while I 'm using the toilet or taking a shower ! Is he following me around ? Stalker ! Are he and his minions listening in on private conversations and phone calls , reading personal mail like some secret , shady gov 't organization ? And why hasn 't Santa been arrested for breaking and entering into sleeping people 's homes ? Isn 't home invasion against the law ? Just because he 's leaving presents doesn 't mean it 's okay to break into someone 's house . It 's called trespassing ! But nevermind my issues with Santa Claus ; this was my niece seeking answers . I just wasn 't sure what to tell her . So I asked her , " What do you think ? Do you believe there 's a Santa Claus ? " Well , I thought about it ; then I said , " You know , there are a lot of things in this world that we can 't see or touch ; but they 're real . You can 't see the wind but you can feel it . You can see a rainbow but you can 't catch it . You can 't see love but you know it when you feel it . That 's like magic . You can 't always see it , but you 'll know it when you feel it . " " Because , " I said , " Santa 's magic comes from the spirit of giving . Christmas isn 't just about getting presents . It 's about being kind to people , doing something good for someone else . Because the spirit of Christmas is all about sharing . That 's what Santa is all about . And when you give a present or do something really nice for someone , you 're a part of Santa 's magic . So long as you keep sharing and giving , you keep the magic alive . " Well , that seemed to make her happy ; for now , she was satisfied and much more upbeat than when she first called . Then she asked if I wanted to speak to her mommy and I quickly said no , thanks , maybe some other time . So we said our good byes and hung up the phone . I finished my screwdriver and got up and fixed myself another . But before I sat back down to enjoy this one , I had one more task to do . I pulled out a Xmas card and addressed it specifically to my niece . I wrote her a personal note and put in a 20 dollar bill . Well , the kid 's had a rough experience , so she deserved a nice surprise . I 'm sure her siblings will be jealous when she gets her card . It 's been years since I bought any of my nieces and nephews individual gifts . There 's just too many of them ! Seriously , I 've lost count ! So I 've been sending group gifts instead , something they could all enjoy . But this was a special case , and my niece deserves to be treated just a little extra special this Xmas . I wanted her to keep believing in the Christmas magic ; I wanted her to maintain that child 's sense of wonder and enthusiasm for fantasy and magic , that all things were possible if you believed . Today 's post is inspired by Tara who has a great , fun calendar feature on her blog . Today is Share an Unhappy Holiday Memory Day . Well , I 've had my share of holiday downers and disappointments . So in the spirit of the day , I 'm going to write about one of them . When I was five years old , I was old enough to attend Sunday School . Sunday School children , in addition to learning about the Bible , put on plays and shows for all the major holidays , from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and Easter , Mother 's Day , Father 's Day , Thanksgiving , and so forth . There 's a lot of hard work and time invested in these church productions . You can 't imagine how many cartoon hours I lost because I was forced to participate in these church performances . Our biggest performance had to be the Christmas Eve pageant held near midnight . That 's right . Some genius thought it was a great idea to have church service at 10pm on Christmas Eve . Oh , but it gets worse - - this service lasted til after 1 in the morning . That 's right , over 3 hours of church ! When I was six , I was part of the choir of angels in the Xmas pageant . I sang the clearest ( and loudest ) ! The church members were thrilled at my performance . Many , particularly the hard of hearing elderly , thought I was singing solo , since I was the only voice they could hear . The pastor 's wife / director bumped me up to doing duets for the next year 's many holiday plays and shows . By the next Xmas pageant , I was given a solo to sing as an angel . It was another smashing performance - - or so I was told by my adoring public . The next year , I was given a speaking part ! I was promoted to lead the Shepherds ! And at eight years old , I was the youngest to ever play the part . Most of the Nativity characters were played by the teens . And I would play the lead Shepard for the next three years . I knew that it was only a matter of time before I got picked to be in the role I most wanted : A wise man . Sure , there were other speaking parts I could 've played ; sure , there were other more famous parts , I suppose . But I wanted to be a wise man . Why ? Because the wise men seemed so glamorous and exotic and wealthy . They had the snazzy costumes , the best props , and they were like royalty . They wore silk bathrobes with fake gems , carried shiny presents that represented gold and treasures , and they were guests in a King 's palace . Meanwhile , the Shepherds wore old rags , carried walking sticks , and slept outside in the cold and dirt with the sheep . I wanted to be a play a rich person for a change . And my chance came when I was ten . After playing a lowly , dirty , poor Shepherd for 3 years , I was picked to be one of the Wise Men ! Finally , I was going to be one of the upper class characters in the Xmas pageant . And unlike other times where I hated going to practice and rehearsals , I looked forward to learning my lines for this role ! I spent extra hours rehearsing and singing , perfecting my role . Then came the big night , Xmas Eve , and I was ready to shine ! As we were standing in the backstage , 15 minutes from curtain call , I saw the pastor 's wife / director with a frazzled look on her face . It seemed like she was looking for someone , and when she spotted me , she started heading my way . Oh , oh . Part of me felt a foreboding . This wasn 't the regular nervousness before the big show . Nope ; this was that sixth sense warning that something bad was about to happen . And it was bad news indeed ! The pastor 's wife / director informed me that the lead Shepherd ate some bad food and was throwing up in the bathroom . He couldn 't perform tonight . So , she asked me to reprise my role as lead Shepherd and give up my Wise man debut . I was like , excuse me ! ? ! You want me to what ! ? ! The pastor 's wife / director reasoned that since I knew the lines , I would be the best replacement for the lead Shepherd . One of the hazards of church productions is that there are no understudies . I asked , well , what about the other teens who used to play lead Shepherd ? She said the only two she could find were unsuitable . One was too old ; the other just refused . When I asked , well , what about my role as one of the three Wise men ? She said that my part would become a non speaking part . She was going to put someone else in my role , wearing my costume . I was furious ! How dare she ! I asked , well , why can 't you just cut out the lead Shepherd ? But she refused , saying that the lead Shepard was too important - - he led the song and had the most lines ! And I replied that my role as Wise man was just as important ! Sensing my reluctance and anger , she appealed to my vanity . She tried to convince me that I was a great actor , and only I could pull this off ; I could save the play ; and the audience would be disappointed if the show was canceled , especially my mother ; imagine how upset my mother would be at not seeing the show . I took a deep breath , sighed , and agreed to reprise my role as lead Shepherd . After all , I was a professional , and the show must go on ! That is the golden rule of the theater . And also because of the pastor 's wife / director 's veiled threat , that she would get my mother to come backstage and kick my wise ass ! So I quickly changed my costume . God , I hated holding those drab Shepherd rags and putting them on . Then someone thrust a plush sheep toy into my hands - - yes , this was one of my props . As lead Shepherd , I carried a little lamb . That little lamb became my stress ball as I angrily squeezed its neck with my hands ! Then I just waited for our cue , going over the lines and song with the assistant director , the pastor 's adult daughter . Still , I was fuming . When we were about to go on the stage , the kid who was supposed to be the lead Shepherd came out of the bathroom , his face flushed and wet . He was in the class ahead of me . He managed a weak smile , wishing us well and said , break a leg ! And so we went on stage . I put in a great performance . For days afterwards , I was complimented for showing so much passion and energy . Of course I had energy ! I was freakin pissed ! I was so furious that I didn 't even stay for the rest of the service . As soon as the play was over , I walked out back exit , didn 't even stay for the cast party held after the service . I walked straight home , knowing that I was probably going to get in trouble from my mom for leaving church before it was over . But I didn 't care . I was mad as hell , and I needed to walk off all that anger ! Surprisingly , my mom didn 't admonish me when she got home . I think she knew that I was pissed at not making my wise man debut . All the hard work and time I put into all that practice was wasted , no use at all . A few days later , I overheard that loser who was suppose to play the lead Shepherd telling his friends , including a former lead Shepherd , that he didn 't want to go on stage Xmas night . He still had problems memorizing all his lines and he didn 't want to look stupid on stage . So he faked an illness ; basically , his laziness cost me my Wise man role . But before I could cuss him out and shower him with holiday cheer via my fists , he continued his story . He said that the pastor 's wife / director said that if he couldn 't perform , then she would just have to come and get me to reprise my role ! I couldn 't believe it ! That backstabbing , lying bitch ! She didn 't even try looking for other previous Shepherds . She came straight to me and lied through her teeth ! And the former lead Shepherd who was there confirmed the story . The pastor 's wife / director never asked him to reprise the role , even though I remember her telling me that this guy had refused her request . Well , I made up my mind right then and there to quit doing church productions . I even quit the choir . My mother tried to get me to change my mind , but I was adamant . No amount of pleading or sucking up from the pastor 's wife / director changed my decision . She promised me bigger roles , even the lead in some of the productions . But I knew very well what lies she was capable of . No deal . I even stopped going to Sunday school all together . It made the pastor 's wife mad that I wasn 't listening to her , and it felt good to watch her powerless to do anything about it . I still participated in regular school plays and productions , but no more for my church . Some of our regular school or club productions won local competitions and were featured on local tv . Hell , I even got local recognition and awards for my work . I got to play lots of great parts and be a part of great productions . But I never took part in another Nativity play again . I was offered the role of a Wise man when I was in high school for our annual Holiday festival ; but it wasn 't the same . I didn 't get that rush of excitement and thrill I did when I was younger and was offered the role in that church pageant so long ago . So , I turned down the Wise man role in the high school Nativity play , opting to be part of the choir instead . I had a good time that Holiday festival and in every festival that I participated in for the rest of high school . Nowadays , whenever I see a Nativity production , I think back to that last church Xmas pageant . I get sad rather than angry , remembering how I was typecast , my dreams crushed . But a small part of me also feels pride , knowing that I survived that experience , making me much stronger and in a way , a much wiser man . I woke up early this morning , and I couldn 't go back to sleep . Looking at the clock , it was about four thirty in the morning . So , I decided that rather than toss and turn in bed , I 'd do something productive . So I did some stretches , put on my running shoes and shorts , then went out for a short jog . As soon as I opened the door , the chilly air nipped at my face . It was still dark , and I didn 't see any cars on the roads . Just silence and a few working street lights . But there was fog , patches of it near where I lived . And the farther I ran , the more fog I encountered . While the ground may have been hazy , the heavens were free and unclouded as far as the eye could see . The sky was clear , the moon and two planets shone usually bright near each other . The chilly air that made me shiver at the beginning of the jog now felt good on my skin , but it still stung my nose as I breathed it in . The thing about the chilly air is that it somehow energizes me , making feel like I could go farther , longer , faster . So when I got to the turn around point to make it a short jog , I just kept going forward instead . The route I was taking was a long shaped S . I thought , well , I 'll just do a middle distance jog and on the way back , take the short cut . Twice , on the quiet run , I saw cyclists in groups riding along the streets . We greeted each other as we went our own way . Other than that , it was mostly a silent run . When I got to the next turn around point , the fog had thicken considerably . And when I turned around , I was surprised to see another jogger on the far , opposite side of the street . He was on the left side of the road , an old man who was jogging some short distance ahead of me , going the same way I was . I didn 't see him before , but now , I could clearly hear the tap tap sound of his shoes hitting the sidewalk as he ran . He was running about the same pace as I was , but I was still feeling high on energy , so I decided to pick up the pace . Though I was on the opposite side of the street , we were going the same direction , and I quickly passed him . Still , I could hear the tap tap sound of his shoes , though it was getting faint as I ran farther . Then the fog started to get thicker , and the road started to curve left . I could hear the tap tap sound getting louder . The old man had picked up speed , and the road was curving in his favor . As I was on the far right side of the street , I had more distance to cover . So , once more , I picked up the pace . Now , part of me was motivated by a sense of competition . I was not going to let this old man beat me . I know , childish , right ? But I would be lying if I didn 't admit that a small part of my competitive nature was coming through , and I was not going to let up . So I started putting a little more distance between the old man and I , and the sound of his feet , tap tap , started fading away again til I couldn 't hear it anymore . The fog was thinning as I kept on jogging . I was nearing an intersection on my side of the street , and I saw a vehicle there . When I got close , I saw that it was hearse . How odd - - and sad , I thought , to see a hearse this early in the morning . I had to wait for the light to change before I could safely cross the street and continue my jog . And soon , I heard the familiar sounds of tap tap , the old man was catching up again . As soon the light changed I crossed the street and tried to put distance between me and the old man . But the fog reappeared and the road was starting to curve left once more . Damn ! I could hear the old man catching up ! I picked up the pace again . This time , I was starting to break out into a serious sweat , my breathing was starting to get labored , but I refused to slow down . Yet , the fog was thickening and the sound of the old man running was getting louder . Tap tap . He was getting closer , and I was really starting to feel the strain ! I could see the shortcut coming up , and it was clear , free of fog and lit very well with street lights . But with the old man still within my hearing , I refused to take that shortcut ! I was not going to let that old man pass me up ! The road was straight for a little while longer , but I knew that there was another major intersection up ahead . Tap tap , the old man was catching up ! I picked up speed , the fog was thicker here . I could only see just a few yards ahead before the fog hid everything from sight . It was getting harder to breathe , I could feel the strain starting to take its toll on my body . What was supposed to be a fun , short jog was turning into quite the workout ! And still , tap tap , the old man was getting closer . It felt as if I was being drawn back , falling behind no matter how hard I tried to run ahead . It was as if I were on a giant treadmill and no matter how fast I was running , I was getting no where at all ! The road was starting to curve left again , and I could see the intersection coming up . In the corner of my eye , I could make out the shape of the old man catching up to me . Damn it ! The light at the intersection was red ; it wasn 't my turn to cross the street . But as I came upon the intersection , the roads were clear , and I just ran right through ! I ran faster , trying to put more distance between me and the old man . I was almost sprinting . I was breathing hard , gasping for air , my body overheating from the exertion . Sweat was dripping freely from head , my body was soaking wet . I was picking up speed but I wasn 't sure how long I was going to last . I could see the road up ahead . Finally , it was starting to curve right , towards my advantage . The fog was starting to lift here , too . But the chill that had energized me was not enough to cool me down . My body was on fire . I thought to myself , I 'm going to have a heart attack and die , but so long as I beat that old man , I 'll be die a happy man ! I could only hear the sounds of my heavy breathing as my lungs grasped desperately for air . And then it suddenly occurred to me , that the only sound I could hear at this point was my labored breathing ! I couldn 't hear the tap tap sound of the old man 's running shoes anymore . I turned my head back to look for the old man . I didn 't see him on the far side of the street . But a movement on my side caught my eye . It was the old man ! At some point , he must 've crossed the street to my side of the road . And instead of running , he was walking away from me . He was going back the other way , disappearing into the fog that was rolling back with him . Victory ! I had outlasted the old man ! I eased off the pace , falling back down to a nice , slow jog . I had to admit , it was a welcomed relief ! The rest of the way home , the fog was gone , and a cool breeze had started to blow - - wonderful , sweet breeze pushing me all the way home . When I finally reached home , I thought , man , that was a great workout . I 'm going to be feeling some aches and soreness in the next few days . That cold shower I took felt good , and for the rest of the day , I had incredible energy . After lunch , I was talking with some co - workers . Some of them wanted to know what drugs I was taking to remain energetic and alert . I told them I wasn 't on anything . I just went for a jog this morning . One of the IT guys asked me what gym I used . I told him I didn 't use any gyms . I just ran along certain streets . When I told him about the street I ran this morning , he said , " Oh , yeah . That 's one of my favorite routes to ride . It 's clean and well lit ; the bike paths are pretty good . " But IT guy looked serious , " No , it really is . I 've seen the ghost myself . I was riding that route last year , and he kept appearing in front of me on the side of the road , even though I passed him like three times ! He only appears when you 're alone . That 's why I ride with a group . This blog undergoes construction from time to time . The author likes to experiment with changes and design . During the ongoing construction , blog posts may not be available . Apologies for that . Please be patient as blog posts will return as soon as possible . Thank you .