immediately feel the heat emanating from the sidewalk and the sky. Coming from the air-conditioned restaurant into the hot, humid air takes my breath for a second. I walk slowly toward my apartment. I feel sluggish as my breakfast sits heavily in me. I take the long way around to avoid getting back too early. In truth, I need the walk to help digest the food. I stare down at the sidewalk in front of me, which is a departure from my normal habit of simultaneously looking at my phone and the area in front of me. As I walk, I have a strange sensation that I am being watched. I look up a few times to catch a glance or two from strangers as they walk past me. His disciples or simply people walking past? I wonder.
I return to the apartment building lobby and decide to wait for Mike here. I fiddle with my watch for several minutes, trying to get it on my right wrist. I’m actually a bit fascinated that it’s this difficult. I never thought about the mechanics of putting on a watch. I just did it. My first two attempts end with the watch falling to the floor. On the next attempt, it keeps going in circles around my arm as I try to strap it on. Finally, with my mouth serving as a third hand, I get the watch in place on my right wrist. Of course, the first time I look at the watch to check the time, I look at my left wrist. I wonder how long it will take to get used to having the watch on my wrong hand. Will I need to get comfortable putting the watch on my wrong hand, or will the mark heal? My watch exercise occupies much of my time before Mike, thankfully, arrives in the lobby.
C HAPTER 7
The Run
Mike is a finance professor at a nearby smaller, private university. From what I can tell, he is a very good teacher, and he chooses to stay at the smaller college in order to spend more time with his family. There are many differences between us, and that is just one of them. I can’t understand how someone would sacrifice his goals and professional advancement in order to resign himself to a personal obligation, but I respect Mike’s contentment with his choice. Another major difference between us is his faith. Mike is my only Christian friend. I probably have other Christian acquaintances, though they don’t seem to be very open about their faith. Mike isn’t afraid to speak about his faith, though somehow he never comes off as obnoxious. We sometimes have wonderfully heated discussions about God and Christianity during our runs. It always seems like those runs are our fastest. Although we disagree on the subject, we are respectful of the other’s beliefs. It’s actually a compliment that he tries to witness to me, given his beliefs. That is, I genuinely believe he is concerned for my well-being. I am concerned about his as well, though, I might express it differently.
I met Mike several years ago at a local conference for professors. I don’t recall the topic, but I believe it was on how the latest technology could help professors in the classroom. Mike and I selected the same breakout session and found ourselves at the same table. It was one of those horrible breakout sessions where each table was required to come up with a solution to a hypothetical situation. Mike was sitting next to me, and he expressed the same frustration I did when we were given the assignment. We had some good banter about the various lectures and technologies while the rest of our table did the legwork for the assignment. It was the last session of the day. The instructor, before dismissing us, reminded us that there was a gathering that evening in the dining room. I asked Mike if he was going to be there, but he said no. He was going for a run before heading home. We compared notes on our pace and decided we were compatible running mates. That’s not a trivial thing. You can run only with someone close to your pace, who knows when to speak and when not to, and can carry on a good conversation. We have been friends ever since that first
I return to the apartment building lobby and decide to wait for Mike here. I fiddle with my watch for several minutes, trying to get it on my right wrist. I’m actually a bit fascinated that it’s this difficult. I never thought about the mechanics of putting on a watch. I just did it. My first two attempts end with the watch falling to the floor. On the next attempt, it keeps going in circles around my arm as I try to strap it on. Finally, with my mouth serving as a third hand, I get the watch in place on my right wrist. Of course, the first time I look at the watch to check the time, I look at my left wrist. I wonder how long it will take to get used to having the watch on my wrong hand. Will I need to get comfortable putting the watch on my wrong hand, or will the mark heal? My watch exercise occupies much of my time before Mike, thankfully, arrives in the lobby.
C HAPTER 7
The Run
Mike is a finance professor at a nearby smaller, private university. From what I can tell, he is a very good teacher, and he chooses to stay at the smaller college in order to spend more time with his family. There are many differences between us, and that is just one of them. I can’t understand how someone would sacrifice his goals and professional advancement in order to resign himself to a personal obligation, but I respect Mike’s contentment with his choice. Another major difference between us is his faith. Mike is my only Christian friend. I probably have other Christian acquaintances, though they don’t seem to be very open about their faith. Mike isn’t afraid to speak about his faith, though somehow he never comes off as obnoxious. We sometimes have wonderfully heated discussions about God and Christianity during our runs. It always seems like those runs are our fastest. Although we disagree on the subject, we are respectful of the other’s beliefs. It’s actually a compliment that he tries to witness to me, given his beliefs. That is, I genuinely believe he is concerned for my well-being. I am concerned about his as well, though, I might express it differently.
I met Mike several years ago at a local conference for professors. I don’t recall the topic, but I believe it was on how the latest technology could help professors in the classroom. Mike and I selected the same breakout session and found ourselves at the same table. It was one of those horrible breakout sessions where each table was required to come up with a solution to a hypothetical situation. Mike was sitting next to me, and he expressed the same frustration I did when we were given the assignment. We had some good banter about the various lectures and technologies while the rest of our table did the legwork for the assignment. It was the last session of the day. The instructor, before dismissing us, reminded us that there was a gathering that evening in the dining room. I asked Mike if he was going to be there, but he said no. He was going for a run before heading home. We compared notes on our pace and decided we were compatible running mates. That’s not a trivial thing. You can run only with someone close to your pace, who knows when to speak and when not to, and can carry on a good conversation. We have been friends ever since that first
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