Last november I posted about bald eagles building a nest near one of my favorite running haunts in Des Moines called Grays Lake. Later in December I didn’t see them around anymore and wondered if they would return. I’m not familiar with the mating and nesting habits of these magnificent creatures. When January came and went and there was still no sign of them, I thought maybe they built another one somewhere else and chose that nest, or maybe at the last second decided against mating altogether. Maybe the male pissed the female off and she put him in the dog-house and by the time he emerged the mating ‘window’ had closed. Who knows. But a few days ago as I ran at ‘Grays’ I saw the nest and there she was sitting deeply in the nest so I could just barely see the white feathers of her head. Since then I’ve seen her everyday there. And almost always I also see the male nearby protecting her and the coming babies. How Cool!!!! So if you get a chance in the coming months please give yourself a treat and go to Grays Lake and park at the north lot closest to downtown Des Moines. From there walk clock-wise up the little hill that leads to the path along the river. When you get to the river path just look up right accross the river and you’ll see the nest and the top of mom’s head and eventually some very hungry little raptors. Make sure to walk, run, or bike around Grays as well. It’s a lovely 2 mile journey. I’m very proud, by the way, that our nation’s symbol is bald.

Central Iowa’s running season kicked off saturday with the YMCA’s ‘Red Flannel Run’. It’s definitely a ‘goof-fest’ as runners dress in all sorts of fun, red-flannel-y get-ups. I decided to run the 5-miler with my buddies from the ‘Des Moines Roosters’. They are Iowa’s own ‘Australian Rules’ football team. All told there were about 14 of us running in Rooster jerseys. Some were players and some, like me, were friends and supporters. This winter has been fabulously mild, so I’m not complaining here. But the morning of the ‘flannel’ was beyond nipply. Things warmed up fast as we started out over the bridge on Locust St. in downtown Des Moines. We had a pretty good pace going, a little too good for me as I would have to slow down later, but I was quickly reminded that the ‘Roosters’ have a blast whatever they do. Occasionally I would here one of them do a rooster call or give eachother a good ribbing along the way. About half way through I had to slow up and I let the guys know and I watched them take-off. It’s good to see that they are in such great shape in the off-season. I wondered as I ran if the teams from Minneapolis, or Milwaukee, or Kansas City are staying fit this winter. My time ended up being about 46:30 and most of the others came in before that. Thats okay though. Running in the winter is all about just getting out there and staving-off the winter blahs. It was hilarious at the end when I ran into Sean and Travis, two Roosters, and Sean had ‘snot-sicles’ and Travis had ‘sweat-sicles’. I encourage everyone to follow the Roosters this upcoming season. They love their sport and have a great time together.

I performed recently for the annual ‘Pork Producers’ party in Luverne, MN. This was one of those perfect gigs. The Comfort Inn where I stayed was directly across from the bar ‘Sharkey’s’ where I performed. In the morning I asked where the bank was so I could cash the check. The young lady at the front desk pointed across the street. The drive was a breeze as well. Any time I have a gig in January in these parts and the drive is uneventful it’s a huge blessing. Every now and then I will get a gift from a group that I entertain. I performed for Hormel’s holiday party one year and left with a bunch of SPAM and Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Yes, I ate it all. I was very pleased to receive a ‘meat bundle’ after my performance in Luverne. This was a frozen package that included a pork roast and bacon. I came home and told my wife “Honey!! I actually brought home the bacon!!”.
It sure was a blast to be a part of ‘Forey Fest’. We had a great run in the morning and Forey was there in his kilt running his own race barefooted. There were a few others who went shoe-less. Runners rule. I slept during the bar-crawl but heard it was a hoot. Later that night, I co-hosted the concert/silent auction with Tana Goertz. I think we worked well together. I hope to do it again.
My friend Sonny and I have begun training for the ‘Green Bay Marathon’ in late may. Something tells me I have many a treadmill-run my immediate future. Running outside in the winter is fine with me as long as it’s not windy. When it’s windy I feel like a frozen meat-bundle.

This week will be fun. On Wednesday I headline at the ‘Funny Bone’ comedy club here in Des Moines, IA. The show is at 7:30 and I’ll definitely have some new stuff to talk about. Saturday I will be using my emcee skills to help raise funds for Forey Jacobson at ‘Forey Fest’ here in town. If you are not up to speed on his predicament and the event, check-out ‘Friends of Forey’ on facebook. You can also read my prior post on this blog titled ‘Opposite Encounters’. I think everybody is looking forward to finally being able to do something for Forey and his family. I had a great run yesterday with key members of Des Moines’ own ‘Australian Rules Football’ squad. ‘The Des Moines Roosters’ are working to stay in shape this winter for the season that starts this spring. I first met a couple guys from the team at last years’ ‘Dam to Dam’. They ran fast that day and I decided to follow the upcoming season in this blog. We had some beers at ‘Mullets’ after our run yesterday and it’s clear to see that these dudes have fun and are passionate about the sport. Much more to say on the ‘Roosters’ as I’ve decided to practice with them on Friday. So!!! I hope to see you at the ‘Funny Bone’ on Wednesday and ‘Forey Fest’ on Saturday!!! Cheers!!!

I Hiked the along the Raccoon River today with Brad Smith and his two dogs Otis and Burger. We followed muddy horse trails and talked about a wide range of subjects from inter-planetary colonization to the two idiots Brad had to kick out of his bar last night. I never take for granted the value of running with a great conversationalist. I spend a lot of runs alone and I don’t like to listen to tunes. It’s early winter and I can already tell I’m gonna have to excersise a lot this winter to stave off ‘seasonal affected disorder’. If we get a lot of snow this year, I may purchase snow-shoes. I went snow-shoeing in Vail, CO. one time and I loved it. I’m also pretty sure I’ll get the hockey skates out and mix that into my routine. Still, I am a runner. Here are some ‘Funny Runner’ updates on prior posts:

Running in Place.
Those two eagles are still spending a lot of time near the nest they’ve built. I hope they indeed stick to plans and we get a splendid spring show.

Opposite Encounters.
It sounds like Forey Jacobson is improving daily. On Jan. 14th there will be an event called ‘Forey Fest’ that will be an all day affair here in Des Moines including a 5k, entertainment, and all kinds of cool stuff to raise money for Forey’s predicament. Yours truly will host the event and you can learn all you need to know on facebook’s ‘Friends of Forey’ page.

Sonny’s Race.
Sonny and I plan to run the Green Bay Marathon in late May, 2012. Please let me know if you want to join us!!

Here’s to kicking S.A.D.’s ass!!!

Sonny Hutton couldn’t keep running. The pain in his left knee simply would not let him. His lungs felt fine and he had the energy. Still, more than half way through our 17 mile training-run he would have to call his wife and get a ride home. Even without injury, training for your first marathon hurts. The year before, I had this harsh ache on the outside of my left foot. It was just there one day. I called the shop where I bought my shoes and asked the salesman if he thought they could be a bad fit. He replied “No. I think you’re a guy in his early forties training for your first marathon. It hurts.” Sonny’s situation was more severe. This pain was stopping him in his tracks. We talked a bit the next few days and Sonny had decided to take a break from training. He seemed down but he had a plan. He would buy new shoes, his current shoes were older than dirt, do some stretching, icing, and resting. Plus, Sonny’s wife Kristina, a massage therapist, would use her skills to aid in any recovery. He was still set on the marathon. I had doubts. It was early spring of the same year when some running friends formed a facebook group called the ‘Dam Crazies’. Our plan was to get ready for and run the ‘Dam to Dam’ in early June. This popular 20k road race is almost the distance of a half-marathon. 12.42 miles, to be precise. It was then that I started running with Sonny. During one of our runs he told me that he ran track in high school and had not run since. Now in his mid-thirties he had gotten the bug to get moving again. He was great to run with. Every time I met up with him to train, a leaner athlete showed up. ‘Dam to Dam’ went great and I called him sometime the next week to see if he wanted to go for the full marathon in October. “Sure!” . I’ve run with dedicated people but none more determined than this guy. He would say again and again “I just want to finish.” This sheer will made me believe he would do it. Now though, with his knee issue, it was hard to tell. During his break, I kept thinking about how hard it must be to stop training. It would kill me to not be able to run. I’m ridiculous this way. There are days when I’ve already ran in the morning and I’ll drive by someone who is out for a jog and I’ll be envious like a grounded child looking out the window at other kids playing. With about 3 weeks till the marathon Sonny said he was ready to run again. That weekend we ran 20 miles very slowly and Sonny made it through without any significant pain. This alone was an achievement. To go on the DL in the midst of training and come back strong is awesome. Then, on Sunday October 16th, 2011, Sonny Hutton became a marathoner. He called me about two weeks later. “When’s our next big race?!” . I think it will be Green Bay in May.

I recently did a show at an old hall in St. Peter, Minnesota. There was an aspiring comedian there and I gave him some advice. “Speak in your own voice”. This might seem simple but in some ways it’s actually quite difficult. When I started-out at open mikes in the twin cities comedy scene, I was heavily influenced by Dana Carvey and Johnny Carson. Because I didn’t know what my comedic voice sounded like yet, I ended up speaking my material in their voices. Many new comedians are ‘style’ sponges. They don’t mean to be. It’s just a peril of early development. I remember when Bill Hicks was a big deal and out of nowhere all these mid-western comics had southern accents. I worked with Dana Gould in the early 90’s. Thankfully my friend Scott Novotny could tell and a week later he let me know “you’re doing Gould you know, do Bush, not Gould.” It’s a forgivable mistake early on but not for long. I’ve been asked by new comics “How do I find my character?” My response is “Don’t.” After they look at me like I just peed a little on their dreams, I elaborate. “You already are a character. Your task is to find out who you already are.” I must have learned this by the time I moved from Minneapolis to New York City’s big comedy scene in 1996. My audiences went from very white, to multicultural in a moment. Those first weeks at ‘The Comic Strip’ on Manhattan’s upper-east side, I told myself to just be me. It worked. To these people I sounded right out of the movie ‘Fargo’. As this began to dawn on me I did pump it up a bit. I would thicken up my accent when impersonating a Minnesotan at a buffet. “Oh, that’s good tater-tot hot dish.” and “I think the spaghetti is too ketchupy.” I’ve appeared in the show ‘Triple Espresso’ thousands of times. A difficulty of performing the same play night after night is trying to hold on to comedic moments. I could deliver a punch line perfectly for a hundred shows and then one day, it stops working. Maybe I’m on cruise control. Maybe I started taking the laugh for granted. The first instinct at these times is to add what my friend and fellow performer Patrick Albanese calls “comedy-helper”. The plainest example of this is uttered by the loveable but un-funny Muppet comedian ‘Fozzie Bear’. When a joke bombs he exclaims ‘wokka, wokka, wokka!!!’ (sp). Trying to force the audience to laugh by letting them know when they are supposed to. Clearly this has the opposite effect. An audience feeling coerced like this will not want to leave fast enough. To avoid the futile ‘comedy- helper’ phase of fixing a moment, I have learned just to go back to nothing. Just to say it. Whatever the line is, just say it. No facial expression and without a raise in volume. This usually works. And if it doesn’t, it’s okay. I’ve at least communicated the story without insulting the crowd. How liberating to just be me. Having a funny face also doesn’t hurt. Thanks mom and dad.

On a summer day last year I started out the door for a long run. I wasn’t at all concerned about speed. At this point in the 18-week marathon training program, I was in foreign territory. In the beginning, the assignment was just like my normal routine, 3 to 4 mile mid-week runs and 6 or so on the weekend. But now it was daunting. This nine-miler was a mid-week run and the weekend called for 13 miles. Slow and steady with no injuries was my plan. My neighborhood on Des Moines’ south-side is pretty hilly. I hardly look forward to these hills but they do get the heart pumping. On this day that’s exactly what happened. I came through the hills and my legs just wanted to go and go. Even as I tried to tell them to ease up, they wouldn’t. I was going faster, easier than I had ever before. Down by the river, I spotted Forey just ahead. Forey Jacobson. Now this guy is nothing short of a local legend. If you run a lot in Des Moines, you’ve seen him. If he’s not tall, he seems to be. About 61 years old , he has a full head of hair completed gloriously by a mullet that should be pictured in Webster’s dictionary. His build reminds me of Tarzan’s physique in those old films. This is all easy to see because quite often Forey doesn’t wear too much. If there is a local race from 5k to Marathon, he’s there to run it wearing a kilt or a loin cloth and little else. Not even shoes. He’s a bare-footer. I yelled his name and he turned around and jogged in place waiting for me to catch up. He said “Hey man!!” with a warm smile that seems to be his most common expression. We ran together for a long time that day. His pace was faster than mine but since I felt good, I kept up with him. I remember he told me of his dream to qualify for the Boston Marathon. We talked about his diet too. He told me he often eats grasshoppers or crickets (I can’t remember which but I wasn’t surprised). Everything about this guy is unique. He was also very encouraging. He said he knew I would do well on marathon day. That run lifted my spirit for the rest of my training. We both ran the marathon a few weeks later and met up after and talked about the day. As I write this post, Forey recovers in a local hospital from injuries sustained in a violent beating that occurred late-night last week at a downtown bar. Details are sketchy but it’s hard for me to fathom Forey doing anything to deserve it. An arrest has been made and there are other suspects. I hope with the thoughts, prayers, and giving hearts of all who know him, we can see him soon running barefoot along the trails with that big smile on his face and his trademark mullet flying in the wind.
Ps….you can find a support page for Forey on Facebook called ‘Friends of Forey’

Let’s see, this week I will run in Minnesota and Iowa. Some weeks it’s more states. On many little tours of one-nighters I may end up running in four or more states in a week. Getting runs in during those weeks can be a challenge. I get to the hotel late afternoon and try to shoehorn a run in before an 8:00pm show. That’s where I do ‘out and backs’. I just run one-way down an unfamiliar road/highway for 15-20 minutes and turn around and run back. So I don’t get lost. All this new territory makes me miss my most frequented running place. ‘Grays Lake’ is a gem. Just over a mile south of downtown Des Moines, IA. The path around it makes for a perfect two-mile loop that takes you along a big river, through a wide and wooded park, and over a long pedestrian bridge. Spanning about a third of a mile, this bridge provides a perfect view of the downtown skyline. At night the bridge is lit-up with multicolored lights. It’s really sweet. I run Grays Lake a lot. It’s my spot. I’m there through its seasons. In the late fall through winter it’s common to see bald eagles perched in tall trees on the opposite side of the river. They seem to be fishing or warming themselves facing west against the setting sun. Two were there the other day when I stopped mid-run to talk to a photographer who had them in his sights. When I asked if he got any good shots, he said “oh yeah….they’re building a nest, look!!” He pointed to a high part of a tree where three or four branches splayed out from the trunk. Sure enough I could see a nest. One eagle was perched above the new structure. The other was on the nest itself busily moving sticks into place. Yesterday I only had time to run once around the lake and made sure to glance across the river to see how the nest was coming along. It was way bigger and I saw one of the pair flying up to it with a big stick in its talons. So this is a perk of having a spot. I don’t know just how long I will be blessed with the gift of watching eagles nest through the season at Grays Lake. But it makes it a little easier to lace up the shoes and head out the door.

thought I would search ‘funny runner’ on youtube and found this amusing little spot. Enjoy!!