Sack's Handsome Man

Yesterday I found out from Auspicious Jots a blog posted by someone named Sack. This blog is written by someone living in a typical suburban cul-de-sac. As such, the neighborhood probably did not have much interest to it. It probably consisted of a row of large, closely arranged houses with driveways and multi-car garages, with no stores, parks, or other interesting places. The people there have to drive all over the place to get to the stores, parks, and other centres of action. I can tell from the spelling of "centre", as I have just spelled it, in the blog that the cul-de-sac is in some English-speaking nation other than the United States, perhaps Canada or Australia. It's a driving culture. So nothing much interesting goes on in these cul-de-sacs.

So one day Sack pointed out what happened when a runner ran on these streets. He caught the attention of everyone, especially the women. He was apparently young and handsome, dressed in a light T-shirt and baggy shorts, and attracted more attention when he ran without the shirt.

I too have had similar experiences. When I worked, I used to run in an adjacent park, with nice trails that were easy on the feet. Since I retired, I have to run in my development instead, with streets lined with closely-aligned McMansions that squiggle and turn and end in cul-de-sacs. I usually run in running shorts and shoes and socks. In cooler weather, I also wear a T-shirt, but when the temperature exceeds 68 degrees F (20 degrees C), I run without the shirt. Usually I don't hear of any comments or other people looking at me.

But once in a while I do. Recently a bunch of motorcyclists decided to make a drag pad out of their yards adjoining the development, and the neighbors in the development sued them. They wanted my signature. I visited their house and saw the denuded property and a protective berm. The woman there said she has seen me running up the street many times. Sometimes when I run without the shirt on, someone asks why I am not wearing one. I tell them that it is too hot for a shirt. So apparently running up and down the streets of your development will cause some interest. There are a few runners in my development and occasionally I run into one, but walkers are more common, especially in the morning.

But what this development needs is more interesting stuff, more than what the developers have provided us. In fact, when oil grows scarce, we will really need some of this stuff. In the meantime, the neighbors will have to settle for watching me run up and down its streets and cul-de-sacs.