I Gotta Run

I gather anyone who writes a blog believes they have something to say.  What do I have to say?  The title of the blog is a common catch phrase that gives a nod to my former life as a professional track athlete.  The phase recognizes that I (still) gotta run.  Running makes me feel efficient and productive.  More importantly, when I run I am comfortable, in control and free.  There will be posts on running and sports in general.  Yet, "I gotta run" also says, "I have somewhere else to go."   Man, what is going on in here is crazy, "I gotta run."  Damn, I'm late . . .   Consequently, "I Gotta Run," says what is at hand may need a new vantage point.  It is my hope to offer a fresh perspective on our every day lives.


What areas do I feel particularly qualified to illuminate readers?  Some topics could be dicey, provocative and controversial.  "Race "(the color line), as W.E.B DuBois noted,  "Is the problem of the Twentieth Century."  Obama's election did not usher in the post racial America people hoped for which leaves race a dominate issue for the 21st century.  My point of view is fully shaped by race since I am a fortyish African-American man.  At the same time, I've led a fully assimilated life.  This is not only influenced by the fact that for three generations my family has lived a comfortably upper middle class life but also because I am a rather ambiguous negro.  This is to say many people don't believe I am African American.  I guess most of my colored brothers who look like me have jumped ship. One Drop by Bliss Broyard is a good book on this topic.  My thought is why would I want to jump ship and abandon the history of my distinguished family and live life as an ordinary white boy? 

Professionally, I have worked on Wall Street for over a decade.  I began right at the crest of the 2000 tech bubble and continued to shill through the 2008 CDO mess. The industry is all about greed.  I make a modest living because I am too prudent to participate in the scams and hustle.  Boy, can I tell you stories.


One of my writing teachers only let us write about our own experiences.  "You can only be the best you", he would say.  Subsequently, I offer you me.


I think for my first post I will combine my love for my two boys and sports.  When my wife was pregnant with our first child I thought I wanted a girl.  I was worried about the burden a child would have as the son of a world class athlete.  My mind changed when I realized how meaningful sports were to me and how my background and experiences would be a true advantage for a son of mine.  Thus, sports have become a positive focal point of the lives of my boys and our family.  A matter of perspective is in order . . . .