Fall in the capital 2009

It's striking to me how different Rock Creek Park is from New York's Central Park. Both bisect major cities, but the former seems untamed and wild when compared to the manicured lawns and paved paths of the latter. One is not necessarily better than the other, but I think it's pretty amazing that I can walk 15 minutes from my house in Northwest D.C. and be hiking on hilly, forested trails. The autumn foliage makes it even better.

Look both ways

Last night on the way home from work, I nearly struck a pedestrian. Shortly after turning onto 16th St. from Georgia Ave., I noticed a woman jogging on the right sidewalk. I was in the left lane and had a green light, so I thought nothing of this and continued driving. The next thing I knew, there was a gray sweatshirt in front of my car and I was slamming on the brakes and blindly swerving into the lane next to me. After nearly causing an accident, this hooded women had the audacity to glare at me. Had my window been open, I would've screamed something rude.

Feeling shaken up about this when I got home, I decided to go running myself (in a gray shirt, no less). I've actually been jogging a lot lately, since we've had such nice weather this fall. Growing up, I always thought I hated jogging. Sprinting over short distances to beat my cousins at races was one thing, but sustained exertion was always quite another. But these past couple months, I've discovered that I like it a lot more than I ever thought I could.

For one thing, it's nice to know that I'm getting some exercise. It's probably been about a decade since I last had any sort of regular physical exertion in my life. Combined with my love of food, I know how unhealthy that lifestyle is. Long term health benefits aside, exercise also just makes me feel good. Part of this might be endorphins, but I think a lot of it is mental too.

Another aspect of running that I've come to appreciate is the rhythm. Building a jog into my daily schedule provides another familiar wrinkle to my routine, even if I don't choose to run every evening. Beyond that, the physical act of jogging - feet pounding on the sidewalk, heavy breathing - is soothing. I often find myself turning this sounds into a pattern in my mind, repeating the same couple bars of a song that's stuck in my head. All of this is very conducive to uninterrupted thinking, much like driving with the radio off.

What might appeal to me most about running, though, is the sense of exploration associated with it. Maggie and I used to talk about how envious we were of our friend Tom for being able to just trot around for miles and see new places at will. Even though I barely jog for more than a mile, and almost always take the same route through the neighborhood, I've started to feel hints of this. Running after work, I'm occasionally treated to the savory scent of dinner wafting from the windows of houses. As I pass people and trees and schools on the sidewalk, my mind is constantly stimulated: "That's a friendly looking dog." "I'd hate to have to mow that lawn." "Those leaves are a really nice color." Jogging is freeing.

As the weather gets colder, I'm not sure if I can keep up the habit. I'd certainly like to, and if I can manage to jog semi-regularly over the winter, I've promised myself new running sneakers next spring. I'm having fun doing something healthy. And, despite my gray tshirt in the dusk, I am always careful not to dart out in front of oncoming traffic.

The Torah did not tell you to burn olive trees

When confronted by news on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I am often tempted to take the side of the Palestinians. They seem, to my admittedly uninformed eye, to be victims of Israeli bullying in many cases, which lends a sympathetic angle to their cause. I typically try to temper this urge, recognizing both the absurdity of strong, uneducated opinions and the fact that it would be easy to offend the many people who are very passionate about this issue. But every once in awhile, I'll come across something that strengthens my convictions.

I find it almost impossible not to be infuriated by this piece from NPR's All Things Considered. It describes how Jewish settlers in the West Bank have been reacting to the Israeli government dismantling their illegal settlements: by violently destroying local Palestinian property. They call this movement "the price tag." Even the name reeks of disgusting vigilantism to me.

The article acknowledges that many settlers frown upon the practice, but an aggravating, underlying stubborness is nevertheless pervasive. Perhaps most obnoxious of all is this statement, attributed to a teenaged settler:

We are here to show that we can build freely. The land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. We are settling here and in other places because it's our right.

This defiant attitude is, in my opinion, the biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Yes, radical groups like Hamas are also guilty of violence against civilians. But Israel is a stable, Westernized nation-state. It is ridiculous that the government does not have more control over the destructive rampages of its wayward citizens.