Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
For years, while living in Ohio, I got up just about every morning and added my musings to a blog: PR On The Run. Then after punching the publish button I hit the concrete in my neighborhood or trails in a nearby national park for a minimum of a four- or five-mile run, generally with a small group of friends whom I’ve know for the better part of three decades.
Then in 2012 my wife, Mary, and I relocated to a small mountain town near Pikes Peak in Southern Colorado, Woodland Park. It’s called the City Above The Clouds. And at about 8,400 feet above sea level the views are majestic and the weather is generally ideal throughout the year.
And I’m still running, although age and altitude have shortened the distances and increased the times. Still, running (or walking and biking for that matter) in a venue that offers blue sky, almost constant sunshine and low humidity is nearly impossible to beat.
But I stopped blogging, figuring that my brain farts would be lost in the swamp of fake news and the increasing partisan and uncivil discourse that now rules politics and just about all media, social or otherwise. Or said another way, I figured that after years of gingerly putting one word after another first on paper and later on a computer screen that I had run out of things to say.
Now I’ve decided that I’m ready to jump back into the fray and offer my views from this perch high in the mountains above the clouds. Mostly, I’m going to write about matters that interest me, upset me, or that I just plain find unusual, funny or important. And from time to time I’m going to add some content to highlight my hometown of Woodland Park and my adopted state of Colorado.
By the way, the quote above by Izaak Walton was part of the WordPress template.
But, hey. It ain’t a bad reference for beginning a new journey.
39.015195
-105.073369
39.0151953, -105.0733687
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by
Rob Jewell
I’m Rob Jewell and I live and write in Woodland Park, Colorado, the City Above the Clouds.
I've been fortunate. I worked for 29 years at BFGoodrich in Akron, Ohio. I started editing employee publications and ended as vice president of corporate communications. Then I started a public relations consulting company before becoming a full-time faculty member in the School of Journalism at Kent State University. I taught courses in writing, public relations and mass communication ethics. And I supervised a student-run public relations firm, called Flash Communications. During my tenure at Kent State I was honored to receive the university’s Outstanding Teaching Award.
During most of this time I've been a dedicated runner. OK, jogger, if you take speed into consideration. But while my times are not much to write about, I was and am committed. For almost 30 years I ran at least 1,000 miles each year. (Except for one year when I tore my calf muscle playing tennis. So much for tennis.)
Being on the road most mornings at 5 a.m. gave me some time to think. It also led to some amazing friendships that now span more than three decades.
And my longtime love affair with running helped me shape my first novel, Then We Ran, which is available wherever electronic books are sold.
And just so you don't think that all I did was work and run, I have other interests as well, many centering on family.
My wife, Mary, was a successful and highly regarded career teacher in the Akron public schools. She now devotes her time and energy to a host of social and athletic activities in Woodland Park.
My son, Brian, teaches at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs where he is also the head soccer coach.
And my daughter, Jessica, has completed her doctorate at Kent State University where she is also an administrator with the Wick Poetry Center. I've done a lot of writing during my career -- but Jessica is the real writer in the family. I'll try not to make too many errors in this blog. I'm sure she'll be watching.
View all posts by Rob Jewell
Writing Above The Clouds 