Consumer Escapes - Collecting Marathons

This Sunday I will be running the Mississauga Marathon. The race takes place on what looks to be a beautiful, scenic course in suburban Toronto. If I successfully finish this race I will only have to run New York and Montreal to complete the "Original Six" series of marathons. Devoted hockey fans will know that refers to the original six teams in the NHL. Those teams were and are the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers. (No accident to which team I listed first.)

Just before a marathon I am frequently asked two questions. The first, how far is it or is this the 26 mile kind? To which I answer yes it's the 26.2 mile kind. 

The other question I get is, "why do you do that?"

My answer is rarely prosaic. So allow me to note what Roger Bannister, the first man ever to run a mile in under four minutes, wrote in his aptly named book Four Minute Mile, "[Running] gives a man or woman the chance to bring out power that might otherwise remain locked away inside. The urge to struggle lies in everyone. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."

Thank you Dr. Bannister for giving me something to think about during the race. I need it since my race will take more than 50 times as long as your record-setting mile.

Consumer Escapes - The Kindle

A few years ago I was roundly chastised for buying my wife a Mother's Day present that plugged in. It was an appliance of some sort that I thought was cool, and it was received quite "coolly." OK so it wasn't jewelry. Since then I've worked hard to avoid gifts that have a plug. Until this year when I decided to get my wife a Kindle. I figured it only plugs in every few weeks, the rest of the time it's a sleek, sexy portable device with the promise of hundreds of books at her fingertips.

My daughter and I encouraged my wife to open her present on Friday evening. We knew she'd be consumed with other responsibilities on the Sunday of Mother's Day. She's been "plugged into" her Kindle since. Not simply hooked, she loves the device and she's barely even explored the capabilities. (Guess that's because she read a whole book already.) She's even picking out Kindle accessories from Amazon.com. Try doing that with a waffle iron.

My family also purchased a Kindle for my Mom for Mother's Day. I don't know if she's had the same immediate Kindle love. My Mom loves to escape with a good book, so I hope she gets the same pleasure out of the Kindle.

In chronicling these two new additions to the Kindle family I realized that my mother and wife are my two best sources for new books to read; whether it's a great find at the library, the new bestseller from Costco or an old classic. That's going to change greatly. But Father's Day is only 41 days away (not that I'm counting or anything) and I have no problem with gifts that plug in.