Til Tuesday

The view southbound on Inner Lake Shore Drive, taken on a CTA bus, Jan. 8, 2008, 1:30 p.m.

I'm sitting at work listening to the end of "Creep" by Radiohead and watching the rain fall over the CNA building and the Field Museum. I just read on the Chicago Tribune website that another 15-year-old was shot and killed in Logan Square last night. Does it ever end? Violence continues to perpetuate around the world. God's heart does ache.

1:15 p.m. I leave my orthopedic surgeon's office for what will probably be the last time. There remains a 2 cm. difference between my left and right quadricep muscles. Dr. G is glad to hear that I'm back at the gym and laughed at my holiday excuses because he did the same. He encouraged me to keep working on strengthening the quads and to hold on running until I notice some definite improvement. I'm to follow-up with him in six months if I'm having any problems with the knee at that time. It has been a little over four months since surgery. It seems like I lost a huge chunk of time from July 27th (the day of the final, fateful run) up through physical therapy, but that is now all in the past and I'm ready to make another go at it.

On the way back downtown, I saw a camel while riding the No. 151 bus through Lincoln Park.