I wasn't planning to talk about how much I hate this time of year, but I did.

I hate Halloween. It's the last time I saw my mother coherent. We watched part of "The Fog."

Later that night, she was suffering. I had to make a call to give her morphine to ease her pain.

She died a few days later.

This time of year is crap for me and my sister.

This year, as a pandemic rages and our country seems poised on the brink of civil war, I am having a hard time focusing on running.

Photo: Clara Zmurk on the day she eloped with Don Pazdera, circa 1954 (I think).