running and philosophizing

on the other side of the red river from fargo is morehead, MN, home to Concordia College and philosopher matt. for those keeping score, philosopher matt is not to be confused with gandhi matt in portland, though they have philosophy in common. philosopher matt is a philosopher by trade, not just avocation, and is nearing the end of a three-year stint at Concordia that may well continue on. he's from (very) small town indiana, grew up in an evangelical family and has developed a uniquely positioned perspective on faith and reason that's way more than just academic posturing. he's also a runner with remarkable range -- 1:55 (correct me if I'm wrong) for 800m in college to 2:42 for a hilly marathon -- and a touch more athletic than most runners: rail thin but capable of benching 250lbs* back in the day (*edited for accuracy and so as not to slight anyone's athleticism). most importantly he can sketch complex thoughts while running up steep hills...college roommate booboo may be a better storyteller-on-the-run, but philsopher matt wins on quality per mile at pace. so this is a long introduction, but philosophy and running are what we do (okay, I'm faking both right now), training together intermittently (mostly because of my frequent retirements from running and general absenteeism) and bouncing deep thought beachballs around on runs. the gaps between runs grow increasingly longer (with repeated conversations and tales the result, though this is also a symptom of the aging academic), but the idea synthesis still works. I know that I could finish the dissertation if it were possible to dictate it to philsopher matt over the course of a few months of consistent runs. distilling thoughts we do well.

so I pulled into philosopher matt's driveway in morehead in the early evening after winding through downtown fargo and after an initial lap past his house...which sits a bit precariously close to the flood-prone river, though apparently just high enough that it didn't require the sandbags his neighbors' places did in the last couple of floods. he's renting this well-lit little house, sparsely furnished as you'd expect since he's still technically based in cincinnati -- his guitar and a table were the most substantial possessions I saw. and after dusting accumulated arthropoda off my gear, we set out for a quick jog along the summertime sedate river. the discussion this time was on 'shopcraft and soulcraft' and competence and labor. and then to JL Beers for burgers and local brew in a surprisingly cosmopolitan fargo. a handful of colleges make for a downtown strip that is way more impressive than dayton's...so perhaps I don't have to escape to the coast. we squeezed in another run in the morning and a family diner breakfast, and it was back on the road...next discussion run TBA.