Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Disclosure

  • Home
  • Your Survival
    • Special Report: FOOD SHORTAGE: Crazed Hoarding Is Not Preparing
    • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
    • Constitutional Carry
    • EMP Threat
    • Tucker Explains
    • Newport Gas Outage
    • Water
      • Emergency Water Storage
      • Let There Be Water
    • Get Your Gun and Your Training Now
    • Satellite Phones
    • Navy SEAL Survival Kit
  • Your Money
    • Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • Looking for a Better America
    • You Invest, They Win
    • Where to Keep Your Cash
    • Paris
    • How to Buy a Boat
    • Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing
    • Is Vanguard too Big?
    • Cryptocosm and Life After Google
    • The Last Intelligence Report
    • The Truth Behind the S&P 500
    • RAGE Gauge
    • How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?
    • Your Retirement Life
    • You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life
  • Weapons
    • Self Defense
    • Every Family Should Own at Least One Shotgun: Here Are Three
  • About Me
    • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”
    • Preparing for Times Like These
    • My Videos/Pics
    • Music
      • RIP Neil Peart: You Will Always Be Remembered as a “Modern-Day Warrior”
    • Your Survival Guy: Make Your Bed and The Hero Code
  • You
    • Our Cabin on Kodiak, Alaska
    • If You Are in Pain, this May Help. It Helped Me.
    • How to Save for a Grandchild
    • FIRE! Financial Independence, Retire Early
    • Compound Interest
    • Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses
    • Maximum Portfolio Withdrawal Rate
    • An Efficient Frontier
    • Retirement Compounders
    • Counterbalanced Total Returns
  • Survive & Thrive
    • January 2023: Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
    • December 2022: Your Survival Guy Prefers Bombardier’s Global Express 7500
    • November 2022: Arriving in Style at Le Bristol Hotel, Paris
    • October 2022: Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
    • September 2022: Do You Have the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
    • August 2022: “Watch This Boat off Our Stern,” My Dad Said “He’s Coming in HOT”
    • July 2022: MONEY TALKS: Your Survival Guy’s Best Service in Paris
    • June 2022: “I’ve Been with Richard Young for Over 30 Years Now”
    • May 2022: Survive “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail”
    • April 2022: Dream On! Fishing the Double Down in Key West
    • March 2022: Your Survival Guy Hears the Craziest Investing Stories
    • February 2022: Your Survival Guy’s 2022 Super States
    • January 2022: The Least Affordable Housing Market in the U.S.
    • December 2021: Listen Your Survival Guy is not “Mr. Peanut”
    • November 2021: Joe Biden is Weaponizing Your 401(k) Against You
    • October 2021: Time to Get Your Lazy Cash Off the Couch
    • September 2021: What’s Your Survival Guy Investing in Right Now?
    • August 2021: To Where Will You Flee?
    • July 2021: This Bubble’s Popped Baby
    • June 2021: Your Survival Guy’s Summer Job, Inflation & You
    • May 2021: You’re Telling Me Friends Ask You This Question
    • April 2021: Is There One Best Place in America for ‘Liberty Retirees?’
    • March 2021: America’s Growth Corridors
    • February 2021: Troops in D.C. & Your Authoritarian Virtual Panopticon
    • January 2021: Are You Ready for The Great Reset?
    • December 2020: Disaster Prep in Our Newport Bunker and Your Survival
    • November 2020: Election 2020 Edition: Stock Market is Predicting a Trump Win
    • October 2020: You Invest They Win, AGAIN
    • September 2020: Proud to be an American: Pro-Trump Parade Turns Rhode Island Red
    • August 2020: The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
    • July 2020: What Will Her Life Be Like Now?
    • June 2020: Your Survival Guy’s Home (and Money) Protection Plan
    • May 2020: Future Look at Covid-20, or the Next Deadly Virus
    • April 2020: Only Trump Saw the Risk in America’s Relationship with China
    • March 2020: Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • February 2020: Escape the City: Live Small, Cheap, and Safe in America
    • January 2020: Is Your Cash Safe? Probably not This Safe
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • Welcome

Forty Years Ago, Jogging a Mile a Day and Still Going

January 18, 2023 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By sutadimages @ Shutterstock.com

“Forty years ago. After getting out of bed, I jogged a mile on the streets of LA to make my 29-year-old self feel better,” begins Dan Shaugnessy, long-time sports columnist for The Boston Globe. “And I never stopped. One mile a day. A four-decade, slow-motion grind that has taken me more than 14,500 miles, across America and back — twice! Practically Gumpish.”

You know Your Survival Guy is a big fan of compounding. Literally putting one foot in front of the other can create miracles for investors. I’m living proof of that. You don’t need to run a marathon a day to do it.

Shaugnessy writes:

For a long while, it was a legitimate streak, almost Ripkenesque. I’d never miss. But I must confess that there have been gaps, especially in the last 10 years. A kidney stone halted the madness in 2012 and a shattered collarbone shelved me in 2015. There are a handful of other misses due to lost luggage, a knockout flu, sinus surgery, and one day when I overslept, rushed to an interview, and just plain forgot.

But for the most part, it’s been a Belichickian “no days off” exercise of daily drudgery. According to my old-school year-in-review datebooks (yes, still keep them), I went 365 for 365 in 33 of those 40 years, including every day between 1990-2012.

Before he was owner of this paper, Red Sox boss John Henry had some fascination with my stupid streak, which came to his attention on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, when the Sox flew a 382-seat Boeing 747 to Japan for the start of the baseball season.

A few writers were allowed to fly with the team from Fort Myers to Tokyo, and somewhere over Alaska, my streak got Henry’s attention.

While Dustin Pedroia played a 10-hour card game in the massive main level, media members sat in the upstairs portion of the aircraft. I was explaining my jogging-streak dilemma to Jerry Remy when the Red Sox owner wandered upstairs to get a better look at the Northern Lights.

Henry joined our conversation. I explained that it was all about “losing” Thursday. We’d flown out of Florida late Wednesday afternoon, landed in Chicago to refuel, then launched our long flight to Japan. The jumbo jet was scheduled to land in Tokyo just before midnight Thursday. This meant it would officially be Friday morning by the time we got to the hotel.

So Thursday was gone. Same with my streak.

Ever a numbers guy, Henry was fascinated with the nonsense and had a solution.

“You could probably jog up and down the aisles of this plane and have it count for Thursday,” said the owner.

No. Too impractical and embarrassing, I declared. I told them I’d jog the mile after we got to the hotel. It would be after midnight, but downtown Tokyo is super safe and it would still count for Thursday. Then I could get up Friday morning, and resume the routine.

Henry was gobsmacked.

“This is more interesting than anything you’ll write on this trip,” he said.

Larry Lucchino thought otherwise.

“No good,” said the Red Sox CEO. “You’re missing Thursday. I’m disputing the streak.”

Whatever. There would be other times when the streak would be interrupted, but losing a whole day to air travel and time change goes down as one of the more bizarre moments in this 40-year routine.

Streak or no streak, I am the Johnny Cash of short-distance plodders. I’ve been everywhere, man: the sands of Key Biscayne and the swamps of New Jersey; along the snow-covered turnpike between Stockbridge and Boston; in the shadow of the book depository in Dealey Plaza; in Annapolis and Indianapolis, past the Alamo in San Antonio, and across the street from the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. In 1989, I jogged on San Francisco’s empty streets, which were sprinkled with shattered glass after the World Series earthquake.

In 2002, I trudged around the New Orleans Superdome while 24-year-old Tom Brady was being driven to his first MVP morning-after press conference. Two years later, I lumbered around the Adams Mark Hotel in St. Louis while the newly crowned world champion Red Sox were landing at Logan by dawn’s early light. In June of 2011, I plodded around a Vancouver neighborhood while the Bruins were flying home with the Stanley Cup.

Folks around the world have looked curiously and compassionately at this slow, doughy, red-faced American whose feet never fully leave the ground as he makes his way. I’ve taken it to the streets of Dublin, Sydney, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Valderrama, Gibraltar, Montreal, Paris, Quebec City, Galway, Seoul, Rome, and Palermo.

I jogged on the days my children and grandchildren were born. When 8-year-old Kate Shaughnessy had leukemia in 1993 and lived at Children’s Hospital to be cured, I would alert the noble nurses and lumber down Brookline Ave. for 12 minutes, sometimes returning with a bag of doughnuts for Kate and the staff.

That 12-minute mile is a thing of the past. Old age is not a friend of this slower-than-syrup ancient miler. As 70 beckons, my pathetic pace has become downright embarrassing. This isn’t running anymore, nor is it jogging; it is an old-man shuffle. Seventh-graders walking to school blast past me, hopefully oblivious to the notion that they are walking faster than the old guy who is supposed to be running.

Stripped of all vanity and pride, I soldier on, even after being passed on the sidewalk by a not-so-young woman pushing a baby stroller.

Springsteen was born to run. I was born to shuffle. And there have been no glory days on this 40-year slog. The road never rose to meet me and the wind was never at my back.

But I’ll be back out there tomorrow. And the day after.

Action Line: Put one foot in front of the other. Don’t let inertia hold you back. If you need help to get going on the first mile of your investment journey, let’s talk.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

  • Warren Miller: If You Don’t Do It This Year, You’ll Be… - January 30, 2023
  • Your Investment Focus Is the Foundation for Success - January 30, 2023
  • CATO: Global Freedom Is in Sharp Decline - January 27, 2023
  • TIME FOR A GONDOLA? Little Cottonwood Canyon Jammed with Traffic - January 27, 2023
  • Biden Administration Destroying Retiree Fiduciary Protections - January 27, 2023

If you enjoyed this post, email it to a friend:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp

Related Posts

Money 101

Trending

  • 4 Life Changing Words for Your Survival Guy: “You Should Try This”
  • Invest with Peace of Mind and Comfort
  • LOSING POWER: Your Survival Guy's Nightmare Scenario
  • Welcome to Hotel California, Where You Can Never Leave
  • The Importance of a Balanced Portfolio
  • Stocks Go Up and Down: Get Paid Along the Way
  • Your Survival Guy's 2022 Super States
  • The World Economic Forum's Record of Destruction
  • America's Super States and Stocks that Respect YOU
  • Don't Let Your Lazy Cash Eat all Your Food

Must Reads

  • BLACKROCK’S BITCOIN-ESG PARADOX: You Can’t Have It All
  • When Markets Fall, All Is Not Lost
  • Some Lessons You Just Can’t Get from a Textbook
  • Your Survival Guy’s 2022 Super States: #1 New Hampshire
  • Parents Are the New Tea Party. Bad Schools Are the New High Taxes.
  • Your Survival Guy at Fidelity and Your RMD Compliance
  • HELLO: “How’s It Going? I Don’t Know Anything”
  • How to Avoid Going Back to Work after Retirement
  • INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE: Does This Make You Feel Safer?
  • Why You Can’t Afford to Miss the Boat
Only if You’re Serious
Crazed Hoarding Is not Preparing
How to Save Rainwater Effectively
Your Survival Guy in Paris
Your Survival Guy's Fishing Stories
Financial Independence, Retire Early
Money 101
Pandemic Creates Virtual Panopticon
Emergency Water Storage
Find Freedom in America
Second Amendment
How Can You Save Money for Your Grandchild
Great Reset
See Who's Missing the Boat
Richard  Young Reports
How You Can Save Money for Your Grandchild
Why Fidelity is Number One
The Best States for Survival
You Invest, They Win
Escape the City
Why Vanguard is Too Big for YOU
Island Life

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.