All Posts By

John Bingham

All posts by John Bingham

Apr 29 2013
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Sweet Caroline

By | The Penguin Archives | 3 Comments

Sometimes the best that can happen is exactly what happens. At this past weekend’s Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon what should have been an annoyance turned into a spontaneous expression of hope and joy. As the running community finds its way to healing and recovery from the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon, there will be grand gestures and small remembrances. In Nashville we had some of both. There were runners who had been in Boston but weren’t able to finish who came to bring closure to their experience. Or, at least something that passes for closure in the…

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Apr 16 2013
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The Morning After

By | The Penguin Archives | 11 Comments

This morning there are things that we know. Things that we don’t know. There are images that we will remember and images that we can’t forget. There are stories of tragedy, stories of courage. What I still can’t get used to hearing is “the bombing at the Boston Marathon.” I can’t make this make sense. The words just don’t go together. What I hear most often this morning is “Why?” Why would anyone do this? Why would anyone want to kill and maim innocent wives, husbands, children, friends, and family? We ask this as if there was an answer that…

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Apr 11 2013
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The Soul of the Planet

By | The Penguin Archives | One Comment

I suppose all of us have a place where we feel most at peace. I know I spent a lot of years looking for that one spot on earth where my rhythms and the rhythms of the universe were in synch. I found moments when there was harmony; literally and figuratively. Once, while performing the Berlioz Requiem with the National Symphony, as part of the antiphonal brass choir, I felt as though I had been transported to some magical place. The music around me combined with my own music, was transcendent. They were also ephemeral. When the final chord faded,…

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Mar 10 2013
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Facebook Friend-see

By | The Penguin Archives | 2 Comments

When Facebook first come into the national consciousness I had no idea what it was or what it could do. I couldn’t even figure out how to get an account so I hired a recent college graduate, a 20-something computer whiz, to establish my Facebook presence. He created two pages; a John Bingham page [Facebook/jjbingham] and a “Penguin” page [Facebook/john the penguin bingham] What I didn’t know then was that the personal page, John Bingham, allowed people to “friend” you. The “penguin” page only allowed people to “like” you. And, as you know, you are limited to 5,000 Facebook friends,…

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Feb 25 2013
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Unplugged

By | The Penguin Archives | No Comments

It’s hard to remember a time when I wasn’t connected electronically to almost everything almost all of the time. I’ve had one email address or another for almost 30 years. I didn’t get a cell phone – or car phones as we called them back then – as early as my cousin did. His was about the size of a small suitcase and required professional installation. I can still recall the first time he called me from his car. I thought I was on an episode of Star Trek. I was so excited when they replaced the 1200 baud “Gandalf”…

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Feb 06 2013
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The Chicken and the Pig

By | The Penguin Archives | 4 Comments

My old buddy Coach Roy Benson had a simple way of explaining the difference between involvement and commitment. He would say that when you think of a breakfast of bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved, the pig is committed. With apologies to my Vegan friends, it certainly sums it up. I hear lots of talk about how today’s runners aren’t as committed to the sport as were the runners in the 70’s or 80’s. Today’s runners are criticized for not being willing to put in the time and miles. I hear that they’re only involved in the events and…

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Jan 31 2013
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The Well Lubricated Runner

By | The Penguin Archives | No Comments

Years ago I worked with a crusty, old [like maybe 40!] Scottish motorcycle mechanic named Stewart. His brogue and the fact that he had lost one leg below the knee in a motorcycle accident made him seem more like a pirate than a master mechanic. He used to fill the junior mechanics, me among them, with his hard-earned words of wisdom. The one that remains with me all these years later was: “If it CAN be lubricated it NEEDS to be lubricated and if it CAN be adjusted it NEEDS to be adjusted.” He had one other simple explanation for…

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Jan 24 2013
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For the Love of Running

By | The Penguin Archives | No Comments

I suppose a little context for this photo would help. On the left, as you look at the photo, is Frank Shorter. In the center is Steve Scott and on the right – waving his hands – is Rod Dixon. They are all legends in their own right if for no other reason than that they are Olympians. But they are so much more than that. And what they’ve been able to accomplish as athletes is no less astonishing now than it was when they were at the peak of their careers. Rod, the flying Kiwi, a New Zealander, has…

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Jan 06 2013
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Why I Won’t Wear a Fedora

By | The Penguin Archives | No Comments

I’m a hat guy. Anyone who’s a hat guy knows what I mean. I like hats. I really, REALLY like hats. If I go to an event, buy a hat. If I like a product, I buy a hat. If I like ANYTHING, I buy a hat. I have running hats, motorcycle hats, NASCAR hats, Army hats… let’s just say I have a lot of hats. The one hat that I don’t have, and don’t think I’ll ever have, is the Fedora, especially as it is worn these days. My grandfather wore a Fedora. A beautiful, dark gray Fedora. It…

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Dec 31 2012
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This Time for Sure

By | The Penguin Archives | One Comment

I am not a Blogger. I’m not sure that anyone is a blogger anymore, except people who insist on calling themselves “bloggers” because they, well, BLOG. Blogger, it seems to me, kind of went the way of “jogger”. Runners used to call  joggers “joggers” because they didn’t want them confused with “runners.” If you’re a “runner” you want to make sure that everyone knows that you’re not a jogger. I am a writer. Well, no, that’s not exactly true. I have written. I’ve authored. But, I think most writers would consider me a columnist. Old school writers and a lot…

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