Day 5 February 20, 2008
It’s quite a bit colder than my last outing. There are a few snowflakes falling but no accumulation is expected. Flurries are more fun to run in than a similar amount of light rain. After a half hour you haven’t been soaked from the outside in, as can happen even in slight drizzle. A few flakes dust the lawns and streets without causing any inconvenience. They take away the depressing grayness of winter during their short stay on this earth.
I’m running the Southwestern half of Highland Park today, the area bounded by Arlington Road, Ardmore Avenue, West Chester Pike and State Road. Thirteen years ago when we were looking to buy a house after renting on Westdale for five years, my wife and I forced our real estate agent to show us about three dozen homes. On just about every block that I pass today I see a house that I’ve been through top to bottom. I can’t help but wonder how my life would have been different if we had moved there instead of our current home. My sons’ schools wouldn’t have changed and the general neighborhood is the same, but neighbors can have a big influence either way on your quality of life. Nasty neighbors with a mean dog barking all night may have expatriated us from Upper Darby to the Exton exurbs. Luckily we’ve been blessed where we moved. I hope that my neighbors feel the same way.
On this run I pass my library, Sellers Library. The old portion, which contains the children’s books, has a historical marker which reads:
“Abraham L. Pennock This prominent abolitionist and patron of the arts resided here at Hoodland until his death in 1868. The home had been built in 1823 by his father-in-law, John Sellers II. A leader in the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Abraham Pennock also was an advocate of woman suffrage, and active in the temperance movement. Notable visitors to his home included John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell.”
So our old Abe liked poetry and women, but not booze or slavery. The more recently added brick wing is a boxy architectural clashing, which proves that the temperance movement failed. School kids visiting are told that this was a stop on the underground railroad. Delaware County historical societies claim more underground railroad stations than there are current SEPTA ones.
When I get back and plot my route, I see that I have missed the three block long section of South Madison Avenue. So much for careful planning.
Distance: 5.59 miles Time: 53 min 46 sec Pace: 9:37 min/mile
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