ART | FOOD | RUN

Okay, so what the hell is ART | FOOD | RUN? I have my brother to thank. He has this bucket list that apparently requires him to risk his continued existence—flying down mountains on a bike, hiking across the country, and sleeping on dirt in the freezing cold or blistering heat. Some of his other ideas sound tame until you actually do them. I get wanting to do things before you bite the dust, but flirting with pain and discomfort doesn't seem like a great way to spend the second half of my existence.

So I started thinking about what I would like to do, preferably while staying alive. I'm a tad underqualified to save the world, so I settled on three things I love: running, photography, and eating. Ooooo, cool—I get to make a numbered list. Here goes...

1. Running. Okay, let's call it jogging. I'm not fast, but speed isn't the point. Jogging played a big part in my weight loss. Did I mention I lost a shit ton of weight and kept it off for almost a decade? No? Maybe that's another book. Back when I was a lot rounder, I used to make fun of people who talked about a runner's high. What the hell does that mean? Are you on drugs? Turns out they weren't. That high is real. Running can turn a rotten day around. I could leave work ready to blow up the world, and by the end of a 10K, I'd shelved the imaginary C4. I felt better during a run and after it.

2. Photography. I love finding a scene most people might pass by and making a picture that feels like mine. I like mixing black and white with a bit of color, and I'm not afraid to sharpen the hell out of an image. An extra-crunchy piece of art? Yes, please.

3. Eating. A small town is even better when it has a local restaurant. I want to try something good, take a picture of it, and tell you whether the meal lived up to the menu. I'm also very willing to investigate dessert. Somebody has to do it.

None of these things sound as heroic as my brother's thrill-seeking adventures. That's fine. I decided to visit a small town in each of the fifty states and do all three: make a photograph, go for a run, and eat somewhere local. Each state gets its own chapter, with whatever happened along the way.

I originally thought this journal was just for me. I wasn't planning to make copies. Then I realized I was writing an introduction and wondered who the hell I was talking to. Apparently, me. And now, maybe you.

Is this a silly way to spend time, money, and patience? Maybe. But I get to see places I might never have seen, meet people I might never have met, and make something out of it. Also, I get to eat pie. My brother can keep the mountains.