Thanks for taking the time to comment, Joseph, I really appreciate it, and it’s made me glad I published the post. If you enjoyed the piano, I hope you can find a way to get back to it – it’s so rewarding as you progress.

Thanks for sharing that story, it’s very moving and inspiring. I dabbled on the piano for the first time at the start of lockdown and really enjoyed the focus and presence it required (have since stopped as I only borrowed the keyboard for a few weeks)

Your story has made me consider the time I spend with my parents and how the small things we brush over in the good times take on a much bigger significance when times aren’t so good.

I missed the author of Conflict Communication. Who is it, please?

I took the train to and from Chicago today. Going up and most of coming back I read a Richard Bell naturalist book and then went back to C.S.Lewis ” Surprised by Joy”. Lewis just made a similar comment to yours-you can read everywhere-books, not magazines. He too listed some tomes he read in certain situations! Joel and C.S., quite a pair!

My first “commercial” flight was on Aeroflot? 1977, from Montreal (Aeroflot wasn’t allowed in the U.S. at the time) to Moscow, via France. My trip was smoother than yours.

Looking forward to pursuing your reading list!

Interesting point! I think modern warmup theory (general warmup + dynamic stretches first, static stretches after) kind of meshes well with what would have ‘naturally’ happened: it’s unlikely (though possible) that anyone would go from zero motion to a full sprint, but also a lack of chairs and a great deal of general physical activity would have given most cave-dwellers a fairly decent base of fitness, with none of the weird imbalances people get from chairs these days…

The one that always threw me was the need to do stretching exercises before and after exercise.

When deciding to run down a mammoth or two I can’t imagine all the hunters first did a series of vigorous stretching exercises. They just walked to the hunting ground, warming up as they moved and then went into hunting mode when they needed to.

Once successful I doubt they did a series of stretching exercises to chill out again either. Stripping, preparing and carrying meat back to camp should have been sufficient.

I tend to listen to podcasts – Carlin and the gang – when I’m cooking/walking, but maybe I should give some books a go…

Thanks, Nathan, always nice to hear. Give them a share if you can! The more people who read them, the more motivated I am to keep writing.