Chris Palladino’s Blog

It has been a while since I wrote about running. During the spring I experienced several setbacks with an injury and at times just being too busy. However, as the end of the semester drew near my weekly mileage was on the rise. This was a positive sign due to the runs I committed to during the first half of the summer.

Memorial Day weekend was the first memorial run. Several years ago somel of my Virginia running friends and I conjured up a “fun run” on the Appalachian Trail near Charlottesville. We were attempting multiple ascents up a pair of ridges called The Priest and Three Ridges. In 15 hours we completed 2 ascents up each peak, 40 miles, and 16,000+ feet of elevation gained and lost. It was a great time of fellowship and encouraging one another in the ways the Lord has been working in our lives. Furthermore, the views were outstanding!! We also met and chatted with several through-hikers (people hiking the entire 2,000+ mile AT). I enjoy listening to their stories and learning their trail names. My favorites that weekend were Prairie Dog and his friend Angry Beaver. Between ascents, we enjoyed soaking/swimming in the Tye River with our wives and children.

The second memorial run, The Equinox, was held on the weekend of the Solstice (long story). Bucks County Road Runners hosted the event at Tyler State Park in Lower Bucks County, about 15 minutes from campus. The park boasts over 10 miles of bike trail and is very hilly. A runner could complete any distance as the race was a actually a series of races that are competed in the BCRR winter race series with names like the Polar Bear 8 miler, Covered Bridge 5k, Eenie Meenie half-marathon, and Jingle Bell 5.3 miler among others. I finished all the races but one (the Tyler Challenge 9.3 miler) due to a wedding I had to attend. In all, I ran 40.7 miles in the rain and got to see Tyler State Park from just about every angle and loop imaginable.

The third memorial run took place in Washington DC last weekend. I accepted an invitation to attend the DCLA youth rally to represent the University at an information booth. Our accommodations were located several blocks from the White House. So … on Saturday morning I decided to tour the memorials and the monuments. I started out running toward the Capitol Building and toured its grounds. Then as I ran down the opposite side of the mall I stopped in a sculpture garden that displayed pieces by Rodin, Giacometti, and de Kooning. From there I swung around the tidal basin, stopping at the Jefferson Memorial, the George Mason Memorial, and the FDR Memorial. After these stops I journeyed onto the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. During the last leg of the run I ran around the Washington Memorial, then to the White House, and back to the hotel.
I am hoping to compete again by the end of the summer (it has been over a year). Other runs I am planning this summer include my annual birthday run (a fun run where I run a mile for each year of my life) and possibly several Appalachian Trail runs (at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in PA, the Susquehanna River and Peters Mountain in PA, and the Delaware Water Gap in NJ).

See you on the Trail!

Posted by Chris Palladino at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This summer, I taught both World Civilizations I and II. I enjoy the discussions with the students especially within the extended classroom setting that summer session and our new J-term offer. Being together for long periods of time brings the students closer together in fewer classes. Part of the final exams are three short essays evaluating the conversations, the primary source readings, and the time periods studied.

Here is a sampling of the students’ favorites in their own words. In the parentheses following each quote, I placed the question, the time period, or the primary source that inspired the discussion:

“…whether we would want to live in anarchy or tyranny if we only had these two to choose from.” (Spartan Education by Plutarch; Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Thucydides)

“…a Christian’s place within the political system.” (Conversion of Emperor Constantine; The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky, chapter one)

“…how we looked at the Great Pyramids in Egypt and then speculated on what their civilization would be like based on the buildings … we determined that they were engineers, mathematicians, dreamers, artists, concerned about the afterlife, and they had an understanding of anatomy.” (Building the Pyramids by Herodotus)

“…why does man create/need heroes? It made me ask whether these things are natural and innate?, How should I respond?, What does this reveal about humanity?, About God?” (The Iliad, Death of Hector by Homer)

“…the impact of architecture on society … I did not realize the significant part it played in history.” (Analysis of Greek architecture and the idea of beauty in buildings; Documentary called The Greeks from the PBS Empire Series)

“…the discussion on written language. I never thought of its advent as a form of technology and wrestled with its impact in shaping the world and how we perceive it.” (The birth of writing in Sumer)

I had a great time with World Civilization I and II, and I’m grateful for the students I was learning with. In the near future I will post some the highlights on the second class.

Posted by Chris Palladino at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week several of my friends and I were discussing a variety of subjects including literature, poetry, theology, culture, sociology, and history. After four or five hours the conversation wandered to the French Revolution, Napoleon, the Romantic era, and Beethoven. A friend and fellow PBU graduate, Nathan Jumper, is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in musicology. His insight on the discussion was enriching. I shared that I would be teaching on the Romantic period the next day and was planning on using pieces of music from Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Verdi. However, it was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (4th movement) that I was going to highlight. Many years ago my wife and I attended the Roanoke (VA) Symphony’s performance of this piece. The conductor explained that they were recording the concert and asked the audience to hold their applause with the exception of the 4th movement because, he explained, “I could not stop you if I tried.” This sentiment echoes the triumphant power of this finale.

While discussing this, Nathan asked if I was familiar with Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony (last movement). As he explained it within the context of the post-Romantic Age, chills went down my arms. I imagined “a conversation between the triumphant Ninth Symphony with all its optimistic power and the smashing realism and sputtering of the Sixth Symphony”. I wondered if these pieces of music could serve as bookends of 19th century Europe. I am looking forward to studying more and discussing these in a future World Civilizations class, Teaching Social Studies, and Student’s Life and Calling.

I recommend that you take a moment to listen carefully to these pieces. As you do, think about the final words of T.S. Eliot’s 1925 poem, The Hollow Men,

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Posted by Chris Palladino at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)