Happy Tuesday

Before we get started, I will say that this is a Seinfeld post. In other words, it’s a post about nothing. My mom gets mad if I take too much time off, however, so I figured I needed to write something. Also, this is funny.

The news of the day will be the national championship game. By the time you read this it will be settled, but as of writing the game has yet to be played. I am excited about the game and seeing Alabama play for another ‘ship. Unfortunately, we are spoiled, this being our fourth championship appearance in seven years. I must admit that it’s been more difficult getting up for this one than it was for the first in this run in ’09. My poor children are in for a shock as they get older and realize that playing the NC isn’t something that happens very often. In any event, I hope the Tide played hard and gave a good accounting of themselves last night.

As for me, things are peachy. I’m writing this from the chemo chair as I get my biweekly dose of Irinotecan. The main side effect of this drug is potentially life-threatening diarrhea (Of the things that might get me, dear lord, don’t let it be diarrhea). Although this is the moist common side effect, it hasn’t bothered me just yet. Nausea, vomiting, cramps and fatigue have been the trade-off. As with the Gemzar and Cisplatin, however, I’ve handled things pretty well. That my body has dealt with chemo side effects so well is certainly a blessing, and something I’m very thankful for. Many of the people in the room with me right now aren’t nearly as fortunate.

For now, there is still hair under the hat.
It's just freezing out there!

Speaking of the people in the room- I am by at least a decade the youngest here virtually every visit. I would wager that most of the folks here are at least in their sixties. What I wouldn’t give to live for another twenty years in order to die young in my sixties (as David Bowie did today, God rest him). Unfortunately, that does not appear to be my fate. Fortunately, I can make peace with that.

On the whole, life is good these days. I will do my best to come up with some more entertaining/engaging topics in the coming weeks (if you have any ideas, please let me know). Until then, ya’ll be good.

I've spent my time in the chair today listening to Depeche Mode. With so many good tunes, it's tough to play favorites, but for today let's go with this, this and this.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Before we jump in, a quick update. When I started this latest round of chemo, the doctor in Houston noted that it works about 25% of the time and when it works it's usually dos so for a couple of months. The good news is that a scan last week indicated that the main mass is responding and there are no new lesions. Whether it’s two months or two weeks, I’ll enjoy the good news for as long as I can. I’ve done a terrible job of keeping up my correspondence during the last couple of weeks. If I’ve failed to respond to a text, email, call, or IM, please accept my apologies. I’ll do better next year!

The Rushing family took to the road last week as we decided to spend Christmas week in New York. As it was the boys first trip to the city, we spent the majority of our time doing magnificently touristy things – the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the Empire State building, Central Park, The Met, The Lion King*, and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular**. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. It rained most of the time we were there, making for a number of soggy slogs through the city. The cloud cover also prevented to boys from ever getting the iconic view of the city skyline (most egregiously on the only day we could go up the Empire State Building- zero visibility). It was also somewhat difficult to get in the Christmas spirit while it was 74 degrees out. Fortunately, we managed to get over the weather and enjoyed a fine few days.

Our selfie with the Statue of Liberty.

Against better judgment, we stayed near Times Square. Last time I was there was for my bachelor party. The place has changed a lot in thirteen years. The number of LED billboards has grown exponentially, and it appears to be more family friendly. However, on one walk back to the hotel, my oldest said “Hey dad, let's eat dinner at The Cheetah, they have sushi. Plus, it’s a gentleman’s club, and I’m a gentleman.” My tap dance around that was indeed worthy of Broadway.

The young one and the iconic view of the New York City skyline.

This, my friends, is the last post of 2015. It was an up and down year to be sure. The news of the year came in March when I was diagnosed with stage IV gall bladder cancer. Obviously, this was a downer, but it could be worse. I think I’ve done a reasonable job of handling the situation.

A view of the city from the Empire State Building.

On the up side, I got to travel a bit this year. I took the oldest to England, the youngest to Atlanta, and both of them to Washington D.C. I crossed a couple of American buildings off my architectural bucket list with my wife (the Kimbell in Fort Worth and Fallingwater in Pennsylvania). I crossed off a couple of others on a solo trip to Istanbul. The whole crew vacationed in Seaside, New York, and Disney. We traveled extensively in the tri-state area, watching young men play soccer. I worked with dear friends in Iowa. I took my medicine in Houston and Nashville. I kept my medallion level with Delta, and according to them I traveled about the same number of miles as I did in 2014. Not a bad year at all.

The statistics say that 2016 will be my last year. Whether or not this will be the case remains to be seen. Since that is largely out of my control, I’m not stressing about it too much. I don’t suspect that I will be able to travel as robustly as I have for the past several years, but I’m going to do my best to get out and about while I still feel like it. There is, however, plenty to look forward to this year: will Alabama make it another national Championship? Where will the boys end up going to school? Will I be able to beat the Crushing Big C Countdown Clock? Stay tuned for the answers to these and many more 2016 questions- see you next year!

*Were it left to me, I don;t think we would have gone to a show where the dad dies and leaves his progeny to fight hyenas. The boys seemed to enjoy it, however, so I won't quibble.

**I am shocked that the NY libs have let this one stand- a show with a line of dancing girls, a nativity scene, and the Christmas story actually read from the bible. I suspect it’s only a matter of time before this one is rewritten to become a “Holiday Spectacular”.

What Now

Hey ya’ll, I’m back in the saddle again, trying to try to keep my blogging discipline. In Rushing sports news, basketball season for the boys tipped off this weekend. The youngest scored in his team’s 28-0 victory. The oldest scored 20 in a 24-2 win. I love watching the boys play soccer, but it’s a nice change of pace to watch some hoops. If we can keep young egos and attitudes in check, this should be a fun season. I’ll try to try to keep you posted.

Over the past few weeks and months I’ve been confronted with the question of “what now ?” I’ve settled into a pretty close facsimile of normal life. D and I go to work, the boys go to school, and we spend our weekend together on some adventure (or sport) or another. Some of the details are different- I have to pop in for chemo every couple of weeks, a few days a month I have to carry a pump around, my eating habits aren’t quite what they used to be, and I don’t have near the stamina I did. In broad strokes, however, this is pretty close to life as normal. Except that it’s not.

My professional career is rooted in planning for the future. My current work in Chattanooga, planning the future of an organization that is focused on the future of the community, makes this doubly so. It is a surreal experience to prepare for the next year, the next three years, the next twenty years knowing that I’m not actually going to be a part of it. The flip side of that coin is that I am somewhat prepared, as planners are used to the metaphoric concept of planting trees, the shade of which they will never enjoy.

Despite that preparation, I don’t really know what I should be doing now. Let’s say I’m within the last 6 months (give or take) of life. Should I be doing something profound and exciting? Should I be writing Facebook posts listing the top ten things dying people want you to know? Should I be traveling my ass off trying to see cool buildings and exotic cultures? Will I look back from my deathbed and regret not doing something right now? I don’t know.

So many of the motivations of “normal life” all have future components to them. We work to gain experience so that we can be better at our jobs in the future. We try to excel to garner accolades that will enable us to get better work in the future. We work to earn money so that we can retire in the future. We put our children through school so that they can have a chance to succeed in the future. We eat and drink certain things so that we can have good health in the future. It’s amazing how much of our present time is dedicated to a future that we are not guaranteed.

What then is life when there is nothing to “look forward” to? There is only the present, or “living in the moment” as the kids like to say. When there is a limited future to work toward, what form does motivation take? I’m still trying to figure out the answer, but so far I have found that the promise of money, stuff, and acclaim have not moved me. I haven’t really figured anything out. I have not achieved any level of enlightenment or higher consciousness. This circumstance, however, has forced me to start thinking about life in a way that wasn’t possible before. It’s different, and while I wouldn’t say it’s good, it’s not altogether bad. Learning to live in the moment can be difficult when you’ve spent your life preparing for the future. I’m working on it though, and I’m getting much better.

I had to dig deep to find an image of the entire C.Rushing crew
at Christmas. This is the 2011 vintage (excuse the bed-head).

I’m afraid there is no moral to this story or tidy way to wrap it up. So I will leave you with those random thoughts. It occurs to me that this will be my last post before Christmas. Accept my sincerest apologies that the topic was not more in the spirit of the season. I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and hope that the promise of the season enables you to enjoy living in the moment while looking to the future. 

A Quick Trip

Over the past several weeks, I've tried to write- or perhaps more accurately, I’ve tried to try to write. All the ingredients are there, but I’m having a very difficult time pulling my thoughts together. Call me lazy. Sorry about that. In the meantime, life has been good, and I’ve settled into a semi-normal routine. The down side, however, is that at any time this little gig could be up (Sword of Damocles and all that). I have no update on my health, as far as I know the Crushing Big C Countdown Clock is still valid. I have a scan on Friday and if things change I’ll be sure to let you know.

Since my last post, ‘Bama beat Auburn, won an SEC Championship, and won a Heisman trophy. This has me a in a pretty good mood. I’m looking forward to the Michigan State game, but that seems an awfully long time away. I guess we’ll all have to take a break on that count.

This past weekend, the missus and I pulled a trip up and back to Pittsburgh in order to tick another building off of the list- Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. I did not particularly care for downtown Pittsburgh (although Market Square was pretty cool), but that assessment is virtually meaningless as it is based on being there less than 24 hours.

There is no denying the genius of Fallingwater. I must say, however, that the building did not hold sway over me in the same way that some of his other work has. The experience was definitely worth the trip, but it was not really a life-changer.

The fun of the trip was the trip itself. As perverse as it sounds, I enjoyed flying- I don’t even mind being in the Atlanta airport. I even enjoyed the drive- despite the numerous toll roads (a mostly yankee concept that does my head in), and the surprising fact that the Laurel Highlands seemed more like depressed Appalachia than scenic drive. I missed the boys, but it was good to travel, if only for 36 hours.

Back on the Bike

Back for more urban design this week...

The urban design story of the year is probably Broad Street. In 2013, I was lead consultant for the Center City Plan (client: River City Company). The plan’s primary recommendation for transportation was to reconfigure Broad Street- moving from three car lanes in each direction to two car lanes with a dedicated bike lane. This was a slam dunk recommendation for many reasons- excess capacity, origins and destinations, adjacent residential developments, (the list goes on). I admit, however, that I wasn’t overly optimistic about implementation in the short term, primarily due to costs and secondarily due to the fact that consultants are always making bike-related recommendations that never make it (I’m man enough to admit that I’m jaded on multi-modal proposals). Additionally, River City Company, not the City of Chattanooga, commissioned the plan and they have no control over implementation.

Lo and behold, this fall the City of Chattanooga unveiled a design and built the bike lanes from M.L. King to the Aquarium (7 blocks). Our boy B. Bailey (CDOT Director, C.Rushing crony, honorable Phi, and all-around stand up guy) and his excellent team did a great job of design and implementation, and the work was completed this fall. Of course, the reward for a job well done is criticism. The main point of contention is that we lost a small number of on street parking spaces. This criticism reminds me of those who fought against the Aquarium (who will come to Chattanooga to see catfish in a tank?), and the conversion of M.L. King and McCallie to two-way (there will be wrecks and carnage all of the place), and perhaps more appropriately, the fiber optic network. All of those projects ended up being successful.

Over time the criticism will die down as people adjust. The design is well suited to traffic volumes, so this should cause no real issue in the operation of the street. The big question, however, is not if the design will simply do no harm, but will the design function as intended and improve the corridor (and indeed downtown and the broader city). The answer to that ultimately lies in what CDOT decides to do next. The Broad Street bike lanes in isolation will not do much. Those lanes as part of a larger network, however, will have the potential to make a tremendous positive impact on the city. While it’s fine for the City to take stock of what has transpired to this point, they need to take care to not lose momentum. Broad Street seems the most difficult portion of the downtown core network, now that it is finished they need to move on to the next success. If they stop now, they will have gone through the tough portion without realizing the full benefits that they have worked so hard to generate.

I urge the City to strengthen their resolve and continue the work they’ve started. Any time you take on a project there will be critics. If you're convinced that your work is righteous, then you need to enthusiastically pursue it. There's no reason not to continue building the downtown network (posthaste). Indeed, continuing that work is the only thing that will unlock the promise of what they've already worked hard to achieve.

On the road this week, we'll see what kind of impact that on next week's post.

This week’s listen: Obviously.

Back on Topic

Thanks to the Falcon’s cheerleaders for the get well card. It will occupy a privileged position right next to the signed card Nick Saban sent a couple of months ago. Speaking of Saban, that was a quite a performance by the Tide D line on Saturday. Our offense and our secondary still make me nervous though. Our path to glory, however, is now set before us. Bring it on.

The tagline of my blog is “On urban design in Chattanooga. (and the Big C)”. I’ve been heavy on the C and light on design over the past eight months. For the next couple of weeks I’m going to try to drop a few thoughts on our fair city (I also realize that many of you could not care less about design and rely on this to get an update on my health, so I’ll quickly address that as well.)

Health Update: I’m still alive. I still have stage four gall bladder cancer in the form of a big ol' tumor in my abdomen that has invaded my liver and colon. As I have not been informed otherwise, I’m apparently still on track to die sometime this spring. In the meantime, I’m still struggling to regain the weight I lost in September. It’s starting to weigh on me psychologically, as every time I look in the mirror I see a skeksi. It's a daily discouragement. Aside from that, however, I’m doing as well as can be expected.

This is what I see in the mirror every day.
(But oh, how I love that movie)

There is so much going on in downtown Chattanooga right now, it’s difficult to decide just where to dive in. I’ve decided to start by closing the loop on an old thread. This will give us food for thought today and help set the table for a couple of things I want to write about next week. For this to make sense, you need to go read something that I wrote three years ago.

The good lord has seen fit to let me live long enough to see Noodle's close. Several years ago I lamented the unfortunate design/reuse of the old barber college for a chain restaurant. From an economic standpoint, I hate to see downtown businesses not do well, but the market doesn’t lie. From an urban design standpoint, this was a sub-urban concept without the sub-urb. I would like to think that this is an example of the market telling us that in downtown, people are looking for authenticity both in an urban experience and in food. Thankfully, downtown still has a noodle option.

The empty building provides an opportunity to examine a fundamental question of urbanism. Is it better to reuse the existing building or demolish it and replace it with something denser? Recycling and reuse are great. Saving a building from the landfill can be considered green development. It’s also the easy route. On the other hand, density is one of the defining characteristics of a downtown. Developing a multi-story building on the site increases density, provides the opportunity for a mixture of uses, and maximizes the productivity of the land. It is also difficult and involves risk.

In the end, the market will ultimately determine this question of urbanism. The reality is that safe money will likely find another tenant and not take on the risk of trying to shoehorn a larger building onto the site. Incidentally, this is one of the tragedies of the Applebee’s next door. If those two sites were combined, it would be a prime opportunity to create a signature development for downtown. A quarter block on 4th Street between Market and Broad- oh, the possibilities! Alas, that opportunity does not exist…yet. On a related note- Don’t eat at Applebee’s.

Tune o' the week: We cannot cheat the reapers reap.

Ups and Downs

Sorry I missed last week. I actually had 95% of this thing written, I just couldn’t get it over the hump before the posting deadline. 

That’s the thing about liberals, give them a cent and they’ll take a dollar. No less than a month after I gave them a tip of the cap on Obamacare, I got letter informing me that my premium is being raised by forty percent (40%!). Almost Doubled! This equates to hundreds of dollars per month. Per month! Meaning my insurance premiums have tripled since the passage of the ACA. Of course, in my situation I’m not too fazed because the alternative is having no insurance and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars (what’s an extra four grand a year). Please note, however, that this premium hike isn't due to my condition, it's simply the way Obamacare works. (By the way, I didn’t get to keep the plan I was happy with. Period). Were I not sick, this would've made me really mad.

This highlights why I am so put off of politics. People Politicians tell flat out, bald-faced lies and are never held accountable- in fact, it is an accepted, if not expected behavior. This is corrupt, it sucks, and I have no interest in participating in it. I can’t really stomach any of our republicans and the presumptive democratic nominee is a liar who will do or say anything to get the office (remember this?) Oh, and by the way, you’re not a Southerner so just stop. And now their number two is touting 'Real Change"- I wonder if that is anything like the so-called "Change We Can Believe In". (Please: no hate mail from my liberal friends- ya’ll know I love you anyway).

As for me, the past couple of weeks have been up (work) and down (health). I’ve been able to spend a significant amount of time in the office and have accomplished plenty. The work I’m doing is great fun, and it takes my mind off of all of the other stuff. Unfortunately, from a health standpoint, I can’t seem to shake these weight issues. Of my potential ailments, this one is the most frustrating- it’s tough to generate energy and gain weight when you’re throwing up most of the food you eat. In fact, I lost so much weight in between office visits (another ten lbs) that the doctor took me off chemo last week. In any event, all I can do is keep trying, and with any luck I will be back in the chemo chair this week. (how's that for luck)

One bright note is that I've found myself drawn back into the kitchen. I sous vided (which is arguably not cooking) a rack of lamb on Friday night, and for Sunday dinner I broke out Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Julia’s outstanding cassoulet (perfect for the weather- but imperfectly executed by me). In each case, I ached for a glass of wine- unfortunately, that's one of life’s pleasures that I will never again enjoy (I'm experimenting with chocolate as a substitute- think wine, eat chocolate).

All is well in the sporting world. In what might be the last time I get to witness it, Bama beat Tennessee to extend the streak to nine in a row (I can die now). The boys are both doing well on their respective soccer teams. Although I make a point not to equate scoring with playing well, they have both made a habit of putting the ball in the back of the onion bag. In keeping with the theme of wearing green in honor of gall bladder cancer, the CFC u11 boys unveiled a third jersey for Halloween- a green Hulk version with “Rushing Strong”* emblazoned on the back. (They lost both games in the Hulk, so hopefully we not see them again for a while).

As a parting shot, I need your help. You may recall a post from a few weeks ago that highlighted the Rushing Cup- a golf tournament for my buddies and I. At that event the gentlemen pooled the money we would normally gamble, and have decided to donate it to charity. What I need your help with is identifying a proper charity. (I have overcome my initial desire to drive to Tunica and put it all on black to try to double our philanthropic pool). I would like to donate to a place that is small (where our donation will be meaningful), local (to Chattanooga), and preferably focused on cancer care or research (although this is somewhat negotiable). If you have any ideas of a worthy organization, please let me know.

Ya’ll have a great week and don’t forget that I love you.

*I have been a vocal opponent of putting “strong” on the end of the every cause or tragedy- by now it’s hollow and has pretty much lost all meaning. However, when it’s your name, and you know the sentiment from the parents and children is real, it causes one to have a different perspective. (But unless you are one of these, let’s please go easy on the Rushing Strong- and I say that with love in my heart).