Writer / Observer / Builder — Presence, clarity, and living without a script
Author: Richard L. Fricks
Writer. Observer. Builder. I write from a life shaped by attention, simplicity, and living without a script—through reflective essays, long-form inquiry, and fiction rooted in ordinary lives. I live in rural Alabama, where writing, walking, and building small, intentional spaces are part of the same practice.
Biking is something I both love and hate. The conflicting emotions arise from the undeniable physical effort it demands. However, this exertion is precisely what makes it an excellent form of exercise. Most days, I dedicate over an hour to my cycling routine, and in doing so, I’ve discovered a unique opportunity to enjoy a good book or podcast. The rhythmic pedaling and the wind against my face create a calming backdrop that allows me to fully immerse myself in the content. In these moments, the time spent on the bike seems worthwhile, as I can’t help but appreciate the mental and physical rewards it offers.
I especially like having ridden. The post-biking feeling is one of pure satisfaction. The endorphin rush, coupled with a sense of accomplishment, makes the initial struggle and fatigue worthwhile. As I dismount and catch my breath, I relish the sensation of having conquered the challenge, both physically and mentally. It’s a reminder that the things we sometimes love to hate can often be the ones that bring us the most fulfillment. In the end, the love-hate relationship with biking only deepens my appreciation for the sport, as it continually pushes me to overcome my own limitations and embrace the rewards that follow the effort.
Why you should ride
To increase self-esteem
Riding a bike on a regular basis can lead to dramatic improvements in self-esteem. As we pedal down the street, breeze in our hair, the physical and mental benefits accumulate in ways that profoundly impact how we view ourselves.
On a physical level, cycling strengthens our cardiovascular system, burns calories, and tones core and leg muscles. The sight and feeling of our body transforming, becoming stronger, leaner, and healthier fosters an innate sense of pride. The boost in endorphins and energy makes us feel more vibrant and enthusiastic in tackling other goals. We carry ourselves with more confidence as our posture and physical abilities improve.
The act itself of biking also builds self-esteem. It represents personal accomplishment to bike mile after mile. As we track distance and improve personal bests, we feel empowered seeing hard work pay off. There’s also freedom and independence realized atop two wheels on an open road or bike trail. Feelings of self-reliance translate into improved self-worth.
Pushing past mental barriers and physical discomfort in order to bike builds grit and resilience. We face fears, withstand pain, and refuse to quit. The experience, repeated regularly, makes us see ourselves as determined and strong. It redefines limits on what we can achieve.
In all these ways, the simple act of hopping on a bike and pedaling leads to radical self-transformation from the inside-out. As fitness increases, so does assurance in our skills, abilities, strength, and worth. The boost in confidence changes how we carry ourselves in the world and the belief we have in our inner resources.
Here’s a couple of links to groups I like. Hopefully, they’ll encourage you to start riding a bike, no matter your age.
A Rockhopper by Specialized. I purchased it November 2021 from Venture Out in Guntersville; Mike is top notch! So is the bike. The ‘old’ man seat was salvaged from an old Walmart bike (update: seat replaced, new photo to follow, someday).
What I’m listening to
Novel:
Amazon abstract:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series continues: Lisbeth Salander must face the most important battle of her life, and will finally put her past to rest in this thriller that will “leave Salander’s legion of followers clamoring for more” (The Wall Street Journal). • Also known as the Millennium series
Mikael Blomkvist is trying to reach Lisbeth Salander—the fierce, unstoppable girl with the dragon tattoo. He needs her help unraveling the identity of a man who died with Blomkvist’s phone number in his pocket—a man who does not exist in any official records and whose garbled last words hinted at knowledge that would be dangerous to important people. But Lisbeth has disappeared. She’s sold her apartment in Stockholm. She’s gone dark. She’s told no one where she is. And no one is aware that at long last she’s got her primal enemy, her twin sister, Camilla, squarely in her sights.
Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, coming soon!
Seated in the Pencil Pit, my sanctuary of creativity and contemplation, I find myself reflecting on the parallels between two seemingly disparate experiences from yesterday – the continuation of Project 55 and a challenging bike ride.
Project 55, a dive into my past, has me revisiting an assignment from Mrs. Stamps, my 9th grade English teacher. Tasked in 1968 with envisioning my life 55 years in the future, I remember how my 14-year-old self struggled to project a life at age 69. Marriage seemed like a distant, foggy concept. I chose a girl from church to be my future wife, not out of affection or foresight, but more as a placeholder, a way to complete the assignment. It was an exercise in uncertainty, a young boy’s attempt to make sense of a future too far to comprehend.
Contrast this with yesterday’s bike ride – a 16-mile journey under a cold, relentless rain. I found myself woefully underprepared, lacking the right clothing for the weather. The struggle wasn’t just physical; it was a mental grappling with my own lack of foresight.
Connecting these two moments, I see a thread of unpreparedness weaving through. As a teenager, I couldn’t prepare for a future I couldn’t envision. As an adult, I sometimes find myself in situations, like the bike ride, where I’m caught off guard, underprepared for the immediate challenges.
Yet, there’s a deeper connection here, one that transcends the mere act of being unprepared. It’s about the inherent unpredictability of life. At 14, how could I have known whom I would marry, or the myriad turns my life would take? Similarly, even with experience and age, can we ever be truly prepared for all that life throws our way?
These reflections lead me to consider the nature of preparation itself. Maybe it’s not always about having all the answers or the right gear. Perhaps it’s more about the ability to adapt, to make the best of what we have in the moment. In Project 55, my young self did just that – I adapted to the task with the limited understanding I had. And on the bike ride, despite being cold and wet, I adapted and persevered through the miles.
As I write this, pencil in hand, in the early light of the barn, I realize that life is a constant balancing act between preparation and adaptation. We plan, we foresee, but often we find ourselves in situations that our preparations didn’t account for. It’s in these moments that our resilience is tested, and our ability to adapt becomes our greatest asset.
So, as I ponder the connection between a school assignment from decades ago and a rainy bike ride, I’m reminded that being unprepared isn’t always a failure; sometimes, it’s just a part of the human experience. And perhaps, in recognizing this, we find a way to be better prepared for the unpredictable journey of life.
The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it, a chapter a day, over the next few weeks.
For forty-four years Matt had participated in the Boaz High School Career Day program. He had graduated Valedictorian from Boaz in 1954, the University of Alabama in 1959, and Emory University’s School of Law in 1962. Matt practiced in Atlanta for nearly ten years before returning to his hometown and starting his solo law practice in January 1972. My case in the fall of 1972 was Matt’s first Alabama murder case.
Matt’s forty-fifth Career Day appearance was scheduled for today at 9:00 a.m. At 8:05 a.m., I received a call at the law office from a nurse in the Emergency Room at Marshall Medical Center South Hospital stating that Matt had asked her to call and tell me to go to Boaz High School to fill his spot. The nurse also instructed me to find Mrs. Southerland and explain to her that Matt was unable to attend Career Day because he had been in an auto accident. The nurse assured me that Matt had run off the road, hit a tree, and had a non-life-threatening cut on his forehead that had to be sewn up. She said that he was under heavy medication and wouldn’t be released for several hours.
I grabbed my coat and drove to Boaz High School. After locating Mrs. Southerland and explaining why I was there, she walked with me to the English Department on second floor where students interested in a legal career would come by to chat with me, Circuit Court Judge Henagar, and District Attorney Charles Abbott. She said there was coffee in the lounge and provided directions. I told her I would just wait here.
After she left I walked out into the hall and saw Room 201. My mind jumped backwards forty-six years to 1971, January 3rd to be exact. I went into the empty room, sat down at the first student desk in the third row, and closed my eyes. I had a good memory of what had happened in my Junior Year English Literature class the first day after returning from Christmas holidays.
Mrs. Peterson, our teacher, was absent, something about a weather-related delay returning from Chicago. We had a substitute, a Miss Barnes I believe. She was a recent college graduate with very little ability to control thirty or more energetic teenagers. She seriously attempted guiding the class in a reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth but soon lost control. John Ericson was the ring-leader in flirting with Miss Barnes. She was probably only four or five years older than we were and could easily pass for a classmate. She was, as they say, drop-dead gorgeous. John, egged on by Randall Radford and Fred Billingsley, asked her if she had a boyfriend. The more she ignored him and tried to maintain classroom order John continued to badger her. I remember him saying, “I don’t care if you do have a boyfriend. After a roll in the hay with me you will never think of him again.” One of the five or six girls in the class chimed in with, “John, I hear you’re about to be a father. I doubt you’ll have time for Miss Barnes.” John looked dumbfounded.
His puzzled look turned to terror when the door opened and two police officers walked in. One of them asked John to come into the hallway. At first, he just stood frozen. Finally, one of the officers walked over to him, took hold of his arm, and walked him outside the classroom. As the other officer was pulling the door shut, he told Miss Barnes to keep the rest of us in the room until the bell rings.
Eerily, the classroom fell quiet. The girl, Janice Brewster I believe, who had claimed John was about to be a father, spoke out after a few minutes of total silence. She said, “Big Bad John is in some deep shit.” Miss Barnes tried her best to assert control, even warning Janice and the rest of us not to use foul language. She finally said that we could talk if we were civil and not too loud. Janice said that her mother had told her that John had gotten a ninth grader, Jesse Dawson, pregnant, and that he was going to be charged with rape, something about him being over 16 years old and having sex with a girl that is more than two years younger.
Fred spoke up and said that little Jesse should be charged and not John, that she looked like she was eighteen and had seduced John into having sex. Randall said that John had been dating the ninth grader for over a year and nothing would ever have come of this if Doc Yelling hadn’t blabbed to social services who in turn blabbed to an Assistant District Attorney. Jesse had thought she was pregnant but had learned she wasn’t.
Noise from the hallway roused me up and brought me back to the present. I looked at my watch and it was nearly 9:00 a.m. I walked back across the hall and spent the next three hours sitting beside the Judge and the DA in front of a revolving door of students each with some curiosity of what working in the legal field is all about. After the last group of students left, Mrs. Southerland came and reminded us that a special lunch had been prepared in the cafeteria for all who had come and participated in Career Day. I thanked her, but declined. I had a 2:00 p.m. hearing in Guntersville.
During my drive to court, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to John and his statutory rape charges. He truly was charged, but like it always seemed for members of the Flaming Five and their families, they were slick as eels, always finding a way to avoid the reality the rest of humanity must deal with.
Even before John’s preliminary hearing, which is mandated 20 days after an arrest, Jesse Dawson and her mother had told both the Boaz Police Chief and the District Attorney that she had never had sex with John Ericson and that she was not pregnant. The only thing she would say is that she had had sex with a 9th grade boy, but she refused to disclose his name. John never spent a night in jail and the charges against him were dropped soon after Jesse’s statement. I never heard how close John came to facing justice but I do remember that Jesse and her family moved to Fort Payne. At least that’s what I heard. I suspect that John’s family was instrumental in showing Jesse’s parents the light, including the opportunities in Dekalb County.
The only thing I remember hearing John say about this dark little chapter in his life, was during a basketball game our senior year. Boaz was playing Fort Payne at Fort Payne High School. As I always did, I rode the bus with the team, not for official score keeping purposes but simply to keep Coach Pearson’s stats report, what he called, ‘The Shit Sheet.’ I was sitting on the bench watching our team warm-up after halftime had ended. John and Fred were on the court taking long shots from right in front of where I was sitting. I heard John tell Fred that Jesse Dawson was on the second row behind the Fort Payne cheerleaders. Fred warned John to leave her alone. As John took his final shot within my hearing I heard him say, “Our eyes locked a few minutes ago. I can tell she will be up for a quickie right after the game. She never could resist my flame.”
As I pulled into the courthouse parking lot, I was unreasonably mad at Matt for making me return to Boaz High School. I doubt that I would have remembered how arrogant and powerful John had been even as a high school student. Graduation night was not the first time he had raped an innocent girl. I guess if I knew the truth, there were many young girls who had melted to his flame.
Biking is something I both love and hate. The conflicting emotions arise from the undeniable physical effort it demands. However, this exertion is precisely what makes it an excellent form of exercise. Most days, I dedicate over an hour to my cycling routine, and in doing so, I’ve discovered a unique opportunity to enjoy a good book or podcast. The rhythmic pedaling and the wind against my face create a calming backdrop that allows me to fully immerse myself in the content. In these moments, the time spent on the bike seems worthwhile, as I can’t help but appreciate the mental and physical rewards it offers.
I especially like having ridden. The post-biking feeling is one of pure satisfaction. The endorphin rush, coupled with a sense of accomplishment, makes the initial struggle and fatigue worthwhile. As I dismount and catch my breath, I relish the sensation of having conquered the challenge, both physically and mentally. It’s a reminder that the things we sometimes love to hate can often be the ones that bring us the most fulfillment. In the end, the love-hate relationship with biking only deepens my appreciation for the sport, as it continually pushes me to overcome my own limitations and embrace the rewards that follow the effort.
Why you should ride
To improve Mood Through the Release of Endorphins:
Cycling can significantly uplift one’s mood, and this is closely linked to the body’s production of endorphins during physical activity. Here’s how the process works and why it’s beneficial:
Endorphin Release: When you engage in cycling, your body’s response to the physical exertion is to produce endorphins. These are neurotransmitters that the brain releases during prolonged, continuous workouts of moderate to high intensity. They interact with receptors in the brain that reduce your perception of pain and trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine.
Natural High: Often referred to as a “natural high,” the endorphins released during cycling can lead to an improvement in mood, a feeling of euphoria, and a more positive outlook on life. This state can be particularly helpful for combating the negative thoughts and feelings associated with anxiety and depression.
Stress and Anxiety Reduction: The mood-boosting effect of endorphins is accompanied by a decrease in stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. This biochemical shift helps alleviate stress and anxiety, creating a more tranquil mental state post-ride.
Increased Self-Esteem: Regular boosts in endorphin levels can lead to improvements in self-esteem and self-worth. As you meet cycling goals or simply enjoy the ride, the accompanying endorphin rush reinforces a sense of accomplishment and positivity.
Pain Relief: Endorphins also act as analgesics, which means they diminish the perception of pain. They bind to the same neuron receptors as pain medicines but without the addiction and side effects. This can be particularly beneficial for people with chronic pain conditions, as regular cycling can help manage pain and improve quality of life.
Improved Cognitive Function: The endorphins released during cycling do more than just improve mood; they also help enhance cognitive functions. They can increase alertness, improve concentration, and help keep the mind sharp.
Social Well-being: If you cycle in a group, the shared experience can amplify the endorphin release. Social interactions during group rides can lead to a greater sense of happiness and fulfillment, adding to the mood-lifting effects of endorphins.
Long-term Benefits: The mood enhancement from endorphins isn’t just a short-term effect. Regular cycling can contribute to long-term mood stability. It’s often prescribed as part of treatment plans for those with depression and mood disorders because of its ability to produce consistent and predictable mood improvements.
In summary, cycling is not only a physical activity but also a powerful tool for mental health maintenance. The release of endorphins during a ride can help create a more optimistic mental state, combat feelings of depression and anxiety, and foster a general sense of well-being.
Here’s a couple of links to groups I like. Hopefully, they’ll encourage you to start riding a bike, no matter your age.
A Rockhopper by Specialized. I purchased it November 2021 from Venture Out in Guntersville; Mike is top notch! So is the bike. The ‘old’ man seat was salvaged from an old Walmart bike (update: seat replaced, new photo to follow, someday).
What I’m listening to
Novel:
Amazon abstract:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series continues: Lisbeth Salander must face the most important battle of her life, and will finally put her past to rest in this thriller that will “leave Salander’s legion of followers clamoring for more” (The Wall Street Journal). • Also known as the Millennium series
Mikael Blomkvist is trying to reach Lisbeth Salander—the fierce, unstoppable girl with the dragon tattoo. He needs her help unraveling the identity of a man who died with Blomkvist’s phone number in his pocket—a man who does not exist in any official records and whose garbled last words hinted at knowledge that would be dangerous to important people. But Lisbeth has disappeared. She’s sold her apartment in Stockholm. She’s gone dark. She’s told no one where she is. And no one is aware that at long last she’s got her primal enemy, her twin sister, Camilla, squarely in her sights.
Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, coming soon!
"Cognitive Clarity" blog posts are about cultivating a culture of thoughtful and informed discourse. They encourage readers to think deeply, question boldly, and approach the world with an open yet discerning mind.
Those who have been assured since childhood that God is Love—and
have been coached to pray to their loving father well into adulthood—seem immune to many Bible texts that contradict this idea, for example, these pieces of Jesus-script:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36)
Luke’s version of this text is prefaced with, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze!” (Luke 12:49)
In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul taught that “wrath and fury” awaited people who were disobedient to god. (Romans 2:8)
The Genesis Flood Story is all about god killing as many people as possible, in fact everyone on earth except for one family. Yet Bible books for children focus on the rainbow ending, ignoring the genocide. Ken Ham decided to celebrate the genocide with a family-fun theme park. How in the world can he live with himself?
Devout folks are persuaded that the horrendous suffering in the world can’t be blamed on god, but is the result of free will, or god’s mysterious ways, or a supposed bigger plan unknown to us. This is what I have called “easy acceptance of the very terrible,” an outlook/attitude that is given a boost by a deep ignorance of history, i.e., unawareness of how much suffering there has been.
On 1 November 1755, Lisbon was destroyed by earthquake, tsunami and fire. Many of the 12,000 who died were killed when churches collapsed on them as they praised god on All-Saints-Day. In the 14th century, at least a quarter of the human population between India and England died of the plague—and the suffering was grotesque. The church was sure that this was god’s “wrath and fury” in action, and penitents wandered Europe flagellating themselves hoping to appease god’s anger. But how can that possibly make sense—how can it be squared with belief in a loving god? The Holocaust during World War II—six million people intentionally murdered—is totally inexplicable if a good, caring deity is paying attention. Indeed, Holocaust-denialism is one way of salvaging faith. Such denial is totally inexplicable since the Holocaust is one of the most thoroughly documented crimes in history.
Honest theology would admit that killing people seems to be a big item on angry god’s to-do list.
But then there was another Holocaust that has not attracted as much attention. It is appropriate here to include paragraphs from the opening of David E. Stannard’s book, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World.
“In the darkness of an early July morning in 1945, on a desolate spot in the New Mexico desert named after a John Donne sonnet celebrating the Holy Trinity, the first atomic bomb was exploded. J. Robert Oppenheimer later remembered that the immense flash of light, followed by the thunderous roar, caused a few observers to laugh and others to cry. But most, he said, were silent. Oppenheimer himself recalled at that instant a line from the Bhagavad-Gita:
I am become death, the shatterer of worlds.
“There is no reason to think that anyone on board the Niña, the Pinta, or the Santa María, on an equally dark early morning four and a half centuries earlier, thought of those ominous lines from the ancient Sanskrit poem when the crews of the Spanish ships spied a flicker of light on the windward side of the island they would name after the Holy Savior. But the intuition, had it occurred, would have been as appropriate then as it was when that first nuclear blast rocked the New Mexico desert sands.
“In both instances—at the Trinity test site in 1945 and at San Salvador in 1492—those moments of achievement crowned years of intense personal struggle and adventure for their protagonists and were culminating points of ingenious technological achievement for their countries.
“But both instances also were prelude to orgies of human destructiveness that, each in its own way, attained a scale of devastation not previously witnessed in the entire history of the world. Just twenty-one days after the first atomic test in the desert, the Japanese industrial city of Hiroshima was leveled by nuclear blast; never before had so many people—at least 130,000, probably many more—died from a single explosion. Just twenty-one years after Columbus’s first landing in the Caribbean, the vastly populous island that the explorer had renamed Hispaniola was effectively desolate; nearly 8,000,000 people—those Columbus chose to call Indians—had been killed by violence, disease, and despair. It took a little longer, about the span of a single human generation, but what happened on Hispaniola was the equivalent of more than fifty Hiroshimas.”
And: “The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world.”
How does God-Is-Love theology survive when we become fully aware of such horrendous suffering? “He’s got the whole world in his hands” fails to have any meaning at all. The New Testament especially makes the point that its god is aware of every human, i.e., everything we say, and even think—which is how prayer is supposed to work—is known to god.
And how can the god who runs the cosmos not be aware of the Big Picture?
He had to know very well that Europeans were sailing west to find a way to China, but that a massive land mass was in the way—a land mass that was home to many millions of people who had been settled in north, central, and south American for thousands of years. Moreover, this god must have known that these residents of the Americas would have no immunity whatever to the many diseases that the European explorers brought with them. These diseases proved to be primary cause of death—wiping out millions of people: a super version of the 14th century’s Black Plague.
Yet, god just watched it all happen? How can this not be an enormous problem for Christian theology? An all-powerful god just sitting on his hands? It makes no sense whatever.
Stannard devotes considerable space in his book to descriptions of the societies that the Spanish found as they ventured deeper into South America. He quotes from letters and diaries that explorers wrote, in which they marveled at the wonders they encountered: examples of advanced architecture and well-ordered, well-run communities.
But the Spanish were not tourists. They were money motivated, on the hunt for gold, silver for the Spanish monarchy—and for slaves. Columbus was the trail-blazer—and a malicious one at that; he was a man
“…with sufficient intolerance and contempt for all who did not look or behave or believe as he did, that he thought nothing of enslaving or killing such people simply because they were not like him. He was, to repeat, a secular personification of what more than a thousand years of Christian culture had wrought. As such, the fact that he launched a campaign of horrific violence against the natives of Hispaniola is not something that should surprise anyone. Indeed, it would be surprising if he had not inaugurated such carnage.” (pp. 199-200, Kindle, Stannard, emphasis added)
Later, heroes of the United States shared similar ideas.
“George Washington, in 1779, instructed Major General John Sullivan to attack the Iroquois and ‘lay waste all the settlements around . . . that the country may not be merely overrun but destroyed,’ urging the general not to “listen to any overture of peace before the total ruin of their settlements is effected.”” (p. 119, Kindle)
Thomas Jefferson, “…in 1807 instructed his Secretary of War that any Indians who resisted American expansion into their lands must be met with ‘the hatchet.’ ‘And . . . if ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe,’ he wrote, ‘we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or is driven beyond the Mississippi,’ continuing: ‘in war, they will kill some of us; we shall destroy all of them.’” (p. 120, Kindle)
And: “…the man who became America’s first truly twentieth century President, Theodore Roosevelt, added his opinion that the extermination of the American Indians and the expropriation of their lands ‘was as ultimately beneficial as it was inevitable.’” (p. 245, Kindle)
So many of the devout do their very best not to think about these evils: easy acceptance of the very terrible is an easy way out. Well, maybe not so easy—if they’re honest with themselves—but they adopt it anyway to shelter their beliefs from close examination.
This is actually cowardice. Serious threats to the faith should be addressed head-on. One helpful tool for this is John Loftus’ hefty (more than 500 pages) 2021 anthology, God and Horrendous Suffering.
The existence of a good, loving, all-powerful, competent god does not withstand careful, critical, skeptical analysis. The Christian god who allowed the American Holocaust is the same one who does nothing to irradicate thousands of genetic diseases, mental illnesses—and cancers that are rampant in the world. He’s “got the whole world in his hands” is such a pathetic misunderstanding of reality. And how is it that a god who supposedly “inspired” humans—that is, manipulated their minds—to write a 1000-page holy book, couldn’t have changed thousands of minds in the direction of improving basic human decency? That is, cleansed our brains of racism. Is that too much to expect?
One of Stannard’s final observations: “…there is little doubt that the dominant sixteenth-and seventeenth-century ecclesiastical, literary, and popular opinion in Spain and Britain and Europe’s American colonies regarding the native peoples of North and South America was that they were a racially degraded and inferior lot—borderline humans as far as most whites were concerned.” (p. 278, Kindle, emphasis added)
Humanity would be a lot better off if the Christian god had much greater tutorial skills.
As I sit in the Pencil Pit, my barn-turned-writing room, the morning light filters through, casting a warm glow over my thoughts. My mind is a blend of past and present, memories and recent experiences weaving together in a curious tapestry.
Yesterday, I embarked on “Project 55” during my Morning Pages routine. It’s a journey back to 1968 when Mrs. Stamps, my 9th-grade English teacher, set us a unique assignment: to describe our Thanksgiving Day 55 years in the future. That future is now, Thanksgiving 2023. As I scribbled down my thoughts, pencil in hand, I couldn’t help but marvel at how time has flown and how the vivid imagination of a 14-year-old now contrasts with the reality of a 69-year-old man’s life.
Later in the day, a different kind of marvel unfolded – the Alabama-Auburn game. The climax of the match was nothing short of what some would call a miracle. Alabama, trailing 20-24, faced a seemingly impossible fourth and goal at the 31-yard line. Yet, in an extraordinary turn of events, quarterback Jalen Milroe connected with Isaiah Bond for a touchdown. It was a moment that defied the odds, a testament to the unpredictability and thrill of sports.
Reflecting on these two disparate moments, I find a peculiar connection. Project 55, spanning over half a century, was an exercise in forecasting the future, in predicting the unpredictable. Similarly, the game’s final play was about defying the odds, about something highly improbable becoming reality. Both instances, in their essence, are about the unforeseen twists of life.
Yet, the touchdown, as miraculous as it seemed, was also a reminder of the natural order of things. In the countless games of football played, moments like these are bound to occur. They are statistical probabilities in the grand scheme of things. This realization grounds the ‘miracle’ in reality, in the realm of possibility where the natural world operates. It’s a reminder that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, there’s always a chance, however slim, for a different outcome.
Project 55 and the touchdown – both are about the passage of time, the dance of chance and probability, and the human penchant for looking ahead, for imagining and striving. As I write in the Pencil Pit, surrounded by the echoes of my past and the presence of my present, I am reminded of the beauty and uncertainty of life. It’s a journey of expectations and surprises, of predictions and outcomes that sometimes align and often don’t.
In these early hours, I ponder over the intersecting lines of time and chance, of memories and present moments, all converging in the quiet of my writing haven. Life, much like football, is unpredictable, and yet, within its unpredictability lies its most profound beauty and excitement.
The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it, a chapter a day, over the next few weeks.
I drove to the law office and sat at my desk for over an hour reviewing letters and motions received since I left. I had kept up with emails on my phone. I determined that nothing breathtaking had occurred. I made a pot of coffee and sat in the conference room. I took a blank yellow pad and pencil that always sat in the middle of the table and decided to brainstorm what I had learned from over thirty-six years of representing criminal defendants.
I figured the first thing to do was to make two lists. One would be a list of cases where the defendant was formally charged, tried, convicted, and spent time in prison. I labeled this column ‘Thoughtless.’ The other list would be cases where the defendant won his case. These cases would include an assortment of defendants: those who were questioned and released, those who were questioned, charged and released, those who were questioned, charged, tried and found not guilty, and finally, those who were questioned, charged, tried and were ultimately released (and not retried) because of a mistrial. I labeled this column ‘Thoughtful.’
Of course, there was a third list that I wanted and really needed to create but it was impossible. This third list would be my attempt to name criminals who never got caught. I imagined this list could be rather long. These were the guys and gals who were the smartest. But, again, this list would remain a secret.
The main thing I was after from the first list was things not to do, things NEVER to do. These were things that got the defendant in the cross hairs to begin with. I spent nearly two hours creating these two lists. To be thorough, I would have to review my work journals. From the first day, I had started practice at Downs, Gambol & Stevens in Atlanta, I had kept a personal journal listing every case I worked on, and including factual details, and instructive legal nuances and strategies. But I would not pursue this level of detail tonight. That could wait for another day. Tonight, I simply wanted to come up with two or three key principles my ‘successful’ clients had followed in avoiding prison or, in capital cases, the death penalty.
There were only five cases I could think of to include under ‘Thoughtful,’ and twelve for the ‘Thoughtless’ column. On a separate sheet of paper, I jotted down the main facts of each case. After pondering them for quite a while I wrote down related principles.
I came up with several ‘Thoughtful’ principles. It seemed the most common element in these five cases were the absence of a body. I found it nearly funny that all five cases I had listed were murder cases. I asked myself had I already decided to murder John Ericson. I let this thought pass through my mind and not take hold. In three of my five listed cases, the victim’s body was never found. I decided to engage in hypothetical thinking. Principle number one—the dead body disappears. In looking back over my statement of facts for my five ‘Thoughtful’ cases, I saw that in four of the cases there was not even a murder scene to be investigated. From a criminal’s standpoint, that certainly helped. In looking over my ‘Thoughtless’ cases, I easily concluded that murder scenes often led investigators to my client. With modern forensic tests and tools scientists could almost paint a picture of who committed the crime. From one hair, one footprint, one fingerprint, or a thousand other elements, forensic investigators fed law enforcement teams a rich and steady diet of reliable evidence to pursue one and only one suspect.
One other thing that jumped out at me. Eyewitnesses. Obviously, my ‘Thoughtless’ list included case after case where my client was convicted from the testimony of an eyewitness or a witness who possessed testimony that related to my client. Things such as a witness placing my client in a key location, or anchoring a time line that worked its magic against my client. But, from my ‘Thoughtful’ list I noted that eyewitnesses also had enabled several of these clients to avoid conviction and punishment. These cases included testimonies that gave my client an alibi. It never hurt to be able to verify where my client was, considering the prosecution’s uncertainty over the time of death, or the time the victim went missing. District Attorney’s always developed theories, and over the years I had learned the importance of countering their arguments with hard evidence, with some of the best being a witness that places my client in a time and position where it was impossible for him to have committed the subject crime.
By now it was nearly midnight and I was exhausted. I felt I was headed in the right direction. At a minimum, I had avoided the worst possible scenario, one where I acted spontaneously in meting out justice to John Ericson. I now knew I had to have a very detailed plan and this plan had to include the use of proven principles. I was proud that I had uncovered four of these key principles: there is no body discovered, there is no crime scene to investigate, there are no eyewitnesses to the murder, and there are eyewitnesses to testify to the whereabouts of the defendant.
I locked up the office and drove to Hickory Hollow to determine what type sleep a criminal in the making would experience the first night of his new life.
Biking is something I both love and hate. The conflicting emotions arise from the undeniable physical effort it demands. However, this exertion is precisely what makes it an excellent form of exercise. Most days, I dedicate over an hour to my cycling routine, and in doing so, I’ve discovered a unique opportunity to enjoy a good book or podcast. The rhythmic pedaling and the wind against my face create a calming backdrop that allows me to fully immerse myself in the content. In these moments, the time spent on the bike seems worthwhile, as I can’t help but appreciate the mental and physical rewards it offers.
I especially like having ridden. The post-biking feeling is one of pure satisfaction. The endorphin rush, coupled with a sense of accomplishment, makes the initial struggle and fatigue worthwhile. As I dismount and catch my breath, I relish the sensation of having conquered the challenge, both physically and mentally. It’s a reminder that the things we sometimes love to hate can often be the ones that bring us the most fulfillment. In the end, the love-hate relationship with biking only deepens my appreciation for the sport, as it continually pushes me to overcome my own limitations and embrace the rewards that follow the effort.
Why you should ride
To reduce stress levels:
Regular cycling can act as a powerful stress reliever for several reasons:
Physical Exercise: Engaging in physical activity like cycling triggers the release of endorphins, often referred to as the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. These biochemical changes in the brain can provide a natural ‘high’, commonly known as the “runner’s high,” which is also attainable through cycling.
Rhythm and Repetition: The rhythmic nature of cycling – the consistent pedaling motion – has a calming effect, much like a meditation practice. This rhythmic repetition can help shift focus away from stressors and channel attention into the physical sensation of movement, which can be therapeutic.
Outdoor Environment: Cycling outdoors exposes individuals to sunlight, which helps regulate the body’s natural circadian rhythms, improves sleep, and can increase the body’s production of vitamin D. Exposure to daylight, especially in the morning, can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Engagement with Surroundings: When cycling, especially in scenic environments, the sensory experience – seeing the landscape, smelling the air, feeling the breeze – can promote mindfulness and presence in the moment, reducing rumination and worry that often accompany stress.
Escape from Stressors: A bike ride provides an opportunity to take a break from stressful environments or situations. It offers a temporary escape that allows for mental recovery and perspective-gaining, which is essential in managing chronic stress.
Cardiovascular Health: Stress can have direct effects on cardiovascular health, and cycling, being an excellent cardiovascular exercise, helps lower blood pressure and heart rate in the long term, which are often elevated due to stress.
Social Interaction: For those who cycle in groups, the social interaction that accompanies it can further reduce stress. Social support is a well-known buffer against stress, and group rides or community cycling events can foster a sense of belonging and collective enjoyment.
Achievement and Confidence: Completing a challenging ride or achieving a personal milestone in cycling can enhance one’s confidence and self-esteem. Setting and reaching goals through cycling can give a sense of accomplishment that can combat feelings of stress and anxiety.
Improved Sleep: Regular cycling, by virtue of physical exertion and stress reduction, can contribute to better sleep patterns. Quality sleep is one of the most effective stress management tools, as it allows the body and mind to recover and regenerate.
Distraction: Cycling demands a level of concentration – navigating the terrain, maintaining balance, and sometimes, strategizing in traffic. This required focus can serve as a distraction, allowing a person to take a mental break from stress-inducing thoughts or tasks.
By incorporating cycling into one’s routine, it becomes a sustainable stress management practice. The benefits are not just immediate in terms of the post-exercise feeling of relaxation, but also cumulative, as regular cycling can contribute to a more balanced and less stress-reactive nervous system over time.
Here’s a couple of links to groups I like. Hopefully, they’ll encourage you to start riding a bike, no matter your age.
A Rockhopper by Specialized. I purchased it November 2021 from Venture Out in Guntersville; Mike is top notch! So is the bike. The ‘old’ man seat was salvaged from an old Walmart bike (update: seat replaced, new photo to follow, someday).
What I’m listening to
Novel:
Amazon abstract:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series continues: Lisbeth Salander must face the most important battle of her life, and will finally put her past to rest in this thriller that will “leave Salander’s legion of followers clamoring for more” (The Wall Street Journal). • Also known as the Millennium series
Mikael Blomkvist is trying to reach Lisbeth Salander—the fierce, unstoppable girl with the dragon tattoo. He needs her help unraveling the identity of a man who died with Blomkvist’s phone number in his pocket—a man who does not exist in any official records and whose garbled last words hinted at knowledge that would be dangerous to important people. But Lisbeth has disappeared. She’s sold her apartment in Stockholm. She’s gone dark. She’s told no one where she is. And no one is aware that at long last she’s got her primal enemy, her twin sister, Camilla, squarely in her sights.
Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, coming soon!
Richard L. Fricks 