Running on Empty

Running on Empty
by Jackson Browne

I'm not a smart man . . . but I know what love is.
- Forrest Gump

This weekend, I went shopping for a treadmill. It’s for our dog. At 10 years old, Chester is susceptible (as are most Rough Collies – all big dogs, really) to hip problems. His veterinarian has suggested that we walk him on an uphill incline, thereby requiring him to use his back legs more and build up those muscles. Fortunately, our house is on a hill, and Lindsay has very faithfully taken Chester for walks, making sure that they climb the big hill every time that leads to the house.

It probably explains a lot about myself that I at first thought that the efficacy of the hill climb would be negated by the fact that there would also be an equal downhill component (we start and end at the same place, right?). And this is coming from someone who has always been a huge opponent of the “zero-sum” theory in economics, etc. As Lindsay (and the vet – yes; I called) explained, the downhill segment may work other muscles, but it doesn’t negate the benefit of the uphill walk on his hips. So “a rising hill lifts all collies”, if you will.

Once again, I was done in by thinking too much – or rather, thinking too much on the wrong things. Which brings us to Forrest Gump, by way of Jackson Browne:

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind

Mr Browne’s 1977 song Running on Empty was used in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump was like a Rorschach Test for our generation: everyone saw in it what they wanted to see. Some folks read an anti-war message into Forrest’s military service. Others just the opposite. Here’s a sample of Forrest’s naïve discussion about Lieutenant Dan: “He was from a long great military tradition. Somebody from his family had fought and died in every single American war. I guess you could say he had a lot to live up to.”

I was taken by Forrest’s trusting nature: how he always saw the good in everyone and every situation. I also think the idea of keeping things simple is the best. And I’m glad the Lord has made the Word available to all of us, as He promises in Deuteronomy 30:11-14:

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Do you all remember the huge running craze of a quarter century ago? I know people still run, but it seemed that, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, everyone was a jogger. When I began running in earnest, I found that the New Balance shoes worked better for me. Here’s what I learned about New Balance when I visited their website:

It started in 1906, when a 33 year-old waiter named William J. Riley decided to build arch supports that relieved the pain suffered by people who spent all day working on their feet. His design fit better, and felt better than anything else on the market, and by 1909 Riley was listed in the Boston business directory under 'shoemaker.' Nineteen years later Riley designed his first running shoe for the Boston running club known as the Boston Brown Bag Harriers. The success of this shoe spread quickly, and by 1941 New Balance was creating custom-made shoes for running, baseball, basketball, tennis and boxing.

I love it that the shoes that now win Olympic events and outfit us in our recreational pursuits started out to ease the aching feet of Boston’s policemen and waitresses. And that before the inventor became known as a “shoemaker” he was a waiter. Jackson Browne also has a list of professions on his resume. His website lists him as a singer, songwriter and anti-nuclear activist. I wonder if St Paul’s first business card listed him as “Tentmaker” before his change of profession. Or, for that matter, Jesus’ first business card for “Joseph and Sons” might have listed his occupation as “Carpenter”. We can often confuse “Occupation” with “Vocation” – maybe that’s why a lot of us keep running.

Forrest Gump was quite a runner himself, but he didn’t start out that way. On his first day of school, young Forrest, his legs in braces, tried to find a seat on the school bus, only to be refused by everyone. Then, young Jenny offered him a place next to her. From that first time he heard her voice, Forrest was in love with Jenny. Her voice helped him again, when he was being chased. As Jenny yelled, “Run, Forrest!” his leg braces began to fly off, and he beat the bike-riding bullies. Forrest tells us, “Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!”

In the film, Forrest tells us that one day, “for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.” And Mr Browne’s music underscores the entire scene:

Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don't know about anyone but me

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind

For Forrest Gump, he just stopped running one day, after “3 years, 2 months, 14 days and 16 hours.” He was in the middle of Monument Valley and decided he “was pretty tired.” For others of us, our bodies are telling us that they are “pretty tired.” Every year, I know more and more people who have had their knees replaced. It’s a miraculous surgery – and a God-send to aging Baby Boomers. I’m not there yet, but I can no longer run at the speed I used to: the impact on my knees does me in. So, for the past two years, I’ve gotten on the treadmill at the health club. I keep it at a walking pace and increase the grade to 9 or 10%. That’ll get the old ticker going! Maybe Chester and I can get matching treadmills in our retirement, side by side.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8

I think it’s only right to keep our bodies in shape – to be good stewards of what God has given us. But I wonder if I spend as much time and effort on spiritual things as I do on bodily things. And I think a lot of our running can be resolved when we know what we are running from – and when we know the One we are running to.

I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind
You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find
Running into the sun but I'm running behind

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind

I love Forrest’s quote at top of this post. For someone the world views as pretty simple, he knows quite a lot. Here’s another exchange from the film:

Jenny: Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gonna be?
Forrest: Who I'm gonna be?
Jenny: Yeah.
Forrest: Aren't – aren't I going to be me?

And I think that’s the secret. Running – everything – can change from a life-defining event to merely a life-enhancing one, when we know who we are, in Christ.