Right to Die

and chest both hurt. My pace flagged, meaning more steps to finish, but I didn’t see that I had much choice.
    I wheezed to the Massachusetts Avenue bridge, breaking down to a trot and finally a walk. A fast walk, because as soon as I stopped running, my teeth began to chatter.
    There are a few public benches upriver of the Fairfield ramp. The bum in the Redskins hat was sitting on one of them. As I drew even with him, my right calf cramped. I stopped walking to stand still on it, then tried to stretch it, using a tree as support for my palms.
    A voice behind me said, “A little of that beforehand’d do you a world of good.”
    I turned my head. The bum on the bench nodded. Without replying, I turned my head back to the tree.
    He said, “Might also run into the wind first. You won’t sweat so much, and on the homeward leg, you’ll be going with her and feeling cozy.”
    I gritted my teeth and over my shoulder said, “Right.”
    “But consider the source, eh?”
    This time I turned completely around. The man’s voice had the singsong quality of Frank Perdue hucking chickens. The eyes behind the glasses were alert, almost jovial. What hair I could see sticking out from under the hat looked black and gray, the three-day growth on his cheeks and chin grayer still.
    I said, “Sorry. Thanks for the advice.”
    “Another thing?”
    “Yeah?”
    “You won’t ever get to the marathon, much less finish her, without changing your stride some.”
    Watching him, I put my fists on my hips and tried walking gingerly. The cramp was still there, but not as compelling. “The marathon.”
    “That’s right.”
    “What makes you think I’m aiming at that?”
    “Everything. It’s cold enough, the fair-weather folks are on treadmills or stationary bikes somewheres, comparing their portfolios with the person next to them. You’re out here, early enough in the morning, but you obviously don’t know how far you can go in this weather and that kind of outfit. Or much about your own endurance curve and how to build it. Oh, the shoes are beat up, so you haven’t been on your dead ass all year, but basically you don’t have a clue how to condition yourself.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Yeah. You’re the right age too.”
    I stared at him. “The right age.”
    “Yeah. The age where you start wondering, ‘Can I really do it?’ That wondering, that gives you the look.”
    “I’ve got the look too, huh?”
    “Like Rocky in that first training scene, where he gets to the monument steps and looks like he’s maybe gonna infarct.”
    I laughed. Which made me shiver and reminded me how cold I was. I shook my head and turned to go.
    “One suggestion about that stride?”
    I stopped. “Yeah?”
    “Man your size has to lengthen his stride a little, cover more ground. Otherwise, you’re gonna pound your knees to powder, all the steps you’ll be taking in training. Only two ways to lengthen the stride. One’s to lunge with the front foot. Bad in more ways than you got time to hear. Other way’s to push off with your back foot a little more, use the quads at the front of your thighs to kind of launch that back leg into the next stride. Try that, the longer distances’ll come a little easier.”
    Made sense. “Thanks again.”
    The man stood up. In a quieter voice he said, “Better get yourself inside and warm now,” and began moving upriver, hands in the side pockets of his jacket.
    I said, “Hey?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Why all the free advice?”
    The man stopped, turned partway. I didn’t think he was going to say anything, then he spoke quickly. “When I was sitting against that skyscraper over there?”
    “Yes?”
    A shrug and the quieter voice again. “You waved back.”

    After showering I wolfed down a couple of English muffins and a quart of ice water. I put on a suit and tie, then started walking to the South End.
    Boston has law schools like New York has museums, seven all told. Harvard is Harvard. Boston College and Boston University are both solid institutions often confused with each other by people from out of state. The schools with the most interesting histories are New England (founded to give women the opportunity to study law) and Suffolk (founded to give male immigrants the same). Northeastern’s co-op program fills the niche for people who want to alternate school and on-the-job training.
    Mass Bay thought it could fill a niche too. In the late sixties some entrepreneurs figured they could