About Me

"Marathon Man Meets Subdivided We Stand" is the temporary name representing the merger of two blogs -- those belonging to Joseph F. Kelly and Bob Braughler.

Joe and Bob met in graduate school, while earning (in Joe's words) "the world's easiest post-baccalaureate degree." Years later, they re-connected and eventually fell almost sickeningly in love with each others blogs.

At long last, they have finally consumated their love by the joining of their blogs in holy matrimony. They are, however, still in search of the perfect name for their combined efforts.

Marathon Man is the current nom de plumage of Joseph F. Kelly, a moniker chosen because he’s (not) busy (not) training for (not) running a marathon, when he’s not busy training for running a marathon. After 2 decades of scatterbrained post graduate work in public policy, teaching, and writing, mostly in Washington, DC, Joe is back in grad school taking a mid-career course correction in advanced international studies. “I want to devote the second half of my life to help resolve really difficult, seemingly intractable global conflicts,” Joe says. “Except in places where they fight with machetes.”

Bob and his family live in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA -- albeit in the suburbs, a location that Bob has spent a lifetime trying to escape from. It was this loathing and then grudging acceptance of life in suburbia that prompted the name "Subdivided We Stand."

He currently gets up in every morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, plays with the kids for a while, kisses his wife, and goes to bed.