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A while ago, someone I work with told me he had read my previous blog posts and they made him sad, made him “want to give me a hug.” But those sentiments clearly weren’t based on any kind of deep feeling of empathy. He didn’t relate to my words or my situation, didn’t try to see things from my perspective. I could immediately tell why he said what he said.

It’s because sharing your struggles, being really real about the hard truths and rough obstacles you face in life…that kind of honesty flat-out makes people uncomfortable. And they don’t want to deal with anything that makes them uncomfortable. Continue reading “The Importance of Being Dishonest” →

I knew I was a goner right away. The opening logo sequence that precedes every Marvel movie was, prior to “Captain Marvel,” a tribute to the late, great comic book genius Stan Lee, a hero to cartoonists everywhere, including my dear dad, an exceptionally talented artist who has schooled me in all things comic book throughout my life and, via nature and nurture, passed on the artistic sensibilities that have shaped my entire existence.

So, I was already crying before I met the first superhero to really touch my heart and soul. I was already emotional before I saw all my personality traits and lifelong struggles – not to mention my taste in music and my fashion sense – embodied in one kickass female lead character in a Hollywood blockbuster. She’s got spunk and snark, she feels alive when she’s moving fast, she wears her heart on her sleeve…and people keep telling her to slow down and get her shit together, or she won’t be successful. They try to get her to forget/hide who she really is so she can fit into someone else’s ideal. Continue reading “The Captain Marvel Effect” →

The story of how I developed an eating disorder isn’t all that compelling – unless you consider getting blindsided by an overthrown softball traveling about 70 miles per hour while running out to warm up the right fielder between innings of a Big Ten Conference game and having your jaw broken compelling.

That’s effectively how my varsity athletic career ended, in the spring of my freshman year at Northwestern. I wasn’t, by anyone’s estimation, a key player on the NU softball team (I was a darned good cheerleader!), and not being able to eat solid foods for four weeks, while being forced to pitch wearing what amounted to a football helmet didn’t increase my value. What it did was shave about 20 pounds off my robust 5-foot-9 frame.

So, since I went to school within walking distance – about six miles, which to me qualifies as such – from home, I still occasionally accompanied my mom to church (Trinity Lutheran in Evanston!) on Sundays. I grew up in that church as a blissfully ignorant three-sport athlete who ate whatever she wanted without ever paying attention to serving size, and when I showed up one morning late in the spring of 1997, a couple months after the jaw injury, a long-time member sized me up and said, “You look wonderful! You’ve really slimmed down!” Continue reading “Anatomy of an Identity Crisis” →

I wasn’t going to say anything. But after having to read multiple recent articles in my old hometown Chicago Tribune discussing – in seriousness! – either the changing of loyalty from Cubs to Sox, or the out-and-out abandonment of Chicago Cubs fandom, in the wake of Joe Ricketts’, Addison Russell’s, Daniel Murphy’s and Aroldis Chapman’s (yes, we’re still talking about that, but it’s OK) collective D-baggery and the right-wing political leanings of the broadcast group connected to the new Cubs cable network…I couldn’t stay silent.

The last straw was Eric Zorn. I shouldn’t let this guy get to me, considering that he admits in his column that he blew off his hometown Detroit Tigers to become a Cubs fan when he moved to Chicago, which to me is a violation that costs you your Sports Fan Card to begin with. His article reminded me of all the times I got asked, since relocating to Philadelphia for work in 2002, why didn’t I become an Eagles or Phillies fan? It’s been a while since some a-hole threw that at me, but the idea of de-affiliating with my lifelong favorite team for ANY reason – geographic distance or off-the-field bullish*t – makes bile bubble up in my body.

ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?!?!? Continue reading “Abandon the Cubs? GTFO!!” →

Just made it through my second month as a digital marketing content writer after two decades in journalism, and February 2019 was as eventful as any sporting event I covered in the old gig. Let’s recap: Continue reading “Employment Chronicles: Two-Month Brain Dump” →

Today – Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019 – is the day of the second annual black-tie fundraiser gala for the BennettStrong Foundation at Northampton Valley Country Club. Approximately two months ago, I sat down at the Warrington Starbucks – one of them – with foundation co-founder Mary Pellegrino, whose incredible journey with her special needs son, Bennett, and husband Greg (shown together at left) has shaped her new mission in life.

Mary is not just a wife and mother, not just a teacher at Tohickon Middle School in the Central Bucks district and a color guard coach for CB West High School. She is a symbol of almost superhuman strength and an invaluable support system for countless families across the region who are raising medically complex children – kids like Bennett, who was born in June of 2013, four months premature, a “micro-preemie,” and has fought through a real firing squad of medical challenges to grow into the spunky 5-year-old he is today.

“We’re giving voices to families that are similar to ours,” Mary says, describing the foundation she and Greg established in 2017. “The advice comes from us to members of the community in a very private and compassionate way, so families can get the support they need, but they don’t necessarily need to advertise that they’re getting it.”

Mary, a natural extrovert raised in New England (Patriots fan alert!) who copes with heartache through conversation, has been anything but private about her struggles, and she dove into her current role as a NICU heroine without ever really intending to. The BennettStrong Foundation continues to break new ground in the world of the NICU, short for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which was the Pellegrino family’s world for nearly Bennett’s entire first year on Earth.

The story behind the foundation will make you reevaluate what “strong” really means. Continue reading “Coffee Convo #5: From NICU ordeal to a life of philanthropy, Mary Pellegrino keeps her family “BennettStrong”” →

On the morning of Jan. 2, 2019, just over 24 hours into my 41st year on Earth, I walked in the door of a third-floor suite in a riverfront office building in Bristol, PA, and I started a new career.

No, the job I’ve now held for one month wasn’t – isn’t – just a job to me. Accepting this position as an entry level content writer at a digital marketing agency marked the end of a gut-wrenching, soul-searching four-month hunt for a post-journalism life path.

I’ve been walking that path in some very different footwear than I walked as a sports journalist for almost 20 years…witness the Sam Edelman pumps from Trunk Club that have left me with blisters on my heels AND toes.

I’m also walking this path in a different “heat” – to borrow a term from the athletic world – from most of my coworkers. I estimate I’m one of the five oldest people in the entire company, and definitely the oldest in my department. Continue reading “Employment Chronicles: Happy Month-i-versary” →

I called it.

My pre-playoff game blog post on Sunday actually said, verbatim: “God help us if this game comes down to Cody Parkey vs. Jake Elliott. (Sound of football hitting upright)”.

No, it wasn’t the most profound prediction, if you’ve followed the Chicago Bears closely this season. You didn’t even need to follow closely to know that our kicker had major “doink”ing issues, or to speculate that his season-long assault on goalposts would play a factor in Sunday’s matchup with the Eagles.

To be accurate, that excruciating Bears loss in the NFL’s Wild Card Round did not come down to Kicker vs. Kicker. It came down to Kicker vs. One of the Worst Cases of the Yips Football Has Ever Seen.

I feel like SuperToe would have been a better option for the Bears with the game on the line.

Now, thanks to Parkey, and NBC color guy Cris Collinsworth, that loss will forever be known as “The Double Doink Game.”

Has a much more amusing ring to it than “The Fog Bowl.” Continue reading “Double Doink!: Finding humor in the Bears’ excruciating playoff exit” →