When terrorists struck the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia., and a third jet that crashed in a small field in Somerset County on September 11, 2001, first responders, firemen, and police rushed to help the survivors. In the days that followed, we …
Category: Leadership
Sticking up for myself
I stormed up to my bigger and stronger teammate and told him that he may have had an out-of-this-world batting swing and ranked as one of the best players on our baseball team, but he should stop bullying everyone. The rest of us didn’t appreciate his behavior. My teammates, seeing my bravery and courage, of …
The Ice Queen
The woman stood in the middle of the ice rink, one toe up on the edge of the skate, and watched over the rink like a queen inspecting her staff or a hardened general watching over a battlefield. The woman wore a matching blue jacket and pants and a white headband that kept her hair …
Whatever happened to Shop Class?
The whirling jigsaw cut through the wood like a sharp knife slicing through butter, sending dust and wood chips through the air. The shop teacher watched me closely with a blank stare, but he left me in control of everything. My father had a similar saw at home, but he didn’t like us kids using …
We’re all imposters
The guy sitting two tables away coyly opens his smartphone camera and puts it on selfie view so that he can check himself out. When he sees that his hair and game-face are in place, he clicks off the camera. When his lunch guest arrives, he gets up and gives the visitor a strong handshake. …
Telling time
I splurged last night. I bought myself a new watch. It's a finely tuned quartz chronograph with Swiss components and is water resistant to 100 meters. Some people shop and collect clothes. I collect watches. (I should add that most of my watches are moderately priced ones within my limited budget.) In this day and …
Survival of the fittest
I feel fortunate some days to be upright and walking, none the worse for wear. It’s a mean, cruel world out there, but somehow I've survived. Think I'm joking. Here’s some of the things that I’ve survived in my short life: --Playing on 70’s playground equipment. Think metal monkey bars . . . nothing more …
Why I’m a feminist
I’m not sure how it came up over dinner, but when I was a very young kid, my father grumbled about a woman that he worked with at the local steel plant, claiming that she had taken her job from another man. My father’s arms were waving, his voice had gotten louder, and a little …
When I think of my kids
I thought of my daughter today. My sons were there too. They were all young, still in their pajamas and they were all lying on the living room floor, coloring in their coloring books, watching Saturday morning cartoons. I see all three of them clear as day. Two with wispy blond hair, the third with …
What’s your Kryptonite?
In the comic book world, Kryptonite brought Superman to his knees. Superman would be kicking butt and Lex Luther or one villain or another would sneak some Kryptonite onto the scene and all bets would be off. Kryptonite, the green, crystal-like mineral would weaken and sicken Superman. He’d be crushed to his knees. Of course, …
