But to William, it was a very big deal. Before I left, he was distraught. I tried to comfort him, but nothing I said could ease what he was feeling. At the time, I was deeply focused on my career and felt the weight of disappointing the many people who had scheduled time with me during the visit. I checked in at the airport, passed through security, and made my way to the gate, still questioning whether I was making the right choice. Then William called. Through tears, he begged me not to go. In that moment, everything became clear. I calmed him down, walked up to the desk, handed back my boarding pass, and canceled the trip. I finally understood that being present for my family was not competing with my career; it was more important than it.

Over a decade later, when I decided to retire from Dell after nearly 26 years, I found myself facing another difficult goodbye. I had worked with so many people there that some had been in my life longer than my wife or my children. In fact, a few hours before my twins were born, an emergency erupted when a telecommunications line to one of our call centers was accidentally severed. I had to trust my capable team to resolve it so I could be present for the birth of my sons. I had so many relationships at Dell that grew from mere associates into constant colleagues and then into lifelong friends. Leaving was one of the toughest decisions I ever made because it meant stepping away from the camaraderie, purpose, and friendships that had shaped most of my adult life. I wrestled with the decision for weeks. But when I finally chose to leave, I knew it was right for my family and for me. One chapter closed, and another began.

Now, another chapter in our lives has closed, and a new one has opened. On Sunday, I dropped William off at Purdue University, his dream school, more than 1,000 miles from home. This time, I was the one who wanted to cry out, “Don’t go,” but I couldn’t. This time, leaving was the right decision for him. As I watched him step into this next stage of his life, my mind filled with images from his childhood and teen years like a documentary reel: caring for his twin brother at their preschool, riding a toy train at the mall, flying a plane at nine years old, visiting his cousins in Boston, exploring various flight museums, traveling with me to Germany to walk the streets my father walked, singing along at P!nk and Luke Bryan concerts, and just a few weeks ago, making the trip to Dallas to watch England play in the World Cup. Each memory reminded me that the goal was never to keep him close forever. The goal was to love him well enough so that he would be ready to go.

Looking back, these chapters are connected by the same lesson: being a parent asks different things of us at different times. Sometimes it means canceling the trip, choosing presence over ambition. Sometimes it means stepping away from a career that helped define us so we can make room for what matters next. And sometimes, perhaps hardest of all, it means letting go of the child we once held so tightly and trusting the person he has become. I am so very proud of William, grateful for every memory that brought us here, and hopeful for all that lies ahead.

Purdue dropoff. Boiler Up!

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Dan is not on the international superstar level like England’s headliners Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham or Declan Rice. However, he has certain skills, some naturally due to his height, others acquired, like his locker room leadership, that make him essential to the team’s success. He never expected to be picked for the England team and thought the congratulatory call from team manager Thomas Tuchel was actually a prank.

Big Dan didn’t make his first appearance in the World Cup until England’s knockout-round match vs. Mexico at the Azteca, the soaring home stadium of the Mexico national team. The match was a tight battle, like two heavyweight fighters exchanging blows. Then, in the 54th minute, England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a red card, putting the Three Lions down a man with nearly a full half to go. Mexico proceeded to incessantly attack the England goal. On came Dan in the 75^th minute to protect a tenuous England lead, playing with only ten men. Stoppage time was for another anxiety-causing 11 minutes. Dan bounced around the pitch, providing immaculate defense with six clearances, a World Cup record for someone entering the game so late.

England held on, then defeated Norway in the quarterfinals, with Dan contributing the final 10 minutes of extra time because of his defensive strength. England now face Argentina in the semifinals, a historic rivalry match teeming with Argentine superstars like Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez and the exceptional Argentine keeper Emiliano Martinez.

So what does Dan’s performance have to do with business leadership? Thomas Tuchel, when assembling his team, realized he needed players who could fit his system and play their roles exceptionally well. He didn’t want a collection of All-Stars or the highest-paid footballers. He wanted people with a specific skill needed at a specific moment. For American football fans, the idea echoes the Bill Belichick-era New England Patriots mantra: “Do Your Job.”

Business teams are no different. I would often tell my global teams that in American professional sports, when an individual player has an outstanding season, they receive a trophy. When the team wins the championship, every member of the team, from players on the field to the equipment managers to the ticket takers, receives a ring. I was always much more interested in winning rings and not trophies.

Many of my leaders had immense roles, leading hundreds of people across dozens of countries, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to deliver success for our customers. However, some of the team’s most critical members were individual contributors who excelled in their roles. My administrative assistant, my communications and winning-culture lead, and my strategy leader were all key to our team’s success, in some cases even more so than the leaders of the larger organizations. Our team liaisons with procurement, finance, and HR were also essential to exceeding our operating goals, even though they did not spend time directly on the pitch.

In business, your star players aren’t the only ones who score like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. The role players, like Big Dan Burn, are critical for your team’s success, especially in times of great adversity. I don’t know if England will reach the pinnacle of success and win the World Cup, but they have already proven they understand what makes truly exceptional teams thrive. Here’s hoping they finish the tournament with rings to match that little golden World Cup trophy.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

In college, I had decided to attend the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, a three-hour train ride north of London. Newcastle had more than 10,000 students and a strong engineering program. Of those 10,000 students, I was one of only four Americans at the university. I chose Newcastle because I wanted a full English experience rather than being one of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans studying in London.

Even though Newcastle was an English-speaking city, the local accent was hard to understand even for some Londoners, never mind a wet-behind-the-ears American. The folks in Newcastle are known as Geordies, and their accent features sing-song, upward intonations at the ends of sentences and unique vowel shifts. For example, “town” becomes “toon,” and “don’t” becomes “divven.” They also have unique sayings like “gonnen down the toon” for “going into town,” or “haway the lads” for “let’s go, boys.” Since then, I’ve impressed any Englishman I’ve met with my faux Geordie accent. Newcastle was a hard-scrabble city, renowned for its history of coal mining and shipbuilding. It was the home of a nationally known working-class adult comic magazine called Viz, which featured such locally authentic characters as Billy the Fish, Roger Mellie on the Tellie, and several others that weren’t politically correct. More notably, the musician Sting hailed from the area. He had just filmed a movie, Stormy Monday, in Newcastle with Melanie Griffith and Tommy Lee Jones. Years later, I would meet Sting in Vegas, and he commented on the Newcastle United shirt I wore to his show while I amused him with my ersatz Geordie accent.

I did end up meeting two of the other three Americans at Newcastle. One of the other Americans was a red-haired, heavyset woman pursuing her entire four-year degree at Newcastle. A year earlier, she had been scheduled to fly home on Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, but she fortunately changed her Christmas break travel plans. Another American, Ted, lived a few doors down from me in the dorm, purely out of coincidence. I never met the fourth American.

Our dorm, named Castle Leazes, was anything but a castle and resembled more of a 1960’s Soviet office complex. Castle Leazes was separated from the main campus by a cow field. Walking to classes required side-stepping any cow patties on the way. Although the dorm’s architecture was in a Brutalist, utilitarian style, one advantage was that we each had our own room, including a private sink. The community shower and toilet facilities were down the hall. Getting used to the food was another challenge; the British cuisine, at least in a university dorm, wasn’t prepared by Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver. Fortunately, the last day of the weekend was reserved for Sunday Roast, consisting of roasted meat, fluffy potatoes, mixed vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding. During the week, the full English breakfasts were quite fulfilling, with a selection of sausage, bacon, fried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, eggs, baked beans, and black pudding. Unfortunately, this was during the time of Mad Cow Disease spreading across Britain, as well as a Salmonella in eggs controversy, so both beef and eggs were served on rare occasions. In fact, decades later, when I tried to give blood the donor agency refused my contribution because I was in England during the Mad Cow outbreak.

I quickly made friends in the dorm. There was Billy from East London, slight in build, congenial in personality, and always speaking in Cockney expressions. I stayed at his home in East London, where he lived with his mum and brother, before flying home for the winter holidays. After an evening of clubbing, we arrived back at his flat only to discover his cat had urinated all over my suitcase! Duncan was from the Channel Islands, a Scotsman with a unique sense of humor. Owen was from Reigate, though his family was originally from Ireland, and he was very proud of his Irish heritage. Over the years, I spent time with both him and his parents, including going to a British music festival with Owen where we saw rapper Ice-T perform in a small tent with his band Body Count. Owen later visited me multiple times in the United States. One of our two friends named Michael was from Doncaster in South Yorkshire and was nicknamed Tykey. His accent was so thick that many of us, including the native Englishmen, had trouble understanding him. His pronunciation, however, did not seem to hinder his ability to chat up the “birds” or girls at Uni. Ian was from Lancashire and a big cricket fan; he taught me the rules of ‘the gentleman’s game”, which I soon forgot after returning stateside. He later patched up my thumb after I cut it on a shattered, stolen pint glass while celebrating my 21st birthday after a night out on the Newcastle Quayside. Big Kevin was tall and fit, blasting AC/DC from his room across the hall at all hours. He seemed a bit older than the rest of us and served as a kind of mentor to our cohort. Later, he would attempt to sail around the world with his future wife, whom he met in Australia. I once spent a couple of nights on their boat docked at St Katharine’s in central London. John, whose dad owned the company that produced traffic cones for Britain, spoke with a very posh accent. The other Michael was tall and lanky. We nicknamed him Streaky, because his gait was like a lightning streak. He had a passion for journalism and debate. We occasionally would discuss politics like American imperialism or the Israel-Palestine conflict. Interestingly, he once asked me, “Are you Jewish or are you an American?”, something I’ve pondered in the decades since. James was bespectacled and ginger haired. He loved travel and would go on to build his own travel business. Phil was a squat, pugnacious maths student who would have your back in any argument. He would always poke fun at Ted and me about our American ways, but in a playful, teasing manner. He and Big Kevin once stowed aboard a train to Edinburgh to catch the last call, which was an hour or so later than in Newcastle. Little Kevin was a belligerent lout who had clearly broken his nose at some point. He wore an earring to try to enhance his tough guy bona fides. We had a scuffle in the hallway once, and I think most of the lads believed he was at fault. Finally, there was Ted, the other American who lived on my floor just down the hall. Curly-haired and athletic, he became one of my closest friends in Newcastle and back home because of our shared exchange experience and our common American background. Ted eventually emigrated back to England and married a local physician. As a result, my work trips through London would always be a great excuse to spend time with Ted, or any of the other lads who happened to be in town.

As a group, we regularly watched the Australian soap opera Neighbors, starring future pop idol Kylie Minogue, and the English soap opera EastEnders, which was on in the TV room. We played football, for the American pagans, soccer, in the Castle Leazes atrium. I served as a goalie in homage to Tony Meola, the star keeper of that year’s United States World Cup team. We journeyed down to the Toon every weekend to try to drink “the board” at the Cooperage, a 15th-century haunted pub. The board was that day’s selection of different beers and ciders, each with a slowly increasing alcohol content, with one of the most potent being Owd Rodger. Along the way, we passed the Geordie locals. The women would be in crop tops and short skirts, immune to the frigid temperatures, while the men wore tracksuits and had tapered, slicked-back hair.

The Student Union sold Newcastle Ale, the local brew, for one pound a pint and had a small nightclub in the basement. The lads nicknamed me “Mike Tyson” as my intoxicated dance moves consisted of punching the air wildly in front of me. After a night on the town, we would often end up at either a kebab shop or a fish-and-chip “chippie” that was open after the bars closed. Doner kebabs were seasoned lamb or beef roasted on a vertical rotisserie, served in a pita with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and a yoghurt sauce. The chippies would sell battered white fish with a heap of French fries, smothered with salt and vinegar, all served in a wrapping made from yesterday’s newspaper. Either delicacy would fill our stomachs after an evening’s soiree.

Newcastle was infamous for its passionate supporters of the local football team, who played in century-old St James Park. Newcastle United was nicknamed the Magpies because their black-and-white striped kit resembled the plumage of a common bird found throughout England. Naturally, I had to experience a Magpie match in person. At the time, nearly all of the stands were standing room only. A lot of Newcastle Brown Ale would be consumed by the almost exclusively male spectators. To avoid losing their precious standing spot when going to the toilet, supporters would often just urinate in place. Exiting the venue required avoiding the puddles that formed. The entire crowd would be singing chants unique to the supporters and disparaging the opponent, including such winning ditties as “You’re Going Home in a Geordie Ambulance”, “Blaydon Races” and “Toon Army”. Somewhere exists a cassette tape of all the lads singing those tunes in one of our dorm rooms. For this match, Newcastle won unexpectedly. Ted and Phil decided it would be great to rush the pitch with all the other fans. We found them back at Castle Leazes in all their glory as proper hooligans.

Living in the UK was a great launching point for traveling around and seeing the continent for the first time. Ted and I took a weekend trip to Amsterdam, exploring tourist sites like Anne Frank’s house, eating crepes, and wandering along the cobblestone-lined canals. We sojourned through the infamous red-light district but did not partake in any local window shopping. We had free beer at the Heineken brewery, where I learned that the difference between the Heineken labels in the US and the rest of the world was that the American version lacked a full red star because of its communist connotations. Ted and I stayed near the famous Bulldog pub, but like the wares of the red-light district, we did not consume any of their marijuana infused products. A local vendor offered “All the drugs an American can want”. Another offered us to jump into the bar to see “the sickest sex show you will ever see”. In retrospect, we were fairly restrained in what has been called a “Disneyland for Adults”.

The autumn of 1989 was a period of tremendous change in Europe, with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November eventually leading to the end of the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Union. The following spring, James, the future travel agent, and I bought cheap airline tickets on a low-cost carrier and spent the weekend in Berlin. We stayed at a hostel and walked from West Berlin to East Berlin. There was a spot along the remaining Berlin wall that had been sprayed “Tulane Waves to the Wall,” obviously painted by some fellow Tulane JYA students. We explored Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate, then crossed into East Berlin. East Berlin felt like going through a time machine. A local grocery market had nearly barren shelves, still in transition from communist rule to a market economy. There were numerous buildings that had been bombed forty years ago that still hadn’t been rebuilt. Vendors sold no longer needed East German military medals, communist paraphernalia, and most likely asbestos-infused chunks of the wall that had been chiseled from concrete slabs. I bought a piece of the wall and a Soviet medal, which I both still own, just in case I need to barter for a communist prisoner exchange sometime in the future. James and l returned to West Berlin, enjoying some local cuisine, drinking in the requisite Irish Pub, visiting the Berlin Zoo and attending one of the famous Berlin cabarets. At a local flea market I found a postcard version of the poster for “The Natural,” one of my favorite movies, but with all the text in German.

At the end of the spring term, I backpacked around northern Europe on my own. Traveling through Europe was very different back then. There were no cell phones or GPS. The Let’s Go guidebooks were your navigator and travel agent, thick yellow paperbacks that listed hostel information, tourist offices, government agencies, and local attractions. A EuroRail pass would grant transportation from one destination to another across national borders. A common currency for Europe did not yet exist, so every stop in a new country meant going to the little money exchange booth at the train station to exchange blue American Express traveler’s checks for local currency. Next would be a quest to find a coin-operated payphone booth to call a selection of Let’s Go listed hostels and inquire about a bed for the evening. I journeyed from London to Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Munich, and ended at my grandfather’s grave site in Frankfurt.

My year in Europe had an incredible impact on me at such a young age. I realized that no matter where people lived in the world, they were generally similar, guided by a common set of underlying principles. Most people just wanted a decent job, a safe roof over their heads, a reasonable cost of living, and a good education for their kids, with the hope that the next generation would be better off than their parents. Occasionally, they wanted to entertain themselves or take a holiday. Inherently, these were the values my father wanted to instill in me, drawn from his own life experiences and challenges in Europe.

However, my sojourn in Europe also gave me pause. When I visited Vienna, the hostel had a logbook for visitors to leave their names and some comments. There were some clearly antisemitic entries sprinkled in the book. In Newcastle, I attended a lecture on the Israel –Palestine conflict. The participants were almost exclusively in support of Palestine without a balanced view of the conflict, and I think I was the only Jew in attendance. I had an Arab friend from Oman, but I was so incensed by the one-sided discussion that I wrote a letter that was published in the school newspaper, defending the right for Israel to exist.

Overall, I wouldn’t trade that year for all the money in the world. The lifelong friendships, cultural awareness, travel skills, independence, and connections I gained have profoundly shaped my growth. Reflecting on that time, I see how it served as a launching point for my future adventures, challenges, perseverance, and understanding. It truly enabled me to become a better leader of my multinational teams and foster a deeper appreciation for global interactions.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

My dad was serving in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M.A.S.H.) unit, like the one portrayed by Alan Alda’s television show. He had just celebrated his 22nd birthday. In old photographs I found of him, his Army uniform was ill-fitting over his thin, wiry frame. To my knowledge, he didn’t have much medical training. I suspect his role was more like Radar O’Reilly’s company clerk than Trapper John’s surgeon.

He never really talked about his service in Korea, except to say he was proud to have served a country that gave him a new life, escaping the horrors of the Holocaust. The only incident he mentioned was that his unit cared for the last soldier killed in Korea after the armistice had been signed. A young life was tragically lost for no reason as hostilities had already ceased. My dad never gave the man’s name, the unit’s location, or what happened to the soldier. He never discussed what else he saw as a member of a M.A.S.H. unit, but I can only imagine it was horrific. Young men, his age, frightened, battered, mangled, forever scarred physically and mentally.

A few years ago, my dad was posthumously recognized by our hometown of Peabody, Massachusetts, on the steps of our red-bricked city hall. It was an appropriately cool, gray, and overcast day, adding to the solemnity of the Memorial Day ceremonies. Following a parade through our little town square featuring emergency responders, active-duty reservists, and the Peabody Veterans Memorial High School marching band, the Mayor presided over a small ceremony recognizing the next of kin of Peabody veterans who had passed. The Medal of Fidelity for Private First Class Max Feiner was awarded for “…men…who died as a result of…combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder…” A somber recognition of the quiet pain he endured while he was alive.

This Memorial Day, the United States finds itself at war once again. My son is now close to the age my dad was when he entered the military. My son plans to attend Purdue University and double major in aviation management and aviation operations, a stark difference from my father’s life at the same age. Unlike my father, I don’t think joining the military has crossed my son’s mind. I wonder what would have happened to my dad if he had the opportunity to make a similar decision. Would he have finished college? Would he have become the full-time writer or journalist he always wanted to be? Would he have adjusted more to adulthood without the horrors of war forever in his memory?

Memorial Day asks us not only to remember the fallen, but also to honor them. Some were lost on the battlefield while others, like my father, carried those battles home in silence. As I think of my father, and of my son standing at the precipice of his own future, I am reminded that the cost of war echoes across generations. The truest way we can honor that sacrifice is not only with BBQs, parades, ceremonies, and flags, but with gratitude, compassion, and a commitment never to take peace for granted.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Collecting Memories and Experiences

I am a bit of a collector. When I was a kid, I collected Star Wars action figures, baseball cards, and comic books. As an adult, I’ve collected event tickets, signed baseballs, all kinds of autographed items, guitar picks, and hats from stadiums I’ve visited. I’ve also collected experiences—specifically sports experiences.

Over the years, I’ve attended some of the greatest sporting events in the world: the World Series (four times), the Super Bowl (four times), the College Football National Championship, the College World Series, the Final Four (five times), the NBA Finals (five times), the Stanley Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, the NBA All-Star Game, the Pro Bowl, the MLS All-Star Game, the Euros, Tennis’ Australian and US Opens, Wimbledon (twice), the Masters (twice), the PGA Championship, the US Open (golf), Formula One, the Commonwealth Games, the Summer Olympics, and countless regular season games, events, and exhibitions across all kinds of sports on six continents.

Despite all these experiences, there are still more events I hope to attend: the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, the British Open (golf), the French Open (tennis), the NHL All-Star Game, and the World Cup. But this past month, I was able to check another event off my list: The Winter Olympics in Italy.

Arriving at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics

My Winter Olympics experience was one of the most incredible events I’ve attended, as I had a personal interest in the competition. My friend’s son, Troy Podmilsak, was ranked the #1 entrant for the Freestyle Skiing Men’s Freeski Big Air competition. The Olympics were held in northern Italy, dubbed the Milano-Cortina Olympics, but in reality, it was the most distributed Olympics ever, spread out among six major locations in Northern Italy.

Big Air, slopestyle, and other events took place in the Italian Alps ski town of Livigno. Livigno is not easy to reach. The simplest route from the United States was to fly to Zurich (for me, via Washington Dulles) and then take a three to four hour van ride to Livigno, winding through the Alps and passing Davos.

Upon arriving in Zurich, I met my friends at their Citizen M hotel in downtown Zurich. The day was slightly overcast, and though it had been nearly forty years since I had last been in Zurich, it felt somewhat familiar. Scott, his wife Amy, their college-aged daughter Anna, Amy’s brother Bob and his wife Abby, our mutual friend Wayne and his wife Lori, and Troy’s aunt Laurie, all gathered in the hotel lobby as two vans approached and we began our journey.

The journey took the full four hours due to unique travel restrictions and heavy traffic. At one point, we stopped at a train station in the Alps, where we had to drive our van onto an open-air railcar and traverse a single-lane train tunnel, essentially a ferry on rails. Upon reaching the other side, we continued toward the Italian border. Entering Italy required passing through a tunnel that was only open during specific hours. One driver shared a story about being stuck for three hours after missing the tunnel’s opening window.

We arrived in Livigno and were immediately struck by its postcard-perfect ski town charm. The Olympic venues were clearly marked with the Olympic rings and vibrant hospitality. Towering above the village was a 21-story ramp built specifically for the Big Air events. Athletes ascended to the top of the ramp via a makeshift, rickety construction elevator.

We stopped in town to gather supplies before heading to our accommodations at the Parc Chalet. Located up the mountainside, Parc Chalet overlooked the Big Air jump and the Olympics Fan Fest area, which featured large plastic igloos planted in the snow.

Our accommodations exceeded expectations. Each chalet was enormous, spanning three levels: an entry room with a sauna and full bath on the ground floor, a bedroom, kitchenette, and living room on the second floor, and a spacious bedroom with a sitting area on the third floor offering spectacular views of the mountainside. The chalet buildings were interconnected by what seemed like catacombs, revealing new rooms and facilities with every walk—movie theater, private bar lounge, wine room, massage room. Though it felt centuries old, we learned the establishment was built in 2004.

That evening, we dined at Ristorante Valtellina’s, enjoying regional Italian fare. I had homemade egg pasta ravioli with porcini mushrooms—an exquisite dish. The meal was filled with humorous moments, including a playful exchange with our waiter, Daniela –not Daniel!- about Parmesan cheese and ketchup (American only staples). “No cappuccino after midnight and no ketchup ever!!” he exclaimed. After dessert, exhausted from travel, I called a taxi back to the Chalet and retired for the night.

Qualifying Day: The Big Air Competition

Sunday was qualifying day, and our group was filled with anticipation to watch Troy compete. We ventured into town to witness other Olympic events in the ski zone. Before qualifying, we had a large reservation at Kosmo Taste the Mountain, located in the shadow of the Big Air ramp. The Troy rooting party grew to about twenty-five members, and the food was exceptional—local specialties like Sciatt, crispy deep-fried buckwheat balls filled with melting Valtellina Casera cheese. Kosmo’s status as a Michelin restaurant was evident from plaques on the wall.

After the meal, we headed to the Olympic venue early to secure a spot up front for Troy’s performance. On the way, we encountered Australian gold medalist Jakara Anthony, who had just come from her medal ceremony.

Once we were on the viewing rails, our group, equipped with banners, fatheads, and USA flags, drew strangers—including non-Americans—who joined in our enthusiasm and patriotic spirit.

Qualifying featured 29 athletes, with 12 advancing to the finals. Each athlete performed three runs with different tricks, scored by seven judges from 0 to 100. One run had to be an A run and one a B run; the lowest score was dropped, and the best two scores were added for the final result.

The tricks were incredibly difficult, and as viewing novices, it was hard to judge their quality in the brief moments athletes spent in the air. Troy’s first run was a Switch Triple Cork 1980, earning a score of 89.00. (Don’t ask me what any of that means –the trick names sound more like a quarterback’s call playing cadence). Our group’s chant of “USA” and “T-Pod” could be heard at the top of the platform –something Troy remarked he hadn’t heard before.

The risks of big air freestyle were apparent when 18-year-old Finnish skier Elias Lajunen crashed, losing consciousness and sliding on the ice. Thankfully, after a tense moment and prompt medical attention, he gave a thumbs up and was taken to the hospital, suffering a concussion.

After all athletes completed their first runs, Troy was in eighth place, comfortably positioned for the finals. The excitement grew for the second set of runs. Next to us were a couple of Swiss fans, one male and one female, who enthusiastically cheered on Troy on our behalf and then got us to cheer on their favorite Swiss skiers Fabian Boesch and Nils Rhyner. The male Swiss fan had a full-on mullet and porn star mustache and a complete loving life attitude. Whenever his countrymen didn’t score as high as he thought, he would yell out the expletive “Fackin Judges!”, which we also quickly adapted for any American skier. He later put the woman on his shoulders when Fabian would do his runs; he revealed she was Fabian’s girlfriend by shouting out “She’s fackin’ Fabian!”

Troy’s second run was a right triple cork 1800 mute, scoring 85.00. Once again, the judges’ scores seemed lower than expected. The pressure increased, and Troy slipped a spot. His third run was scored a DNI, indicating no improvement on the previous two scores. As the last skiers performed, nervous anticipation set in as Troy was pushed to 10th place. Fortunately, he qualified for the finals, and our group celebrated with Troy after the event. Our feet frozen from hours standing on ice, we returned to our accommodations, stopping at a Livigno bar for a nightcap. Our group had apparently been all over the TV coverage, with friends from across the United States sending photos and screenshots of us.

Off Day: Exploring Livigno

Monday was an off day for the Men’s Big Air event. Most of our group went skiing at the nearby public resort, while I slept in. Having skied only once and with my history of health challenges, I opted out, which proved wise as the rest of the party encountered a blizzard at the mountaintop. Snow blew at ninety degrees, pelting them with ice, and visibility dropped below ten feet. They remarked the Italian slopes were more treacherous than those in the US due to less trail and cliff marking.

I explored the town on my own, discovering that all shops closed at 12:30 PM for riposo, the Italian version of a siesta. I took the courtesy shuttle from Parc Chalet, with the driver offering to pick me up when needed. Despite a major snowstorm (the same one pelting the others on the slopes), I visited the official Milano Olympics shop—just a corner of an existing clothing store—bought a few items, and stopped for Nutella and banana crepes. When I tried to buy snacks at the supermarket, I arrived one minute after riposo had started and found it closed. I decided to try to go back to the hotel as I knew room service stopped at 200PM for lunch. I called the shuttle, and the hotel answered but informed me they were at lunch, so why don’t I get something to eat and call back later! Mind you, it was less than a 15-minute round trip, but Italian lunchtime is Italian lunchtime. I was able to hail an Uber and made it back to the room by 130 in time to order pizza for room service via the hotel app.

At 210, with no pizza in sight, I called the front desk. They informed me that pizza is not available for lunch because the oven is only fired up for dinner, and the kitchen is now closed, so I would need to wait until 400 to order something!

I spent time in the chalet until the group returned from skiing. Wayne and I visited Adam’s Bar, located in the catacombs, where the front desk clerk doubled as the bartender. I enjoyed the snacks he provided, having not eaten since the crepes that morning.

After several of us were hanging by the fireplace, we ventured to our dinner at Il Cenacolo. Again, the meal was exceptional. Just after we ordered, this energetic man, his thick wavy hair covered with a layer of snow, burst into the restaurant and began excitedly chatting with us. This was none other than Luca Galli, the founder and chef of the restaurant and its sister location. He kept joking with us throughout the meal, even when we needled him for not recommending the tomahawk steaks to the Americans that the Canadian snowboard team had ordered, who were sitting at the table next to us. At the end of the meal, he brought each of the ladies Luca branded chapstick, a unique touch.

Stomachs full, most of our party ventured home while Scott, Wayne, and I headed to Miky’s club. It was a disco club with a 10 Euro cover. There were two routes downstairs to the club—traditional stairs or a wooden slide, with a waiting bouncer to catch any customers who chose the slide. We chose the stairs and ordered Bud Lights (as you do in a foreign country, in defiance of Corona Extra on display everywhere in town, as an official Olympic sponsor..and who thinks of Corona Extra for winter sports?). A mustachioed guy in a white Team USA jacket walked past and stood next to us, after posing for photos with several other patrons. I noticed he had a number of Olympic pins, including one of Snoop Dogg. Scott asked for his name, and discovered that he was none other than snowboarding legend Nick Baumgartner. Apparently, he’s been to five Olympics and won his first gold medal at age 40 in 2022. We chatted with him about his various Olympic exploits. He left shortly after, signaling it was time for us to go home too.

Finals Day: Troy’s Big Air Performance

Tuesday was Big Air finals day. I woke up feeling anxious for Troy and his family. My van was scheduled to leave Livigno at 5:00 AM on Wednesday, before the outgoing tunnel closed at 6:00AM. Troy’s aunt was going to join me on the journey, as she also had a flight to catch on Wednesday. At breakfast, I learned another guest tried leaving for Zurich at 5:00 AM that morning but their van arrived three hours late, dramatically disrupting their travel plans.

I became a bit anxious and started considering alternative options since I needed to be home by Thursday. During the day, I kept in touch with the van company and eventually arranged to move our departure up to 11PM that night instead of 5AM the next morning. As a precaution, I also purchased train tickets (for a much more laborious route) in case the van company couldn’t guarantee a driver for that evening.

The morning was spent on our last trips into town and a bit of shopping. There was a Coca-Cola pop-up in the center of town, and out of curiosity, I asked what was happening inside. Coca-Cola was offering a very unique souvenir: a special can for the Livigno Games, laser-etched with your face and name. Deciding this was a pretty special keepsake, I waited in line. I was wearing my New England Patriots beanie, and the person in front of me said “Go Pats!” It turned out she grew up in a town not far from my hometown, now lives in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (former home of the Red Sox Triple-A team), received her Master’s from the University of Texas at Austin, and was married in the UT Alumni Center, which I’ve been to dozens of times. I was struck by being so far from home at the Olympics, yet meeting someone with so much in common. Scott joined me for the Coca-Cola etching, and we walked off with our trinkets.

For lunch, most of the group stopped at the Hotel Touring Ristorante Pizzeria, to sample the crepes and pizza. We ordered a pizza with burrata, a ball of mozzarella filled with stracciatella, sitting on top of the pizza – a unique touch. On our way back to our chalets, while waiting for an Uber, a promotions duo from the ubiquitous Corona Extra snapped a Polaroid of our group.

We geared up at the chalets for that night’s event, putting on our various layers of clothing. Once again, we headed to Kosmos for pre-Finals snacks and drinks. Our Troy support team seemed to grow even more in numbers. We headed down to the finals area, once again with nervous anticipation for the exhibition.

The skiers launched in reverse order from how they finished in qualifying, so Troy was up third. When Troy approached the top of the ramp, we let out a big roar and loud chants of “T-Pod! T-Pod! T-Pod”. He completed his tricks, a Switch triple cork 1980, and we waited for the judges’ ruling -- he scored a 90.5 and we erupted in celebratory cheers. At the end of the first round, he was sitting in 6^th place, within striking distance of a medal.

The second run was a Triple cork 2160 mute (with a squatted landing). To the naked eye, it looked like he had nailed that trick as well, but the judges thought differently— they scored it a 73.75, dropping Troy to 7th after the second round. Regardless, we were still loud and boisterous in our support of Troy. Apparently, at one point, the NBC broadcasters even remarked, “If you had to pick someone to go out with tonight, I think the Podmilsak family would be the choice!”

As the third run approached, Ill admit I was hoping the other skiers would trip or not land properly (but safely) so that Troy could have a shot at a medal. As the competition progressed, the medal contenders began to separate from the rest of the athletes. Troy’s last run was a Triple cork 2160 (with nose drag). Again, we waited a couple of heartbeats for the scores to be posted, nervously anxious for a strong result. The judges gave Troy a 94! It was his highest score of the entire week, on his very last run. The other competitors went through their runs, and the distance between Troy and a medal started to shrink. Unfortunately, the eventual medal winners also had their best runs on their last try. Troy ended up fourth, scoring an aggregate 184.50. We were collectively disappointed but had so much pride that this 21-year-old skier, skiing for his country, finished fourth in the world in his sport on its biggest stage.

It was hard to find a ride back to our accommodations so Troy’s aunt and I walked back with his parents to wait for our approaching van pickup. I admit that I could not keep pace as we went up the mountainside. The thirty or so pounds I’ve put on in a year because of various prednisone treatments really weighed me down. I did have a great conversation with Troy’s dad, Scott, about his various business ventures, the Olympics, health, Troy’s performance, and our families, between stops for gathering breaths.

Our van actually arrived on time at the correct location, and we made our journey to Zurich without any issues. My Olympic adventure had come to an end –until France 2030 !

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Leaving Dell and Embracing Change

As of this week, I mark one year since departing from my 26-year career at Dell Technologies. Leaving Dell was a difficult decision, largely due to the deep relationships I had built over two decades, the daily problem-solving challenges, and the significant impact on the local community and our customers. Despite the difficulty, it was undoubtedly the right choice for me. Over the past year, I have experienced a surge of creativity, entrepreneurship, family involvement, and personal growth. Although there have been some challenges, I feel as though I have not slowed down at all.

Family Transitions and New Beginnings

The timing of my departure was fortuitous. Last year, my family decided to sell our home in Peabody, MA, which we had owned for 54 years, and to find a senior living facility for my mother. We were fortunate to find the perfect place for her just a couple of miles from our family home. The sale and move were emotionally taxing, and sorting through and disposing of half a century’s worth of belongings was daunting. As an example, I recycled 30 pounds of papers from 50 years of storage! Ultimately, it was the right move, and a new young family now occupies our former home.

Milestones and Achievements for My Sons

My sons turned 18 this year, officially becoming adults and entering their senior year of high school. William’s lifelong passion for aviation led us to focus our college search on schools with strong aviation management programs. I dedicated significant effort to assisting with his college applications, and we toured campuses in Nashville, Omaha, and Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. Each visit also included memorable experiences, such as attending concerts or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, creating cherished father-son moments. Ultimately, William was accepted into his top choice, Purdue, and will become a Boilermaker in the fall. Additionally, we enjoyed our annual father-son trip to Europe, visiting both London and Dublin.

For Jake, who also turned 18 but cannot make decisions for himself, we had to go through the legal process to obtain guardianship. After a 17-year wait on the state Medicaid waiver list, Jake finally received benefits, with the state now covering some of the services he needs. Despite my wife and I holding five undergraduate and graduate degrees between us, navigating the guardianship and waiver processes was a bureaucratic challenge—it’s remarkable that other families manage to get through it. Our current focus is on finding long-term residential care for Jake, a daunting task due to limited opportunities for individuals with his needs in central Texas. To help address this gap, I joined the board of a nonprofit organization in Austin, J13, which aims to build suitable residential facilities for adults with significant cognitive challenges. You can learn more about J13 here: www.john13.org.

Personal Bucket List Accomplishments

This year was also marked by personal achievements. I fulfilled my goal of attending a game at every major league baseball park, watching the Red Sox open the season against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. (Keeping count, I’ve been to 43 MLB stadiums). I also attended the PGA Championship in Charlotte, spending time with old friends and crossing another major sporting event off my list (all that remains for golf Majors is the British Open). The Major League Soccer All-Star Game was held in Austin so I’ve now been to four out of the five U.S. sports all-star games (with only the NHL remaining).

Creative Pursuits and New Endeavors

Creativity played a significant role in the past year. I self-published two books: “The Dog That Ate Everything,” a children’s book, and “Services is Humanity,” a business book coauthored with my friend John Carroll. Both books are available on Amazon.

https://a.co/d/0aKn86yi

https://a.co/d/0ixoS4uf

I launched a Substack, auditioned for Wheel of Fortune, and was featured in the Q&A segment of Ted Danson’s podcast “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” with special guest Jesse Eisenberg.

https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/where-everybody-knows-your-name/episodes/jesse-eisenberg-live-in-austin-tx

At the ATX Festival, I questioned Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein about his writing process for stand-up versus screen. After 20 years, I attended the SXSW film and music festival. I had memorable encounters with actors Bill Murray, Billy Bob Thornton, Jeremy Renner, David Duchovny; Red Sox stars David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez; musicians Eric Church, Billy Idol and Kelsea Ballerini; and comedians John Mulaney and Patton Oswalt. Another bucket list item was checked off when my wife and I saw Eric Church perform at the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Entrepreneurship and Professional Growth

When I was in high school, I wrote in the yearbook that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Shortly after “retiring”, I formed Feiner Management LLC in response to requests from former colleagues and friends seeking help with business challenges. I learned how to establish a business in Texas, create customer contracts, select project management and billing tools, and manage expenses and finances. I now serve half a dozen active clients, ranging from small software startups to multibillion-dollar multinational corporations. The freedom of running my own business has been exhilarating, and I remain engaged with many of those relationships I cultivated over two decades. Reading the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, and the Austin Business Journal has become part of my morning routine, helping me generate ideas for clients or offer context to the current market. The business book I coauthored with John Carroll is gaining attention in our professional network and may evolve into a new learning development venture. I’ve also been asked to host or participate in various conferences and workshops. I continue to take on new clients for the right business need and fit.

Personal Challenges and Health Struggles

The year has not been without difficulties. Early in 2025, my mother’s sister Shoshana passed away, and I was grateful to be with her sons (my cousins) in Denver at the time. The evening of her passing was surreal, as we sat in the basement of a funeral home during a snowstorm while a party with live music took place upstairs in the ballroom.

I also faced a recurrence of my autoimmune disease, ITP, over the past year. ITP causes dangerously low platelet counts, essential for clotting. When an infection occurs, my immune system produces antibodies that not only eliminate the virus but also destroy my platelets. After nearly a decade free from ITP, a routine blood test early last year revealed critically low platelet levels. I underwent a short-term regimen of prednisone and weekly infusions of an immunosuppressant to prevent my body from attacking itself. The side effects of prednisone—mood swings, insomnia, and an insatiable appetite leading to weight gain—were difficult to manage, and I gained over 25 pounds, which has been hard to lose. The emotional toll of an unpredictable illness is significant. I often debate internally how sick I am and when to seek more intensive medical attention. I’ve recently said I would much rather have a broken leg than this illness, as a broken leg has a definitive time to heal, is outwardly visible, and has a clear resolution. I thought I would be free from ITP for another five to six years after the last bout resolved in the summer, but last week, ironically the day after participating in a market research study about ITP, I noticed symptoms again and am now back on a prednisone and immunosuppressant regimen.

I’m positive I’ll beat back this disease once again, and just recently had a normal blood count, so fingers crossed I’m back on the mend.

Looking Forward to the Future

Looking back, this year has brought a mix of unforgettable adventures, personal growth, and hard-fought health battles. Through every triumph and setback, I’ve been reminded of the importance of resilience, community, and finding joy even in the most unlikely places. As I move forward, I’m filled with hope and gratitude for the opportunities ahead—ready to embrace new challenges, celebrate small victories, and continue building meaningful connections both personally and professionally. The journey isn’t always easy, but with each chapter, I’m more determined than ever to live fully and see what comes next.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2026 is to read more physical books—and hopefully lose about 25 pounds (thanks, GLP-1!). I used to adore books, but living in the digital age has turned me into a “screenager,” spending more time scrolling than reading. I continue to appreciate the tangible experience of turning pages and selecting appropriate bookmarks for each book. I find that reading one or two chapters of a book before bed improves the quality of my sleep. I recently finished Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, John Updike’s tale of Boston Red Sox icon Ted Williams’ last game. Right now, I’m reading James by Percival Elliott, which retells the story of Jim the slave from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, presenting him as the novel’s most educated and literate character. In Elliott’s version, Jim’s original dialogue was simply a cover for his literacy. On my nightstand sit Who is Government by Michael Lewis, Heaven Help Us by John Kasich, Die with Zero by Bill Perkins, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson and 1984 by George Orwell, each awaiting their turn at bat.

My passion for reading extends to collecting memorabilia; I own dozens of signed books, including autographs from most U.S. Presidents from the past sixty years, sports legends, actors, astronauts, journalists and musicians.

Some of my favorite finds have happened by pure luck. On Labor Day 2015, my wife and I headed out to buy books for our son, who is dyslexic and hasn’t always enjoyed reading, though he loved certain series like Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia. We visited Half Price Books, a massive used bookstore shared with a Goodwill in an area blending redevelopment and classic Austin businesses. A boxing/MMA gym with a mural of fierce fighters was next door.

Walking in, I noticed the Rare Books and Collectibles section, which stood apart at the back of the store near the children’s books. This area, surrounded by its own walls and glass cases, held nonfiction, fiction, sports, politics, movies, music, and other collectibles. The centerpiece was a four-foot glass case displaying rare or signed books.

There, I spotted a signed copy of The Mick by New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle for $200—reasonable if authentic. After confirming similar prices online, I noted the book was inscribed, which usually reduces forgery risk since personalized inscriptions aren’t as valuable. Mickey Mantle has one of the most forged signatures in history. I tracked down a clerk who opened the case, and when I flipped open the book, I found: “To Bob, Best Wishes, Mickey Mantle.” Even though I am a Red Sox fan, I took this inscription as fate! I jokingly told the clerk, “My name is Bob, and I need this book.” She moved it to the front check-out for safekeeping. I told my wife Emily, who was browsing children’s books, about my find. We bought some Amelia Bedelia books, paid for the Mantle autograph, and went home celebrating my new treasure.

Buoyed by this discovery, I began checking that store’s collectibles section every few months and found more gems—like a Cat in the Hat signed by Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel), and a Michael J Fox book inscribed to cyclist Lance Armstrong and his then girlfriend Anna Hansen, likely given during a cycling event in Austin before Armstrong’s fall from grace. There were also vinyl records signed by the Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin.

Eventually, I started visiting other Half Price Books stores. Around New Year’s 2021, I stopped by a smaller store. Their collectibles were limited, but I found a jacket-less, signed copy of Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonne 1985. After comparing the signature online and consulting a couple of Andy Warhol dealers, one confirmed it looked genuine. I located an unsigned edition of the book with a jacket cover available online, purchased it, and subsequently enhanced my collection by updating my autographed copy with a contemporary cover. I had added an authentic “Warhol” to my collection! ( A few years later, I found another signed Warhol book at a different store.)

In June of that year, after dropping my son off at Magic Camp, I returned to the store. In the collectibles section, I found a slim 1939 Who’s Who in Baseball, labeled “as is,” with 16 signatures inside, for $300. I immediately recognized autographs from baseball Hall of Famers Paul and Lloyd Waner, and Rip Sewell, all Pittsburgh Pirates players. I purchased the book, and in the car, I opened the book again to look at the signatures. One signature caught my eye—it resembled Honus Wagner’s, the legendary third baseman who was part of the first Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 1936 alongside Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. A quick search confirmed he coached the Pirates in 1939, and the signature style matched his later years. I later consulted another signature expert who confirmed it was likely authentic—and could be worth several thousand dollars! At home, I discovered another autograph from Hall of Famer Luke Appling and identified all but two of the remaining signers. The back cover of the book contained an inscription indicating ownership by Mrs. Joe E. Brown, which corresponded with a prominent Joe E. Brown signature found on the inside cover. A quick search showed that Joe E. Brown, a major Hollywood box office star in the 1930s, was also an avid baseball fan. He later became known for the Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon film Some Like It Hot and his famous line, “Well, nobody’s perfect.” He also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Thus, one spontaneous book purchase connected the worlds of baseball and Hollywood through a lucky discovery.

So instead of scrolling on your phone, hop in your car and head to your nearest bookstore to browse through sections that interest you. You might stumble upon a hidden gem! Also, if you have any book recommendations for this year, feel free to share them in the comments!!

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

October holds another special significance for me. I recently started listening to the Wild Card with Rachel Martin podcast. Rachel, an NPR journalist, hosts weekly interviews with luminaries and celebrities, in which she asks them to select one of three cards across multiple rounds of questions. Each card presents a challenging question that the interviewee has not seen before, and their answers reveal insights into their character, experience, or philosophy. At the end of each episode, Rachel asks a universal question: “Pick one moment from your past that you want to revisit and linger on a little longer.”

My moment is October 23, 2004. That was the date of the first game of the 2004 World Series. I surprised my dad, a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, with World Series tickets. If you know your baseball history, the Red Sox made it to the World Series after being down three games to none in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against their hated rival, the New York Yankees. No team in the 149-year history of Major League Baseball, before or since, has come back to win a seven-game series after being down three games. My dad was obsessed with the Red Sox, and he passed that obsession on to me. He would often tell the story of trying to go to the 1946 World Series (also against the St. Louis Cardinals), but a mounted police horse stepped on his foot, and he couldn’t attend the game.

I had purchased the tickets before the ALCS was over, assuming prices would skyrocket if the Red Sox won. I also booked a flight using frequent flier miles, so I could cancel the trip without any issues if the Red Sox didn’t win. StubHub was just starting to gain recognition as a verified ticket reseller and was still competing with sellers on eBay, many of whom were disreputable. I found one seller offering two pairs of tickets for about the same price—a pair in the bleachers (not appealing due to October weather in Boston) and another in what was then known as the 406 Club—the glass-enclosed, climate-controlled section behind home plate. I purchased the enclosed tickets right away. The night the Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, I called my dad and told him we’d be going to Game 1 of the World Series a few days later. He was speechless.

When we arrived at Fenway Park, we first passed the NESN outdoor stage, where Jerry Remy, the renowned Red Sox analyst, was broadcasting. Jerry stopped for a moment to sign our tickets before heading inside Fenway Park. We then went to our seats, which turned out to be not only in the 406 club but also gave us access to a pre-party with all kinds of VIPs. We saw Carlton Fisk, the famed hero of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, and my dad mimicked his gesture of waving the ball fair to him. My dad spent time talking to Jim Lonborg, the ace of the 1967 World Series team, and Lou Gorman, the former General Manager of the Red Sox, who led the team for a decade in the mid-eighties and early nineties. We high-fived John Henry, the Red Sox owner, when he entered the room. We even spoke to Keith Hernandez, a retired St. Louis Cardinal, but also famously a member of the 1986 New York Mets team that beat the Red Sox the last time they were in the World Series. He was also the supposed accomplice of the “magic loogie theory” from Seinfeld’s spitting incident episode.

When the game began, we had a great view of the entire stadium from our enclosed, tiered seats like in a movie theater. The only downside was that the crowd noise had to be piped in since the windows were sealed. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame sang the National Anthem, my boyhood idol Carl Yastrzemski threw out the first pitch, and Kelly Clarkson sang ‘God Bless America’ during the seventh-inning stretch. The game was started by Tim Wakefield, a workhorse of a pitcher who embodied the “do anything for the team” ethic of my dad’s generation. Future Hall of Famer David Ortiz and Mark Bellhorn hit home runs (Bellhorn’s hitting the famous right field Pesky Pole), and Keith Foulke, continuing his remarkable postseason run, entered the game in the eighth inning and secured five outs to close out the first Red Sox World Series victory since that fateful 1986 series. On the way out of Fenway, we said hello to the regal-looking Dwight Evans, one of my dad’s favorite players, still fit enough to possibly play the game even though he had retired 13 years earlier. My dad was simply in his version of heaven, and I would relive that evening as often as I could.

Finally, October, and that October specifically, was the foundation for my future leadership style. In that ALCS, the Red Sox’s chances of staying alive in the series were hanging by a thread in Game 4. In the ninth inning, the Red Sox were losing by a run and had to face the unhittable legend Mariano Rivera. Rivera walked Kevin Millar to lead off the inning. Dave Roberts came in to pinch run. Roberts was a known speedster, and everyone in the ballpark knew that he was going to try to steal second base, which he did, barely escaping the tag of Derek Jeter. The next batter, Bill Mueller, singled home Roberts, and 86 years of futility soon disappeared.

Why was this sports moment a foundational experience for my leadership style? Over the years, I learned that team sports are the best analogy for the corporate working world. Every working team has some players who perform their roles well, perhaps one or two all-stars, maybe a rookie learning the ropes, and occasionally, people who no longer play their positions effectively or need to move to another team or leave the organization. In almost every team sport, when a team wins a championship, every member of that team receives a championship ring. That 2004 Red Sox team famously awarded rings to everyone involved with the championship, from star players like Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez to Fenway Park ushers and ticket attendants.

However, in team sports, when an individual player stands out as the best at their position that year, they receive a trophy—such as the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and the like—regardless of whether the team won the championship. I learned that I would much rather have rings and not trophies. “Rings, not trophies” became my mantra in my later years as a leader, and it proved to be an easy analogy for team members and other leaders to relate to, whether or not they were sports fans.

Dave Roberts played only two innings in that ALCS, mainly used for his base-running abilities. He stole one base and scored two runs. He never batted or played in the field. However, he was just as important a member of the team as stars like Curt Schilling and David Ortiz. Dave Roberts knew his role and did it exceptionally well. All he wanted was to win a championship ring. He achieved his goal as part of an October team, not as an individual player. Rings, not trophies.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

I’ve had the opportunity to meet Steven and the other members of the band over the last thirty years. Below is a piece I’ve written about my Aerosmith experiences. I hope you enjoy it!

My favorite bands growing up were Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, U2, and The Police. Of course, since I grew up in the Boston suburbs, Aerosmith held a special place in my music collection as they were the Bad Boys from Boston. The band was led by the ultimate Rock and Roller, Steven Tyler, with Joe Perry on lead guitar, Brad Whitford on rhythm guitar, Tom Hamilton on bass, and Joey Kramer on drums. When I was a kid, I never thought I would be able to attend an Aerosmith concert, let alone meet all the band members at various points over several decades.

My first encounter with Aerosmith was in Cleveland in August 1997. My first job after graduating from the University of Texas Graduate School of Business was with Ernst & Young (now EY) in their management consulting division. Several of my friends from UT also joined Ernst & Young. We all relocated to Dallas, working out of the Irving office.

Ernst & Young held orientation training in Cleveland, home to one of their regional offices. Our group of UT alumni all attended the orientation together. We stayed in a hotel near Jacobs Field, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Flats, Cleveland's bar district, for the weeklong training. It was quite an experience being young and single in Cleveland, with a newfound disposable income and few responsibilities outside of work. We had a great time at the Flats and an Indians game, which gave us the impression that Cleveland is an underrated city.

On Tuesday afternoon, August 12, I was waiting to take the elevator down to the lobby to meet some of my colleagues. The elevator doors opened, and I instantly recognized the other passengers. Inside were three Aerosmith members – Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, and Joey Kramer! Stunned, I didn't say a word but thought about humming "Love in an Elevator." After our quiet ride, I found my friends in the lobby and quickly told them about my brief encounter with three-fifths of the band. None of us knew Aerosmith was in town for a concert, as this was before the age of easily accessible internet on your phone. Apparently, Aerosmith was playing in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, about 35 miles from downtown Cleveland, as part of the Nine Lives tour. Ironically, I first met Aerosmith before ever seeing them in concert.

Fifteen years later, in November 2012, Aerosmith visited Austin for the Global Warming tour. Cheap Trick opened for them. The Aerosmith concert was part of the kickoff festival for the new Formula One United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. In later years, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, Imagine Dragons, and Elton John would headline the F1 weekend. I was determined not to miss this show since I had always wanted to see Aerosmith live and now had the chance. I bought tickets with a couple of friends in the upper bowl of the aging Erwin Center, the basketball arena for the University of Texas. The show was incredible, especially Aerosmith's closing encores of "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion."

A few years later, on March 8, 2016, I was flying home from a short business trip, connecting in Houston. The carrier was United, which I rarely flew because all of my corporate travel was on OneWorld-affiliated airlines. I decided the night before to purchase a personal upgrade for the short flight from Houston to Austin so I could board earlier and have space for my bag. It was a late-night flight, so I sat in a business-class aisle seat and paid no attention to anyone near me. A shorter, older gentleman with a blonde soul patch sat beside me in the opposite aisle seat and looked vaguely familiar. The crew dimmed the cabin lights because it was nighttime. A younger, attractive blonde woman sat next to the soul-patch man. At one point, she sat in his lap, and they became very affectionate toward each other!

In the middle of the thirty-minute flight, another passenger approached the business cabin, shook the soul-patch man's hand, and told him how much he loved his music. I looked at the soul-patch man across the aisle from me and thought, ‘Wait a second! That looks like the drummer from Aerosmith sitting next to me." As the plane entered the Austin airspace, I broke the at the time airplane etiquette, turned on my data, and frantically googled "drummer from Aerosmith." Instantly, I matched the passenger next to me with pictures of Joey Kramer. He lived just north of Austin in Georgetown. As the plane taxied, I started to build up the courage to talk to him. He and his companion deplaned in front of me, and as they walked up the jetway ahead of me, I asked aloud, ‘Hey, are you Joey Kramer?’ The woman looked back at me, whom I found out later was his wife, Linda, still walking up the jetway, and with a smile, said, "He certainly is!" They both disappeared into the terminal.

A couple of weeks later, I managed to track down Joey's address in Georgetown. It turned out he lived across the street from a colleague. I went through my CD collection, found a couple of Aerosmith albums, and mailed him a letter asking him to sign the enclosed CD inserts. Soon, both CD inserts arrived at my home, autographed by Joey!

Like many long-standing rock bands, Aerosmith's history wasn’t always smooth sailing. In 2016, Steven Tyler left the band to pursue a solo career as a country music artist. He moved to Nashville and recorded a fifteen-song country album called "We're All Somebody From Somewhere," which debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart upon its release on July 15. Steven then decided to go on a solo tour, with one stop being Bass Concert Hall in Austin on July 26. Opened in 1981, Bass is the largest performing arts center in Austin, with a capacity of 2,900. It has served as the home venue for Broadway on Tour and many University of Texas events, including my graduation from business school. In 2007, Bass underwent a major renovation, adding a complete glass façade, a five-story atrium, and a new café—an area where I would soon have my first encounter with the "Demon of Screamin".

I bought a meet-and-greet ticket that included a front-row seat to the show. I went alone because my wife Emily wasn’t a big fan of Aerosmith, but I couldn’t pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Arriving early at Bass, the VIP ticket holders, including me, were led upstairs to the atrium while we waited for Steven to arrive. Steven appeared from another entrance, and I was one of the first in line to meet him. I was struck by how slight he was. On stage and in videos, he looked seven feet tall; in person, he was barely 5'8". I reached out my hand to Steven, and he immediately saw my wedding ring and asked, "Where's your wife?" I chuckled and thought to myself, "Once a rock star, always a rock star." I told him, "She couldn't make it" (I didn't want to say to Steven Tyler she wasn't interested in his music), and then I mentioned I was from Boston and used to go to Mama Kins near Fenway Park. Mama Kins was a bar that licensed Aerosmith's name but had closed in 1997. He smiled, and we talked about Mama Kins for a few minutes before taking our photo. After the photo, I was quickly moved along so the next VIP ticket holders could meet Steven.

After we finished our meet and greet, the group was then led to our seats, and I was in the first row, center stage for the Steven Tyler concert—much closer than my 2012 Aerosmith experience, which was way up in the cheap seats. On my right was a woman about my age who said her husband wasn't a fan, but she also couldn't miss seeing Steven Tyler in person. On my left were two blonde women slightly older than me, but eager to dance. Steven started with a rendition of "Sweet Emotion" and "Cryin'" and mixed in his new songs, along with covers of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Janis Joplin.

Throughout the concert, I noticed two things. I thought Steven wore eyeliner as part of his rock star look. In reality, he was using the eyeliner to hide the fact that, occasionally, he would look at a teleprompter right in front of him and just to my right on the stage. If I recall correctly, Steven misread a couple of the lines from one of his new songs, stopped, and started singing the song over again. The second thing I noticed was that, even though I was directly in front of him, he never once looked at me but constantly made eye contact with the various women on both sides of me. Again, once a rock star, always a rock star. Steven closed the show with a three-song encore, and I left amazed that I had met one of the most well-known rockers in the world and had seen him singing right in front of me, as if it were a private, personal concert.

Four years passed, and I was scheduled to attend a work event in Vegas in February 2020. The event started on Monday, and luckily, Aerosmith was playing in Vegas the Saturday before, on February 8. The band had begun the "Deuces Are Wild" residency at the Park Theater. I coordinated with three colleagues and bought decent floor tickets near the stage on the right side. I noticed a meet-and-greet option with all the band members and a separate one with Steven and Joe, so I decided to purchase the meet-and-greet with Tom, Joey, and Brad. I had already met Steven and thought I could catch Joe Perry again. It was a great idea to bring one of Joey’s signed CDs and show it to him. Then, as the show date neared, I found out Joey and the band had split over a dispute involving an onstage accident—so Joey would not be at this performance. (The dispute was settled a few days later, and Joey rejoined the band at the end of the residency.) I flew to Vegas on Friday and, on a whim, decided to buy the meet-and-greet with Steven and Joe. So, I would meet 80% of the band on the same day.

At the venue, a sizable group of folks purchased at least one VIP package. We were each given a gift bag containing a heavy Aerosmith-branded poker chip set in a silver case with the Aerosmith logo on the front. The first stop on our VIP experience was a backstage tour of the set. A roadie showed us everything, from the maraca Steven used to kick off "Sweet Emotion" to Tom Hamilton's collection of rude Beanie Babies, which he called Obscenies, that he kept on stage. Based on my previous experience with Steven, I also looked for a teleprompter but couldn't quite find one.

The next stop was to meet Joe and Steven. One of the hosts moved me to the front of the line because I was one of only two or three people who had purchased the meet-and-greet with the entire band. We were led up a long escalator to the top floor of the theater. Steven and Joe were waiting in a makeshift photo booth. Again, I was the first one in and noticed how slight the two leads appeared in person. Joe seemed shorter and thinner than Steven. He wore a kamikaze headband and an American flag scarf draped around his neck. Steven was dressed in comfortable, bedazzled jeans and a casual top. When Steven saw me, he squinted, looked at me intently, and asked, "Do I know you?" It wasn't possible that he remembered me from a few years earlier? I told him we met in Austin, my name was Bob, and I was originally from Boston. Then, he burst into a little song, a limerick about "Bob from Boston." I was too stunned to remember any of the words he sang! Joe, on the other hand, stayed quiet while Steven made his presence known as the lead singer.

After the photo, I was quickly ushered out of the photo booth and back down to the escalators behind the stage. The group was then taken downstairs, a level below the stage. Inside was a museum dedicated to Aerosmith's nearly fifty years on tour. We were given a private tour. On the walls were tour posters, a picture of a young, bare-chested Steven, and every album cover from the band's history. There were displays of Grammys, MTV Music Awards (including the famous astronaut planting an MTV flag), and original song lyrics. Gold records, concert outfits, and a collection of Steven's on-stage scarves were showcased. For the most dedicated Aerosmith collectors, there were even several previously used guitars from the band for sale at very high prices.

A set of gold Aerosmith wings was displayed on one wall as the centerpiece for a photo with Tom and Brad. We could take pictures in front of the wings while waiting for the two band members to arrive. When they both arrived, the dozen of us surrounded them in a semi-circle, and they told us to introduce ourselves. When my turn came, knowing that Brad grew up on the North Shore of Boston, not far from my hometown, I said, "I'm Bob from Peabody," instead of saying I was from Boston. Impressed that I pronounced "Peabody" correctly, Brad smiled through his beard and mentioned that he often went to the Northshore Mall. I told him I used to work there, and we chatted for a minute or two before he moved on to the next guest. During the photo, I held out my Joey Kramer-signed CD to include all three supporting members of the band in the shot. Tom and Brad each handed us guitar picks before returning to their dressing rooms.

We were then escorted out of the museum and taken upstairs to the lobby, where we could do some private shopping before the doors opened to the general public. In the center of the lobby stood the original, restored Aerosmith touring van, which had been featured on the History Channel's American Pickers in 2018. I was also intrigued by the limited number of hand-signed albums for sale, so I purchased both the "Toys in the Attic" and "Pump" albums.

Finally, we headed to our seats, and I met my colleagues. We had great seats near the stage, and the concert was fantastic. Aerosmith played most of their hits, but when I looked behind me at the rest of the concert attendees, I saw a large teleprompter up in the back of the theater displaying all the lyrics and upcoming songs! Apparently, it wasn't just Steven, but the entire band needed some help after years of hard rocking! The final song was "Toys in the Attic." Giant toys appeared from the ceiling and hovered over the heads of the concertgoers. Round, colorful balloons dropped into the audience from above. The main show ended with confetti showering into the crowd; I scooped some up and pocketed it to keep for later. The concert closed with an encore of "Dream On" and "Walk This Way." Later, I framed one of the autographed albums, along with my photos of various band members and the confetti, creating a tribute to my Aerosmith adventures on my playroom wall.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

“Ch-ch-ch-changes

Turn and face the strain…

Time may change me

But I can’t trace time.”

—David Bowie, 1971

David Bowie's lyrics from "Changes" lingered in my thoughts yesterday, underscoring a day marked by a profound transition: my mother left our family home on Wiseman Drive in Peabody, Massachusetts, where I spent my formative years. She has now moved into a bright, cheerful apartment within an impressive community featuring multiple restaurants, a health center, a CVS pharmacy, a bank, bars, and more than 45 social clubs. The campus is fully connected by climate-controlled corridors, and both staff and residents radiate friendliness and warmth.

The move was emotionally taxing for all of us. More than fifty years of memories fill that house, and now, all tangible reminders of our life there are left for its new owners. The home at 15 Wiseman was a constant anchor through every stage of my life, symbolizing my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and standing as a testament to my father's dreams and our family's achievements.

A new story is beginning as the house passes to a young family with children close to the ages my sister and I were when we first arrived over half a century ago. They included a heartfelt letter with their offer, describing how much the home would mean to them and how the neighborhood seemed "quiet and peaceful—a place where children can play safely and grow up surrounded by kindness." They promised, "We understand how much care and love must have gone into this home over the years, and it would mean so much to us to carry that forward." Their sincerity assured us they were the right people to raise their own family in this home.

Yesterday also marked another milestone: my sons began their senior year of high school. Thinking back, I remember their earliest school days—waiting for the kindergarten bus, attending morning assemblies, the second-grade musical, spirited Bingo nights with one of them dressed as the school Bobcat mascot, pep rallies, and countless birthday parties in the gymnasium. As they transitioned to middle school, they navigated the challenges of remote learning during the Covid pandemic, balancing online classes with family activities at home. They graduated from middle school and entered Westlake High School, embracing its traditions and academic spirit.

Today, I see them not as children but as emerging adults. While I sometimes wish they could remain eight or nine years old, I am proud of the people they have become and the positive impact they have on each other and those around them. There is both excitement and nervous anticipation for what lies ahead—college for William, and perhaps assisted living for Jake. In fact, late in the day today, William received his first college acceptance notification!

Interestingly, when I asked Alexa to play David Bowie's "Changes" so I could capture the lyrics accurately, the next song the algorithm played was "Dream On" by Aerosmith—a fitting anthem for the future awaiting our boys and our family.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Our home's lawn at #15 Wiseman Drive was still not completed when we moved in. Each of the lots on our side of the street was on a slight incline, facing northwest, with the lawn eventually planted over a granite core. When we moved in, I think the grass wasn’t even in place; we just had a rock field for our yard. The backyard was split horizontally by a more severe hillside, creating an upper and lower deck. The upper level served as a garden area where my father enjoyed planting various vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, radishes, and lettuce. He bought a red wooden shed to keep all his gardening tools and lawn equipment, installing it in the corner of the upper yard. Along the back of the upper lawn was a previously installed chain link fence, separating our 6100 square foot lot from the Maple Hill Jewish Cemetery, where my father would be buried years later.

The bottom half of the backyard served as a play area. It was relatively flat but then sloped downward along either side of the house, a perfect angle for winter sledding or summer Slip N Slide. Eventually, my dad placed four cement slabs equidistant from each other on the flat part of the lawn, serving as a de facto baseball field, prime for wiffle ball matches. My dad built a wooden deck abutting the back door, adjacent to the northeast corner of the back lawn. On the opposite end was a large rock that jutted out like a small mountain, too large to have been covered by the sod placed on top of the rest of the rock core. It was the perfect backdrop for me to set up green plastic army men to scale the mountain’s crags and fend off an imminent attack from the “bad guys”, played by Planet of the Apes action figures. The smoother side of the rock faced the narrow part of our lawn between our home and the next door neighbors, the McInnis’. It was a perfect backstop to bounce tennis balls off and pretend to play shortstop or pitcher for the Red Sox. The ball frequently rebounded off the maroon exterior of our house.

The house itself was a cozy 1475 square feet. Walking up the stairs led to a combination living and dining room space. A formal mahogany dining table filled the dining area, especially when the table leaves were added for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Passover, or an extended family gathering. A half wall separated the small kitchen from the dining room. The 10’ x 4’ family bathroom was down a narrow hallway that all four of us shared. My parents' room was at the end of the hallway. A slight right turn took you to my room, decorated with sports and Star Wars posters, and then another turn to my sister’s, which in retrospect seemed more like a closet than a bedroom. The house did not have central air at the time (which my mom installed after my dad passed away) and was heated by oil-fueled radiators, so screen doors and windows were necessary during the summers and lots of blankets were needed during the winter. My room was directly above the garage, which was not insulated well at the time and was drafty during the cold months.

Downstairs was a large family room, where our main television was located, along with an extensive collection of VHS tapes and later DVDs, as well as numerous knick-knacks. Over the years, the room would have a pinball machine, a pool table, or a futon. At one point, my stereo system was moved to the family room, where I would listen to Celtics games or ’80s records like the Thompson Twins, the Police, David Bowie, or Culture Club. Across the hallway, adjacent to the garage, was my dad's office, the world headquarters of Feiner Philatelic, his stamp and First Day commemorative cover mail order business. He had file cabinet after file cabinet of stamps and envelopes, piled up all over the room. When not working at his Post Office job, he would spend hours reviewing his collection and mailing packages to his subscribers. That area was his sanctuary. It was never clear whether he made any money from his business or if he would use the profits to bet on the weekly college football lines he received in the fall. When he smoked a pipe or dime store cigar (never a cigarette), the room would reek of tobacco. Eventually, my sister and I convinced him to stop this habit, but you could still see the pipe residue in an ashtray on his desk. He would always have a radio on in his office, with either oldies or sports talk radio, specifically Eddie Andelman's Sports Huddle on WEEI. Years later when I was living in Louisiana, I called into the Sports Huddle when Eddie sought fans from all fifty states for a special summer broadcast. A de facto storage area across from his office desk also served as the home of the exposed boiler for oil heat and piping for all the upstairs plumbing and heating. When we were in elementary school, my dad hand-built a second bathroom in this space that also served as the laundry room. The whole area always smelled of gasoline from the adjacent garage, old envelopes and a whiff of the ink from the mimeograph paper he kept in bulk to print his catalogs and mailers.

The house next to us on the right was owned by the McInnis, Paul and Carol, Irish Catholics and long-term Peabody residents. They became very close to us and had a black and white dog named Lonesome that we would always want to see. We were all heartbroken when Lonesome ran away. I learned to love Bruce Springsteen from Paul. After having dinner at our home, I would often head next door for a second steak or Chinese food dinner and watch the Celtics with Paul. Their daughter Shannon would grow up like our little sister next door. A decade later, Carol and Paul would have a surprise pregnancy and Carol gave birth to a baby girl, Amanda. Paul ran an oil heating business and often helped our family with odd jobs and lawn maintenance.

To their right was the Meltz home, where their three boys were in our age group. Jonathan, who was my age, became a friend early on, and we went to Hebrew school together. However, as we progressed through our education, our friend circles and interests started to drift apart. Next to the Meltz’s lived the Carsons, who had one daughter, Christine, who roamed the neighborhood with my sister, making mix tapes of Prince and various 80’s hair bands. Christine’s uncle was Bobby Carpenter, who later played professional hockey for the Boston Bruins.

The neighbors to our other side, the Marini’s, I think, were Italian and not very neighborly, especially the dad, John. John maintained one of the more well-manicured lawns in the neighborhood but was also known for reprimanding children who played near his home, earning a reputation as someone who insisted on keeping his property undisturbed. We were always fearful if we hit a foul wiffle ball from my yard into the Marini’s the ball would be returned, if at all, with a tongue lashing.

Next to the Marini’s were Paula and Arnie Dollin, one of the other Jewish couples on the street. They had a son, Eric, who would be my best friend on the street, and a daughter, Marci, who would be the same for my sister Ruth. Arnie passed from cancer when the kids were in their teens. Paula always had a watchful eye on the street.

Across the street were Ken and Raye Stevens, a French-Canadian couple from Ottawa province. She was a nurse, and he worked for the nearby General Electric plant. They didn’t have any children. The Stevens’ had thick Quebecois accents and smoked strong cigarettes. Ken kept their lawn immaculate, even more so than the Marini’s. He was always handy with yard work and snow blowing, often providing my dad with tips or assistance. In the summer, he would be outside, tan and shirtless, working on his front lawn, and ensuring no wayward children interfered with his landscaping.

Next to them were the Harneys, Dick and Claudia. They had two daughters and a son. One of the girls was the best friend of the wife of someone who would work with me in Austin decades later. Their son Kevin had significant disabilities. He was unable to move independently and required the use of a wheelchair for mobility. The Harneys were the first folks to make their house wheelchair accessible, well before the ADA had been enacted. They had a special van to transport Kevin. Growing up with someone across the street from me with disabilities just seemed to be a natural experience that I later leveraged with my own disabled son.

On the other side of the Harneys were the Morrisons, Debbie and Paul, and their children Eddie and Erin. The Morrisons' yard provided a direct path from one side of the neighborhood to the next, reducing the time required to reach the other side of the block.

To the left of the Stevens were the Predka’s, Eileen and Tommy, with their daughter Kristen and son Marc. Marc was slightly younger than us, but always played with our group of boys. Tommy had a slight but muscular build and would be roaming around his lawn, often shirtless, often smoking. When it was dinner time, Eileen would open the screen, and a piercing “Maaaaaaaarc” would reverberate along the street until he came home. It turned out that Eileen’s maiden name was Cena, and she was the aunt of John Cena, the eventual WWE wrestler and film star. I had no idea until decades later. There is a strong possibility that I played kickball with John Cena as a kid. Marc would grow up to become the rapper Trademarc and the composer of John’s entry theme, The Time is Now. Years later, Marc was coordinating a TV show for John that combined elements of The Amazing Race, Shark Tank, and American Pickers. Teams of collectors would visit a city to showcase a unique sports collection, then pitch it to John to buy for his collection. I was interviewed for the show to be one of the participants, but it never saw the light of day.

Rounding out the neighborhood were those families with younger kids who would become the next generation of playmates, including the Walfield’s and the Eskenazi’s.

As a whole, Wiseman Drive was idyllic for a kid growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. Every house seemed to have a young family, with everyone around the same age bracket. In the winter, the slopes of the lawns on the south part of the street served as snow-sliding ranges, and all the kids in the neighborhood would gather to sled down into the snow-covered streets.

In the spring, the street would be taken over by kickball or street hockey games, stopping only for an oncoming car, darkness, or homework. There were games of cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians or we would play the characters from Emergency and Adam-12 and rescue victims or solve mysteries. Tom’s Ice Cream Truck, driven by a member of the Peabody school system, would come by at the same time every afternoon, breaking up the after-school hours. The music from his truck could be heard as soon as he turned the corner from Sabino Farm Road onto Wiseman Drive. In addition to frozen treats, you could buy baseball cards or candy cigarettes from Tom, which were especially popular as there were so many adult smokers on the street.

Summer was dominated by baseball in the street, at a nearby Little League field, or with wiffleball tournaments in my backyard. You would smell hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks on the grill from almost every other house on the street. The Red Sox game would always be on in the background. My dad loved to have his cookouts. On a couple of occasions, the street would gather together and formulate a block party. There would be a massive cookout with meats and watermelon, pony rides, outdoor games, and disco music from someone’s portable speaker system or, later, a boom box. Families would also make the half-mile walk down Wiseman drive, turn on to Sabino Farm Road and up Canterbury Drive to the top of the hill where Chandler’s ice cream would be waiting with the best pistachio ice cream on the North Shore, covered in Jimmies (known as Sprinkles to the rest of the country). The more adventurous folks would walk the additional half mile to the Northshore Shopping Center, carefully crossing over Route 114. On July 4^th, we would gather our plaid, woven folding chairs and head to the other end of Wiseman Drive. There was a large, overgrown ravine that dropped off from the street, but had a great view of neighboring Danvers, and we would watch the fireworks above Danversport while neighbors would shoot their own on the street. The fireworks that popped out plastic army men in parachutes were especially popular.

The absolute best season on Wiseman Drive was fall. The leaves changed, the air grew crisp, the days shortened, but most importantly, Halloween arrived at the end of October. With our proximity to haunted Salem, Halloween was THE holiday for us. The street bustled with children of various ages, moving from house to house, collecting treats in pillowcases or designated Halloween bags. Our bags filled with all sorts of candy from Hershey bars to Cool Dip, from Bottle Caps to Charlestown Chew, from Candy Buttons to Bazooka, and from Pop Rocks to Laffy Taffy. Occasionally, one of the homes on the street would be “dark,” but would leave a sign with a candy bucket, asking the purveyors to use the honor system to select a handful of candy. The best was the home that handed out a full-size Hershey bar, which could last for a week, in contrast to the little mini-Hershey bars consumed by night's end. Various creatures and costumes roamed the streets. Classic Hollywood costumes of the Wolfman, Dracula, or the Creature from the Black Lagoon were joined by characters of the time like a Star Wars Stormtrooper, Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman, or Lee Majors’ Six Million Dollar Man. Every costume was ill-fitting, typically featuring a plastic mask that attached to your face with a taut rubber band that scratched against your ears, and whose eye slits were not cut very accurately, leaving you to squint through the holes.

There did not seem to be a better place to grow up. In fact, fifty years after we moved in, many of the original homeowners were still living in the same place, a testament to the unique neighborhood of our childhood. And as a full circle, the little girl who grew up next to us, Shannon, became the realtor for the sale of our family home.

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

I recently attended the Wednesday and Thursday sessions of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. The PGA Championship is the third of the four golf majors I’ve been to in person (the Open is the only one I have remaining). Wednesday served as the practice day, and most players are more relaxed than on a tournament day, taking photos and signing autographs on the course while generally interacting with fans. Some, like my favorite golfer Sergio Garcia, were pretty “locked in” on practice day but still had time to toss signed golf balls to several kids. I did see the dark side of Wednesday when a young adult, probably in his early twenties, had dozens of hats and flags in a bag, trying to secure autographs from some of the star players. I overheard him bragging to another autograph seeker about how he had been thrown out of a different tournament for being too aggressive. Two days later, I saw all kinds of items posted for sale…including a Rory McIlroy signed Masters flag for $2000! –I think specifically from this guy. I enjoy getting autographs because it provides a brief moment to interact with someone at the top of their profession. Still, these aggressive autograph seekers should be banned from events—they ruin the experience for everyone else, the professionals think everyone will sell something, and they set the wrong example for younger kids, especially with their abhorrent behavior.

The tournament was spectacular to watch and allowed me to reconnect with some friends who now live in Charlotte and whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. The Quail Hollow course was in remarkable shape, and the last couple of holes, especially the 18th, are pretty daunting, as evidenced by all the momentum changes throughout the tournament. Congrats to Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler on his third major win. Special mention to University of Texas alum Jhonattan Vegas, who led the first two days, ensuring that the PGA Championship was led by a Longhorn every day.

Politics.

It feels like we’ve entered an era where it's more important to showcase your political role in the media than to engage in the nitty-gritty of that particular job. Administrations often reflect the experiences and priorities of their leaders, especially true now when the current president was previously best known as a reality TV star. Thirty members of the current administration are former TV personalities (almost all from FOX News). I couldn’t name the last couple of Commerce secretaries (ok—it was Gina Raimondo, former governor of Rhode Island), but Howard Lutnick seems to relish appearing on TV and discussing commerce. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is a former contestant from MTV's Real World and a House of Representatives member, while Education Secretary Linda McMahon used to run World Wrestling Entertainment and was the administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. No one seems to be embracing this reality TV politics more than Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Noem. I can’t recall another cabinet member spending millions on TV and radio ads promoting their department, posing for pictures with incarcerated individuals, and reportedly sponsoring a reality TV show where undocumented workers travel the country completing specific tasks, with the winner getting a faster track to citizenship… Logan's Run meets the Amazing Race. That said, it does feel like the Department of Homeland Security has brought the border under control, albeit under some questionable tactics. I don’t understand how the previous administration essentially ignored the issues at the southern border for nearly three and a half years.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats seem to be at a loss for their strategy, who their leader is, and what issues they should focus on. There is a big debate between those who think the party needs to tack more to the center and those who think they should shift leftward. It's also clear, based on exit polling and analysis of the election, that at the end of the day, economic issues trump (no pun intended) all other issues; all the focus on social issues in the last election did not resonate with people trying to make ends meet. On top of that, the Democrats are still grappling with what happened during the Biden years and the evident decline in the president's physical and cognitive abilities. Numerous media sources, from CNN to the WSJ to the Free Press, have declared the cover-up of the president’s abilities one of the biggest scandals of the 21st-century political world. The folks involved in President Biden’s campaign who convinced him to run again, at best suffered from hubris and at worst, political malpractice. Unfortunately, it was also revealed this week that President Biden is suffering from an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Hopefully, he can have a speedy recovery and all the comfort he deserves as he is a decent man who has gone through a lot of suffering throughout his life.

Music

I recently had a chance to see Billy Idol in concert and ended up with seats front row of center of the stage. At 69 years old, William Michael Albert Broad (his real name), is in remarkable shape. Midway through the show, he ripped off his concert t-shirt, tossed it into the crowd, and revealed a washboard physique of someone fifty years younger. His fan engagement was remarkable, and his voice was on point. Towards the end of the show, he took a handful of presumably autographed drum heads and tossed them frisbee style into the crowd; the drummer threw out untold numbers of drumsticks; and one of the security guards took a handful of set lists and passed them out to screaming female patrons. At the show's end, Billy brought out a birthday cake with lit candles for his long-time guitarist Steve Stevens, and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Steve. A couple next to me remarked it was one of the best concert experiences they’ve ever had. I was able to do a quick photo with Billy and Steve before the show, and requested we do the Billy Idol lip curl sneer (see below).

Other musings: It is getting too hot too early in Texas….Is there any better frozen yogurt than Pinkberry?...Per Exploding Topics, Bluesky now has 33 million users, 60% male, 30% 18 to 24 years old, 40% in the US, and with the most followed person on the platform being Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who I’m willing to bet will primary Senator Chuck Schumer next year and probably beat him. The Jason Tatum injury is devastating for the Celtics for the next two seasons, and probably means a complete reset of the team this summer due to contracts and player age…Coinbase is now part of the S&P 500, which means everyone that invests in the S&P now owns crypto.

Subscribe now

Share

Culture

Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based company, claims to have de-extincted the dire wolf, a species that disappeared over 10,000 years ago. Colossal edited a grey wolf genome by extracting dire wolf DNA from an extinct dire wolf, resulting in pups that are 99.5% similar to dire wolves. The Colossal website has a wealth of information on their perspective of “de-extinction” through genome mapping and manipulation. They are also working on de-extincting the wooly mammoth by 2028 and bringing back the dodo bird. The Jurassic Park jokes notwithstanding, assuming the effort passes scientific review, this seems remarkable. This does raise all kinds of ethical questions and challenges. Are the pups really extinct dire wolves or just genetically altered grey wolves? What are the unknown ramifications of this genome sequencing? What does this mean for future genome experiments?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/15/dire-wolf-pups-extinct-brought-back/83049186007/

https://colossal.com/

Sports

Rory McIlroy finally completed a decade-long quest to win the Masters and golf immortality as one of only six players (and the first European) to win the career Grand Slam. It seemed like Rory tried everything he could to lose the Green Jacket and was the first player to have four double bogeys at the Masters and win. A tip of the hat also to Justin Rose, who has finished second three times, twice in a playoff (versus Rory this year and my favorite golfer, Sergio Garcia, in 2017). Rose showed the typical class he has carried himself with throughout his career.

I actually have a Master's flag that has been signed by most of the living winners, and I hope to add Rory to it sometime in the near future. John Rahm and Angel Cabrera (who spent over two years in prison but is now back on the PGA Champions tour) are the other golfers I need on the flag. Every signature on the flag has a story, which I may detail in the future.

Entertainment

Katy Perry

Katy Perry, Gayle King, Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sanchez, and three other women journeyed into space on the New Shepard (named after Alan Shepard) spacecraft. William Shatner, AKA Captain Kirk, flew the New Shepard in 2021 at 90. Katy sang “What A Wonderful World” during the 10-minute 21-second flight. She also brought two items: a daisy in honor of her daughter Daisy and a butterfly. The butterfly apparently listed the songs from the set list of her upcoming Lifetimes tour that opens next week in Mexico. Katy remarked that the women in their designer space suits “…were putting the ass in astronaut!”. Some folks met the space flight humorously, and others met it with derision. Even Wendy’s social media account joined in the commentary. Personally, I have no reason to fault Katy Perry and the other women for going on an once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Who wouldn’t want to join them if they had the means? I may be biased as I danced on stage in Vegas with Katy in 2023 – a story for another day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/science/blue-origin-katy-perry-gayle-king.html

Business

With all the talk about tariffs, there is an interesting site that updates the impact of tariffs to the American consumer. Most prominently, as of April 15^th (Tax Day!), the effective tariff rate for the USA is 28%, the highest in 124 years. Clothing and shoes will be hardest hit with long-run increases of 29% and 25% respectively. $2.5 trillion in tariffs will be raised over the next decade, offset by over $600B in reduced revenue.

https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/state-us-tariffs-april-15-2025

Politics

Viktor Orban

For those who are trying to make sense of the torrent of executive actions by the new Trump Administration, a possible proxy is Hungary. Viktor Orban became Hungary's prime minister, winning the popular vote and a parliamentary supermajority in 2010. President Trump stated that Orban was his most admired foreign leader on the debate stage. Orban has been feted numerous times by President Trump at Mar-A-Lago and has been a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The paragraph below is from a profile of Viktor Orban in The Economist, in August 2022:

“Mr. Orban provides a model of what right-wing populism can achieve. He has been prime minister since 2010, having previously served between 1998 and 2002. During his most recent stint he has championed conservative values, turning Hungary into the “illiberal democracy” he promised voters in 2014. He has wiped gender studies from university curriculums, built a border fence to keep out refugees from war-torn Syria and elsewhere and written Christian values into the constitution. He has gerrymandered electoral laws grossly in his favour. Having packed the courts and the media with his allies, he controls Hungary’s institutions. That has cemented his power and eliminated an effective opposition. He has put swathes of the economy in the hands of cronies; his friends and family have grown rich. Much of that appeals to the American right.”

Recently, Anne Applebaum wrote in the Atlantic this summary of the state of affairs in Hungary:

“Once widely perceived to be the wealthiest country in Central Europe (“the happiest barrack in the socialist camp,” as it was known during the Cold War), and later the Central European country that foreign investors liked most, Hungary is now one of the poorest countries, and possibly the poorest, in the European Union. Industrial production is falling year-over-year. Productivity is close to the lowest in the region. Unemployment is creeping upward. Despite the ruling party’s loud talk about traditional values, the population is shrinking. Perhaps that’s because young people don’t want to have children in a place where two-thirds of the citizens describe the national education system as “bad,” and where hospital departments are closing because so many doctors have moved abroad. Maybe talented people don’t want to stay in a country perceived as the most corrupt in the EU for three years in a row. Even the Index of Economic Freedom—which is published by the Heritage Foundation, the MAGA-affiliated think tank that produced Project 2025—puts Hungary at the bottom of the EU in its rankings of government integrity.”

However, trying to compare the fate (and state) of the United States to Hungary might be overly simplistic. The United States has several structural differences from Hungary, including its robust state-level governance, over two centuries of free press and educational institutions, and a long history of peaceful public demonstrations, among other distinctions.

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/08/04/why-is-the-american-right-obsessed-with-viktor-orban?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=17210591673&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAvoqsBhB9EiwA9XTWGcLadPwpDCBc4ekcgId70t5xSIHXSCkXgP_IIeF0vNqtdWVZI5CDSxoCuaUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/05/viktor-orban-hungary-maga-corruption/682111/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3zUC9ioF_vMnwRPlseXnQe8&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Random Musings:

I attended one of the best Passover seders I’ve ever participated in over the weekend. I also met the four Red Sox World Series MVPs….Manny Ramirez (2004), Mike Lowell (2007), David Ortiz (2013), and Steve Pearce (2018)….There should be a required courtesy exam for all airline passengers including things like “don’t cut off the person in the aisle exiting in front of you”, “don’t shove your bag on someone else’s without asking”….If a driverless Waymo vehicle lets you in to merge are you supposed to wave thanks to the car as a courtesy?

With Katy Perry on stage in Vegas May 2023:

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Of the four Final Four teams, Auburn, Duke, and Florida all have Jewish head coaches. Bruce Pearl of Auburn has been vocal about his identity. Todd Golden of Florida is an Israeli citizen who played for Maccabi Haifa from 2008 to 2010, averaging 39.2 points per game. Jon Scheyer, Duke’s head coach, played for the five-time EuroLeague champion Maccabi Tel Aviv. In fact, he obtained his Israeli citizenship so as not to count against the Israeli league’s limit of four non-Israeli players on a roster. The other Final Four team, Houston, features an Israeli star, Emanuel Sharp, whose father, Derrick, played for Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning 13 Israeli league titles and two EuroLeague championships. With Houston playing Florida in the Final, an Israeli will win the National Championship.

Another remarkable fact from this year’s Final Four is that, when combining the Men’s and Women’s Final Four, no team was seeded lower than #2 (the UConn women's team and eventual champion), and seven of the eight finalists were #1 seeds. I would argue this is the direct effect of the new NIL rules and, essentially, college free agency. Smaller Cinderella schools will no longer be able to compete with large, heavily funded universities. Sadly, I think the days of George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Butler (2011), or Loyola Chicago (2018) in the Final Four are behind us. Instead of March Madness, we will end up with March Megateams.

Entertainment

Val Kilmer passed away on April 1^st. I met him once at a Comic-Con event held at the Austin Convention Center in 2017, which the now-defunct Wizard World hosted. This was after his surgery for throat cancer. Unlike other guests, he was sequestered behind a set of curtains and had limited interaction. He was very frail and did not speak much, but it was still a thrill to meet him. I can’t believe Val was never nominated for an Oscar or a Golden Globe. His performances in The Doors and Tombstone are iconic. I would argue he does a better impression of Jim Morrison in the Doors than Rami Malek does of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, for which Rami won both the Oscar and Golden Globe. Speaking of Rami Malek, I once walked past him at a Bruce Springsteen concert in London! Val became an artist later in life, and I actually own a small piece of his work. It is an image of Val as Jim Morrison engraved on a metal sheet, in the shape of a music album, inscribed with “The Lizard King”. Val autographed it on the back.

Business

I saw a great quote the other day that essentially stated that the stock market doesn’t care about political party, gender, sexual orientation, DEI, immigration policy, or penguins in Antarctica. It is concerned with profitability, inflation, tax policy, and trade, including tariffs. The reaction of the world markets to the new tariff war appears to indicate how the market is thinking about the near-term future.

Speaking of penguins in Antarctica, yes, the recent tariff actions (which included tariffs against Diego Garcia –which is a military base in the central Indian Ocean jointly run by the UK and USA) also included 10% tariffs on the Territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, presumably because they are territories of Australia. The islands are among the most remote places on Earth. Discovered by American sailor John Heard in 1853 while sailing from Boston to Melbourne, the islands were claimed by the United Kingdom in 1857 and transferred to Australia in 1947. One unique characteristic of the islands, besides the estimated couple of hundred thousand penguins, is that the islands have their own internet top-level domain, .hm. I saw a comment last week that the list of countries hit by tariffs may have been generated by searching for top-level domains (i.e., .uk for the United Kingdom, .au for Australia, etc). Perhaps that’s why tariffs are imposed on the islands as a separate entity, akin to a country.

Politics

Curtis Yarvin

If you're trying to make sense of everything going on in United States politics right now, spend some time learning about Curtis Yarvin. A blogger who is also known as Mencius Moldbug, the Brown University graduate is a former computer science doctoral candidate at Berkeley and a software engineer. Yarvin blends his technology background with a new vision of society, known as the Dark Enlightenment, which counters the principles of liberty, equality, and solidarity that underpin the Enlightenment of the 18th century. His philosophy, according to Time Magazine, includes “…replacing democracy with a kind of techno-feudal state—for the government to be run like a corporation, with the president as its 'CEO '….If Americans want to change their government, they’re going to have to get over their dictator phobia, ‘he said in 2012.”

Yarvin’s tenets include: mainstream media and higher education should be “dissolved”; government should be privatized and the executive branch (and its head) should have absolute power; all nonpolitical federal employees should be fired and replaced by loyalists; court orders should be ignored if deemed “unconstitutional”; and government spending impounded and redirected.

Yarvin’s disciples include some of the most influential tech executives in the world, such as Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, and, to some extent, Elon Musk (even though he describes himself as trolling Elon). As a result, he now finds folks like Vice President JD Vance and other members of the current administration under his sway. In fact, Yarvin was an honored guest at one of President Trump’s inauguration balls.

I encourage you to read the New York Times interview with Yarvin from earlier this year, linked below. One of the questions he's asked is, “Interviewer: 'Do you think it’s better that women got the vote?' Yarvin: ‘I don’t believe in voting at all.’

https://time.com/7269166/dark-enlightenment-history-essay/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/magazine/curtis-yarvin-interview.html

Honestly Podcast

Bari Weiss is a former op-ed editor and writer at the Washington Post and the New York Times. She resigned from the New York Times in 2020, and her resignation was widely covered due to issues related to discrimination, free speech, and bullying. In 2021, she founded what is now known as The Free Press, a media company. She also is one of the founders of the University of Austin, which describes itself as “dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth.” Weiss hosts a podcast called Honestly. I recently listened to her interview with Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society. Leo has at times been called the third most powerful person in the world, after the President and the Pope. It was a fascinating interview, and even though I don’t align with many of Leo’s points, especially his overarching philosophy of “crushing liberal dominance,” this interview provided valuable insight into his movement and thoughts. I was struck by how he considers post-Dobbs as the nadir of the right to life movement (because “red” states like Kansas are codifying abortion rights). You can find Honestly wherever you get your podcasts.

Culture

The college application process is, in fact, a cottage industry. I know I sound like a middle-aged man when I say this, but when I was growing up, it didn’t seem to have so many factors. There are entire companies set up to assist with just the application process, let alone the application itself. The number of essays, tests, classes, recommendations, resumes, and extracurricular activities required for a 17- or 18-year-old seems excessive. The amount of research required is overwhelming. The whole process is ripe for AI implementation. Input a student's interests, grades, and extracurricular activities to receive automatic matching and acceptance with institutions.

Random Musings:

There is a very detailed tracker of how the Trump Administration is aligning to the policy provisions in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. You can find it at

https://www.project2025.observer/

I don’t understand the latest fashion trend where you take a city or sports team name and spell it upside down on a baseball cap. Kelsea Ballerini, the country-pop star, puts on a very engaging show. About 80% of her Omaha audience was female, and I was certainly one of the oldest people at her show. The first thing I read every Sunday morning is Bruce Mehlman’s Age of Disruption Six Chart Sunday. Look for him on Substack—he always provides easy-to-follow charts to help you understand the policy environment. . I learned this week that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent was a partner at Soros Fund Management—the same firm founded by the conservative bogeyman, George Soros. After never having visited Terry Black’s BBQ in Austin until last Fall, it is now near the top of our BBQ choices, and we go there every couple of weeks.

I’m your huckleberry….

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Culture

Deloitte published its 2025 Digital Media Trends annual report. The report highlights that social video platforms and content creators are becoming increasingly relevant, surpassing high-quality streaming and traditional media providers. On average, consumers spend six hours a day engaging in media and entertainment activities (streaming, music, podcasts, TV, gaming, social media, and user-generated content), and ads on social media influence younger consumers (Gen Z and millennials) twice as much as ads on streaming services. Less than half of consumers have a cable or satellite subscription, down from two-thirds just three years ago. Younger consumers have more affinity with content creators and influencers than with Hollywood actors. All of this is leading to an oncoming disruption in digital media and a battle between Hollywood studios and social media creators.

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/digital-media-trends-consumption-habits-survey/2025.html

Sports

MotoGP

I’m not a rabid MotoGP fan, but ever since it came to Austin in 2013 at the Circuit of the Americas, I’ve attended at least one day of the race weekend every year. The crowds are distinctly European as most riders are from Spain, France, or Italy. Since it's not a major sport in the United States, it appears that many Europeans travel to Austin for a more intimate experience. What’s remarkable to me about MotoGP is that the riders are driving motorcycles on a Formula One track at speeds up to 210 MPH, wearing essentially just a padded jacket and overalls over their slight builds. They literally will ride on their elbows at incredible speeds. In my humble opinion, MotoGP riders, second only to Professional Bull Riders, are the toughest athletes in the world. Marc Marquez, the Spanish rider for Ducati, is the unquestionably most popular rider today, with large crowds around him at the paddock. He has won the COTA race seven times and the World Championship six times. When Valentino Rossi –the GOAT of motorcycle racing with seven World Championships- used to ride at COTA, the crowds around his paddock were enormous, often with very aggressive Italian fans trying to get a photo. This year, Marc was leading the race by a wide margin but ultimately crashed out. His younger brother Alex pulled ahead and won and now leads in overall championship points.

www.motogp.com

Globe Life Field

One of my life goals has been to visit every major league baseball stadium – which I have now completed, thanks to my visit to Globe Life Field this past weekend. I’d give Globe Life mixed reviews. The exterior resembles an office complex. Where we were sitting above the visitors’ bullpen felt like being in the basement of the building.

I’ve now attended an MLB game in forty-six different stadiums plus visited nearly every spring training stadium. I’ve a couple of years before a new stadium in Las Vegas opens, and I may try to make a trip to Sacramento sometime in the next three years to see the A’s in their temporary home. Even though the Rays are playing this year at Steinbrenner Field, their stadium undergoing repairs due to Hurricane Milton, I’ve already been to a game there.

Here, in order, are my top five stadiums: Fenway Park (admittedly biased), Wrigley Field, Oracle Park, PNC Park, and Camden Yards. The worst three are Tropicana Field, Oakland Coliseum, and the new Yankee Stadium (no bias there).

Entertainment

Bill Murray

I didn’t know what to expect when I bought tickets for the Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers show at the historic Paramount Theater on March 25^th. I initially thought the band was comprised of Bill and his five brothers, but it turns out the Blood Brothers are actually Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia, two award-winning Blues musicians. The show was quite entertaining. I was half expecting Bill to reenact Nick the Lounge Singer singing the Star Wars theme, but the group is essentially a cover band, playing their blues versions of songs like Little Red Corvette and Austin legend Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Pride and Joy. At times, Bill was relegated to playing the bongos or tambourines while the Blood Brothers took the lead vocalist position. But Bill’s talent really came to the forefront as he led the theatre in a rendition of Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone and then the encore of Stephen Still’s Love the One You're With. Before the show, I had a meet and greet with Bill and the band, which was one of the most efficient VIP experiences I’ve participated in – on time and fast. When I met Bill, I told him we had met on my birthday in 2024 at an event held at Star Hill Ranch, which has been used as a set for some TV shows, replicating a small Texas town. The event was sponsored by some NFT company called Project Venkman, and each of the buildings was set up to honor Bill in some way. Bill came in riding on a horse, and when he dismounted, I had a chance to speak to him briefly. Bill sang a verse of Happy Birthday to me, as did the Spazmatics who provided entertainment for the event.

Business

Ok, I don’t know about you, but I had no idea Napster still existed. The peer-to-peer music file-sharing service was shut down in 2001 following lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Metallica over allegations of copyright infringement. Apparently, the brand name and some intellectual property still survived and were passed through various ownership groups, including a period when Best Buy owned it. Tech commerce startup Infinite Reality acquired Napster last week for $ 207 million. According to the AP, Infinite Reality “said it will create virtual 3D spaces that will allow fans to attend concerts and give musicians or labels the ability to sell digital and physical merchandise…Artists will also receive a wider range of metrics and analytics to better understand the behavior of platform users.” Might Infinite Reality be on to something, especially with the Digital Media trends data shared above?

https://www.newser.com/article/7c2541f805d8debf0433171696c54518/napster-sold-to-tech-commerce-company-for-207-million.html

https://www.theinfinitereality.com/news/infinite-reality-acquires-iconic-music-service-napster

Politics

Democratic consulting firm Blue Rose Research released its 2024 election postmortem, revealing some remarkably positive results. First, if everyone eligible in 2024 had voted, Trump would have won by 4.8% instead of the 1.4% of actual voters – a certifiable blowout on the order of 400 electoral votes. Dems have said for years that turnout is their friend; they would have been devastated this past year if everyone voted. Further analysis of the data reveals that the electorate defied Democratic assumptions about its composition. Separating by race and gender, voters under 26 years old voted for Trump by more than 50% in every group (white men, white women, POC men) except one (POC women) -- People who didn’t vote in 2020 but voted in 2024 moved red by 14% (that’s huge). Finally, the #1 issue for voters by stunningly large margins was the cost of living/inflation. When comparing the cost of living to student debt, LGBTQ issues, race relations, income inequality, and other issues, voters chose the cost of living as their #1 concern more than 80% of the time.

www.blueroseresearch.org

Random Musings

I never appreciated how much an actual athlete the singer Alicia Moore AKA P!nk is until I went to a couple of her live shows. Layer on her songwriting and singing and what a unique performer she is. How different would social media be if anonymous posts were not allowed and you had to provide some proof of identity to have an account? I really like the team aspect of LIV Golf (Fireballs and Smash GC are my two top clubs). It's quite similar to Formula One. I’ve spent more time listening to podcasts. The Smartless podcast is always a lot of fun, and I learn something new about the guest each week. This week’s guest was John Lithgow. I did not know he was playing Dumbledore in a reboot of the Harry Potter franchise but for streaming. I’ll highlight other podcasts in the future.

Here's me and Bill:

Subscribe now

Share

Leave a comment

Sports

My hometown Celtics sold for $6.1B , a record for a North American sports franchise. In 1950, the Celtics were sold for $40,000. That’s an increase of over 152000% in 75 years. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have one of the best records in the Grapefruit League, for whatever that is worth. It looks like their big trade for Garrett Crochet in the offseason will pay dividends.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44328557/sources-bill-chisholm-agrees-buy-celtics-61-billion

Entertainment

I saw Craig Robinson, “Daryl” of Office fame, at his show in Austin at Cap City Comedy this past week. He was quite the entertainer, incorporating a mix of 70s and 80s keyboard music with comedy, and he had the best opener I’ve ever seen at a comedy show. See him if he comes to your city.

https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/tour-dates/craig-robinson

Is there a better actor right now than Sterling K Brown? My wife and I streamed Hulu’s Paradise over the last week. I’ve never said so many times during a show, “My lord, he is an amazing actor.” Sterling is nearly perfect as Secret Service Officer Xavier Collins. They should just put his name on the EMMY now. James Marsden is also fantastic as President Cal Bradford, and Julianne Nicholson as Sinatra.

Business

Southwest continues to try to limit the damage from its recent announcements of eliminating free bags and open seating. The damage control extended to a video by Tony Roach, EVP Customer and Brand, that didn’t do anything to help the actual brand. Comments on the video were so bad they were eventually turned off and they ranged from being a “big mistake” to being compared to a “hostage video”. This will be a classic business case study about sacrificing long-term brand equity for the short-term profitability gains requested by an activist investor and management consultants

Politics

Democrats are clearly in disarray, having had their worst polling in history in two separate, high-quality polls. An NBC poll found only 27% of registered voters viewed the party favorably, and just 59% of Democrats. A CNN poll showed similar record-low numbers of 29% favorability. So where does the party go from here? It seems like two factions are starting to become more prevalent. The hard left is pitting itself against more moderate Democrats. My two cents, for the Democrats to have any shot in 2026 or 2028, they need to focus on economic issues and greatly minimize their culture war positions. They must also realize that the media landscape has shifted dramatically against them. Scott Galloway of Prof G fame observed at SXSW that going on Joe Rogan was the equivalent of going on MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN for 3 hours a day for a week.

Meanwhile, President Trump’s approvals are dropping (but not as fast as TSLA stock). It is clear that most Americans support eliminating government waste but not the approach DOGE has been taking. 2/3 of Americans in the NBC poll think DOGE needs to slow down or stop, while TSLA is down 50% in market capitalization.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-trump-faces-early-challenges-economy-united-gop-backs-big-change-rcna195860

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/16/politics/cnn-poll-democrats/index.html

Culture

The annual World Happiness rankings are out and all five Nordic countries are in the top seven happiest places on earth. (#1 Finland, # 2 Denmark, #3 Iceland, #4 Sweden, #7 Norway). Interestingly, those five countries all have high income levels, healthcare, and taxes and many female elected officials. Rounding out the top 10 are the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Israel, Luxembourg, and Mexico. The USA fell to its lowest position ever at #24, noting that more young people eat all their meals alone than ever before (another drawback to social media?)

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/03/20/lessons-from-the-happiest-countries-in-the-world

Random Musings

Is Aaron Rodgers still so relevant that it justifies all the hype about whether and where he will play? Lady Gaga’s station (channel 15) on SiriusXM is really good. Poppy Handcrafted popcorn is some of the best popcorn we’ve ever eaten. Do we really need to be the only country besides New Zealand that allows pharmaceutical ads on TV? My March Madness picks take me about 5 minutes to complete…maybe that’s why I am never in the running to win?

https://www.siriusxm.com/channels/gaga-radio

https://poppyhandcraftedpopcorn.com/

Who doesn’t like sleeping dog pictures? Here are Bernie the Bernadoodle and Piper the Goldendoodle after a long day of doing nothing.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Subscribe now