Award-Winning Journalist & Speaker - Expert in ERISA Fiduciary, Child IRA, and Hamburger History
Competition is good. It’s the bread and butter of every successful team, organization, and nation. Not because it crushes the weak, but because it reveals who we are. It pushes the best to heights never before imagined. It weeds out those who are better suited for critical supporting roles.
Think of the purpose of competition not as a cruel arbiter of the human condition, but as a vast casting call. Every great story needs a Continue Reading “Why Competition Is Good (And What Mrs. Fish Knew)”
As HF-L inducts new members to its Alumni Hall of Fame, it reminds me of that pleasant fall day in 2009 when Gates-Chili honored me in a similar way. The district asked all inductees to address the senior class in a special assembly. I thought the speakers would probably talk about either why education mattered to them or how their time at Gates-Chili helped them in their jobs.
In short, they’d be bland bios.
I didn’t want to bore the kids. I wanted to leave them laughing in the aisles with self-deprecating humor. At the same time, I wanted them on the edge of their seats, enthralled by the dramatic arc of a true-life story.
Of course, I’d abide by tradition by acknowledging the importance of education, but let’s be honest, what did they care about my career? So, I left that out.
I knew I was coming out of left field, but, in the words of those 20th-century British philosophers, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.”
Because of this daring, I suspected the students would become unsettled. I hoped they would Continue Reading “How Math Saved My Life: From High School Disappointment to Hall of Fame Speech”
Just about anybody who’s anybody can tell you about the math in music. Between time signatures (three-quarter, four-four, cut-time…), fractional notes (whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, sixty-fourth…), and the rest of the nomenclature (octaves, measures, counting…), music is nothing without math.
Even if you take out the technical aspects, the popular discussion is rife with numbers. Literally. I mean, how many of you have bought a 45 of your Number 1 hit that you just heard on the top 50* countdown? (*These being the top 50 songs as measured by the Billboard 100.)
Again, anybody can talk about the math in music, but can they talk about the music in math?Continue Reading “Can You Hear the Music of Mathematics?”
I never had someone so mad at me. And for no reason. We were both in tenth grade. Except for orchestra, we shared no other classes. We did share an Italian-American heritage. And she was mad in a way only an Italian-American can get mad. I’d seen it all before. In my extended family. In my neighborhood. In the dark alleys of the most obscure hallways within the school.
I just didn’t get it. I didn’t even know what a concertmaster was. Yet, there I was. Her, me, and the violin teacher.
But I get ahead of myself. Let’s go back to the beginning of the story…Continue Reading “Style or Substance? A Real-World Lesson (Part I)”
There’s nothing like strolling out to the pitcher’s mound for the first game of the season. A new season ushers in a new beginning, and with a new beginning comes new hope. For someone like me, the games may be of the past, but the smells aren’t: the sweet fragrance of the freshly mowed outfield; the gritty dryness of the dusty infield; the melts-in-your-mouth aroma of broken-in leather. With these smells, of course, bubble up the feelings of old: the promise of a clean slate; the dreams of achievements yet to be; the comradery of brothers only shared experience can forge.
Admit it. If you’ve ever played Little League Baseball, then you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever coached, then no doubt you’re amazed how a new generation of kids Continue Reading “A New Beginning”
Did you ever have a dream you kept putting off? A place you always wanted to visit? A story you always wanted to tell?
So did I. (Notice the past tense.)
This site might give you a clue about how I accomplished this. Who knows? It may even reveal to you how you can realize your own greatest goals.
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On The Wings Of Butterflies
I recently attended a presentation. Nothing unusual about this. This time of year, I attend a lot of presentations. And, as is the norm, I sat in the front row.
There’s a reason for that. Sometimes presenters make their PowerPoint font one size too small to read from anywhere but the front row. Also, if I have a question, it’s easier for the presenter to hear me.
Now, there is a downside to this seating choice. Not only does it make the speaker more Continue Reading “On The Wings Of Butterflies”