This is not my car, but rather a representation of how hopeless I felt when my car was stuck on a hill in the middle of a snowstorm at night with two teenagers under my charge.
Two weeks ago, my son and I and another student who attends his college were caught in a harrowing situation. I was driving up a steep hill toward his college in the middle of a snowstorm (yes, I still question that decision). As we passed just inches away from a car that had just crashed into a roadside barrier due to the weather, I was determined to make it up a hill that seemed to go on forever. Suddenly, as the incline grew even steeper, my car would not go any further and the wheels started skidding in the freshly-fallen snow. My car was now stuck on a steep hill in the middle of a snowstorm at night. I tried to turn it around, which I did, but then two of the wheels on the passenger side got stuck in a drainage ditch at the edge of the road. I reasoned that driving half of the car in the ditch would prevent it from flying out of control down the hill, so I tried to drive the car down the hill with the wheels following along the length of the ditch. My car then got dangerously close to the car that had already crashed. I knew that I had to get myself out of that situation. I asked the boys to leave the car and stay on a safe part of the road, for if something terrible happened while I was driving, I would be the only casualty. I then pumped the gas and the car started flying up the hill in the ditch backward, but would not leave the ditch. The snow was so slippery that the rotating tires on my car were literally burning rubber. I tried desperately several times to get the car out of the ditch, but to no avail. I then noticed yet another car speed out of control going down the hill. That car then got stuck on the opposite side of the road. The driver came out of his car and did not know what to do. As the driver, my son, and the boy all looked at me sitting in the driver’s seat of my car, I knew that it was time for me to prove myself and to somehow get out of this mess. I kept on pumping more gas and burning more rubber as I desperately turned the steering wheel with hopes of freeing the two wheels that were stuck in the ditch. Finally, through my persistence, the car freed itself from the ditch. But now, it was sitting on a steep snow-covered hill and on the verge of sliding down the incline. Being a skier, I decided that my best maneuver would be to treat my car like a pair of skis. To ski down a very steep hill, I learned to ski perpendicular to the slope while descending it in small increments. I can control the speed of descent this way. I turned the wheels so that they would be perpendicular to the hill, then I applied my foot to the gas with just enough pressure to push the car forward for a few inches as the crunching snow slowed the car down each time. I had to repeat this procedure many times and each time I did that, the car slowly slid down the hill in a zigzag pattern. Finally, I approached the other car that had crashed. With only a few inches of clearance, I was able to miraculously maneuver my car around the other vehicle. After that, I had only 100 or so more yards to get my car to the bottom of the hill and onto a flat road. I asked the boys to direct me to the bottom of the hill as I continued “skiing” in a zigzag pattern with my car. Finally, I made it to the bottom of the hill without incident and then the boys jumped back into the car.
As we drove back to the hotel together in disbelief and with high emotions after what we had just been through, multiple feelings entered my mind; feelings of relief and accomplishment knowing that my quick-witted decisions and persistence helped to avert something very bad from happening.
Over dinner that night, my teenage son told me something that became the epitome of me as a parent; “Dad, I was amazed by what you did”. Just for that one moment, at least to him, I knew that I was the coolest dad in the world.
One of the reasons why I summarize my life at the end of each year is because the tedious parts of life often get in the way of enjoying the moments that truly matter. These moments can often be forgotten if not reflected upon, and if I don’t write them down, I’ll probably forget them. By sharing them through this blog, I get to relive those memories and share them with others. I spent all of 2023 working several jobs outside of my full-time teaching job (my son is in a very expensive college). It was stressful, but I still was able to punctuate my busy work schedule with memorable and enjoyable activities that helped me deal with the stress.
On New Year’s Day, I planned to relax and not do the polar plunge at Coney Island. As I was drinking my coffee, I noticed that my daughter was heading out to do the plunge with her friends. I changed my mind at a moment’s notice and decided to join her.
I joined my friend Matt Lebow and the Staten Island Mountain Biking group to do some mountain biking at Wolfe’s Pond Park in Staten Island. After the ride, I offered to volunteer to help clean up the trails. Matt asked me if I’d like to lead a group of high school volunteers during the cleanup. They had a great experience in doing something for their community while enjoying nature all around them.
In February, I was asked by running historian Gary Corbitt (son of famed ultra-runner and NYRR co-founder Ted Corbitt) to conduct a new interview with Bill Welsh (I had previously interviewed Welsh in 2019 to talk about his life). Welsh was a legendary coach and runner known throughout the Staten Island running community who this year was approaching his 93rd birthday. During his prime running years, Welsh trained and competed against many who were an important part of local running history throughout the Tristate area. Gary specifically wanted me to pick Welsh’s brain to reflect on those runners who were an important part of that history. My interview with Bill on Gotta Run With Will can be found here. At over an hour long, it was one of the longest interviews in the history of the series. Unfortunately, Bill Welsh had passed away later in the year. I wrote a heartwarming story about my time spent with Bill. It was published in the Staten Island Advance and can be viewed here.
Photos below from left: Me with Bill in his home, Bill and I having a Zoom session with Gary Corbitt preparing for the show, Bill and I during the interview on Gotta Run With Will. I’d like to thank Will Sanchez for producing this episode.
In March, I was asked by my Ugandan friend, teacher, and fellow runner Mukasa Edwards if I could help him fundraise to purchase a 10,000-gallon plastic water tank for his village. His community was facing a very serious drought and Mukasa would have to walk very far to get drinking water for his village. The water tank would solve the problem by collecting rain from the roof of their schoolhouse. After a few weeks, we raised enough money to purchase the tank. The tank is now full of rainwater and being used by all the people in Mukasa’s village.
I donated a pint of blood. It would be the first of three visits of doing so in 2023. I’d like to give credit to Michael Schnall and Ryan Knütsen for being role models in this area. I used to faint when I would have blood drawn during doctor visits. I am proud that I have come this far in being able to voluntarily donate my blood to help others without fainting.
In April and May, my son continued to show his dedication to running. He ran a 10k in April and came in second place overall and only 13 seconds behind the first place finisher. In May, he ran a half marathon with a very impressive time of 1:17:09 (5:53 pace).
Photos from left: My son leading at the start of the 10k, him encouraging another runner at the finish line of a half marathon.
I had donated an old robot called the Hero Jr. that I had for the past 30 years to the Museum of Failure. It was tough getting rid of something so interesting that I had owned for so many years, but I felt that giving it to the museum would benefit so many more people.
In June, I joined my fellow improv performers from Avant Prov at the 2023 Figment Festival at Snug Harbor, Staten Island. We engaged the public with our representation as members of the Slightly Silly Party. The purpose of this “political” party as created by Rob Reese was to poke fun at the political world and to replace the seriousness of it with fun and silliness. Engaging the public with rubber chickens and kazoos while marching in a ridiculous parade was a part of the fun.
Pictured below: Rodney Umble, unknown, Laura Petit, Me, Rob Reese, unknown, Douglas Cala, and Erin Krom. Crouching with the big googly eyes is Crystal Marie.
Before Father’s Day approached, my son had asked me what I’d like to do. My answer was easy; go on an overnight hike along the Appalachian Trail. I was able to enjoy my time with my kids while engaging in something that each of us liked to do. One of my goals was to wake up the next morning and use my portable stove to serve hot coffee to everyone. Goal accomplished!
Below is a photo of us on the top of Anthony’s Nose, a well-known mountain-top destination in the Bear Mountain area.
After a few failed attempts through the years, my friend Jacky Lee had finally completed the Great New York 100-Mile Exposition. With a 30-hour time limit, she completed it just in time in 29 hours, 36 minutes. And she wasn’t in last place; there were several other runners behind her.
In July, while I was running along the Promenade in Brooklyn, I came across a deer that had swum across the Narrows and into Brooklyn. Law enforcement and Parks officials were trying to figure out what to do with it.
I led a group of runners as we ran a path in Mill Basin, Brooklyn that when completed and uploaded to our Strava accounts, resembled a rainbow. I called this the Rainbow Run in support of the LGBTQ community.
I randomly found a funny video on social media showing an African-American child who is having a meltdown because he insists to his mother that he is Mexican because he eats quesadillas. She reminds him that he is not Mexican which drives him crazy. In response, I wrote the following (see below), which roughly translates as “More or less 25 pounds of my body is Mexican because I like to eat burritos”. This comment has garnered more than 1,500 ‘likes’ and has entertained many among the Mexican-American community. I want to thank Nena Coss for sharing the original post.
My daughter got invited to a 10-day artist residency in the woods of Vermont. During that time, she slept in a tent and created art with other artists, musicians, and dancers without the distractions of social media or electronic devices.
My daughter was featured in an ad campaign for the YMCA. It was great seeing her image on their social media and reading in her own words why she loves her lifeguarding job. I loved the photo of her as well. It shows her as someone who is proud and confident.
In August, I wanted to use two foldable kayaks that I had purchased during the heat of the pandemic. My daughter and I paddled out from the beach at Kaiser Park in Coney Island. We kayaked part of New York Harbor and even boarded the partially-sunken Yellow Submarine in Coney Island Creek.
I had the chance to briefly meet Joe Tudisco. In a small world story, Joe was an assistant football coach for the Sheepshead Sharks football team throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Once he retired, he became an actor. First, he was a background actor with non-speaking roles and then became a featured actor with lines. He has played principal roles in such hit series as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire and has been in films such as The Post. As it turns out, I am an alumnus of Sheepshead Bay High School, a background actor, and I live only a mile away from Joe.
Through the money I have raised from the recycled running shoe program, I have been able to help Kenyan elite runner Job Kiprono Langat with various expenses related to the races he runs. He was so grateful that he had shirts made for him and a fellow runner with my full name on them.
Through a popular casting website, I submitted to be the subject of a series of photos that would be taken by talented photographer Argun Tekant. Before shooting, Argun specifically wanted me to create a character type that I could portray in all of his photos. I chose to portray a film director since I have dabbled in directing before and I found it to be a very interesting experience. Below is one of my favorites out of many great photos he took.
In October, my daughter Emma E Pesin, her cousin Emma G Pesin, and my brother Aaron displayed their artwork at Artmageddon, a free event for artists that promotes itself as “NYC’s biggest free art and music festival”. It was so exciting to be immersed in a Brooklyn community full of creative types who either sold art or supported other artists.
I volunteered to be a part of a Halloween party for Prime Produce, an artist collective in the Hells Kitchen area of Manhattan. I was put in charge of giving creative eulogies written in a mad libs format by friends of the “deceased”. It may sound macabre, but it was a lot of fun as their friends cracked up laughing during the ridiculous eulogies that I gave.
In November, I participated in the Great Gobbler 6-Hour Bike Race. While I was very nervous about engaging in an event that I had little experience with, it turned out to be an exciting experience for me. You can read more about it here.
I met Ying Tan who was running as a Republican candidate for city council that would have represented a neighborhood near where I live. I discovered her on a Facebook post where she shared a video of her participating in the Italian custom of preparing and preserving homemade tomato sauce. I saw her working with an older Italian lady and Ying described the entire sauce-making process in detail. I thought that this was a great example of how the Italian-American and Chinese-American communities can learn how to get along by learning about each other’s customs. Seeing this video really impressed me enough to make me want to meet Ying in person. Even though I am a registered Democrat, I believe it’s important to work together with those who may not share similar political beliefs in order to better serve the community.
Due to me interviewing Bill Welsh several months ago, I was personally invited by Gary Corbitt to the “Running for Civil Rights: The New York Pioneer Club 1936–1976” event at the NY Historical Society. Will Sanchez had put together a special sign highlighting 28 runners who were important figures to New York’s running scene over the past few decades. Bill Welsh was one of the runners who was featured on that sign.
Photos from left: Me next to a handcycle competitor in the Great Gobbler race, me with Ying Tan at a party held for the community, Will Sanchez and I posing with his sign.
In December, I attended a film screening for Dumb Money, the true story of how the Game Stop company went from a penny stock during the pandemic and kept on rising in price to make lots of people rich due to one social media influencer who wholeheartedly believed in the stock. It was great to see a Q&A afterward with the stars of the film, Paul Dano and America Ferrara.
One of the things that I’ve been learning to value more in life are the friends that I have made through the years. Stan Levine is one of those friends. We had a great rapport when we were teenagers going to Sheepshead Bay High School back in the ’80s. It was great seeing Stan again and having coffee together in the Brooklyn neighborhood where he works. In 2024, it will be the 40th anniversary of our high school graduation. Stan, did you have to remind me of that?!
Through my friend Will Sanchez of Gotta Run With Will fame, I was introduced to Isabel Eliashev. Isabel was once one of the fastest female runners in New York City back in the 1990s. She was also one of the first female members of the New York Pioneers Club, a running club that predates the New York Road Runners Club. From Will and Isabel, I learned that the NYPC was one of the first inclusive running clubs that welcomed all runners regardless of race, gender, or religion. Soon after meeting Isabel, she came to my preschool class as a special guest. She did fun activities with the children including running laps around the classroom. Isabel is a school principal from Georgia who recently created a Pioneer Club for young runners in her community. What an inspiration!
As a lifelong runner for 42 years, I had a lot of trepidation about signing up for The Great Gobbler 6-Hour Bike Race, an inaugural event that was held at Freshkills Park, Staten Island, on November 19, 2023. I felt like an imposter who was posing as a mountain biker. However, the lure of a new challenge was just too strong to appeal to the sleeping badass in me and many great things about this event made me want to join the Dark Side and jump into the ring.
When I arrived at the event area via the newly completed North Park section of Freshkills Park, I entered a very welcoming world of mountain bikers, volunteers, and VIPs who were responsible for making the event happen. There was a strong atmosphere of camaraderie, which calmed my nerves. I needed my nerves calmed. Besides not having much mountain bike experience, I had to use my old Cannondale bike, which dates back 33 years to 1990. This mountain bike was old school; there were no shocks whatsoever, so whatever bumps I hit along the race course, my own body had to absorb the shock. My other mountain bike, a 15-year-old GIANT, had a shock absorption system, but that bike was not functional at the moment. I did not let this stop me from participating. My 33-year-old emerald green Cannondale became my dependable Millennium Falcon for this event.
Fitting my bike with the bib number
Since I was scared shitless participating in a sport that I believed I was ill-prepared for, I used a few strategies to help me lessen the fear. Being that each loop along the course was 8.75 miles, I set a realistic goal of riding one loop per hour for a total of 52.5 miles. I made a paper pace counter and attached it to the center of my bike handle so that I could focus on it throughout the race. Additionally, I approached this whole experience as a science experiment. I wanted to see how a lifelong runner who has run nine marathons, many half marathons, and thousands of miles would fare in a mountain bike race. The plus side was that runners are very goal-oriented and have a lot of perseverance in long-distance events. The minus side is that different leg muscles are used for each respective sport. Whereas runners predominantly use their calves, cyclists mostly use their quadriceps. Another minus for me was that my real cycling gloves were destroyed and I had to use construction gloves for this event. With no padding inside, this proved to be painful for my hands as the hours wore on.
The event had several waves depending on the type of bike one was using. First to go out were the adaptive handcycles, then the gravel bikes. The final wave, the mountain bike division (my wave), was next. After race director and event extraordinaire Matt Lebow shouted, “Get some!!!”, we were off and riding! A group of about 30 mountain bikers barreled out of the starting line officially beginning the race. I was somewhere in the middle. We went up a small hill, then down a much bigger one. Everyone sped down it to take advantage of gravity. At this moment, I decided that I would immediately take focus away from my competitors and spend the next six hours strictly working on my own goal of six laps. I slowed down to preserve my body for the next six hours so that I could achieve this goal.
Feelings of constant excitement and awe were going on in my mind as I traversed the hills and valleys of the first loop. There was the excitement of riding on top of what was once the site of the world’s largest landfill. Freshkills took 22 years to be reclaimed into an amazing world-class park sprawling with hills, valleys, marshes, and wildlife. I experienced the awe of reaching the top of these hills to discover breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline and the Bayonne Bridge.
The best description I can give for riding at Freshkills would be a roller coaster ride with many inclines, turns, and dropoffs, but in this case, the “tracks” that the roller coaster was riding on were completely natural. This was a roller coaster with spectacular views at the top, but where nature ruled.
I completed the first loop after passing over the timing strip at the start line with a time of 46:17, and I was stoked! I was killing my goal of one hour per loop. I had plenty of gas in my tank and I couldn’t wait to begin my second loop.
I completed my second loop with a time of 50:50; still way ahead of my pace goal. I originally planned to stop here for a rest break, but I was a man on a mission and my adrenaline level was high, so I continued onward to begin my third loop. A bunch of my friends who were resting on the sidelines started cheering for me. This was a big psychological boost and it made me feel more accepted into the mountain biking community at this point.
Throughout this race, a few other mountain bikers passed me, which was fine with me. I came across the one biker who was competing in the adaptive bike division. Sometimes, I passed her and sometimes she passed me. It was a great feeling to be a part of an event that included physically challenged cyclists. The mountain bike she used was specially made by an organization called the Mjolnir Project. Usually, these kinds of bikes can cost as much as $14,000. This organization uses 3D printing technology to bring the price down to $2,000.
I rode side-by-side with a participant from the adaptive bike division.
I completed my third loop with a time of 54:23! Still faster than pace. At this point, I realized that I had already burned so many calories and would continue to do so if I proceeded onto the fourth loop. I knew that I could not continue riding this way since my body was burning calories at a very fast rate and needed the energy to go on. I forced myself to stop and then wolfed down a few slices of pizza that were available for all the participants. I also ate an energy bar. In all, I must have taken a 15-18-minute break, but it was well worth it solely for the calorie loading.
After finishing my fourth loop, my finish time was 1:12:34, which was fine with me since I needed that extra time previously for the food break. Again, I rode by my still cheering friends which energized me to begin loop number five.
Loop number five was completed in 1:05:25. It was one of my slowest loops without a food break, but so what, I’m still within my goal of completing six loops by the six-hour mark. My tiredness was definitely beginning to show.
I was so tired that I just had to stop and catch my breath after crossing the timing strip for my fifth loop. I rested near my friends who had long stopped competing due to the physical challenges of the course. I was so out of breath that I couldn’t speak. I was standing there cold with a listless stare. Corey Ferretti asked me if I was okay. Another friend, Dominic Lucente, saw the distressed look on my face and motioned to me that I should end the race right now. I struggled to eke out the words, “One more loop” while slowly holding up one finger in the air showing him that I needed to do just one more. He had this incredulous look on his face as if what I was about to attempt could not and should not be attempted. Bob Wisner came over to check on me, for I was standing motionless and with a blank stare on my face. I managed to muster a few words and ask Bob to get me a chocolate protein drink that was on a nearby table. That drink provided me with an extra dose of gas that I desperately needed to complete my sixth loop.
After I downed the protein drink in one breath, I was approaching the fifth hour of the event and ready to jump back onto my bike to complete my sixth and final loop. Boy, it was brutal, but I knew that the end was near which gave me the determination to get it done.
One hour and eight minutes later, I crossed the timing strip to register my sixth loop with less than three minutes before I hit the six-hour mark to end my race. My total elapsed time was 5:57:34 and my moving time was 5:35:38. According to these stats, I had spent a total of 22 minutes eating food and taking rest breaks. I had completed my 52.5 miles and had achieved my six-lap goal. Overall, I had come in 10th place out of 32 participants. I think the fact that I focused on a goal throughout the event helped me to do better than many other participants. If this race had an age-group category, I would have come in first or second place.
I want to give a special shout-out to race photographer Jose Mendez. His amazing photos helped to document a historic event while helping to promote Freshkills Park as a major biking destination well into the future.
Here I am after the race. I was completely drained of energy and full of body aches, but I was satisfied that I competed and that I was able to achieve my goal. The experiment worked.
A special thanks go out to Freshkills Park Program Coordinator Christopher Ricker and Race Director Matt Lebow. This was a perfect partnership at a perfect venue for an event such as this one. Also important to mention is race organizer Michael Schnall. Mark Vogt and Rob Lenza of Complete Race Solutions (completerace.com) timed the event.
This was my favorite photo of the event. It shows a group of ambitious bikers high up on a hill with the changing Fall colors in the background. And there’s race director Matt Lebow holding the mic about to shout out his words of encouragement to get this race started.
I don’t know all of these people, but I do know a number of them. I want to thank Dominic Lucente, Bob Wisner, Raoul Edwards, Paul Reynolds, and Corey Ferretti for cheering me on with each loop I completed. You guys helped push me to reach my goal, and I appreciate that.
Postcards that I had individually hand-written with a personal message to help get out the vote in October 2018. I mailed them to citizens across the Nation.
Years ago, a number of the staff members at the school where I work wanted to unionize. Knowing the power of having a union represent me and my fellow teachers, I volunteered my time to help spread the word to others at my job. I spent weeks knocking on doors with a union organizer and spoke to whoever was open to hear me. After many weeks of engaging in this outreach, there was just one more day left before it was time for all staff to vote on whether they wanted a union or not. That evening, I worked at union headquarters in Manhattan at a phone bank and called staff members at their homes to encourage them to vote the following day. One of the teachers was on a long-term absence from her job due to requiring time to recover from an illness. I spoke with her over the phone and told her that someone could pick her up from her home so that she could be driven to our school to place her vote, and then driven back to her home. She was thankful for this offer but then declined it by saying, “I’m just one person. My vote won’t matter”. I thanked her for her time, wished her well, and then ended my conversation with her.
The following day was the big day to vote at our school. Many staff members came downstairs to vote. When all votes were tallied and confirmed, the teacher assistants and other staff had won a union. However, the teachers at my school had lost having a union by one vote (due to different job titles and the rules associated with that, we had to have two separate unions, one for the teachers, and one for all other support staff).
When I found out that the teachers had lost having a union by only one vote, I immediately thought about that teacher whom I had spoken to over the phone just the night before and what she had said to me. You see, her vote did matter.
Years ago, when computers were less user-friendly, one had to know how to take various shortcuts when there was an issue with their computer. One of those shortcuts was Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Pressing these three keys together at the same time helped to reboot one’s computer when it froze or acted haywire. Once pressed together, the computer returned to its normal self.
Last week, something scary happened to me that made me want to reboot my life. After I arrived at work, I felt pain in my chest. The pain wouldn’t go away and I started to break out into a sweat. I immediately went down to my school Director’s office and asked her if I can sit down. She saw that I didn’t look well and asked me if she could call up an ambulance to which I agreed. The EMS workers attached me to an EKG machine and fortunately, their readings showed that my heart rate was good. Feeling worn out after a hectic weekend, I decided that it would be best to leave my job and go home to rest for the day.
My son, who fortunately had just received his driver’s license, drove me home. As I sat in the backseat of my car, I contemplated my life and what may have caused the chest pain. It turned out that the day before the incident, I had drunk three cups of coffee, way more than I was used to. This was to help get me and my family back home on a 5-hour trip from Vermont after driving 5 hours the day before to pick up my daughter from a 10-day art residency. It had to be the coffee that affected my heart. However, the trauma of having prolonged chest pain and entering an ambulance was a wake-up call for me to reevaluate everything I did in my life.
For the past dozen years or so, I’ve been living as if every day were my last. This may sound like an exciting way to live, but it can be exhausting and over time, physically and mentally damaging. To start making necessary changes, I reflected on everything that I’ve been doing in my life. I am currently working a full-time job and several part-time jobs to help support my son in college. I decided that instead of working a few part-time jobs in one day, I spread them out evenly throughout the week. I am now also reshuffling my busy schedule and canceling or postponing things when I have too much on my plate.
I also thought about the stressors in my life and figured out a game plan on how to deal with them. I decided that I wasn’t going to let others stress me out, for the toxicity coming from some individuals can literally increase my heart rate and affect my health. I also knew that I sometimes need to say “no” to others who may need my help or guidance, for I can only do so much.
Additionally, I spent time thinking about the things that I love to do in my life. I have to approach these things in a different way that will promote my well-being. If I feel that they will cause me stress, I will stop doing them or be a part of them in a much smaller way.
I have recently taken up hot yoga. Yoga is benefitting both my body and mind and is even helping me improve my running. It calms me down and makes me stay focused on the important things in my life.
Many people’s lives often get out of control as they live beyond their capabilities. This could send some of us to the hospital. We all have to reflect on what we do from time to time and reboot when necessary.
As parents, we all want to make sure that our children do their best in life. Sometimes we do a little too much and go overboard by unintentionally becoming helicopter parents out of fear that our children will fail without our help. I’m just as guilty as any other parent in that regard. There have been many situations where I have interrupted a conversation between an adult and my son or daughter by speaking on their behalf when my children were right there to engage in the conversation themselves. It’s as if I was their lawyer and my children were incapable of speaking for themselves.
A recent eye-opening event happened that helped me break out of the cycle of speaking on my son’s behalf and respecting what he had to say. He was hired to be a pacer for the Mile High Run Club in Manhattan. As he lead a small group of runners through Central Park with me as one of the runners in the group, another runner asked him, “What do I have to do to train for a half marathon?”. With my 42 years of running experience, I was about to insert myself into the conversation and open my big fat mouth to answer that question for him thinking that I was best to answer it. But something inside me told me to stay quiet and just let him answer the question himself. He was being paid to help other runners after all. And even though he’s only 19 years old, he had accumulated a lot of running knowledge within a short period of time as a runner. I’m glad I kept quiet, for he answered her question thoroughly while including the latest and most popular running theories on how to train properly. His answer was full of technical jargon that included such concepts as VO2 Max and tempo running. The runner that he answered seemed both satisfied and impressed with his response.
After listening in on his response, I had a big smile on my face for three reasons; 1) I couldn’t have provided an answer myself as comprehensive and thoughtful as his, 2) I am glad that I did not speak on his behalf, and 3) I am damn fucking proud of him for becoming the man that he now is.
I was recently inspired by my friend Irslan Ali who posted a video on social media discussing how we all need to get out of our comfort zone if we truly want to improve ourselves. It made me think about myself and my own desire for self-improvement.
Last year, I voluntarily engaged in several daunting endeavors all of which were new to me. I was fearful of each one of them since they required me to push the limits and redefine what I was capable of. I was determined though, for my need to grow by trying new things was greater than my fear of failing at them. I decided that with each one of them, I should have faith, take the bull by the horns, and make them happen no matter what the results might be.
As I undertook each endeavor, my fears and concerns quickly became replaced by thrills and excitement. They were new things that I was learning and the excitement of learning these new things overtook my emotions and released all fears. I felt like a small child learning how to walk or a teenager the moment he first learned how to drive a car.
At 55 years old, I realize that I should not get complacent with life and that I can still push myself to new limits to define what I am capable of in new ways. I am learning that living in my comfort zone restricts who I can be and makes me give up on the potential that I have inside of me. With this in mind, I am excited about the future and the opportunities that I have yet to experience.
Dancing in a pink tutu in front of a live audience was not what I signed up for going into 2022. This show was the result of learning how to do improv by attending more than a dozen Avant Prov workshops as taught by master instructor Rob Reese. Both the performers and the audience had a great time in the four shows that we performed in.
Back in the summer of 2018 as I was running through the trails of the Staten Island Greenbelt, it dawned on me that this would be a great place to film a horror film. I began to imagine a homicidal maniac doing some very bad things to teenagers, then one of the teens escapes and runs for her life with the maniac in close pursuit. After I finished my run, I went back to a specific area that would be a great location to film. It was a babbling stream along a secluded riverbank. I took out my cell phone and began filming how the scene would play out. While filming, I walked through the entire route of the scene from beginning to end. I imagined the actors starting at the river bank, then running through the woods and up a series of hills to really give the film a sense of dread.
After being inspired by that experience, I planned to film a horror short and enter it into the Single Take Film Challenge. With this particular challenge, entrants must film a scene from beginning to end in a single take without any video editing involved. As I continued to brainstorm the scene, I decided that I wanted the “survivor” to eventually outrun the killer, or at least make my audience believe that. I wanted to end the scene with the survivor coming face-to-face with the killer in a shocking way to catch the audience off guard.
In order to achieve this, I had my friend Anthony Marazano volunteer his car. At a specific point, the actor playing the killer would secretly veer off of trail and head straight for the road. He would then jump into the car and Anthony would drive him to the spot where the final action would take place with the killer suddenly becoming face-to-face with the teen survivor. This would shock the audience when they see that the survivor really did not outrun the killer after all.
As a background actor who has been in well over 150 film and TV productions, I have made friends with many actors. Seeing his profile photos on Facebook, I chose my friend Michael Lewis Smith to portray the killer. Michael is a handsome devil when he smiles for a photo, but when he doesn’t, he has that cold killer look. My daughter Emma, a teenager at the time, was going to portray the survivor and her friend Julia was going to portray the victim who gets axed to death by the killer.
The night before the shoot, I find out that Julia could make it to the shoot. I quickly scrambled to find a replacement. Fortunately, my daughter’s other friend, Andriana, was available. I told Andriana that she was going to get killed in the scene. It would involve fake blood dripping down her face while she lay on the ground in the woods. She was okay with that.
One important special effect that was required for this scene to really have an impact on the audience was to have fake blood shoot up onto the killer as he axed his victim. I had no idea how to do this, so I went to a New York City Filmmaker’s group on Facebook and asked how one would shoot blood up toward the sky. Filling a toy water plunger with fake blood was the answer. I had my friend Anthony Martinez be in charge of that. He would hide behind me as I filmed the scene, then just as the killer whacked his axe into the victim’s body, Anthony would shoot a load of fake blood up towards Michael’s (the killer’s) face. Anthony would immediately shoot another load of fake blood onto the face of the victim to show in the most graphic way that she was dead. Once my camera focused on the killer, it would pan down to the victim’s bloodied face for full impact.
I had an old broken backpack to be used as a prop. The backpack was placed on the bank of the stream as a portent to show that something bad was about to happen. I filmed the scene using my cell phone camera attached to a clip with a single handle that made it easy for me to hold as I followed the action through the woods and up the hills. Since I had no steadicam, I used my own body as the steadicam, something that was not easy to do on irregular terrain. I began filming the scene by literally walking through the stream. The scene continues onto the bank, then you see the broken backpack. A few beats after that, you see my daughter tied up to a large tree. She is trying to break free and escape, but is unable to. The camera turns 180 degrees to reveal the killer dragging his unconscious victim to bank of the stream. He drops her body to the ground, picks up the axe, then whacks her body. Blood goes everywhere. The camera turns back towards my daughter. She witnesses this violent murder and this time tries even harder to escape. She gets out of the ropes and begins to run for her life. The killer turns around from his kill and begins to chase after my daughter. After running through the woods for a good two minutes, she comes to a quiet road and thinks that she finally outran him. Slowly turning around, she finds herself face-to-face with the killer. He slowly approaches her, then the camera pans to a tree with a “Missing” sign on it.
For those who love to see the process of making a film, below is the unedited footage of the entire 6-minute scene. Following that is the finished film.
The Lovely Woods (unedited)
We filmed the above sequence in three takes. I did not want to go beyond three takes because each take was six minutes long and required my daughter to do a lot of running. I got the footage that I wanted, but now it was time for post-production work.
Once I had the footage we needed for the day, I went home and uploaded the raw footage into my desktop computer. I used iMovie as my editing software. This film short now desperately needed both a soundtrack and sound effects to really make it pop. I decided to title it The Lovely Woods and start the footage slowly moving up the stream with peaceful music to really throw the audience off guard once the violence began. I found a website that offered free sound effects and music. I had to listen to many different effects to find those that would be most appropriate for the scene.
Since I filmed the footage on a clear and sunny day, I decided to darken the film to make it feel more menacing to the viewer. Finally, I added ending credits to give all of those involved the credit they deserved for helping me make it. I found an upbeat, but macabre song to play during the ending credits and was able to get permission from the artist for me to use it in my film. Without his permission, I would not have been able to include it due to the rules of the competition.
After I had submitted it, my film eventually became a semi-finalist in the competition. This was a great surprise to me and is a great motivation for me to want to make more films in the future.
Here it is in its finished form:
The Lovely Woods (final version)
Even though the film is far from perfect, it was a great experience for me and the crew of volunteers who helped make it a reality. I want to thank Anthony Maranzano, Giovanni Maranzano, Yolande Rose, Emma Pesin, Andriana Strontsitska, Michael Lewis Smith, Anthony Martinez, and Jacky Lee. I’d also like to thank musician Harley Poe for giving me permission to use his song in the film.
Post-production shot of (from left) Anthony and Giovanni Maranzano, Yolande Rose, Emma Pesin, Andriana Strontsitska, Myself, Michael Lewis Smith, and Anthony Martinez (Jacky Lee not pictured). With the amazing Staten Island Greenbelt behind us.
Part of 2022 was remembered by the loss of some memorable friends. I went to high school with Paul Markowitz back in the early ’80s. In 2019, Paul surprised me by coming to my book signing at the Fab Cup Cafe in Staten Island. Paul was a great guy and retired cop who was loved by all. Sadly, Paul was in a coma since last year and he finally passed away in October of this year.
Mark Carles was a runner who I knew from my Staten Island running club. For the past few years, Mark suffered from a rare form of cancer that slowly wasted away his body, but not his spirit. Besides being a runner, Mark was a budding filmmaker who had an infectious personality and kept his sense of humor alive until the final days of his life. Mark loved superheroes, especially Spiderman. He was so impressed with the fact that I was a background actor in one of the Spiderman films. Mark finally passed away in February of this year. I had the privilege to interview Mark and his brother David last Fall on the YouTube show Gotta Run With Will. That episode can be viewed here.
In February, I had purchased the world’s first fully recycled running shoe, the Tarkine Goshawk. By the end of 2022, I had racked up 687 miles. According to the company that is based in Australia, these shoes can last for 700 miles. They’re still going strong and I think I can run a lot further on them at this point. You can read my current write-up about them here.
Last year, I portrayed a press photographer on an episode of the hit HBO series The Gilded Age. Now that the show is on the air, I can finally share how I looked like the day I worked on it. It was fun being dressed and having my appearance styled for the year 1885.
In March, I ran with a local running group called the Ridge Runners. Some members of the group are Ukrainian. At this time, Ukraine was being occupied by the Russian army under Vladimir Putin’s direction. To show our support for the Ukrainian people, we dedicated this run to them and wore the colors of the Ukrainian flag. A local Bay Ridge newspaper found this photo and published it.
In April, I went hiking with my friend Jacky Lee along the New Jersey-Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian Trail. It was a great physical challenge to hike this section since we began our hike at sea level on the New Jersey side and had to climb one of the tall mountains once we were on the Pennsylvania side. We hiked a total of 14 miles over a two-day period. It was a tiring, but memorable experience.
I also visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was an amazing experience learning about the stories and inspirations behind many of Rockwell’s greatest works.
As a parent, it’s great to see how my children achieve different levels of success in their lives. Emma graduated from SUNY Purchase with a double-major in graphic design and painting. Hunter graduated from Stuyvesant High School with high honors.
Feeling depressed due to not being able to be creative like I used to as a result of the pandemic, I was presented with the opportunity from my friend Rodney Umble to participate in weekly improv workshops under the direction of master improv teacher Rob Reese. Every week for several weeks, I, along with Rodney, Laura Petit, Dorit Elena, and several other performers, engaged in Avant Prov workshops. These workshops taught us the fundamentals of improv that were done in artful and sometimes outrageous ways. By the end of the program, our troupe of performers put on four live shows throughout June and July. For each performance, we had well over a dozen audience members enjoying a unique form of experimental improvisation that had them entertained throughout each performance. Being one who often questions my abilities, these experiences raised my confidence levels tenfold and pushed me beyond my comfort zone into a new and freeing world of creativity that was quite exciting for me. One highlight for me was being able to destroy a “priceless” work of art that my daughter had previously created for the show.
In July, I lead a beer run for my Staten Island running club. We finished our run at a local brewery where the runners shared locally-made beer and great food.
I played pitch-and-putt golf with my son for the first time. This was something that my dad used to do with me when I was young. Even though we each didn’t play well, we enjoyed eachother’s time together.
Emma wanted to get her artwork and the artwork of about a dozen of her fellow Purchase School of Art & Design friends into a gallery to make a name for themselves. She did a lot of research and legwork and finally found a place in Downtown Brooklyn to display their art. She rented out the space at Established Gallery for the month of August. Through this amazing act, my daughter has learned that success can happen through helping others.
The Established Gallery is in a very diverse and busy part of Downtown Brooklyn. What a great place to display your work.One of Emma’s goals was to get her artwork displayed in a gallery. She achieved that here.
I’ve been friends with my friend Juan Perez for well over 25 years. He is a very talented artist who once worked for the NYPD as a police sketch artist. We met eachother at the laundromat that we both used to wash our clothes at and quickly became friends. For years, we have been talking about going camping together. In August, we finally got to do that. We camped at Worthington State Park in New Jersey right off the Delaware Water Gap. It was great to finally do something together that we had talked about doing for so long.
I met Tommy Wiseau at the screening of his cult film The Room. This film is regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. However, what makes it worth watching is that the acting and directing is so bad that it is quite comical and entertaining to watch. Tommy and his best friend Greg Sestero were once unknown actors with dreams of making it big in Hollywood. After going through many failed auditions, they decided to write, direct, and star in their own film. Tommy now travels the world showing his film to cult audiences and has become a multi-millionaire from this one film.
Leland Yu is a real-life superhero who, during the heat of the pandemic in 2020, ran 61 miles and raised $25,000 in a day. He used the money to help Chinese restaurant workers who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. He created Run for Chinatown, who, according to it’s website, “…is to inspire people and challenge limits through the sport of running. We host weekly runs and special events in an effort to spread awareness and provide economic support to the Asian & Pacific Islander communities in New York City”. In September, with the help of producer Will Sanchez, I had the priviledge to interview Leland on Gotta Run With Will. That interview can be viewed here.
I drove to the Bronx to find Little Amal walking through the streets with an entourage of followers. Little Amal is a gigantic puppet who has traveled the world. According to it’s website, “Little Amal is the 12 foot puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee child at the heart of The Walk. Over the last year she has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees.”
In October, I finally used two foldable kayaks that I had purchased at the beginning of the pandemic. I went out with my friend Steven Patzer and kayaked along Coney Island Creek. It was a nice adventure that was close to home.
During a swap meet I was a part of at the Coney Island Brewery, I hung out with fellow background actor Pierre Candra. Both Pierre and I portrayed dead bodies at least twice throughout our acting careers. Besides being a nice, friendly guy, my friend Mark Vogt and I regard him as the French Cary Grant.
I did a few interesting things in November. I was interviewed by cohosts Mike Gargiulo and Mike Celona for the podcast Best Job Never. I discussed the craziest acting jobs that I did in my life. I talked about my experiences portraying three separate dead bodies, an explosion survivor, a ninja in a coma, and many other crazy roles. You can listen to the Spotify podcast here.
Emma and I were both a part of a performance piece called Death By Plastic. Dressed in all black, we were part of a funeral procession where a transparent coffin was carried throughout Midtown Manhattan. Inside the coffin was an actress whose body was surrounded by plastic trash. A musician played a funeral dirge on his tuba and “mourners” handed out informational cards that explained how dangerous plastic is to all living things. Our group attracted a lot of attention from both tourists and locals alike. This was a very impactful event to show how prevalent and dangerous plastic is to all life on earth.
I was hired with about 100 other people to cheer on all of the runners during the NYC Marathon. This was paid for by the milk industry and was designed to promote milk as a natural energy drink to runners. We were all on our feet for eight hours dressed entirely in white clothing. It was a tiring, but fun event.
Emma is a big fan of modern-day children’s books, especially those that are artistically done with stories and parables that adults could relate to. One of the best authors of that genre of children’s books is Oliver Jeffers. Emma got the chance to meet him at a book signing event at a Brooklyn book store. She had him sign all of her books.
My friends Ryan Knutsen, Michael Schnall, and Jacky Lee inspired me to donate more of my blood. When I showed up for my appoinment in December at the New York Blood Center, I was asked if I wanted to volunteer and use a new technology that they were testing out that day. I agreed to wear a pair of “mixed reality” goggles while the technician drew my blood. These goggles made my eyes focus on a virtual world of butterflies and trees. I could use the pupils of my eyes to “catch” the butterflies that flew throughout the virtual presentation. I was so distracted while I participated in this virtual world that I didn’t even realize that my blood was being drawn. I often faint when my blood is drawn and this time I didn’t.
One of the last background acting jobs that I did for 2022 was working on the show And Just Like That. It was a super-boring experience, but it was fun to bump into Jim Bonanski, an old acting friend of mine who worked with me years ago on Boardwalk Empire.
Me with City Council member Mark Treyger, incoming City Council member Ari Kagan, and other guests on November 20, 2021.With Andrew Gounardes at his New York State Senate election campaign on November 5, 2018.With Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus accepting a Proclamation for my volunteer efforts during the pandemic on June 29, 2021.
A sad truth about the state of mainstream America is how ignorant people are of politics. It seems like many base their opinions solely on what they hear from the evening news and local papers. Since a vast majority of news stories appear to portray politicians as crooked, it’s no wonder why so many citizens fall prey to believing that all politicians engage in criminal behavior. The news industry is a for-profit business that thrives by focusing on stories on the negative aspects of society to feed America’s lust for stories of wrongdoing. Due to the unique power and influence that politicians hold while in office, they provide constant fodder for news stories about how they abuse that power. This portrayal of all politicians as people who engage in illicit behavior has permeated into the American psyche. I have personally seen these sentiments repeated countless times while reading people’s comments about their local leaders in social media groups with the repeated phrase, “All politicians are crooks”.
As a community activist who has worked with a number of local political leaders, I can honestly say that the above is untrue. I personally know on a first-name basis two state senators, three city council leaders, and four assembly members. I have spoken and interacted with them and have spent time working with them on community projects and events. Of the nine leaders I know, only one has done something that was considered to be illegal behavior. The rest are decent individuals who have a good track record of working in the South Brooklyn and Staten Island communities. I can attest to the fact that many of them care about making their communities better places through their leadership.
While my personal experiences working with these nine leaders may be a microcosm of greater American society, these experiences alone refute the common generalization that all politicians are crooked.
If you are still unsure of my statement, I challenge anyone reading this to get out there and start volunteering with their local leaders to find out more about them while improving their community. You will soon see with your own eyes and ears what kind of people they really are. I have and I was pleasantly surprised.
Leaders I Know:
State Senators – Marty Golden, Andrew Gounardes
City Council Leaders – Mark Treyger, Justin Brannan, Ari Kagan
Assemblymembers – Mathylde Frontus, Michael Cusick, William Colton, Pam Harris
District Leader – Dionne Brown-Jordan (46th NYS Assembly District)
Candidates I know:
Michael DeVito, Steven Patzer, Amber Adler, Whitney Hu, Erik Frankel, John Luisi, Angela Kravtchenko, Ying Tan
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