Is America Still Respected? Global Opinions on Trump’s Leadership

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On many occasions, President Donald Trump has publicly stated that the world now respects the United States. The implication is that the US is the most respected due to Trump’s own efforts. I thought that this comment was a bold yet simplistic thing for him to say. By making this claim, one would assume that Trump had received feedback from people living in other countries and that the feedback was positive. With his boast, I was curious about finding out the truth. I was determined to prove or disprove Trump’s statement myself. I realized that through my many connections with friends and family from around the world, I would be able to find out if Trump’s claim was true. To do this, I began to send texts to friends and family who I know live outside the United States with the following request:

“I am doing research for a blog that I’m writing, and I’m seeking opinions from people who don’t live in the United States. I’m asking people from other countries for their opinion on Trump, his image in their country, and America’s image. Could you please provide me with your personal feedback?“

It took time to find those who qualified and were willing to give me feedback. After two weeks of effort, I received responses from 20 people who live in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, France, the Philippines, Kenya, Uganda, Brazil, Poland, Canada, England, Costa Rica, and Panama. The participants come from all walks of life and work different professions. Among them is a teacher, a realtor, a corporate CEO, a musician, a business owner, a government worker, a telecommunications worker, and a retiree. Some participants did not want their names mentioned out of fear of retaliation by the Trump administration, so I abbreviated their full names. After reading all of their responses, a few shared positive views of Trump, but most were negative. These negative replies disprove Trump’s claim that America is respected around the world.

Below are their answers in no particular order.

“I think Trump is an authoritarian, racist, bigoted, half-witted maniac.” – SB, Australia

“For Europeans, Trump has made America an unfriendly country. We used to consider the US as Europe’s “sort of” sister nation. Trump in 2017 had put doubts in this idea, and Trump in 2025 definitely nailed it. Of course, those who had an interest in international relations already knew the US was more of a competitor than an ally, and were merely surprised at someone being so blunt about it.

In the domain of defense, the US has provided Europe not only with arms (that Europeans pay for) but, more importantly, intelligence. When Trump stopped giving intelligence data to Ukraine because of the dispute between Zelensky and Trump, Europeans totally lost it, as they realised if the US were to stop being a military ally, Eastern Europe could be invaded by Russia, and we could do nothing about it.

There were leaks of conversations involving JD Vance and others saying things like, “We hate the European slackers”, which made all 27 countries in Europe radically change their views on the US, as it is perceived that after Trump, JD Vance will be the new leader, and a whole cohort of guys like him.

On the trade business, Europeans feel that everybody is paying for decades of the open bar liberalism started by the US that created too much dependence on Asian countries, and both the US and Europe are losing their industrial bases, and now, us EU being seen as “the bad guys” of trading deficits, whereas the US is as bad as anybody else.

All in all, the US is now seen clearly as it always has been: not an ally, but a competitor; not a friendly nation, but a partner, like China or Brazil would be.

The worst part is that Europe has made itself very vulnerable and dependent on the US for no reason other than laziness. Waking up to a new world and having to construct new partnerships on defense, trade is very painful and expensive, and this is what Europe has to do now, without guarantees that it will succeed. The great danger for Europeans is that we become too dependent on China in trade, in the process. This is why Europe is trying to diversify trade routes with India, South Korea, and Japan, but it will be years before this is achieved.

Trump has been an eye-opener for Europeans. I would say it’s about time! For the US, it’s bad because a sort of myth has ceased to exist. People in Europe, or most probably anywhere, do not hope for the “American Dream” now, because it does not look like the US is a free country, and that is important when deciding on traveling. When foreign students are mistreated, imprisoned, and deported for their use of “free speech”, that does not look good for the host country. I do not wish for my daughter to study in the US, and she feels the same. She is talking now about doing some exchange studies within Europe or Asian countries.

We see the situation inside the US as too grim for the American people. In Europe, we have the understanding that there is a sort of war between democrats and populists, and that populists are winning as of now. Europe has its own populist parties that keep growing and are poised to take over, too, in France, for instance. The Trump attitude toward Europe, his befriending Putin, is terrifying for us, and may help keep populists at bay. At least that is what I hope for.

Finally, Trump is just a face for a world tendency of closed-mindedness and suspicion towards others in these changing times. In Europe, people fear for scary times ahead, and I do too.” – MC, France

“I find him an evil and dangerous person. Most of the Germans I talk to think that he’s just stupid. And for them, that image reflects on Americans as well. People can’t understand why I still travel to the US. To me, the Americans are the same as before. Trump made behavior acceptable that a few Americans are now showing. The tragic thing is that I remember everything from what my parents and grandparents told me about when Hitler got into power.” – JE, Germany

“A populist figure who, although he has sound macroeconomic ideas that improve the US economy, speaks to garner support from less-educated voters. I don’t completely disagree with his policies, but I don’t fully support them either, because some are aimed directly at his electorate, and others are the core of his mandate. It’s the same phenomenon happening worldwide: figures who haven’t even finished campaigning.” – EM, Costa Rica

“Orange toddler man baby. That used to be my view; now it’s worse.” – NR, New Zealand

“Unfortunately, both the image of Trump and America are pretty bad. Also, Europeans seem to have drastically changed their opinions about the USA, which they had formerly respected and greatly admired. In the eyes of other nations, the USA has fallen off its pedestal. No longer in high regard. Muy triste. Very sad.” – ER, Spain

“I think he is ruining and dividing our country. America’s image outside the U.S. is horrible. It is no longer considered a reliable ally and is no longer at the forefront of research in any field, especially science. Other countries are looking to alternative alliances to manage global issues, assuming the U.S. will not be a dependable strategic partner.” – HH, Portugal

“A powerful, dangerous, unpredictable, racist, sexist, and ignorant man. A sad representation of today’s America, an old, strong ally upon which Europe can no longer trust or rely.” – CT, France

“I see him as a leader who makes good and bad decisions. His presidency has been criticized enough to have him impeached twice, and yet he won again as your president, which means the majority of your people see him fit to lead. He made a bold decision on immigration policies and racial discrimination. Some decisions I like, such as his stand with Israel in its war with Iran. No other country took a stand in fear of retaliation. However, I do not like that he also uses his power to uplift his business. Also, how he treats his wife. You can tell a lot about what kind of man you are just by looking closely at them when they are together.” – JT, the Philippines

“I think that the most common answer will be that he is a power-hungry lunatic and wants to abolish democracy in the US. The only positive impact is that Europe is finally spending more on its armed forces.” – PI, Germany

“I am from Kenya and have personally been to New York City. On my side, I am just afraid of Trump. He seems to be harsh to immigrants and non-Americans. The United States is the land of opportunities, but when Trump is still there, I can say it’s hard to think of going or doing anything there.” – JK, Kenya

“I speak for many Ugandans. The evangelicals think he’s such a great guy who’s being used by God to bring back America to the Bible. To the contrary, politicians and non-religious people think he’s the worst Head of State you have ever heard, and they’re praying for a day Republicans will lose that seat. On immigration, they think he’s crazy. I personally think he’s crazy. Changed our visit visas from two years to three months, but also, we have to make a deposit at the embassy and pick it up when we return to the country.” – NT, Uganda

“Honestly, I think Trump is a very impulsive person — he often acts first and then rethinks his decisions later. He likes to feel powerful and has a huge ego, sometimes even coming across as arrogant or trying to make people fear him. He tends to believe he’s better than others. On the other hand, he does step back when he realizes something might go wrong. I have to admit that at one point, I really disliked him, but when he improved his relationship with Brazil, my opinion, he softened a bit. In the end, regardless of who is in power, I believe we should focus on spreading peace in the world — after all, we share the same planet, and everyone deserves to be well.” – MS, Brazil

“Trump is more of a businessman than a President and says one thing and does another. No one takes him seriously. And he doesn’t understand Russia and Putin at all. Putin is playing with Trump.
The US is no longer the “country of dreams” to go to. As a country, America is more divided than a few years ago, and is not attractive to people in Europe because the living comfort in the US is worse than in Europe. We have free university in the EU, and thanks to this, my kids study in the Netherlands. You can find a good job, get social and health insurance valid in all the EU if you work. I met in Armenia some US citizens who worked here in the USAID program, and Trump closed this program. Now they don’t have a job, but most of them want to move to Europe, not to the US. Here, most people see your country as a “colossus on feet of clay,” and I think that Trump contributed to this. Of course, some conservative groups are glad that he is the president due to his immigration policies and business. However, no one believes that he saved Ukraine from Russia, and Europe has to defend itself. This is my personal opinion based on observation.” – JSK, Poland

“In Uganda, almost everyone loves him. There are a few that don’t here and there. But they like the “he’s not a politician” aspect. I often get comments about having him “come fix Uganda” next. Now, for the missionaries who are here, it’s more of a mixed bag. We have those who can’t believe he was voted in, and others who love what he’s doing.” – JH, Uganda

“First of all, Trump is very present in our media landscape. I recently attended a conference where we were shown statistics comparing Trump’s media visibility to that of the Premier of Quebec and the Prime Minister of Canada. He was far ahead. I think this shows how much Trump impacts us, but more importantly, how much he frightens us. The recent tariffs have had consequences for businesses and jobs here, but we anticipate they will be even more significant if Trump continues down the same path. This is very concerning. Previously, my husband said that Trump was just a “big talker” and he tended to find him almost entertaining. Since his second term, things have changed. We see how far Trump goes, but also that he is serious about some ideas that we thought were absolutely outlandish. I live in Quebec, in a predominantly left-leaning society, despite a resurgence of the right. The ideas promoted by Trump south of the border—the erosion of human rights, the rise of racism, the denial of science, and so on—are ideas that are largely absent here, but their resurgence so close to home is deeply concerning. For many of my friends and me, Trump’s election came as a surprise and was met with considerable dismay. I must admit that we struggle to understand how a society like the United States could elect a president who shows so little respect for democracy and the common good.” – SG, Canada

“Pretty negative. We mainly see his personality. I’d say my friend group and I would be similar to Mandami voters in New York. Left of center and fairly liberal. However, we can disassociate Trump and the image of America – at least for chunks of things. Although seeing America become less welcoming is sad.” – MH, England

“Hi Josh. I think in Germany, the opinion about Trump is that he is an unreliable partner, non-consistent, and very unpredictable. People are afraid that he would do things that could put Europe in danger. (e.g., getting out of NATO or not following up with the mutual protection clauses if it comes to that). So they are trying to “please him” to keep him happy. I think this is what happened during the NATO summit in the summer when European countries gave him all the credit for increasing defense expenses. America’s image is that even though it was a good partner before, now it’s not really reliable anymore, so Europeans have to learn to protect themselves and look for more reliable partners elsewhere. And I think in Russia, he is pretty much perceived as a clown, people are making jokes that there is a “morning Trump” and an “evening Trump”, and they are kind of different people (so referring to inconsistency and unpredictability). At the same time, he is perceived as a “more beneficial” option for Russia than a Democratic President.” – AG, Germany

“In my opinion, Donald Trump has a very theatrical style, but he tries to establish rules that uphold the importance of the United States both domestically and internationally. I think it’s great that he’s cutting ties with the woke movement and prioritizing the country’s interests above all else. The image of the United States is strengthened by an image of a vigorous President who is not afraid of other economic powers, nations, or blocs of nations. I truly believe he has good intentions and wants to make America great again.” – JCG, Germany

“Trump, in my opinion, is mentally ill. He doesn’t govern for the United States; he wants to dominate the world for his own economic interests and those of his group of businessmen who see people as objects. And that’s how he has the Americans, who have been deceived by a psychopath just like Rubio, and they don’t realize that the world increasingly hates the United States. Soon, the world will unite to destroy the United States.” – ES, Panama.

How to get work as a background actor

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I’ve been a background actor since my first gig back in 1991. It can be a lot of fun. You make money, and you’re well-fed. You get to be a part of a film or TV production and sometimes work with well-known actors. It can also be tedious at times, where you might end up sitting in holding all day.

For those interested in getting background work, there are a few things that I can recommend:

A) Sign up with castingnetworks.com. I get about 90-95% of my background work through this site. There is a monthly fee. If you pay for the entire year, they will discount two months off the annual fee.

B) If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, ‘like’ the following pages. The casting agencies listed below regularly post calls for background actors. If you are interested in submitting for one of them, you MUST follow their directions EXACTLY. By not doing so, you may lose the chance to get called for work.

  • Grant Wilfley Casting
  • Waldron Casting
  • Central Casting
  • Heery-Loftus Casting
  • Everyset Background Casting – NYC
  • HBG Casting LLC

C) Go to the following casting websites directly and try to register and/or sign up for upcoming projects requiring background performers:

D) To submit your child for background roles:

HBG Casting LLC: click here

A Sharking Discovery

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My high school marine biology teacher, Joel Teret, inspired a lifelong passion for ocean life in me (click here for more on that). One of my most memorable moments while taking his class was a whale watch trip that my class went on at Cape Cod during the Spring of 1984. I’ve been fascinated by whales ever since.

Little did I know that there was another ocean animal that kept on popping up unexpectedly in my life. It was only recently that I realized how often sharks “swam” into my life more than whales. It may have started with the movie Jaws, which came out 50 years ago this summer. That film put the fear of great white sharks into everyone’s consciousness, including my own. For me, it also created a curiosity about them that never ended, and sharks continued to be a part of my life in unexpected ways. It was a sharking discovery, I mean, a shocking discovery that I am finally sharing by writing this blog.

Jaws came out in 1975. About seven years later, I took two years of marine biology with Mr. Teret. From his classes, I learned fascinating information about sharks that I still remember today. Here are some things I can still recall:

  1. Of the 400+ species of sharks, only about 10% are dangerous to humans.
  2. Sharks are cartilaginous and have no bones except for their teeth.
  3. Most sharks have a primitive gill system and must constantly swim to force water through their gills to breathe. Swimming burns energy, and that is why they are always eating.

Any effective teacher knows that they cannot solely rely on books to educate their students. They understand that a hands-on approach often works best. Mr. Teret wanted his students to do a deep dive into shark anatomy by requiring students to dissect a dogfish shark. It was both exciting and traumatizing for me since I had to cut deep into its body with cutting tools to reveal the various organs that were hiding inside. One of the “treasures” that I removed during the dissection was the shark’s eyeballs. Their eyeballs are perfectly spherical and resemble small marbles. I am embarrassed to admit that I presented one of these “marbles” to a female classmate whom I liked, who was in another class of mine. As soon as I handed it to her, she dropped it on the floor once I told her where it came from. What a way to impress a woman, right?.

A few years later, my family and I ate at a seafood restaurant called Captain’s Quarters. Since the image of man-eating sharks was still very much on people’s minds, I thought it would be ironic, or even poetic, if I turned the tables and ordered shark for dinner. In doing so, I would literally be a man eating a shark. That was the first and last time that I ever ate shark meat.

One day in 2010, I was walking along the Shore Road Promenade in Brooklyn with my son Hunter. A fisherman had just caught a 30″ sand shark by accident. He reeled in the shark with his fishing pole and placed it on the ground as we approached it during our walk. The shark was thrashing about with a hook still in its mouth. Feeling sorry for the shark, I asked the man if I could unhook it and set it free, and he agreed. I carefully removed the hook from its mouth. Seeing large rocks below, I just couldn’t drop the shark down from above. I decided to treat the shark like a discus and throw it way out into the ocean, where there were no rocks. Holding it by its tail, I spun my body around a few times, then flung it out and away from the rocks, where it immediately swam away. How many people can say that they saved a shark’s life?

In 2017, I directed a 5-mile road race along that same Shore Road Promenade. To show that the race was being held next to the ocean, I included an orange shark in the logo design for the race shirt.

My friend Joe was once the assistant coach for the Sheepshead Bay High School football team. Today, he lives in my neighborhood. One day, I visited him at his home, and he was wearing a Sheepshead Sharks football t-shirt. The Sharks were the name of my high school’s football team.

Me with Joe.

In 2022, I performed with a troupe of improv performers at the Figment Festival in Staten Island. There was another group of performers nearby called the Kostume Kult. Besides performing in all kinds of fun costumes, the Kostume Kult was a charitable group that offered free costumes to all who visited them. Among the many costumes that I could have chosen, I picked the most bizarre and shocking: a t-shirt with a great white shark chewing its way out of the middle of it, blood and all. I had no idea when the right time to wear such a “costume” was, but it intrigued me enough to grab it. A month later, I was slated to be a presenter at the NYSMEA Conference. I would be referring to a slideshow about the history and future of Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn. I thought it would be great fun to conduct my presentation by wearing the shark t-shirt. After all, any good teacher knows that gaining the student’s attention is half of the battle. Those who were at my presentation thought it was funny, and it definitely got their attention. I was happy that Mr. Teret was one of my students in attendance.

For years, I wanted to participate in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I never did since I didn’t have a costume that would fit the nautical theme of the event. Finally, in the summer of 2024, I decided to have a go at it by wearing my shark t-shirt. I had no idea how the audience would react to it. It turned out to be a big hit. My photo even ended up in the Daily News!

After 50 years, I am still learning amazing things and new discoveries about sharks. The latest is this particular specimen of Greenland shark (see photo below), which is now 500 years old. Another is that great white sharks are no longer apex predators. These sharks fear killer whales, which attack and kill great whites to eat their livers. You can view video evidence of that here. I also learned that sharks existed on Earth much earlier than the dinosaurs. Early sharks go back so far in time that they are older than the planet Saturn.

Here are some posts I wrote on my Facebook account about sharks over the years. One is serious, most are funny. One was written by my brother Aaron Pesin.

Aunt Kathleen’s Fight Against Racial Inequality

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In the late 1960s, my aunt Kathleen became deeply affected by the race riots that were happening in major cities across the United States. Living in Brooklyn, New York at that time, she wanted to find out how she could help fight racial inequality. She learned that Caucasian people did not want to have black people living near them and Kathleen thought that this was despicable. She participated in a Civil Rights march and attended racial inequality meetings inside people’s homes. A black lady was hosting a meeting about the Fair Housing movement and it was there that Kathleen found out how white building managers refused to rent apartments to blacks. There was a call for white volunteers to help investigate discriminatory practices against blacks who wanted to rent an apartment. Without hesitation, Kathleen signed up.

During the investigation, Kathleen would pose as a potential renter who would be interviewed by the building manager after they had already refused to rent to a black person. She would bring whatever the black person before her brought to the interview to see if the excuses the managers were using not to rent to them were legitimate. If they brought a dog, Kathleen would bring a dog. If they brought a child, Kathleen would bring her son David. Kathleen visited several apartments and after each interview, the building manager would always offer her the apartment. Her efforts exposed discriminatory practices that were against the law.

In 1977 Kathleen and her husband Richard bought a house on a predominantly black block. They were the last white family to buy a home where she still resides. She currently has wonderful neighbors from many ethnic backgrounds. The block is now one-third white, one-third black, and one-third Muslim and is very close-knit.

I am proud of my aunt for her efforts.

Brooklyn Tornado of 2007

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On August 8, 2007, an EF2 tornado struck parts of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It was the strongest tornado on record to hit New York. According to Wikipedia, 40 buildings and 100 cars were damaged.

A day after the tornado hit, I ran to Bay Ridge to survey the damage. The Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church lost its huge stained glass window valued at $300,000. Trees at nearby Lief Ericson Park were snapped in half or ripped from the ground by the roots. Not pictured were partially destroyed homes resulting in $20 million worth of damages. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and only a few minor injuries from flying glass.

2024 – A Year in Review

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While I spent a good part of 2023 working several jobs to help pay for my son’s college, my focus in 2024 was to provide more balance in my life between work and fun and interesting activities. I also tried to focus on working more gigs as a background actor.

In January, the theme in my school was ‘clothing’. Since my daughter knows how to sew, I invited her to my preschool class as a special guest and showed my students how to sew.

I was a stand-in for a card dealer on a TV show called The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah.

After I picked up my son in Ithaca from a ski trip at Mount Tremblant in Canada, we decided to visit my cousin Jeff’s pizzeria Cheesy Charlie in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

In February, I had the privilege of being invited to the NYRR’s Club Night Awards Ceremony. There, I got to see my good friend Will Sanchez receive the highly-coveted Joe Kleinerman Award for his many years of producing and hosting the show Gotta Run With Will. In 10 years, Will has interviewed more than 300 runners with special stories to tell that were inspiring, historical, and intriguing. The photo below features previous special guests on Will’s show including Nicoletta Narangis, Ruth Gursky, and Michael Ring. Seated is George Hirsch who is Chairman Emeritus of the NYRR. My arm is around Monika, Will’s wife.

I worked a background gig in New Jersey portraying a ‘jogger’ in a park in a night scene that featured Billy Crystal. Unfortunately, I was not used due to too many joggers being hired for that scene, but I did get paid and fed that day, so there’s that.

In March, I proudly saw my brother Aaron being inducted as an official member of the Polar Bear Club. He had spent the season participating in many plunges with the Polar Bears and this qualified him to be official.

My friend and fellow runner Amy Padnani, a reporter who works at the Obituaries Desk for the New York Times, created an amazing feature called Overlooked. In this series, noteworthy people throughout the history of the NY Times who may have not received a proper obituary or any mention at all are given a proper send-off of the accomplishments they made throughout their lives. Many of these figures were either female, members of minority groups, or the LGBTQ community, and due to sexism, racism, and homophobia, their stories were not considered important at the time. I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy for an episode of Gotta Run With Will. She was promoting her book called Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World. Reading her book to prepare for the interview was a great experience for me. The episode can be viewed by clicking here.

Both my daughter and my brother’s daughter are named Emma Pesin. Both are very creative and get along with each other fabulously. I am so glad that these two cousins collaborate on many fun and creative projects together.

In April, I was invited by Will Sanchez to attend a film screening for the documentary, “Photographic Justice, the Corky Lee Story”. It was a gripping documentary about Corky Lee, an Asian-American photographer who bravely took thousands of photos throughout several decades that illustrated the Asian experience in America. His photos helped to change public opinion as well as create policies that helped the Asian American community. The photo below features me posing with Philippe Day and Corky’s partner Karen Zhou with Will Sanchez to the right.

I was hired to portray a skier in a ski lodge scene for the film TOW. The ski lodge was really a golf house. We had to act like it was the middle of winter. Meanwhile, the temperature was 85 degrees outside.

I did a book signing in a Dyker Heights cafe. It was a great surprise to find that one of my customers was my son’s kindergarten teacher. I told her how great he was doing at Cornell University. He’s come a long way from being a problem child in kindergarten.

I celebrated Mother’s Day in May with my mom and brother Aaron in Coney Island. My mom loves Coney Island and we enjoyed our time together there at Nathan’s Famous.

I’ve been the assistant secretary for Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) 11 for the past few years. Members of NAB help decide how NAB-approved Federal and State agency money should be spent based on the needs of our community.  Approved projects may benefit the elderly, immigrants, our youth, the physical wellness of community members, public safety, education, and other community needs. In May, members of all NAB groups throughout New York City met in Manhattan for a party to celebrate our accomplishments.

When my school year ended in June, I decided to finally participate in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade after years of talking myself out of it. The parade does have a nautical theme, so I thought that wearing my special shark shirt would make me fit right in. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to hear so many spectators cheer me on as I marched with pirates, jellyfish, mermaids, and other people dressed according to the theme. Even a photographer from the Daily News took my picture and published it in the paper!

I spent Father’s Day with my daughter and father at his home in Leonia, New Jersey.

I worked a two-day overnight gig where I portrayed an onlooker to a car explosion that happened in a hotel parking lot. First, they filmed the explosion, then later, they filmed the car on fire as I and other onlookers watched the explosion while on camera. It was interesting to see actual firefighters put out the fire every time the camera stopped rolling.

Being a preschool teacher for 23 years now, I was very happy to find out that one of my former students is a full-grown adult and now loves to run. Yes, Patryk was only four years old when he entered my class and now he’s 24. We met up several times in the summer to run together at Clove Lakes Park in Staten Island. His dream is to one day run the NYC Marathon. I hope that I can help him.

July had both happiness and sadness for me. My uncle Marty passed away on July 17 after being sick in a military home for a long time. He inspired me to take up running when I was 13 years old after I witnessed him complete the 1980 NYC Marathon. He also motivated me to take up skiing and travel cross-country and I still do those things. My memories of Marty can be found here.

After many attempts at applying, in July, my son Hunter was accepted to be a research assistant for a professor at the University of West Virginia. He spent several weeks staying at a dorm there while getting paid a very nice weekly stipend. His time ended with a presentation of his research at an Undergraduate Research Symposium. While there, we visited the famous Falling Water house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Central Pennsylvania.

In August, I held a book signing at a cafe in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I invited fellow author Eric Maldonado who had just published his book called Service (The Last Days Saga). Just two years ago, Eric came to my book signing at a cafe in New Jersey and purchased my book. It was exciting for me to be a fellow author with him at this event.

Before I dropped off my son for his third year at college, he wanted us to go on a trip to the Adirondacks. It was a long drive, but definitely worth it. We visited Lake Placid and went on hikes in the local mountains there. We visited Seneca Falls, which was the town that inspired Frank Capra to write the screenplay for It’s A Wonderful Life. It was such a thrill to be able to walk across the bridge that was featured in the film. There’s a true story about a man who lost his life saving a woman who jumped off of that bridge. That story provided the inspiration for the film. Seneca Falls was also the birthplace of the first meeting of the Woman’s Suffrage Movement.

Sadly, my friend Mark Vogt had succumbed to a catastrophic stroke in July. It took his family a week to decide to unplug his life support knowing that Mark would never come out of the coma he was in. Originally, I met Mark as we were fellow runners for the Staten Island Athletic Club. As avid runners, actors, and writers, we were both inseparable at times. We were involved in many adventure races and creative projects together. You can read my online memorial about what Mark meant to me here. There, you can see many photos and some videos we collaborated on together.

Before summer’s end, my brother Aaron and I got to hang out with our distant relative Mindy Passin Mentzel and her friend and fellow runner Kinga Tzach.

In September, I got hired along with my actor friend Pierre Candra to portray beachgoers for the new Adam Sandler film, Happy Gilmore 2. Within 15 minutes of being set up on the beach with other actors portraying beachgoers, we were removed from the beach. Production decided that they didn’t want people on the beach for the scene. I still got paid though.

After donating blood several times, I finally became a member of The Gallon Club. Members are those who have donated a gallon of their blood over time. I would like to thank Ryan John Knutsen and Michael Schnall for being role models for me. I used to faint when giving blood. I am proud that I have overcome that and I now donate blood about four times a year.

My brother and I participated in Artmageddon, an amazing art event that takes place throughout the community of Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. While I was signing my books for customers, my brother made balloon animals dressed as Happy the Clown. It was a great time for both of us.

My cousin Danielle Pesin got married to Joseph Weiler on top of a mountain in New Jersey. Guests had to take a chair lift to the top to attend the ceremony. It was a beautiful event seeing the bride and groom exchange their vows with views of a sprawling valley below them.

I participated in a 5k race that benefitted the Guild for Exceptional Children. Our CEO Joe Riley was instrumental in making this event happen. Joe cares so much about the special population at our school and is always looking for new fundraising activities to help support the special programs. Pictured below are Joe and myself with the couple who collects new toys from various organizations. These toys are given out by Santa to all the preschool children in my school for the holidays.

I was again hired to be in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2, but this time as a cop. I waited in holding all day with a few other actors portraying cops. They never used us, but we were still paid.

Below is yet another fun picture of the two Emma Pesins, this time they are dressed to celebrate Halloween together.

In November, I participated in the Second Annual Great Gobbler 6-Hour Mountain Bike Race. I decided to stop riding after completing two 13-mile loops and I’m glad that I did. I am getting older and these kinds of events are taking a toll on my body. Pictured below is me with Steve Lee and Michael Varriano. They are runners like me who are not afraid to engage in other non-running events.

I brought my kids to visit Clinton, New Jersey to take photos of them for our holiday card. The photo below was the winner.

My kids and I visited my dad for Thanksgiving at his home in Leonia, New Jersey.

I completed my sixth year as a part-time pacer for the Mile High Run Club. Even though it doesn’t pay much, it’s such a pleasure to use my running ability to help others achieve their marathon dreams.

A runner from Uganda emailed Dave Panza, the President of my Staten Island running club. He told David that he was going to be visiting Staten Island for a few days and if he knew anyone who could let him stay overnight. David forwarded the email to me asking me if I had any ideas on how we can help Noel Thomas Kalunda, a man who created the non-profit schoolsnotstreets.org. This organization helps get children off the streets by helping them get boarding and an education. I asked Bob Orazem, a lifelong runner from Staten Island if he could help me find Noel a place to stay. Bob immediately offered his home to Noel, which was such a gracious move. It was such a great feeling that I was able to make this connection between Bob and Noel. I was able to invite Noel to a group trail run with the Ridge Runners in the Staten Island Greenbelt. In the photo below at the right, I am flanked by Noel and Bob.

One Friday in December, I was sick and had slept for over 10 hours. I suddenly got up to walk, which affected my blood flow. I quickly grew faint and grabbed a heavy chair thinking that it would somehow prevent me from falling. Instead, I still fell, but had brought the chair down towards me as I fell. The chair hit me in the head above my eye. I felt very dizzy and got scared. I called the ambulance for myself to make sure that I was alright. After being tested and passing all tests, I was sent home. I was left with an achy head and a black eye. After two weeks, my eye was healing well.

My year ended by receiving a surprise package of Kona coffee, chocolate-covered macadamias, and pineapple candies that came from my cousin Andrew Zeitlin in Hawaii. What a nice surprise and a great way to end 2024.

It was a good run

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In 2018, a runner named John Henwood contacted me out of the blue asking if I’d like to be a professional pacer for the Mile High Run Club. He had found me through my connection with the New York Road Runners Club as a volunteer pacer. I had paced three New York City Marathons and a bunch of half marathons for them, so he knew I had the skills for this job. I started working for John right away by leading paced group runs for those who were training for the 2018 NYC Marathon.

Pacing was a part-time gig consisting of about 32 Saturday mornings a year (16 for the Brooklyn Half training program and 16 for the NYC Marathon training program). I instantly fell in love with the job. As a runner for most of my life, I have achieved everything that I needed through the sport of running at that point. I was now at the stage where I got great pleasure out of helping others by preparing them for the world’s greatest marathon. Week after week, I would lead a group of young runners for long runs along various routes throughout Manhattan while we spent our time engaged in fun and casual banter. I thought that I could do this job for the rest of my life and looked forward to doing it every year until I was 80 years old. Boy, was I wrong!

It is now 2024. Of the six years of pacing for Mile High and 42 years of running, the combination of running and aging has ravaged my body. Like an old car that still barely works, I can no longer hold my pace without pushing my body to its physical limits. What was once an enjoyable challenge has devolved into a painful chore. I know that I must now transition out of this job for my own health and safety.

Now that the 2024 marathon training season is over, I can spend my time recovering and reflecting on all of the great memories that I had helping many runners achieve their marathon dreams.

I want to thank my fellow pacers from Mile High who were constant role models for me, especially during times when it was getting harder for me to do my job within the last two years. Some of them gladly switched with me when I had to move to a slower pace group on more than one occasion. They are Philippe Day, Jacky Lee, Arielle Disick, Carol Buonanno, Rhonda Braun, and Anne Szustek Talbot. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Dominic Davis, our experienced pace captain with vast running knowledge who always greeted us with a big encouraging smile each week.

I also want to thank all of the runners who joined my weekly pace group through the years. I had a lot of fun running with all of you. While you may have great memories of completing the NYC Marathon, I will have great memories of helping you along your journey.

Martin “Marty” Pesin – In Memoriam

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November 1, 1946 – July 17, 2024

Besides my own father, my uncle Marty had the biggest influence on my life. Back in 1980 when I was just 13 years old, I witnessed Marty completing the New York City Marathon. I was an impressionable young man at the time and his accomplishment inspired me to take up running. Now, 44 years and nine marathons later, I am still running. Through the years, I would often speak with Marty over the phone and tell him about the various running adventures that I would be involved with and how he was responsible for setting me in that direction. In 2019, I completed a 50-mile trail race. Marty was so excited and amazed that I had the endurance to complete that feat in less than 12 hours. A month after that event, I became even more of an inspiration to him when I attempted to run a 100-mile race around the perimeter of four of the five boroughs of New York City. Even though I quit at mile 37, Marty was in absolute awe. I could sense a big smile on his face while we talked on the phone about my experience. Today, I am still running and it has made such a positive impact in many areas of my life.

Marty also had a life-long love, or should I say addiction, to skiing. During my college years in the late 1980s, Marty would wear me down repeatedly talking about his skiing stories to the point where I just had to experience the sport myself. Once I went skiing with him, I was hooked. Last December, I brought my son Hunter with me on a one-week ski trip to Vermont. I called Marty from Killington Mountain while we were sitting on a ski lift and explained to him what fun we were having together. My son is now hooked and is currently skiing on the most challenging slopes. I even witnessed him flying through the air after skiing off a ramp much like Marty would have done when he was younger.

When it came to traveling, Marty had a wanderlust for visiting places of natural beauty. When I was in my 20s, he would often inspire me with stories about the many national parks he visited during his cross-country journeys across America. Places such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone were described by Marty in reverential detail. Although he was not religious, his descriptions of these places were often Godly and made it seem that I would be closer to The Almighty if I visited them. Marty often encouraged me to travel cross-country which I finally did with my wife during the summer of 1999. He helped me plan that trip and told me all of the must-see places that we had to visit. We went on an 8,000-mile journey around our great country that lasted for 31 days. I called Marty while at the Grand Canyon and told him how amazing it was to be there and thanked him for his advice. I know that that phone call stayed with him for a very long time.

While Marty was an intelligent person, he lived a somewhat Forest Gumpian life. With two parents who were often working, Marty grew up on the streets of Brooklyn during his youth often playing basketball and other sports with my father and kids from around the neighborhood. In 1967, Marty was drafted by the US Army to fight in Vietnam. During the 1970s, he enjoyed living the hippie lifestyle and went to Brooklyn College. He worked various stints as a cab driver and as a photographer. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, he was a stockbroker.

During the summer of 2023, I spent Father’s Day weekend backpacking at Bear Mountain with my two children. The following day, we picked up Marty at the military home where he resided which was near our hike. We drove him to a cafe to enjoy lunch together. It was an emotional meeting and Marty appreciated my gesture to the point where he was in tears. I am glad that my children and I had a special moment with Marty while he was still alive. That was the last time that we would see him.

Marty is survived by his two children, Ryan and Danielle, and his former wife Maria.

Marty with my kids on Father’s Day, 2023. This would be the last time that we visited him before he passed. My kids and I had just come back from an overnight backpacking trip at Bear Mountain. Since Marty lived nearby, it made sense for us to visit him, especially on Father’s Day.

Below are photos of Marty and his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. Photos were taken around 1968, a year after my birth in 1967. Photo credit goes to Bernie Weinstein who served with Marty during the War. Bernie credits Marty with saving his life who became his lifelong friend after they both served.

A poem that Marty had written while serving in Vietnam in the late 1960s.

Article: The Pandemic and its Psychological Effects on the Youngest Members of Society

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By Josh Pesin

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, COVID officially ended on May 11, 2023.  Yet the aftermath of the physical and psychological effects may continue to have adverse repercussions on society well into the future.  We do not know exactly how the consequences of the pandemic will manifest in the long term even though society appears to be normalized now.  In a press release by the American Psychological Association website, “…a superficial characterization of day-to-day life being more normal is obscuring the posttraumatic effects that have altered our mental and physical health.” 

On a personal level, I noticed a dramatic psychological change among some of the preschool students who I currently teach this year.  This change has been a big concern of mine due to the extreme behavior that these children have been exhibiting and how it has been negatively affecting the overall climate and well-being of my classroom.  Let me explain.

Before the pandemic, some of my students would cry at the start of each school year.  Based on my observations while they were crying, their tears would be due to them being pulled away from their parents for the first time in their lives and thrust into a room full of strangers whom they did not know.  None of these children had behavior issues and within a few weeks, they would grow accustomed to their new environment and enjoy coming to school.

This year as I entered the seventh month of teaching my current class of preschoolers, five children are still emotionally distressed since beginning school in September.  Three of these students cry for their mothers daily.  These three exhibit the most challenging behavior where my staff and I have to focus most of our energy each day to provide proper emotional support and redirection for them.

There is an unusual pattern as to why they cry that impelled me to connect it to the pandemic.  It is the same pattern that I have observed countless times this year.  As their teacher, when I give them directions and limits, the same directions and limits that I give any of my students to run an effective classroom, these children cannot accept them.  Instead, they begin bawling while repeatedly shouting out, “Mommy, Mommy!”.  Now, seven months into the school year, these three children are still crying for their mothers when I require them to abide by the class rules.

In the 23 years that I have taught preschool, I never had a student who cried simply because I asked them to follow rules.  This year, three children have been doing that daily.  These children account for 20% of my students, which is statistically significant considering that the percentage has always been zero.

Based on these observations, I developed a theory that explains their behavior.  As a teacher of a 4k preschool class, the students who enter my class each September need to be four years old.  Four years ago, the pandemic began and the world suddenly lived in terror not knowing who would come out alive as tens of thousands of people got sick and died from COVID-19.  As news entered our households that continuously informed us as to how deadly this virus was, families everywhere did what they could to protect their children.  They followed all protocols and kept their children indoors at all times.  While their spouses may have gone to work throughout the pandemic, many of the mothers stayed home with their children and remained by their side 24 hours a day.  These same children who were at the time only toddlers, were being deprived of social environments where they would learn to interact with peers while practicing learning their limits.  This may have also created an intense psychological dependency on the mother where she would wait on all of their needs and desires out of fear that she would lose them to COVID.  The child became so emotionally dependent on the mother that this dependency may have become chronic.  In psychological terms, it became a syndrome that may continue to affect them by manifesting into other negative behaviors as they grow into adulthood.  This Pandemic-Induced Dependency Syndrome (PIDS) is a term that I am coining here to represent the phenomenon.  Since these children will be entering Kindergarten in September, I am very concerned about how much PIDS will continue to affect them as they mature.

This year, about 75% of my time and energy has been spent attending to these three children’s emotional needs.  I have two teacher assistants and we have become a tag team where we each take turns helping these children.  Through trial and error, we have utilized a few strategies that help them when they cry and act out.  What has helped is when we acknowledge that they miss their mother.  We make pretend phone calls to their mothers in front of them and that helps calm them.  We also hold their hands, take them for walks through the school, have meaningful conversations with them, give them jobs to do, encourage them to visit the classroom cozy corner and play with them using activities connected to their specific interests.  All of these things have worked to calm them down and create a semblance of peace in the classroom, but these are only short-term solutions that likely will not solve their long-term anxiety.

This article is intended to be an introduction to my theory of PIDS and offers short-term strategies for the teacher on how to help those who are affected.   Regardless, there may be other unfathomable effects of the pandemic on the youngest members of society that may be long-lasting and should be investigated.  As society continues to become more normalized, we need to focus our attention on the abnormal behaviors that may be associated with the pandemic.  Observing this population of children through a comprehensive study might help.

Source: American Psychological Association 2023, American Psychological Association website, accessed 17 March 2023, <https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2023/collective-trauma-recovery>.

Mark Vogt – In Memoriam

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December 25, 1959 – July 29, 2024

I joined the Staten Island Athletic Club in 2008 just before Mark became the club President. At the time, we were both friendly, but not friends. I regarded Mark as a fast runner compared to my much slower pace and the difference in our abilities made me feel like I was not worthy enough to run with him. One day I was looking for a partner to run the High Rock Challenge with, an adventure race that required teams of two to compete together. I casually mentioned my request to Mark thinking that he would refer someone of my ability that I could be evenly matched up with. Mark surprised me by immediately saying, “I’ll do it with you!”. Seeing how quickly he offered to team up with me was the beginning of my understanding of the kind of fun and spontaneous person that Mark was.

Our team name was the “Damn Dirty Apes” which paid homage to our mutual love for the Planet of the Apes. And boy, did we get dirty! The following year, our team name was “Stupid is as Stupid Does”, this time an homage to Forrest Gump. During the race, we quoted famous lines from the movie and while we were running, we acted like the characters Lieutenant Dan and Forrest Gump. We competed again the following year as “Mild Mannered Men”. We each started the race dressed as two awkward Clark Kents in three-piece suits, large glasses and all. As soon as the start gun went off, we began to undress and throw our suits onto the ground to reveal our real identities as two supermen with the letter “S” emblazoned on our shirts. During that event, Mark and I both regressed to our childhood and assumed the role of Superman by ‘saving’ a pair of female runners who had lost their way along the course. “We’ll save you! Just follow us!” was something we probably said at the time. Year after year, Mark and I would participate in this event and have the time of our lives emulating various characters from film and TV.

Realizing how sociable and creative Mark was, I began to encourage him to join me in the world of background acting. I knew that his weakness was women, so I would share with him photos taken of me from film sets dressed in period clothes sandwiched between two adoring female fans. At the time, he was still working in the corporate world, but when that ended, he signed up to be a film extra. Working his first gig, he instantly fell in love with it.  Mark was a natural in front of the camera and got many juicy background roles including a cardinal, a high-ranking German ambassador to the UN, a gambler, a police officer, a doctor, and a zombie. Mark had many friends from background acting since he was funny, gracious, and very easy to talk to. Mark could make friends instantly with anyone who was within earshot of him.

Mark and I had the pleasure of working together as background actors in two different film productions. One was Masters of Sex, and no, the show wasn’t about men who physically conquered women. We portrayed doctors at a black tie event and were both dressed to the nines in tuxedoes. Boy, what an upgrade from that sweaty runner look! The other was The Knick which took place in the year 1900. Mark portrayed a low-class Irish tenement dweller while I was an Irish subway worker who survived a dynamite explosion…. but barely!  With a bloodied and scarred face and a fake bone protruding from my neck, Mark wryly exclaimed, “Josh, you look pretty blown up there buddy!

Mark was one of those friends who was both spontaneous and readily available for all situations. When I was very depressed. Mark took a bus from Staten Island and spent time with me in Brooklyn to help cheer me up. I’ll never forget that moment.

Mark and I began writing a book together years ago that we never finished. It’s about a man’s relationship to a woman, but with a superhero theme. The working title: Mild Mannered Men.  It was going to illustrate how a man can be the best version of himself in a world where respect for women by the opposite sex is often lacking. From my time writing with Mark, he was an excellent writer who was able to paint an elaborate picture using a pen.

We once recorded a rap song with the sound and style of Biggie Smalls.  Mark wrote the lyrics that he dedicated to SIAC.  We performed it live dressed as white rappers at the High Rock Challenge with large chains and race medals hanging from our necks.  Boy, did we have balls!

For a few years, I dabbled in filmmaking and Mark was always available when I needed someone to assist me. I once asked him to be the cinematographer for a music video about a father who lost his daughter due to a misunderstanding. The video starred my daughter and me and I needed Mark to help me film the scenes. Mark had just run many miles that morning in the snow and was physically knocked out. After his run, he graciously mustered the energy to film us performing in the snowy woods of the Staten Island Greenbelt. He captured all of the scenes and facial expressions beautifully which made this project extra special for my daughter and me. I view this video from time to time. Its message is forgiveness, something that we all need to practice more in our lives.

This music video was lovingly filmed by Mark Vogt

I was once asked to film a promo for a fundraiser that required someone to play a zombie. The zombie had to clack three empty beer bottles together like that famous bottle-clacking scene from The Warriors. Mark was totally game to portray the zombie who would later get his comeuppance by a sword-wielding child played by my daughter Emma. Before we filmed, I had to buy three ice-cold bottles of beer from the local store so that we could use them for the scene. Knowing that he was a dedicated beer drinker, I told Mark that I needed help emptying the bottles and if he could help me with that job. Boy, what laughs we both had as we savored those beers together!

Mark started as a runner who I knew but became a lot more to me as our friendship blossomed and grew due to our common interests. Our favorite phrase, ‘carpe diem’, inspired us to take chances and do adventurous and crazy things together, and at times, we were two men who became inseparable.  As Mark would say, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”.

Mark was a poet, an actor, a writer, a photographer, a rap artist, and a filmmaker. Most importantly, he was a committed friend who was a role model for how I should live my life by living his own life to the fullest.

Mark, myself, and Lisa Cueva ‘rapping’ together after completing the 2014 High Rock Challenge. Mark and I pre-recorded the audio with Diane Klayman as the female singer, then lip-sang to our own words at the event. Notice the large chains and finisher medals around our necks. Video credit goes to Andy Cross. I am so grateful that Andy took this precious footage of us engaged in something that was way beyond our comfort zone.

Click on the button below to hear the complete audio track featuring the voices of Mark Vogt, Josh Pesin, and Diane Klayman. The melody was written by Biggie Smalls and the lyrics were rewritten by Mark Vogt.

Notorious S.I.A.C

In the promo for a fundraiser below, Mark agreed to star as the zombie who gets his comeuppance in the end by my daughter Emma. I thank Matt Lebow for asking me to create this promo.