Monthly Archives: August 2024

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.