“You want me to serve as your president-elect?” I remember stammering this on the phone when asked by the incoming president of the Public Relations Society of America’s Volunteer Chapter. I was honored and terrified. Could I, this introverted nerd, move into a leadership role in a communications organization? With a trembling voice and racing heart, I …
Read more “2019: Letters and reflections from a PRSA president”
I was spending time with some friends by the pool Labor Day weekend when Dad called. He wanted to let me know that Mom was having some trouble breathing so he had taken her to the hospital. He told me to give her a call later that evening as they were planning to keep her …
We arrived in Needles, California, driving down close to the famous Route 66. I had no idea we would be near the route, but it made me excited to see all the road signs for it. I planned for us to go through the Mojave National Preserve, but I had no idea what to do there. …
2017 was a hard year. One moment I had my life in perfect order, the next, it is in utter chaos. After losing my Mom in September and being faced with a divorce, I was heartsick and full of grief. I went to counseling only to hear that there’s no solution to grief except time. …
As I sprinted with all my might, I saw the finish line come into view. People had gathered on both sides and were cheering me on. I can’t let them down. I have it in me. You’re a bum, Rocky. A few weeks before the 5K, I was still training by interval running about 2 miles …
Exciting news! My goal of being a superhero is one step closer. After a year of multiple doctor appointments, transporting documents from one office to another, and snapping photos of my cracked prosthesis, insurance decided in October 2016 that I was worthy of a new prosthetic leg. This fancy leg is made of carbon fiber, …
I have been fascinated with sideshow gaffs for most of my life. There is something genius about forming a creature that is seemingly impossible to imagine occurring in nature. You are the creator of something brand new and with a little deception, you can convince others to pay money to satisfy their curiosity about the validity …
In 1986, Jim Henson directed and George Lucas produced Labyrinth, a fantasy film about Sarah’s (played by Jennifer Connelly) adventure navigating an odd maze full of creatures to rescue her baby brother, Toby, who has been hidden away by the Goblin King, Jareth (played by David Bowie). This movie had such a creative impact on …
I don’t know what I was thinking. I had been staring at this sewing machine for about a year now. I kept promising myself as each week passed that this is the weekend that I’m going to learn to use this sewing machine. Yet, it remained in the box. I just didn’t feel motivated to do …