Running for Your Life: If the Greats Were With Us Thursday

As part of a piece of fiction that I’ve been working on, I’ve been drawn to the phrase: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

How true. And how far so many of us have gone from trying to own up to the truth of that saying.

Which is why I’ve chosen to honor the writer who is credited with making this essential observation. Thomas Reid, in “Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man” (1786):

“In every chain of reasoning, the evidence of the last conclusion can be no greater than that of the weakest link of the chain, whatever may be the strength of the rest.”

If only the wisdom of philosopher Thomas Reid were within us – not just on Thursdays. But on every day.

Next: Running for Your Life: Outside or Inside?

Running for Your Life: Up “Hill” Battle

Bernie Sanders just won’t go away.

And that, is a VERY good thing.

Back in the distant times (as measured in political news cycles) of last summer, pundits reduced the months ahead to the Democratic National Convention into a single phrase when it came to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Right out of “Game of Thrones” … Her route to the Democratic presidential nomination was described as a non-story, an “anointment.” Nothing to see here, just move along.

Thankfully, along came veteran Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Months later, Hillary has been pushed off her throne and into the muck of defining policies, from drone executions to public university spending, in the form of lively televised debates. Next one from Brooklyn: 9 p.m.-11 p.m. Thursday (April 14) on CNN and the NY1 local TV station.  

It is, by any measure, still an up “Hill” battle for the Vermont senator, who has been a surprisingly tough opponent on the one-time runaway front-runner.

As to my vote, am I for Hill or Bern …? That’s not coming in this space. Suffice to say it has been an exciting time for political junkies like myself. Let’s just say that Hillary has definitely “Felt the Bern.” And for party politics in America, that has meant for a VERY good thing.

Next: Running for Your Life: If the Greats Were With Us Thursday

Running for Your Life: It’s Time for Stanley

Bring it on, Jeff Zatkoff! If not you, let it be Tristan Jarry!

Tomorrow (April 13) marks the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. One of my favorite times of the year.

And, yes, my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins are back in it. (And, gulp, not a single Canadian team made the grade – the first time in 46 years. And, yeah, I remember that previous season of 1969-70 VERY well. With Les Canadiens out, the Bruins skated their way to the finals and Bobby Orr, a fellow Georgian Bay native, scored The Goal after being tripped by St. Louis Blue Noel Picard: one of the most memorable moments in modern pro hockey history.)

Could Jeff Zatkoff be the next Bobby Orr, and lead my Penguins to victory?

Well, it looks like the 27-year-old journeyman from Detroit, Michigan, will get the start for the Pens against the Rangers tomorrow. With No. 1 puckstopper Marc Andre Fleury and No. 2 Matt Murray out with head injuries, it’s up to Zatkoff and his backup, 20-year-old Tristan Jarry from Surrey, BC, who has never faced a single shot in an NHL regular season game – much less a high-stakes playoff game.

The time is right for Stanley. Just lovin’ Jeff and Jarry, and the prospect of these little-known heroes making their mark in the spotlight on the Can-Am sports stage!

Next: Running for Your Life: Up “Hill” Battle

Running for Your Life: If the Greats Were With Us Thursday

Here’s a little something from Ray Bradbury (1920-2012): “The Emissary,” which you’ll find in the delightful Everyman’s Pocket Classics, “Dog Stories.”

http://bit.ly/1UZUDiT   

Awwww, a story that does not unduly draw attention to the author (I’m looking at you, “City of Fire” author Garth Risk Hallberg) but rather the first principle of the story well told. (Yes, humble dogs and the power of those driven to please!)

Next: Running for Your Life: It’s Time for Stanley

Running for Your Life: VERY Cool Literary News

The Jazz Palace – that amazing novel by my wife Mary Morris – is in the news again. This time for winning the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, the unanimous choice of these five distinguished jurors: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Rita Dove, Joyce Carol Oates, Simon Schama and Stephen Pinker.

Here is what the poet Rita Dove had to say about The Jazz Palace: “Here I was, drenched in the soot and stink and noise of early 20^th-century Chicago, walking along the docks, threading through the alleys, listening to a trumpet wail from a corner saloon.”

What a joy for readers like these illustrious five to have felt what I felt in reading this glorious novel. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award may not have the name recognition of the National Book Award or the Pulitzer. But what’s in a name? The Cleveland Foundation honors work that best confronts racism and most profoundly examines diversity. In the turbulent times we live in now, no prize resonates with greater importance than the Anisfield-Wolf.

Congratulations, again, to Mary. I couldn’t be prouder of her accomplishment!

Next: Running for Your Life: If the Greats Were With Us Thursday