Fred Rogers — Mister Rogers to many of us — provided an important reminder years ago that when things go bad, always look for the helpers. It’s advice I believe we all would do well to follow as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the lives of our families, friends and communities.
What’s amazing is that you don’t have to look very far or long to see the good that Mister Rogers asked us to seek. Overnight, I have seen my Twitter stream fill with examples of helpers.
Companies like GG Hospitality, which closed its hotels to make them available for the NHS.
Companies like Bigleaf Networks, which accelerated the development of a new product to help essential services organizations communicate more reliably in our new work-from-home reality (and made it free to them, too).
Companies like Untappd, which quickly used its platform to help food workers, bartenders, and retail establishments that are taking an economic hit because of the virus.
We ❤️ this industry. Today, we introduce a site that connects customers with impacted venues to facilitate to-go and delivery orders. https://t.co/UZZSf4GHTF (a working title that nods to our founder, @gregavola) is a global list of all venues on Untappd…
Companies like Linode, which dedicated cloud infrastructure to Folding@Home to help scientists find antibodies to combat viruses like COVID-19, and its Kubernetes engine to Penn Medicine’s Hospital Impact Model for Epidemics to help hospitals with COVID-19 capacity planning.
We donated servers managed by Linode Kubernetes Engine to support @PennMedicine's digital tool helping hospitals with COVID-19 capacity planning. Shout out to @beckerfuffle's team for developing the tool and @CodeForPhilly for helping deploy it: https://t.co/gvlwAhFqm9
Practice social distancing & stream ‘London Calling: Live In Hyde Park’ from the comfort of your own home, now on YouTube & Apple Music in its entirety for the 1st time! Bruce & The E Street Band’s 2009 concert is an absolute powerhouse https://t.co/O90QlPBalOpic.twitter.com/MlQmV8wslS
This is just what I’ve seen in my own network. Surely, there are more examples of Mister Rogers’ helpers. If you see them in your networks, reach out or drop them into the comments and I’ll update the post.
I didn’t plan it, but the past year ended up being one of rediscovery.
I celebrated my 50th lap around the sun rekindling my love of skiing. I closed the year out getting back on my mountain bike. In between I took advantage of opportunities to re-explore some of things that have made me successful in my career and passionate in the hobbies I pursue.
2019 was a good start to the next 100 laps.
As people get older, they have a tendency to reflect on things not done, places not visited, dreams unfulfilled. Because, let’s face it, life gets in the way of best intentions. It’s far too easy to let what was missed overshadow what was experienced.
Such is the perch I choose to look at my life this past year. Were there things I wanted to do that I didn’t? You bet. Were there awesome things I ended up doing that I didn’t see coming? Yes. Yes there were.
My journey as a photographer continued. I created a bunch of memorable images and found my zone in portrait and street photography. Finding that zone was something that’s been eluding me for years. It shouldn’t have, though. It’s at the core of what I do for a living and where I get the most joy in my life: observing and telling the stories of other humans. This year I also began to get a better feel for my individual shooting style, something I often hear other people say they see in my images, but have never been able to see myself.
I continued to put a focus on shooting more portraits. What I didn’t expect was seeing that focus give me the opportunity to collaborate with professional models like Courtney and Jooj (who was signed by Joy Talent Agency and you can see on QVC).
I also saw a number of organizations approach me to shoot commercial images based not only on my photography background, but also because of my background in public relations. Organizations like Linode, The Black Bass Inn and Lumberville General Store, and The Quaker School at Horsham. It’s a potent combination I will continue to explore and one I think every company should be thinking about as they look for new, creative and powerful ways to tell their own stories.
Speaking of which, 2019 saw me get back into the corporate communications game, taking on a very cool contracting role leading corporate communications for Linode — a 16 year old, $100 million company based in Philadelphia that is making cloud computing simpler, more affordable, and more accessible to all. It’s an exciting opportunity to help build a communications function and do it for an organization with a mission and people that align to my philosophy of thinking bigger than the products a company sells. I continue to advise and consult exciting startups like RackN, which builds software to do the heavy lifting required to make IT infrastructure work; and Bigleaf, which has used a contrarian view of cloud connectivity to make the Internet more reliable.
2019 also saw words and phrases I wrote grace corporate web sites and a global magazine. As part of my work with Linode, I had the pleasure of digging into the company’s and the industry’s history to build their corporate narrative. You can check it out here. My trip report from our visit to Thailand in 2018 was published in Photo Plus, the top magazine for Canon users around the world. Yeah, that one felt all kinds of good for the ego, I’m not going to lie.
Community remained an important part of my life. I donated my photography skills to local organizations doing good work for organizations like CB Cares, Heritage Conservancy, the Thompson Bucks County Classic, and the Central Bucks School District’s music department. I also wore my photojournalist hat to capture student led rallies and demonstrations in Doylestown. I encourage each of you to take what you do best and find a way to use it to help organizations in your own communities.
I got involved in politics, refusing to sit on the sidelines while our democracy is dismantled. I used my messaging, communications and photography toolset to help get a good human — Jordan Yeager — elected to judge in my county. It was my first campaign and won’t be my last.
Throughout it all, I still found time to get out on my bike. It was a mix of shorter rides this year, but there were many, allowing me to add a decent year of mileage to my Strava profile. I even rolled up to the starting line for my first criterium…and rightly got blown off the back after making a dumb rookie move early in the race. I’ll be back to race again in 2020. I closed out the year doing something I haven’t done in 15 years: mountain biking. And, as it should be, I took my re-maiden pedal not on an easy canal trail, but in the rocky woods of Wissahickon on a cold December night.
But what I treasure most from 2019 was watching my daughters grow into amazing, talented, adventurous, caring and passionate, young adults.
Seven Thoughts on Bruce Springsteen for His 70th Birthday: Springsteen and the E Street Band always play “Born to Run” with the house lights all the way up, an aesthetic decision that feels right even if it’s hard to articulate why.
How I Learned to Cycle Like a Dutchman: “Where are our helmets?” my daughter Harper asked. We were standing outside a cycle shop in the Dutch city of Delft, along with Harper’s older sister, Lyra, and my wife, Alia. “We didn’t buy any,” I replied.
To decarbonize we must decomputerize: why we need a Luddite revolution: Our built environment is becoming one big computer. “Smartness” is coming to saturate our stores, workplaces, homes, cities. As we go about our daily lives, data is made, stored, analyzed and used to make algorithmic inferences about us that in turn structure our experience of the world.
A Year in Paris That Transformed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: As a college student, Jacqueline Bouvier spent her junior year in Paris, and the city became one of the greatest influences in her life. In August 1949, a 20-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier arrived in France and began a year that would change her life.
Last place Luigi, the Giro’s greatest loser: The story of Luigi Malabrocca, the man who captured the hearts of the tifosi on his annual mission to finish bottom of the pile at the Giro d’Italia.
Growing up in a small northwestern New Jersey town, I learned early on about what it means to be part of a community — from zone defense parenting to knowing there was always an open door if you needed help, from post game passing the hat for ice cream at Herbie’s to firemen’s festivals straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Thinking of those around you was a natural part of my childhood.
When we moved to Doylestown, Pa., about 15 years ago, we found ourselves part of a similar community. One of the bricks in its foundation is the human tour de force, Kimberly Cambra. Kimberly is the spark and fire behind an organization called the CB Cares Educational Foundation. She and her team have an inimitable way of rallying their fellow community members to support the foundation’s mission of delivering programs and grants to promote resilient and responsible youth.
For the past four years, I’ve volunteered at the foundation’s annual Celebrity Chef & Waiter Gala, channeling my inner Mark Seliger to bring a little portrait magic to the festivities. Two of my favorite chefs, Elaine and Jeff Cohen, always come dressed in their finest themed garb. This year’s theme was Italy. Joining them in my gallery for the first time was Aldo Nerone Bove, Altomonte’s wine educator, who sported a killer Ventresca jacket that matched the vino in his glass.
Tomorrow, residents of Bucks County head to the polls to vote in the Pennsylvania primaries. One of the most important races on the ballot is for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. I encourage you to cast your vote for Jordan Yeager for this vital judicial role.
I have had the pleasure and privilege of helping Jordan’s campaign as a communication strategist and photographer. I know Jordan to be thoughtful, compassionate, fair and, above all, human. He was raised in Bucks County and used his personal experience growing up to dedicate his career pursuing justice for all.
Jordan is a tireless advocate for the environment and the powerless. He has broad litigation experience across the many types of cases that come before the Court of Common Pleas. His work has earned him the distinction as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer and an entry in the history books when he won the first case in history to have a state law declared unconstitutional because it violated the environmental rights of Pennsylvania residents.
Jordan has been overwhelmingly endorsed by a who’s who of organizations and politicos — including the Conservation Voters of PA, which, for the first time in its 10 year history, has backed a candidate for the Court of Common Pleas. I join them with my full and unequivocal support for Jordan Yeager. I encourage you to give Jordan your support, too.
Judicial candidates are cross-filed, so they will appear on both sides of the ballot:
DEMOCRATS, push 11A REPUBLICANS, push 7B
Every vote is crucial tomorrow. Cast yours for Jordan Yeager to ensure a future of justice for all.
As children, our parents and teachers drilled it into our heads that we should never talk to strangers. I’m sure they meant well.
Luckily, that sage advice of my elders faded away as I got older. Today, camera in hand, I’ll talk to just about anyone. Because everyone’s got a story to tell. Everyone has something in their life that makes them different. That one thing nobody has the nerve to ask them about that makes them interesting.
So it went a couple of years ago when Jenn and I were in New York City with our good friends for a weekend of fun. While exploring The Whitney Museum of American Art, I noticed a man sitting on a bench against the wall while everyone walked by the large scale stained glass installation in front of him. I took a seat next to him.
“It’s an interesting piece of work,” I said. “Are you the artist?”
“Flattered, but no. You don’t recognize me?”
I took a longer look at him, wracking my brain to see if he was a movie star I should have known at first sight. “I’m sorry, but I don’t.”
“I’m the Mayor of the Meatpacking District.”
Which, sadly, still meant nothing to my IMDB-searched memory. But damn if I wasn’t going to spend some time talking to someone with a title like that. Jenn and my friends continued on. I stayed seated next to him as he regaled me with pieces of the story of his life.
His given name is Roberto Monticello. He’s lived in the Meatpacking District for a quarter of a century and New York City for 40 years. A Cuban immigrant, Monticello has lived a life that could be measured well beyond the years he has lived. He has directed more than 50 plays and 28 films, including a documentary exposing the human trafficking of hundreds of children annually from Malaysia, Philippines and Cambodia to the greater New York City area. He spoke about the larger meaning of his work and how he used it to help others.
I was fascinated by Roberto. When I returned from the weekend, I did some digging and discovered I had only scratched the surface of the life this remarkable man has lived:
Swimming for his freedom in Guantanamo Bay at 17 Journeying to Ethiopia three times during the famine, once as a refugee camp director Surviving beatings in South America while traveling in pursuit of Nazi war criminals Living with Peruvian Indians in the Andes Recording human rights abuses in Afghanistan during the Russian presence Accompanying the U.N. at Hotel Rwanda Suffering 3 gun shot wounds, one in Guatemala, where he was investigating the killings of Native Indians; another, taking medicine to his home country of Cuba, and the third in Darfur (on his 4th trip there), where he was on a mission for the Red Cross Bringing boatloads of medication twice a year back to his home country, Cuba, and working to end the U.S. Embargo and Travel Ban there Winning the Film Humanitarian Award from the Queens Film Festival for his work in Darfur, Cuba, Serbia, Rwanda and Sri Lanka Recipient of the UNICEF Relief Dag Hammarshjold Medal
I stole a few more minutes from my friends and thanked Roberto for telling me his story. I asked him if I could make a portrait of him and he thankfully obliged. I knelt down, framed his red hat against the wall, and pressed the camera shutter twice, honored to have the opportunity to further the mayor’s story.
I had a blast shooting with the inspiring and fun loving Dev Everett the other day near a small airfield overlooking the Delaware River. The airfield sits high above the Delaware River a few miles north of where George Washington and his troops set out on their historic march to Trenton.
Dev thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail last summer, roughly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. This spring, she’ll tackle its west coast counterpart, the Pacific Crest Trail, adding another 2,560 miles to her hiking boots. This hike is as much about her soul as it is, well, her soles. Dev has teamed up with HIKE for Mental Health to raise funds and reduce the stigma associated with mental health.
Over the past few years, I have struggled with managing my anxiety and depression but I have always found nature to be a source of comfort.
As Dev points out, one in four families are affected by mental health. It’s something we as a society don’t like to talk about, despite the fact our brains are the very core of our being. That stigma is changing though, because of the honesty and efforts of brave people like Dev and Christian Reilly.
You can donate to Dev’s effort here. I also highly encourage you to follow her on Instagram as she makes the journey up America’s Pacific Coast.
My oldest daughter attends college roughly an hour’s drive from our house. She’s studying vocal performance and music history. Despite being relatively close to home, I’m a believer that college should be a time of personal as well as intellectual growth, an opportunity to experience those first tastes of independence. So, I do my best to let her have her space, to let her experience new things and make and learn from her own mistakes. I’m proud to say she’s doing just that.
But the school’s music program has put on more than 250 open to the public performances so far this year, several of which she’s taken the stage for. Now, I know I just went on about how college is a time for independence, but you, dear reader, are kidding yourself if you don’t think I took advantage of only being an hour a way to make sure I was in the audience for most of them.
