Had a great weekend. Went down to Portland which is a really gay friendly city. Met some guys and went out to the club there, fun! The next day I went with J to Camden where we saw a speech by Jim Hightower which was sponsored by the Maine Civil Liberties Union. Camden was beautiful and I was really excited about my company. After the show we left town (too expensive, but cute) and stopped by Augusta to visit another friend. The whole day entailed a bit more driving than I would have liked, but was well worth it; it’s great to get to know people elsewhere and broaden one’s horizons, after all, I’m no local boy I have also added a new photo gallery, so check it out and get a feel for Lewiston.

Hi folks, it’s been a long time, but I am still here. Where am I? Well, that depends on when you read this post. For the next few days I’ll be at home in MA and then I’m up to Maine next week. For the past month I’ve been doing quite a few things. Most important to me has been visiting family and friends. My first loop was to see family in both New Jersey and New York - though I didn’t see everyone, I hit up most. Highlights from Jersey included: BBQ at my cousin Bette’s place, Asbury Park’s 4th of July parade with my Aunt, a big family brunch at a diner with Gram and the frozen drinks poolside at the Empress Motel. In New York, I spent some quality time with my Grandparents where I learned more about my Grandfather’s time spent during the Second World War.

After a few days back I did another loop, this time visiting some friends. Thanks to all of you who put me up, and to those I didn’t see, let’s make it happen next time. Highlights from that loop included: seeing the facial expressions of Dan and Trishan upon tasting some of my famous Romanian plum brandy (tuica,) dinner with James at Tisane, the sports bar at Buckland Hills with Rick, beers with Jude and Andrew, Longwood Gardens with Melissa and intense conversation with Jon.

At the end of this second loop I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of my two dear friends Kate and Nate. The event was held at Glen Magna Farms in Danvers, which was the perfect venue for their big day. After the ceremony we caravaned to Revere Beach for ice cream which was just perfect! Meanwhile, I’ve been going to Walden Pond a bit, contemplatin’, eating well, and enjoying my down time.

My next batch of posts will be from Maine where I will be working as an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader for Campus Compact. Of course, more information will be forthcoming as I learn the ropes there myself. I do hope to have myself situated soon so that I can host visitors. You can now find the final photo album and some videos from Peace Corps Romania in the photo gallery. Thanks for sticking with me during the past two + years, and I hope that I can continue to deliver for this next one… onward!

… for a while. But I’m still here, thinking of a re-design and good stories to tell.

(correctly identify this location and you could write a guest-post on any topic here at workingdefinition!)

…and I can’t wait to see you! Please update me with your contact info so we can meet up before I move on to my next adventure.

p.s. I’ll be on vacation in New Jersey for roughly a week. If I haven’t been in touch yet, I will be after I return!

Some of us are so fortunate to be enriched by the presence and guidance of others in our lives. I would like to take a minute to talk about one such person, who is now retiring from the position through which our connection was made.

In the 6th grade, I began school in a new town. As a 12 year old boy, having just left behind my childhood friends, I felt like a fish out of water in that new place. One day after school, I decided to head down to the pool for intramural swimming. I recall that this option was never a very popular one… it seemed that basketball and wrestling got the lion’s share of participants. Some weeks it was just me, other weeks there were some others, but all in all it was pretty unstructured. There I met the assistant coach of the high school swim team. Little did I know at that time, but this assistant coach, we’ll call him “valz,” was serving as a spy for the team. Come 8th grade, he encouraged me to join the swim team the following year.

So, the following year, having roped in two friends to join me, I headed over to the pool to see just what the deal was with this swim team. What I ended up a part of was perhaps the single most important thing to take place during my high school years, and to date one of the most important in my life. I can’t recall what the first day was like, but I do remember that I found myself a tad intimidated, surrounded by many swimmers who I felt were far better than me. I hadn’t touched any sort of weights before then, and I was really just your run of the mill scrawny 15 year old.

But I soon realized that I was somewhere special, and for this I have Pete Foley to thank. Foley, at that time, was already a legend in the town. He was not only the swim team coach, but also the athletic director responsible for the oversight of all teams. I recall his office as being filled with trophies, team photos, candids and loads of paperwork; the faces on the walls and desks spoke volumes. During that first year with the team I worked as hard as I had ever in my life.

It’s always difficult to say right off the bat how some people are able to inspire others. With Foley, part of his genius was that although he was always present, in fact a force, he never micromanaged. That is, he was able to channel his efforts so that group cohesion would grow upon itself. And so I went from being a relative loner to a member of this great extended family which was the team. Now don’t get me wrong, there were days when the last thing we wanted to do was even dip a toe in that pool, but somehow “The Folz” kept us going.

My first moment with the Folz was born out of less than fortuitous circumstances. I had completed the backstroke leg of a 200 yd medley relay (order = back, breast, fly, free.) We had done well, a respectable third place. However, after the final member of the medley clocked in, I though it would be in order to hop back in a swim a warm-down lap, after all, this was the standard practice after a sprint. What I failed to realize was that in the case of relays, only the last swimmer was entitled to this lap, and if a member from a previous leg touched the water again then the group was disqualified.

I recall vividly that as I was in the air between the lip of the pool and the surface of the water, I turned to see the Folz looking at me in horror. Of course what followed was an ignominious whistle by the referee (a grumpy one,) followed by the notice that I had just disqualified the relay. But it was what happened next that was really the main event. Foley came over and explained what I had done. He was upset, of course, but he was not vituperative and he did not embarrass me any further than I already was. I knew I had screwed up bad, but I never once felt defensive. Later that evening on the bus ride back to town the team captain came up to me with some encouraging words; again the entire team was “on message.”

Thankfully, not all Folz moments were born out of such circumstances. There was, for instance, the training trip in Maine. While at a restaurant, he was approached and asked for his autograph. Although Folz was well known and respected, high school swimming coaches are not usually afforded such a request. We soon realized that his would be admirer had mistaken him for John McCain, who at that point was driving his Straight Talk Express around New England… At the end of the school year I wrote into the McCain campaign and requested a poster (can you believe that?) which arrived promptly. After those of us who were present at the original signing signed it ourselves, we presented it to him. He was, of course, quite flattered…

My senior year I was elected one of the team’s captains. Of course, these four years were full of other stories, events and mishaps. Let it suffice to say, though, that the transition from a scrawny 15 year old kid to a confident and trusted team leader was due to the leadership of the Folz. But even more important than my story is the fact that there are a few hundred people out there, from 18 - 50 years old now, who have a similar one thanks to this man. Pete Foley was both a kick in the ass and the inspiration that drove us to be champions. As he enters his long deserved retirement, he can rest assured that his contribution to the team, the town, and hundreds if not thousands of young men and women will never be forgotten.

Thanks Folz,