Flotsam, Jetsam, Liam - Issue #7
“The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough.”
Originally published on Revue - March 27, 2020
Stumbling On
“The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough.”
I borrow the byline of this newsletter from Colum McCann and his dazzling 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin. Weaving loosely connected narratives across time periods and NYC subcultures, McCann deploys the backdrop of Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk across the imposing, impervious twin towers as his fulcrum. Since the Frenchman’s midsummer act of delightful foolhardiness, only a handful of events have been jarring enough to short circuit the daily routines of hardened New Yorkers. Now is one such event.
To any of you who have been tripped up of late, shot your shot only to have it stuffed by Rudy Gobert, been let go from fulfilling work, been sent home from the Peace Corps, been stripped of grad season celebrations and memory making, been made to teach to Zoom calls not classrooms, been stranded from loved ones, had offers retracted, had momentum quashed, your resilience astounds me. May your deferred dreams grow more lucid, more daring, and more self-assured during this extended ripening process.
The Malawian Marta
Just before the madness descended, wonderful news dropped that Ascent Soccer’s pioneer female athlete scholar Lughano Nyondo (balling above) was admitted to Brooks School in North Andover, MA on a full scholarship for the next four years.
I wrote previously about my work for Ascent, East Africa’s premier social impact soccer academy. Lughano’s remarkable journey from a Malawian government school in a small village to a blue blood New England prep school that launched the career of former US Men’s National Team striker Charlie Davies perfectly encapsulates the talent & opportunity matchmaking we have made our mission. To hear her story in her own words, click here.
With Mookie and Tom gone, Lughano is primed to take the mantle as the next great Boston sports superstar. The work to find her a local host family and a rabble of hooligans to join me on the sidelines at her games in the fall starts now. Applications welcome.
Miscellaneous Flotsam & Jetsam
In the last issue, I touched on Tulsa, Oklahoma’s tactics for luring in young remote working professionals. One year on and amidst a total re-imagination of what remote work can be, could Tulsa have a blueprint for invigorating mid-sized urban development on its hands? Sarah Holder’s excellent CityLab piece, The Great Tulsa Remote Worker Experiment, from late February makes the case.
I’m no TV buff, so take my recommendations at your peril, but if you consider me a reputable evaluator of unabated cheeky bants and offbeat international travel whimsy, may I suggest Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father? The smarmy British comedian cajoles his stodgy, cantankerous father into sojourns around Southeast Asia (Season 1) and Eastern Europe (Season 2). With copious self aware deprecation and local guides chronicling genuinely fascinating cultural lessons (i.e giant rats that sniff out and detonate landmines, saving Cambodian lives), the Whitehalls manage to circumvent your typical voyeuristic travel show tropes and showcase the underappreciated joy that comes from initiating and treasuring experiences with older loved ones. I hope their mischief can serve as a band-aid solution to any insatiable wanderlust you might be afflicted with.
Without universal basic Pelotons as we shelter in place, America’s cardiovascular health outlook is in dire straits. The makeshift home workout routines threaten to get repetitive fast, so I’m volunteering myself up if you need a buddy to hold you accountable and/or devise some spicier variations.
Below is one customizable workout my roommate Scott and I slogged through the other day. Card sharks and fitfluencers unite for this full body firecracker where you and a partner draw cards together one by one to determine your fitness fate.
