Getting it Right

Today I had a rare opportunity. I got to see people get it right. Not just partially right, not just satisfactorily right, not just, "well, that's as much as I would have expected," but unequivocally, amazingly, spot on. Today, I volunteered at the St. Mary's Child Center in Indianapolis.


Deborah Wood Associates, the parent company of my employer CME Enterprise, is working with St. Mary's this year as part of our company's community service project. Once a month, different employees sign up to go volunteer at St. Mary's and work with the children: reading books, playing with the kids, basically doing whatever the teachers need. Today, my department volunteered.


St. Mary's Child Center works with children ages 3 to 5 years old who are, "at great risk for a wide range of social, emotional, economic and environmental problems." This not-for-profit organization provides half-day education and meals for children throughout the Indy metro area. Parents pay whatever they can afford. Some pay as little as $2 per week.

One might expect such a place to operate at the lowest possible standards. it doesn't. It operates at the highest. Following the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, St. Mary's introduces its kids to art, reading, science, drama, and basically anything else it can use to engage the kids and help them learn. I sat in a classroom with 4 year-olds who were counting numbers and reciting the days of the week in song. The kids were well-behaved, lively, and friendly. The teachers were clearly dedicated to the kids, to the learning philosophy, and to education in general.

As I said, they got it right.

Please check out the St. Mary's Child Center Website, particularly their wishlist page where they list items they need for the school. Also visit the volunteer page to see how your company, or you yourself, can help.

Breaking Away

The Zev Winicur Monon Milestone Bike Ride this past Saturday was an unqualified success. The weather was absolutely perfect: no rain, just a slight cloud cover, warm enough to convince you that it's still summer, but not hot enough to melt copper. And, yes, I rode the entire 34 miles of the Monon round trip.

Some friends of mine, a family of four, joined me on the bike ride. To keep their identity private, I will only refer to them as the Pitt-Jolies: Brad, Angelina, Vivienne (10), and Marcheline (9).

The Pitt-Jolies are pretty avid bikers despite their protestations that they really hadn't done much biking this summer. Of course, "not doing much biking," did not affect their ability to ride circles around me. I take pride in the fact that I was able to ride further than both the 9-year old AND the 10-year old. The 9-year old only rode 16 miles, and the 10-year old only rode 28 miles total. Hah!

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Can you bike further than a 5th grader? And are you proud of yourself?

Both Vivienne and Marcheline did AMAZINGLY well, especially considering that when I was 9 years old, I had just removed my training wheels. I think I was able to ride a mile to school and back when I was 10.

I came home after the bike ride and told my kids that I didn't want to hear them complain when I made them walk around the block.

The Age of Ascension

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Icarus Factor," Lt. Worf is depressed because he has reached the Age of Ascension, and he has no Klingon family to share it with. As it turns out, the standard celebration for the Age of Ascension is to walk through a gauntlet of particularly nasty looking Klingons who stab you repeatedly with pain sticks.

I never understood that episode until today. Today I turned 40. Happy Birthday to me.

Although I do plan to celebrate in style with my family this Sunday, I spent my birthday this evening doing two back-to-back Krav Maga classes. I'm kind of tired now and very sore, but it's a good kind of AAAAGH. I highly recommend facing major birthday milestones by getting your tuchus handed to you. It is very therapeutic.

This Saturday is the Official Zev Winicur Monon Milestone Bike Ride. I will undoubtedly be tired and sore Saturday evening, and my plan to drink multiple beers at the Broad Ripple Brewpub after 30 miles of physical activity is of questionable intelligence. But I'm going to do it anyway. And I'm going to enjoy myself. And Shirah is going to drive me home.

Maybe I won't be celebrating with Klingon pain sticks. It doesn't matter. I've found a way to face 40 with a lion's roar, a pounding of the chest, and a triumphant smile.

Of course this raises the stakes for 50. Maybe I'll go pick a fight with Mike Tyson. Anybody else game?