Chris Rodell

 This is the letter I wrote to the 10-year-old girl, an aspiring writer, after she gave me the only copy of her 22-page handwritten book to review and I lost it.I had her father read it first. I thought there was a chance he’d hit me. Instead, he got choked up and shook my hand.I gotta be honest: I gave a lot of serious thought to trying to lie my way out of this one …Dear Grace,When your father Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 (578 words)I’ve said before that a father teaching a daughter to drive is like a warden teaching an inmate how to escape.So as of yesterday it was, “One-Adam-12! One-Adam-12! We have an APB for a female 16-year-old known to come to a complete stop even at desolate intersections. Suspect exhibits pathological disdain for having to parallel park.”That comes from me. Here’s the sum of my parallel Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 (478 words)Charlie Appleton, the extraordinary newsman, would have frowned at all the adulatory words being used to mourn the passing of Charlie Appleton, the ordinary family man. And just the sight of the word “adulatory” in a scrappy newspaper would have set him off.He came from the man-bites-dog school of news gathering, but then raised the bar by becoming a de facto dean of the Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 • Legendary escape artist Harry Houdini could extricate himself from a straight jacket in just 4 minutes and 9 seconds. I have to imagine escaping from an LBGTQIA jacket would be much more time consuming.• Restitution is the act of restoring ownership of something that was illegally taken. The act of restoring something that was illegally taken but doing it with island rhythms and bales of ganga Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 (849 words)The Pittsburgh Pirates made a bold move when they signed veteran superstar and beloved former Bucco Andrew McCutchen.I love Cutch. Besides being an outstanding Pirate centerfielder from 2009-’17 and league MVP in ‘13, McCutchen plays the game like a kid. He laughs, he jokes, he cheers his teammates and generally cavorts like he can’t believe he’s getting $5 million a year to play a Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 (932 words) I turn 60 today. That’s what my driver’s license says so it must be true. The number is vintage enough to provoke friends into telling me I’m only as old as I feel.  It’s a charming concept, but I’m old school.  In fact, I’m so old school I’m willing to concede that any reputable school district starts revving up the bulldozers when ever a building hits 50. But I was taught to use Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

 (757 words)I hadn’t been on a blind date in more than 30 years. I wasn’t seeking companionship. I wasn’t needy or desperate. My life was fulfilling. And then there was this:I was married. Had a couple of kids. A dog. The whole nine yards (and, no, none of the nine yards was mowed, raked nor landscaped, but that’s another story).Clearly, on Valentine’s Day 2018, I wasn’t expecting to be fixed up Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

• In my on-going efforts to test the boundaries of the so-called “No Judgement Zone,” I’ll today show up to exercise at the Planet Fitness wearing just my Speedo. • For better or worse, I fear the way we become acquainted continues to coarsen. We used to withhold judgement. Now we scour the internet for failings. We used to wait to get to know you better. Now, we’re in a hurry to know you worse Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

Pittsburgh Magazine in 2004 asked to write a cover story about Joe Hardy, founder of 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Flawed and controversial, I remember him as one of my favorite interviews ever. He died yesterday, his 100th birthday.Joe Hardy: The Billionaire Who’s Bound to Die BrokePittsburgh MagazineBy Chris RodellIt’s become fashionable for cheeky reporters to ambush aging Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading

                                        (792 words)Our daughters’ reactions to my provocation were so visceral, so instantaneous, and so homicidal I remember being glad the girls don’t pack heat.We’d just finished watching some pleasant-looking young lady, a talent show contestant, belt out a rousing rendition of some pop ditty with which I am unfamiliar and we began to opine.“Nailed it,” said Originally Published on https://eightdaystoamish.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading