Category: News

On the disabled list (II)

Is that cheese? Or SpongeBob SquarePants?

Just want to write a brief, one-handed update for those who don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

This morning I had surgery at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington to repair my shattered right elbow. It went well, and I’m home and pretty much pain-free. (Nothing like Percoset.) Unfortunately, they had to put in a plate and some screws, and the road to recovery is looking a lot longer than I’d thought.

The crazy yellow foam concoction that you see is meant to keep my elbow protected and elevated, and I’ve got to wear it for at least a week. I’ll be out of work for at least two weeks.

I really do think I’m done riding my bicycle. I’ve taken two or three pretty hard spills over the past few years. The only difference on those occasions was that I wasn’t seriously hurt. I’d like to get back to running, but at my age (54) the nagging injuries have me not doing it as much as I do it. I’d hate to join a gym, but it may come to that.

Finally — all hail Lahey. I couldn’t be more impressed with the quality of care I received, both in the emergency room in Peabody on Sunday and in the surgical unit today. I chose the Lahey E.R. almost at random, and I’m really glad that I did.

On the disabled list

Briscoe Middle School

Well, this is a pain. It’s awkward trying to type with a sling and a cast on my right arm, but I thought I’d give it a go.

This afternoon I broke my right elbow in a bicycle accident in Beverly, toward the end of a long ride across the North Shore. Ironically, I’ve been riding my bike only because nagging injuries and recurrent gout have kept me from running.

The tip of the elbow broke off. I need surgery, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Yes, it’s my throwing arm, but I should be ready by the time pitchers and catchers report. Oddly enough, though it hurt like hell for the first few minutes, I am in no pain now, even though I haven’t taken anything.

What happened? I was going way too fast while cutting through the Briscoe Middle School parking lot and hit a speed bump I thought was just a painted line. I spent a minute or so thinking I’d broken every bone in my body, but soon felt good enough to get up. Good thing. While I was sprawled on the pavement, people kept stopping their cars to ask if I was all right.

Mrs. Media Nation came and got me. I took a shower and then couldn’t decide between icing the elbow or heading to the emergency room. I opted for the latter, and I’m glad I did.

So no classes tomorrow. My students deserve better, but I’m hoping to be back at it by later this week.

By the way, I’ve scheduled two posts to go up tomorrow, one at 9 a.m. and one at noon. I wrote them this morning, before my bike ride. Just letting you know that I’m not quite that obsessive.

Photo (cc) the Beverly Public Library and republished here via a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

Talking Patch on NECN

I’ll be on “This Week in Business” on NECN this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. to talk about some recent trends in media and advertising. Among the topics: Patch.com, the AOL-owned network of hyperlocal sites that has attracted quite a bit of buzz lately. (The latest to weigh in is Chris Faraone of the Boston Phoenix.)

The other guest (no doubt he thinks of me as the other guest) is Steve Safran, editor of the blog Lost Remote, which covers trends in local news. The hosts are NECN anchor Mike Nikitas and Paul Guzzi, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Please join us for a “Mockingbird” reading

If you’re on the North Shore this Sunday, I hope you’ll consider dropping by Cornerstone Books in Salem, where I will be among several people reading excerpts from Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The event begins at 2 p.m.

I came very late to “Mockingbird,” published 50 years ago this year. On the recommendation of my wife and daughter, I rented the movie this past spring. It was, I realized, one of the best I’d ever seen. The racial drama is compelling. But what riveted me was Mary Badham‘s performance as Scout, as realistic a depiction of childhood as has come to the screen. She should have won the Oscar for Best Actress.

As for Lee’s original work, I finished it just a few days ago. I found it odd to read a good novel after having seen such a first-rate film depiction of it. And, frankly, the reason I call it good but not great is that there’s a certain one-dimensional quality to it that we expect in movies but not in books. This Slate essay by Stephen Metcalf is too harsh, but I agree that “Mockingbird” is essentially a children’s book.

But what a children’s book. Lee’s achievement is worth celebrating, and I’m excited to be part of it.

The debut of Tim Kennedy Photography

“Bryan.” Copyright © 2010 by Tim Kennedy. Click on image for more photos.

All of us at Media Nation are proud to announce the debut of Tim Kennedy Photography.

My son, Tim, recently completed his year at the Hallmark Institute of Photography with a nail-biting public review of his work by leading photographers. He’ll graduate later this month.

Meanwhile, he is establishing his own commercial photography business. You can find out all about it here, and I am adding his site to the blogroll.

Big news about “Little People”

I am very excited to announce that my hometown of Middleborough has adopted my book on dwarfism, “Little People,” as its high-school summer-reading book. Students and teachers at Middleborough High School (from which I graduated in 1974) will be asked to read “Little People” and be prepared to discuss topics such as genetics, history and disability throughout the school year. I’ll be visiting a few times.

When Doug Haskell, who chairs the MHS English department, told me about the selection a couple of months ago, I had to scramble. The book has been out of print for several years. There was also no reliable way of estimating how great demand would be  — the full text of the book is already available online for free, and no doubt a lot of students will try to read it that way.

So, working with Bronwen Blaney at the Harvard Book Store of Cambridge, I put together a print-on-demand paperback edition, thus eliminating the need to print a bunch of copies that may or may not sell. Not to go too heavy on the marketing, but I was pleased with how well it came out — it really looks and feels like a trade paperback. The price, $16, is pretty reasonable, given that the list price of the hardcover edition was $25.

I have completely retooled the website using WordPress.com. I’ve also created a Facebook group, where I hope students, teachers and anyone else who is interested will feel free to discuss “Little People” and issues related to dwarfism.

The biggest Boston story in 20 years*

Amy Bishop

The strange case of Amy Bishop is rapidly morphing into the biggest Boston news story in many years — the biggest, perhaps, since 20 years ago, when Charles Stuart murdered his pregnant wife, Carol, and jumped to his death as authorities were closing in.

At first, the story appeared neither to be local nor all that atypical as such things go. Bishop reportedly shot three colleagues to death at a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama, supposedly in response to not having received tenure.

But soon the Boston Globe broke two mind-boggling stories — that she had killed her brother with a shotgun when she was just 18 21 years old, and that she had come under suspicion in the attempted mail-bombing of one of her professors at Harvard University.

(Today we even learn there’s a Northeastern University angle. Bishop and her husband, James Anderson, are said to have met when they were undergraduates at Northeastern. From what we know so far, she apparently was not weaponized during her time as an undergrad.)

I’ve been thinking hard about whether there has been a bigger local story in the post-Stuart years. Yes, the 9/11 attacks began at Logan Airport, but that angle was quickly subsumed into the larger national story. Louise Woodward? A big one, yes, but not nearly as big as this may become.

At moments like this, it always makes sense to think about what we’ve learned from the past and how that might apply in the present situation. The Stuart case, you may recall, was a media fiasco. Nearly everyone went along for the ride when Stuart blamed the shooting on a black man who set up on him and his wife as they were driving home from a childbirth class at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

In fact, Stuart had shot his wife for insurance money so he could open a restaurant, then shot himself. That neither law-enforcement officials nor the media questioned his initial story set back race relations in a significant way, and stained the legacy of then-mayor Ray Flynn, who’d made racial harmony his top priority.

In the Bishop case, no one is questioning that she shot fellow faculty members on Friday. Still, the fact that she was never charged — never mind convicted — in the earlier incidents ought to give us pause. (The killing of her brother was ruled an accident, though the reasons are unclear. A Boston Herald story about a man who says Bishop threatened him with a gun right after the shooting certainly raises questions.)

The Globe showed a lot of enterprise in digging out those stories about Bishop’s background. But it may be a while before we know how they fit into the larger picture.

*Update: Andy Smith asks, “wasn’t that priest thing kind of a big deal?” Indeed it was, and I’m glad I threw this out there before writing a more-considered version for the Guardian tonight.

Haitian earthquake relief

At the suggestion of frequent commenter Mike from Norwell, I’m adding a box for those who wish to donate to relief efforts for victims of the Haitian earthquake.

Rather than link to a long list of charities, which you can find pretty much anywhere (I recommend the Boston Globe’s list), I’m designating a fund set up by my religious denomination. It’s a joint effort of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

To donate, please click here.