Radio Free JoJo

There is a heated discussion going on at Outside Erie regarding the quality of Erie’s political leadership. Many are pining for globally-minded, progressive, forward-thinking leaders to guide our community through this sea of change here in the 21st century.

With that in mind, while I was doing some random Googling, I came across this article about famous figures in Erie history and was reading a very interesting article about Erie lawyers in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Included was a few paragraphs about the Hon. John C. Brady.

Simply put, Brady was a fascinating fellow. Born in Iowa, he became a lawyer in Erie at age 21, but according to Memoirs of the Erie County, Pennsylvania, Bench and Bar, he “had such a good business head that “financially he could not afford to practice law.” He went on to establish the second electric trolley system built in the U.S. here in Erie, created Waldameer Park, and in 1887 was drafted as an independent candidate for mayor and won, serving one term. The article quotes that “he made one of the most efficient executives in the history of the city.”

With today’s leadership wilting under the complexity of a global economy, the brain drain of our young people, and the sheer lack of big dreams and successful attitude, we need a bright star to lead our community. We need a 21st century John Brady, Esq.

After an amazing summer weekend in Northwestern Pennsylvania, I’m thinking that the person who coined the slogan “Dreary Erie, the mistake on the lake” should be certified.

Even with rain, this extended weekend my family is totally embracing some of the excellent resources available to us in this neck of the woods. We spent a couple days camping at Cook Forest State Park, headed to a family graduation party that was really fun, and now have some sun and fun at Waldameer to look forward to before I go back to work. I wanted to attend the Rust Belt Bloggers summit, but it was just too good of a weekend for a getaway.

You don’t need me to give you a laundry list of the wonderful attributes that our region has to offer. But I do want to encourage you to do two things:

First, you need to get your “hugging hands” out and do the Erie, PA embrace. I have to admit that even after living here 41 of my 46 years (I was one of those brain drainers who got out in my 20’s, then came back when the kids started coming), there are many cool things in Erie that I haven’t experienced, like wine tasting in North East, the Firefighter’s museum, an art gallery opening, and I’m ashamed to say, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been to a Playhouse show. It just takes a little creativity and investment of time and sometimes money, and you can experience so much more of the quality of life that you might feel like you are missing. The Erie Times News does a great job of keeping us informed of all of things that are going on from parish festivals to band concerts. You might just find some weird, awesome, random event that totally exemplifies our town.

The other thing you, and I, need to do is not take our town for granted, because so many of the organizations and entities that create cool things in Erie are hanging on by a thread. You see, with very little growth in population and buying power of our fellow residents, and with the rising cost of everything, the organizations that are Erie’s backbone are getting squeezed. Instantly what comes to mind are the Marx Toy Museum and the Joel 2 ministry to the poor. There are just two examples of Erie assets that needed our help and either we didn’t know it or weren’t quick enough to help.

I love the idea that people from Pittsburgh and Youngstown come to our town to vacation. Think about the money they are willing to spend here, and how they embrace the Erie experience! Nothing dreary about that.

This weeks release by Erie county and state officials listing hoped for transportation projects to the tune of $280 million is just the latest of announced priorities for our region.

Between the airport runway, community college, expansion and renovation of the Civic Center, bayfront development and now big ticket items like the Six Mile Creek bridges and the widening of the Peach Street interchange for I-90, our regional price tag is getting close to a half-billion dollars.

It is understood that there are multiple streams of funding that can enter into projects such as these, making the income pie larger than at first glance. But with that comes an understanding that there is a political process at play, and Erie has to spend its limited political clout for the items that will bring the biggest bang for our buck. It’s hard to imagine the region getting every project that it wants, so we need to prioritize and do some long-range planning so that we get our timing right. For example, we need the widening of Peach Street now, the Asbury Road project in about four years, and perhaps the Wintergreen Gorge bridges in six years (if there’s no visible defects).

Strong, coordinated leadership from our county, city and township officials, working in harmony with state bureaucrats, is necessary to make sure we receive the maximum funding for the maximum benefit to our community. On these big projects, our municipal borders must be eliminated as these assets benefit the region as a whole. With strong coordination and standing as one regional voice before the state and federal government, we can get the job done with the greatest return on our investment.

5:30 AM: My new I-Home clock radio wakes me to praise music from my I-Pod. I’m embarking on a new adventure today. I’m going to take the bus to work.

Aside: waking up to my I-Pod instead of my favorite radio station, WCTL has me a little concerned that I’ve crossed over to some very bad parallel universe that diminishes the importance of terrestrial broadcasting. More about that in a future post.

6:15 AM: Time to go. I’ve packed my I-Pod, Bible, a book I’m reading, two Fiber One bars. I haven’t had any coffee yet

6:22 AM: My wife drops me at the bus stop, about 10 blocks from my house. I sit down on the bench. I think that I must have looked like a goober sitting there with my Targus computer case upright on my lap. But the morning is beautiful.

6:30 AM: Still on the bench. I’m afraid to put on my earbuds for the I-pod in fear of getting mugged. Stupid I know, but I’m not yet comfortable about sitting on a downtown street corner with several hundred dollars worth of technology on me. I don’t know when my bus will come. One just passed by but it was the M2 and I’m watching for the 14.

6:34 AM: Well at least that’s the time on my 20-ride ticket. I’m thinking that the ticket swiper is running about seven minute slow. No worries, however, because I’ve got plenty of time before my first meeting. The bus driver is friendly, asks where I’m heading and explains that it’s two swipes to Edinboro. Of course I knew that, since I’ve been researching what the logistics would be like to take the bus for the past month now.

For eight years of my life, taking an Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority bus was a daily occurrence. I rode Route 7 to Mercyhurst Prep for four years, getting on at 18th and State often after traversing some gigantic snow mounds at the Erie Central Mall and enduring sub-zero wind chills in my W.T. Grant parka. When college came I rode with my dad the Route 5 bus downtown to 7th and State. But it has been 24 years since those days, in which I’ve probably ridden a city bus 2 or 3 times, max.; until today.

The bus to Edinboro doesn’t really fit my schedule most of the time. During the school year I’ve got to transport kids, and need the flexibility of having my own wheels. But with that round trip to Edinboro in my car now costing $8.00, taking the bus starts looking really good, especially with the summer here. If I can do the bus even once a week, I can pocket $4, and feel good about doing something about these gas prices.

6:50 AM: We are picking people up at the mall. There’s about six or seven other folks on the bus heading toward the Boro. I’ve put my earbuds in and am reading my One Year Bible readings. It’s pretty noisy and squeaky, but for the most part I’m comfortable.

7:12 AM: I put my stuff away and ask the bus driver if could let me out at my work, which is right on the highway he is taking to Edinboro. He obliges, turns on his blinkers and pulls off to the right of the road, exactly in front of the church where I work. To the door service. As he heads on I see the line of nine cars who waited for me to disembark. I feel a little sheepish to be holding up traffic, but glad for the ride.

7:15 AM: I’m at my desk ready to start the day.

As folks come into the office a bit later they are surprised to see that I’m already there. When I tell them that I took the bus, they are kind of shocked and nearly universally exclaim, “Joel, you’re going green!” I look at the environmental-deal as being a cool, yet secondary benefit to spending less than half the cash on my commute.

3:24 PM: Time for the ride home. I’m the first one on, but by the time I get off, the bus is about 60% full. I shared my seat for a couple miles.

4:15 PM:  After getting dropped off and a brisk walk, I’m back home. I can definitely do this next week!

Let me express my shock and sadness on the news of Jack Tirak’s passing.

In just one of what will be many tributes, let me say that Jack was Erie Media’s best friend. He believed in the power of communication to increase people’s quality of life. He strived to do best practice with high creativity in his work, and in his role as media critic, expected the same of our local media. He knew we all have greatness in us, if we choose to achieve it.

Finally, Jack did a wonderful thing with his creation and steadfast editing of his blog, Erie Media-Go-Round. He brought the reporters, editors, producers, sales people, managers and consumers, both current and former, together in one forum. He tore down the walls that separated competitors and their public, so they could freely exchange encouragement and “barbs”, ideas and complaints in a free-wheeling discussion that made a tremendous impact.

I join his hundreds of friends in saying that Jack will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family in this very difficult time.

I also wrote today’s devotional for 106.3 WCTL as part of McLane Church’s week for their Power Up Devotionals daily feature. Here’s the link to listen, or just read it below:

Morphing

I think that WCTL General Manager Ron Raymond agrees with me in saying that one of the most impact-full authors and speakers in both of our faith journeys is John Ortberg. For nine years, Dr. Ortberg was a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, and he currently pastors at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. He has written some amazingly simple, yet challenging books about the Christian life, which reflect his passion about “Spiritual Formation” or how people become more like Jesus. My favorite book of his is The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. In this book, Ortberg explains that the goal of our spiritual lives is to be transformed, to undergo a metamorphosis or simply said, to morph. What do we want to morph into? Nothing less than the image of God’s Son, Jesus, as Paul says in Romans 8:29. Ortberg says that to be transformed or to morph means that we “don’t just do things Jesus would have done; but we find ourselves wanting to do them.” We can become the right sort of person, who can then be a part of changing the world for Christ. In the book he talks about concrete things we can do to truly transform our lives to be more like Christ, indeed to focus on loving God and loving people. He talks about training daily in activities that can help us gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it. John Ortberg identifies practices like celebration, slowing down, servanthood, confession, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, the practice of humility and secrecy, and reflection of Scripture as being key ways how we can not just play in this Christian life, but to morph indeed into the reflection of Christ that we all truly desire. It’s morphing time.

I had the privilege to write a devotional for 106.3 WCTL’s daily feature, PowerUp Devotionals. You can hear it here, or just read it for yourself:

History of Change

How about an Erie history lesson today? Did you know that in 1753 the French built a fort on the Erie bayfront called Fort Presque Isle with the purpose of keeping the English in their place in what was then the western frontier of the British colonies. Well their efforts didn’t work since they abandoned the fort and the British took over the land only after six years of French occupation. Things didn’t go well either for the British, as they abandoned their fort in Erie after only three years, fearing the imminent attack of Iroquois and Seneca native Americans. It wasn’t until 1795, years after the end of the American Revolution that a permanent town was laid out and called Erie. So the land which is now Erie was claimed by three different countries in a span of less than fifty years. That’s a lot of change for one little plot of land. Sometimes in our life circumstances we encounter change. Change is not easy, often it makes us uncomfortable to even being stressed out or angry. Fortunately, God gives us tools to cope with and even embrace change. First, we are encouraged to build a solid foundation in our relationship with God. That comes through prayer and the reading of God’s word the Bible. As we learn more about God and His character, we are able to better discern what is really happening when a wave of change comes our way. The Holy Spirit is able to bring peace to our hearts for clear thinking and perspective. Finally we can have a strong realization of God’s perfect love for us that will cast out the fear that can accompany change. God created us to be dynamic people, constantly growing in relationship to Him and to others. When change comes, our strong connection to God will help us navigate those new waters.