In preparing for my talk, “What are you afraid of?” this past weekend at McLane Church, I shot a video interview with my brother Jeff Natalie, who is a prominent family counselor in Erie and founder of the ErieKIDS.org website. You can reach him through the site. I thought his insight on children and fear was really helpful and I want to share the entire interview with you. The YouTube video is embedded below.
I have the privilege to speak at my church this weekend where I serve as the Director of Communications and Technology for McLane Church. My talk is called, “What are you afraid of?” and it focuses on my faith journey, and my battle over fear, which has been a prominent thread in my life.
If you’d like to come listen here are the times and locations (yes, I’ll be doing all five…four live, one video):
McLane Church-Edinboro - 12511 Edinboro Road, Edinboro: Sat. at 6 PM, Sun. at 9 & 11 AM
McLane Church-Union City - 105 Concord Street (Union City High School Audi.), Union City: Sun. at 11 AM
McLane “church in a bar”-Erie - 1213 State Street (The CellBlock), Erie: Sun. at 7 PM
If you miss it, don’t worry, it will be on the McLane audio podcast this week.
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.
The Scorched Earth has come to a newspaper near you.
The internet is filled with news about the news. It turns out that last week was a tragic one for newspaper employment, as 1000 newspaper-related layoffs were announced, probably to help prop up flagging stock prices. Timothy Egan in his NY Times blog makes the point that even though the reach of newspapers through their online divisions has their content consumed by more people than ever, the financial reality of steeply-declining ad sales in their “ink on paper” editions is ruining these once-great editorial machines.
The other big story in media this week is the gigantic $400 million contract that Rush Limbaugh received. It extends his deal through the 2016 presidential election year and perhaps is a good indicator of where that other old medium, radio is going.
So let’s do a little hand-wringing. Read the rest of this entry »
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!
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