Author: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

This author has written 1998 articles
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Spindle: Play Ball!

While the weather hasn’t really acknowledged it yet, Spring is officially here, and there’s no better sign of the hopefulness it brings with it than the start of baseball season, as the Mets and Yankees vie for a shot at another subway series to send their old stadiums out with a bang.

Over at Spindle, we’re getting into the spirit of the season with the release of our Play Ball issue and the announcement of the winner of our first ever writing contest:

CONGRATULATIONS TO LIZ DOLAN FOR HER WINNING SUBMISSION:
The House That Ruth Built

Her poem is featured in this month’s Play Ball issue, and she will receive a $50 honorarium, $25 of which she is graciously donating back to the magazine.

The issue also features Honorable Mentions from Caroline DePalma, Robert Ross, Wayne Scheer, Janet A. Shainheit and Skip Shea; plus new and archived work from Roger Bonair-Agard, J.T. Clark, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez and Larry Jaffe.

If baseball isn’t your thing, we also have new columns from Stephanie R. Myers (Myers Music Machine) and Brooke Wacha (On the 1), plus a great new Gallery from Syreeta McFadden.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

What I’m Good At

Isaac in Tee BallIn the 4th or 5th Grade, my teacher made me promise her that I’d never become a teacher when I grew up. Her request wasn’t made out of malice — it wasn’t until High School when I had any teachers who simply didn’t like me, a couple justifiably so — but based on her own experience and out of concern for my future mental well-being. I can’t remember her name, and I don’t remember her specific reasons, but I do recall her as one of a handful of influential elementary school teachers who took a personal interest in me and my education.

When Salomé went into Teaching Fellows almost two years ago, I was initially a little jealous because there was a part of me that always wanted to be a teacher someday, despite my innocent promise years ago. Today, seeing what she’s gone through, how successful she’s been at it and, more importantly, how much she loves doing it, I realize I’d probably be a terrible teacher and, whatever her reasons, my old teacher was right.

When it comes to Isaac and India, I am generally the more patient of the two of us — partly because I don’t spend most of my day around a bunch of kids five days a week, and partly because I’ve always had a higher threshold for stress (to the point where I’ve been accused of everything over the years from being aloof to being a pothead) — but when it comes to homework, especially as Isaac’s 2nd grade workload becomes more time-consuming and more difficult for him, Salomé takes the lead and handles things much, much better than I do.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

What a Week

My first week at the new job was a whirlwind that has left me physically and mentally exhausted, not to mention off the internet for most of the week, but I’m feeling oddly energized at the same time.  By today at 5pm it still had that “new job” smell — helped quite a bit by my adding a few personal touches to my first real office space (as opposed to cubicle) since American Express — and I’m looking forward to shifting into high gear next week with a two-day trip up to Boston to tackle the biggest of the three titles I’m now in charge of. It’s still a weird feeling being a “Director”, but it’s a job I felt I was ready for when I was still working in marketing, well before I’d made my first sale as a rep, so I’m ready to jump in with both feet.

My third to trip to Cincinnati earlier this week once again found me sticking to the suburbs, so I’ve yet to see the city itself except for from the highway. I’m hoping to time my next trip out there to catch a baseball game, which would finally get me downtown while also being my first major league game at a park other than Shea or Yankee Stadium. The Cubs and Marlins are in town in early May…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

I just can’t resist

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It6JN7ALF7Y]

[from the Jed Report, via Ben Smith]

And for some background, the Washington Post‘s Mary Ann Akers dug up Sinbad, the comedian who accompanied Clinton on that harrowing peace-keeping mission to Bosnia in 1996, along with other noted crisis negotiators Sheryl Crow and a pre-teen Chelsea Clinton, for this enlightening flashback:

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

March Madness

No, it’s not the basketball tournament…it’s the one-week-late March edition of your favorite NYC-centric literary journal, Spindle Magazine!

Log on now for new poetry by Roger Bonair-Agard, Gerard Sarnat, Jeanann Verlee and Beverly Wilkinson; short fiction by Tim Clancy; and creative non-fiction by Anne Germanacos.

Plus, keep an eye out next week for our featured columns: Coffee & Brooklyn, Myers Music Machine and On the 1.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Monday Mash-Up, 3/17/08

1) I am swamped. Between the start of the new job only one week away (which kicks off with a trip out to Cincinnati) and the [mostly good] stress of our impending house purchase (attorney review is winding down; inspection is on Saturday), I’m a week behind on Spindle‘s March update and am going to have to burn the midnight oil tonight, after attending a Little League Coaches meeting, to get it done for tomorrow.

2) I am thrilled. This will be the oddest and coolest job transition I’ve ever made as it’s effectively a promotion but with a change of employer and scenery. The additional responsibility is a welcome challenge, even with the sharply raised stakes, as is the opportunity to put my stamp on two more magazines. Coupled with the success of Spindle, and my not-always-clearly-thought-out career goals are starting to come to fruition. Throw in the new house, our dream house by almost every realistic definition, and the fact that in general, things seem to really be falling into place all of a sudden — ie: as I’m typing this, our lender just called me to say rates dropped and we just locked in for 5.5%! — and I find myself looking both ways 5 times before I cross the street!

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