As the search continues for the submersible, lost in the Atlantic Ocean during a dive to the wreck of Titanic, media outlets cite David Pogue’s report on the company catering to the ultra-rich.
Last November, the Westporter and “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent described his own dive — and the warnings that preceded it. “06880” wrote about that now-noteworthy segment.
Our piece included a link to his broadcast:
There was a link to his “Unsung Science” podcast too. Click here, then scroll down for his 2-part series on his experience with the vessel.
This week, Pogue has been quoted in print and broadcast media outlets around the world. He has become the world’s go-to expert, both from personal and professional experience.
Large red and technologically advanced “Wrong Way” signs will be installed soon at the northbound and southbound I-95 Exit 17 entrances.
They’re part of a statewide program to cut down on head-on collisions — often fatal — resulting from drivers entering highway exits.
The state Department of Transportation has identified 236 high-risk ramps. Many are like Exit 17, where the on- and off-ramps are in close proximity. The highest priority goes to ramps that are near to places that serve alcohol.
The new signs will include cameras that identify when cars drive the wrong way. When that happens, lights flash.
The signs will also notify the closest state police barracks, and DOT Highway Operations Center.
I-95 Exit 17 on- and off-ramps are right next to each other.
Speaking of traffic: The Westport Sunrise Rotary’s annual Great Duck Race is this Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). The Taylor parking lot (between Jesup Green and the Saugatuck River) will be closed beginning Friday evening.
Also this weekend: the downtown Sidewalk Sale (Friday through Sunday). Expect extra traffic — both vehicular and pedestrian.
Oblivious to the upcoming closing of the Taylor parking lot. (Photo/Mary Sikorski)
Since 2019, Wakeman Town Farm, Earthplace and the Westport Garden Club have promoted Westport’s “Pollinator Pathway.” It’s part of an area-wide effort to restore and connect habitats for ecologically crucial pollinators.
This Saturday (June 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the group has organized a second annual Pollinator Pathway tour. It features 2 private and 4 public gardens. Other Fairfield and Westchester County towns are also involved.
Westport locations include:
4 Deepwood Lane
Earthplace
Prospect Gardens (13 Prospect Road)
Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center
Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve
Wakeman Town Farm
All sites except Earthplace will have guides and/or gardeners on hand to answer questions, and provide information about plant choice and best practices to support biodiversity using earth-friendly practices for healthier lawns and gardens.
Earthplace will be a self-directed tour.
Click here for more information on participating gardens, and an interactive map with descriptions, photographs, and directions.Click here for a list of Northeast native pollinator plants.
Part of the Sherwood Island State Park Pollinator Pathway. (Photo/Kelle Ruden)
A few days after the end of the legislative session, State Representative Jonathan Steinberg addressed the Westport Rotary Club at yesterday’s weekly meeting.
“We hope Connecticut can get back to where it was pre-pandemic,” Steinberg said, referring to the local economy. Election initiatives such as early voting and new election technology, and sensible gun reform, are other priorities for Governor Lamong.
The legislator also discussed Westport’s crippling traffic. He said, “We need to do more work on improving traffic in Westport, We have no choice not to.”
Though a proposal to levy highway tolls failed in the past few years, Steinberg hopes to keep the issue alive. He says it could help alleviate congestion.
State Representative Jonathan Steinberg, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
At 57 Diane Meyer Lowman set off on a life-changing adventure: a “senior year abroad” studying in the MA program at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon.
She learned a lot.
She wrote a lot too.
Her memoir –“The Undiscovered Country: Seeing Myself Through Shakespeare’s Eyes” — will be published in September.
Diane details her “transformative experiences, both personal and academic,” as she immerses herself in the world of Shakespeare. She learns as much about herself as she does about the Bard.
“Undiscovered Country” is available for pre-order. Click here for details.
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Former Westport resident Patricia Lane Willett died unexpectedly on June 8. She was 83, and lived in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Her family calls her “a devoted wife for nearly 6 decades to William H. Willett, a loving mother of 5, a loyal friend, an active philanthropist, and an extraordinary hostess. Pat embraced life with boundless energy, a competitive spirit, and a knack for timely humor.
“Her infectious smile, unwavering desire to please, and unmatched passion for entertaining ensured that every gathering she hosted was unforgettable and filled with laughter.
“She possessed a remarkable ability to spoil her cherished grandchildren, showering them with affection, Nana kisses, and indulgences that will forever hold a special place in their hearts. Pat’s dedication to philanthropy revealed her depth of competitive spirit as she tirelessly pursued charitable goals, all the while expressing immense gratitude for those who supported and shared in her endeavors.”
Patricia was preceded in death by her siblings Mary, Judy, Linda, Joe, Paul, Chubby, Greg, and daughter-in-law Shannon Willett. She is survived by her husband; children Wendy Sellers (Rick), Chris Willett, Jeff Willett (Lisa), Brad Willett (Jennifer) and Elizabeth Johnson; sister Joanne Lane; 16 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests considering donations in Pat’s memory to Autism Speaks, a cause close to her heart.
Kyle Martino has done — and seen — it all in the soccer world.
He’s been 1999 National High School Soccer Player of the Year at Staples High School; MLS Rookie of the Year with the Columbus Crew; David Beckham’s teammate on the Los Angeles Galaxy, and a US national team athlete.
After retiring, Kyle pivoted to broadcasting. He was a noted Premier League analyst for NBC Sports; now he covers the US men’s and women’s teams for TNT and HBO Max.
Besides all that he founded the Over Under Initiative and Goalpher, a pop-up goal that turns basketball courts into mini-soccer fields. Both projects bring the sport to under-served communities.
Oh, yeah: He also owns Football Café, a “soccer-themed speakeasy” in New York.
So when Kyle Martino warns us about the state of youth soccer, we should all pay attention.
He recently wrote a lengthy — and sobering — story about the experiences of his 8-year-old daughter Marlowe, and 6-year-old son Major. (He and his ex-wife, actress Eva Amurri, share co-parenting duties. Eva lives full-time in Westport; Kyle spends a lot of time here.)
This is must reading for any parent — and anyone concerned about the world of youth sports today. Kyle writes:
Let me tell you a story about a brother and a sister. Both found themselves in love with The Beautiful Game, but their path to that love and the outcome was very different.
Kyle Martino, with the US national team.
Both of them knew their dad was a former professional soccer player who loved the sport deeply. This fact had little influence on their desire or curiosity to peruse the game, which probably had more to do with my reluctance to push the sport on them.
Marlowe began her relationship with the sport with local organized soccer. Fun and casual practice once a week, with a game day on the weekend. She loved playing. She definitely inherited my competitive side, but seemed to gravitate towards the social side of the game. Loved laughing with her friends and sharing moments on the field together.
Her relationship with the game changed dramatically with the first big transition. Her friends were trying out for the prestigious “club” team, and she was distraught thinking about not getting to play with them anymore. She was turning 8.
Major couldn’t care less about soccer. He definitely has my obsessive side but that instrument was pointed directly at dancing. He saw “Newsies” and never looked back. He needed no encouragement or advice; he sought out all things dance. Eva and I followed his lead.
Until one day Eva called me and said. “what did you do to Major?” Terrified I sent him home with a black eye or something I didn’t notice, I simply said, “what do you mean?”
Eva told me that since he came home from watching a World Cup game at Football Café, packed with adults enjoying something together in a way he’s never witnessed, Major was infected. All he wanted to do was watch highlights and go into the backyard to mimic the moves.
Major Martino: great form! (Photo courtesy of Instagram)
He spent hours setting up chairs, or any yard objects he could find, to dress the field with players to go against. His love for the game grew each day, as did his skill. It was amazing to watch.
It was exactly how I was, except without an on-demand window into the global database of world football on his iPad. I used to steal VHS tapes of old games from my Dutch neighbor. Major is 6
This is where the story takes a sad turn. As Major turned everything he could find into a defender, and any unoccupied space into a stadium, his relationship with the game grew bigger and deeper.
At the same time, Marlowe’s love for the game was in real jeopardy. She tried out for that team her friends joined, and made it. That moment marked the slow deterioration of her enjoyment playing soccer.
Practices became more frequent, distances to games longer, time with the ball shorter, pressure larger, parents louder, and the smiles scarcer. I could list endless things I couldn’t believe I was seeing, like the kids standing on their own for 20 minutes in the 28-degree cold while the coach set up the expensive camera/GPS equipment the club purchased to demonstrate the enormous fees parents paid were being put to good use. I have 20 examples of stuff like this.
Each week that passed, Marlowe fell more out of love with soccer. Until the day came when we told her she didn’t have to play if she didn’t want to. She was relieved. We were heartbroken.
Marlowe Martino. (Photo courtesy of Instagram)
Meanwhile Major’s love for the game and ability with the ball, deriving from self- play and pickup with whoever would join, compounded every week. Each day he loves soccer more than the last. It’s beautiful.
I’ll never forget when I was running for president of US Soccer (the national governing body). During a workshop I held to create a progress plan to change the game, Mia Hamm said, “There is a huge crisis at the moment we need to address, and it’s that the kids aren’t having fun anymore.”
The room was silent after she said it. She was coaching a girls team in California, so she had a front row seat. I never realized how right she was until I watched what happened to Marlowe.
This is not an anti-organized soccer rant. Far from it. I am so impressed with the many ways the soccer landscape has improved in this country. There is much to be proud of and excited by.
This is an attempt to once again raise an issue of consequence that should concern all who love this game, and want its gift to be felt and cherished by as many as possible. We must stop professionalizing, specializing and overpricing sport for young kids.
Soccer is the number one sport in the world because it takes very little to play it, and costs nothing to love it. We are artificially making scarce one of the most abundant commodities on the planet. The joy soccer provides is the air you breathe, not the gold you buy.
Let them breathe. Let them play.
(“06880” often jump-starts conversations, about Westport and the world. As a non-profit, we rely on reader support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Those are the 2 key takeaways from today’s announcement by the 92-year-old landmark.
Rocked over the past 2 weeks by revelations about its precarious finances — and following a leadership change — the board of trustees has “approved and begun implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure that the historic theater is able to continue to operate.”
The 92-year-old Westport Country Playhouse.
The transformation plan — called “Reimagined: Save Your Playhouse” — includes “new and exciting programming for a broad audience, a major fundraising campaign, and a more sustainable and efficient cost structure.”
New board chair Athena T. Adamson — a trustee since 2017 –says, “This summer we are working to bring to life a new vision – one that features both first-rate theater productions and a wide array of innovative programming to engage new and existing audiences.”
Beginning in September, and “ramping up to full speed by early 2024,” the WCP will offer”live performances including curated one-night-only shows featuring celebrities and top talent from the worlds of theater, comedy, music, and dance; a continuation of the popular Script in Hand play reading series … and a speaker series, ‘In Conversation with…,’ providing direct access to creators, business leaders, artists, athletes, philanthropists, and influencers in an intimate setting.”
“High-end theater and new works,” along with “next-generation children’s programming,” will begin in the fall of 2024.
The “Reimagined” plan includes a fundraising campaign. The goal is “an immediate and necessary $2 million by July 30.”
The historic interior.
Adamson notes, “Westport Country Playhouse has stood the test of time by staying true to its mission and continually evolving. More than 20 years ago, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman inspired the Playhouse’s last, great, transformative campaign, chaired by Bob Wright, former head of NBC, and now there is another opportunity for our wonderful community to be part of shaping the Playhouse for future generations.”
Earlier this year – citing the pandemic’s continuing effect on ticket sales — the WCP cut its previously announced 2023 season from 5 productions to 3.
They’ve now canceled a third show: “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play.” The next production — “Dial M for Murder” (July 11-29) — will be the second, and final, show of 2023.
Last week, the Playhouse made substantial staff cuts. Artistic director Mark Lamos plans to leave as well. The website currently lists 25 employees, though that number may not be accurate.
Athena Adamson
“Cancelling another production and losing more of our dedicated staff — these are the painfully hard decisions we had to make in the interest of fiscal responsibility and in order to survive,” Adamson says.
“We have a structured plan that will allow the Playhouse to meet the desires of the next generation of theatergoers, but we need your immediate help. Contributions to the ‘Save Your Playhouse’ campaign are fundamental to saving and evolving the legacy of Westport Country Playhouse.”
The Playhouse website does not yet include information about the special fundraising campaign. A “Donate” link in the press release brings users to the Annual Fund.
Adamson urges Westporters to contribute, attend the upcoming show — and contact the Playhouse.
“If you have suggestions about how we can deliver the best live performances right here in Westport, we want to hear from you,” she says. Ideas can be emailed to interim managing director Gretchen Wright: gwright@westportplayhouse.org.
The Minute Man — proud symbol of Westport — looks prouder than ever.
(Photo/Andrew Colabella)
The 1910 statue was recently power-washed. Now it’s been refinished, and treated with a UV lacquer coating to prevent it from weather and foreign material.
Thanks go to Francis Miller, owner of Conserve Art. He’s the one who raised the statue a few years ago, to protect it from the elements.
Thanks to Francis, the plaque is now legible too. The next time you walk, jog or bike by, stop and read it. The history of the area — and the monument itself — is fascinating. (Hat tip: Andrew Colabella)
They’re advertising the summer’s biggest (non-fireworks) party.
On Sunday, July 9 (1 p.m. to dusk), there’s a huge thank-you bash honoring our sister city of Lyman, Ukraine.
Everyone’s invited. It’s worth it just to see the great, welcoming site: the Ukrainian-American Club (just past the I-95 Exit 19 northbound entrance ramp in Southport).
The free, family-friendly event includes snacks, drinks, music and more.
There will be opportunities to help Lyman too: a raffle, treasure sale, Yankee auction, coffee table book pull, plant sale, “LymanADE” stand and more. Lyman Mayor Alexander Zhuravlov will speak on a big screen.
VIP tickets ($350) include reserved seating, a commemorative gift, open bar, homemade Ukrainian-inspired meal and more.
VIP Plus tickets ($1,000) receive all benefits above, plus signage with your family name or company logo, a message for the Ukrainian people, and a Ukraine flag signed by Mayor Zhuravlov.
To RSVP, purchase VIP tickets and for more information, click here. And if you’d like one of those cool yard signs, have questions, or would like to be a sponsor, email connievonzwehl@gmail.com.
A simple post on Facebook’s “Westport Front Porch” page urged the town to keep the rainbow crosswalk (on Jesup Road at Taylor Place), after Pride Month ends June 30.
By midday yesterday it had amassed nearly 400 likes, and about 300 comments.
Nearly every comment was positive — “It’s beautiful!” “It makes me so happy!” “There’s no time limit on inclusivity” — except for a tiny handful (“The rainbow is God’s symbol”; “What contribution or what value do the LGBT people bring to the table?…”).
There are several options to make a permanent crosswalk better suited to cars that turn, and New England weather. All material and work would be privately funded.
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition has also begun. As of yesterday afternoon, it had 147 signatures.
At 5 a.m. on June 1, Dr. Nikki Gorman (above) — one of the crosswalk’s sponsors — joined a dozen volunteers, including the 1st and 2nd selectwomen, and Public Works director, for the rainbow installation.
Pianist Janice Friedman headlines this week’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, June 22; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m., dinner service at 7; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399).
She’ll play with her longtime saxophone collaborator, Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall, plus bassist Leon “Boots” Maleson and drummer Brian Floody.
The evening begins with a presentation. The Jazz Society of Fairfield County — presenter of the weekly VFW post series — will give a $5,000 check to Ciara Bustillo-Rodriguez of Bridgeport, winner of their first Micky Golomb Memorial Scholarship.
Ciara will perform a few pieces with Janice and her group. She began studying music 8 years ago with the KEYS program.
She excels in both jazz and classical music, as principal flutist with the Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestra Philharmonic, and their Jazz Orchestra.
Ciara is studying music at Western Connecticut State University, with the goal of a career as a jazz educator and performer.
The fund was established in memory of Myron “Micky” Golomb (1931-2019),
a jazz saxophonist and educator who moved to Westport in 1978. The award will be presented by his wife Kathy and their daughter Becky.
This is the final Jazz at the Post of the season. The series resumes in September. Reservations are strongly suggested: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
Ciara Bustillo-Rodriguez
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This week’s “What’s Next in Weston” podcast explores the town’s new relationship with Silver Hill Hospital.
1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor and Human Services director Alison Lisbon discuss new help for people with mental health issues.
Click below to hear the latest presentation from the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston.
And finally … On this day in 1837, Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne. She ruled for 63 years and 216 days — a record that stood until 2015, when Queen Elizabeth surpassed it. She lived, and reigned, for 70 years and 214 days.
(We’ll never forget Queen Elizabeth. Or Victoria! But please don’t forget to help support “06880.” Just click here. And thank you!)
Some Staples High School seniors spent the last month of the school year doing medical research at Yale. Some worked for hedge funds, on farms and as teacher assistants. One interned at “06880.”
Alex Mussomeli invented a new language.
In a school at which students have many passions — ice skating, robotics, gun safety, you name it — Alex’s love for linguistics stands out.
Alex Mussomeli
He took Italian through 4 Honors and an early college experience, and studied Japanese on his own. He was an avid member of both the Italian Club (helping fundraise for a school in Napoli) and the Linguistics Club (studying the science of language and culture).
The arcana of alphabets, grammar, syntax, phonemes, lexicology — things most of us never think about, let alone study — fascinate Alex.
So when it came time to design an internship, he decided to design a language.
But not just any language. This one would have its own letters. Its own tenses and sounds. Even its own history and culture.
Louisa D’Amore was eager to serve as his site supervisor. A Staples Italian teacher with a similarly strong interest in linguistics, she provided help when needed.
But for hours each day, Alex worked on his own.
“I had experience with foreign sounds, through Italian and Japanese. But I didn’t want to create a language that was a copy. I wanted it to feel foreign to me,” he explains.
So he examined others, like Albanian, Arabic, Greenlandic, Turkish, Uzbek, and polysynthetic Native American dialects.
He thought about how different one language can be from another. One example: An Amazonian language has words for “some” and “many,” but not specific numbers.
Then he began creating “Nekitsa.”
That’s the English transliteration, anyway. It has its own 29-letter alphabet, complete with a variety of sounds (similar to consonants and vowels), plus diacriticals.
The Nekitsa alphabet.
Nekitsa comes from the roots neki (“true”) and tsa (“speech”).
Interestingly, there are no adjectives. Instead of saying “silent person,” a Nekitsa speaker would says he has “the eyes of an owl.”
“When you learn a language, you put yourself in the shoes of other people,” Alex notes.
“When you create a language you do that too. But in this case, it’s the shoes of people who never existed.”
So Alex created a thousand-year history, along with letters and words.
“I imagined people speaking Nekitsa,” he explains. “A sophisticated society grew up along with the language.
The Nekitsa culture, Alex says, is based on “empathy and respect for others.”
Amazingly, Alex has cochlear implants, to help mitigate substantial hearing loss. That makes his work with languages — and all their diverse sounds, intonations and subtleties – even more impressive.
Louisa D’Amore
D’Amore was awed by Alex’s internship work. But he downplays it.
“It’s just like an artistic pursuit, where you want to create something unique.”
Alex will continue creating next fall at Wesleyan University. He hopes to design his own major, where he’ll explore ideas like meaning and perception, across different cultures.
But first there’s a family trip, to Tuscany and Stockholm.
Alex will speak fluently in Italy.
And he’ll probably learn Swedish before he leaves baggage claim.
(Since 2009, “06880” has told the stories of remarkable Staples graduates. Please click here, to help keep them coming. Thank you!)
The Westport Downtown Association’s Sidewalk Sale — a staple of summer — returns this weekend.
The al fresco shopping — with bargains galore — begins this Friday (June 23). It continues Saturday and Sunday, with merchants throughout Main Street, Elm Street, Church Lane, Riverside Avenue, and in Sconset and Playhouse Squares.
Sidewalks will be lined with goods (and sales).
Back by popular demand, The Westport Downtown Association presents the return of the traditional, full weekend Sidewalk Sale, taking place June 23rd-25th with participating merchants throughout downtown Westport on Elm Street, Church Lane, Riverside Ave, Sconset Square and Playhouse Square and, of course, with Main Street’s sidewalks lined with sales for shoppers.
Click here, then scroll down for a full list of participating merchants. Meanwhile, here’s a list of special promotions:
Athleta: Save up to 60% off
Awesome Toys and Gifts: Save up to 50% off water tables, outdoor games, toys and more
Bespoke Designs: 40-50% off selected items
Bella Bridesmaids: Sample sale dresses starting at $50
Birddogs: Free t-shirt with purchase of 2 pairs of pants and/or shorts; free hat or tumbler with a 3-pair purchase; free hoodie sweatshirt with 4 pairs; free gym bag with 5 pairs
Blue & Cream: Up to 75% off
Bobbles & Lace: Sale rack outside
Courtgirl: Gift with purchase; 15% off regular prices
Cloud Nine Designer Consignment: $20 shoe rack, while supplies last
Enlightenments of Westport: Any sales over $25: complimentary palm reading; any sales over $50, tarot reading
Fig Linens and Home: All in-store merchandise on sale; items up to 50% off
Fred: Up to 75% off
Great Stuff: Deep discounts on designer women’s clothing
Honey Pie Children’s Boutique: Up to 40% off select items
LIFT Wellness Group: 3-pack of counseling or dietary/nutrition sessions for $275
Marine Layer: 20% off everything
Naturino: 25% off 1 item
Offline by Aerie: Up to 60% off
Penfield Collective: Up to 70% off
Scout and Molly: 30-75% off select merchandise
Skin Laundry: Founding members membership price; free skincare with every sign-up; raffles for free laser facials
Soleil Toile: Up to 70% off select designer swimwear and lingerie
The Tailored Home: 20%-50% off all furniture; 50% off all pillows
Vince: Additional 40% off sale merchandise
Westport Book Shop: Selected books just $1; 3 for $5 beach reads
Winfield Street Coffee: Free drip when you buy a bag of beans
Winged Monkey: Sale markdowns $10-$50; storewide promotion on full-priced merchandise: 20% off
Also returning: The Westport Farmers’ Market’s great Young Shoots Photography Contest, for students ages 5-9, 10-14 and 15-18.
The 7th annual event — runs from the next Farmers Market (June 22) through August 3. Children and teenagers are invited to demonstrate their love for local food — and their creative photographic talents — to win age-group cash prizes, and a chance to attend an art class at MoCA Westport.
Local artists will judge. An exhibit at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center will showcase the winners.
The contest is sponsored by the Farmers’ Market, the Artists Collective of Westport, and the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center. Starting June 22 click here to submit, and for more details.
“Starstem” by Calista Finkelstein placed 1st in the 8-10 category, in 2016.
In 2018, Eric Lederer decided it was time to “stop being a shithead and drinking so much with my friends on weekends.”
Running seemed like a wholesome idea.
The 2013 Staples High School graduate — by then an Indiana University Kelley Business School graduate, and a New York investment banker — found a Central Park running group.
Be careful what you wish for.
Lederer’s casual foray into un-shitheadedness led to half marathons, full marathons, then Ironmans.
He met Dick Traum, the first amputee to finish the New York Marathon, and founder of Achilles International. The non-profit transforms the lives of people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connection. Since 1983, over 150,000 athletes of all ages and ability levels have participated in endurance events around the globe.
Which is why Lederer is halfway through a 5-month, 7,000-mile bike ride across North America. His goal is to raise $50,000 for athletes with disabilities.
Eric Lederer, and his bike.
His competitive drive was honed on the Staples football team. It was his first experience where “greatness was expected.” A self-described “mediocre athlete,” Lederer says he “worked hard, and liked hitting people to compensate for my lack of athleticism.”
Staples — especially English teacher Anne Fernandez, who sparked his interest in writing — prepared him well for IU.
In July 2019 — a couple of years after starting his Wall Street career — Lederer took an 18-month sabbatical. Figuring he’d never get the chance again, he booked a 1-way flight to Russia, and rode the Trans-Siberian train to Mongolia and China.
He traveled through Japan, then Antarctica, before returning home because of COVID (and studying for the GMAT).
The “seminal trip” taught Lederer “the value of stepping off the corporate hamster wheel.”
Global travel inspired him to learn more about his own country — slowly and thoughtfully. He wanted to meet a cross-section of Americans; to take the pulse of the nation; to do something with a purpose, for himself and for others.
“I’d like to settle down soon,” Lederer says. “But I haven’t gotten there yet.
“So why not have experiences in my 20s that will set the foundation for the life I aspire to achieve, if I am lucky enough to be alive? I want a life that is philanthropic, adventurous, sustainable and unique.”
It hardly mattered that he had never done a bike tour — or had no idea how to change a flat tire. He trusted his Ironman training for fitness.
“Ready. Fire. Aim,” Lederer explains. “If I over-analyzed the logistics, the trip would not have happened.
“Too many things could go wrong: insurance policies, forest fires, mechanical problems, routing issues — the list goes on. Better to go directly into the unknown, and trust it will work out.
“So far, so good.”
Lederer started April 9, in Los Angeles. His Staples friend Harry Birch saw him off.
Staples friend Harry Birch (far right) saw Eric Lederer (yellow) off, at the start (by an appropriate sign). They were joined by (from left) Alex Plonsker and Eric’s brother Adam.
He hopes to end at the Fish Market — his friends’ favorite New York dive bar — the first week of September. “It will be an epic party,” he promises. “If I arrive.”
(Hence the name of his tour: Operation Fish Market.)
Lederer has already clocked more than 3,000 miles. He’s riding 50 to 60 miles a day, with 80 pounds of gear. resting once a week.
Pausing at a familiar landmark.
His route takes him up the Pacific Coast, through Yellowstone and the Tetons, Glacier National Park, the Badlands and RAGBRAI (“a weeklong festival across Iowa, like Coachella for bike nerds”).
There are too many highlights and surprises to list in detail here. (If you click here you’ll read many great ones from his website.)
For example, he shared 6 days in Washington state with his Staples friend Jack Roof.
Jack Roof (left) joined Eric for an invigorating 6 days.
“People and circumstances create joy and memories,” Lederer notes.
“Warmshowers — like Coachsurfing.com for bike tourers — is the greatest discovery I found. The stories shared and connections made are incredible.”
He stayed with a woman in Crescent City, California who has hosted over 2,500 bike tourers since 2013. All she asks is a hug.
“The kindness of strangers through this platform and the open road cannot help but leave you optimistic for the future of humanity,” Lederer says.
When Eric had a flat tire in Yakima, Washington, Juan, Rey and Raul rode (or at least rose) the rescue. A language barrier was no issue.
The biggest obstacles are raw wilderness routing issues. He’s gotten lost on unpaved back roads, with no choice but to “find a way out, patch up any wounds, and forge ahead.”
Route planning is key. Headwinds of 20 miles an hour riding a fully loaded touring bike are “unfathomably challenging.”
While sabbaticals seem like “the ultimate short-term, YOLO act,” Lederer views them through the lens of a long-term investment.
Meeting Pia and Zach and their 3 (soon to be 4) kids was inspirational. “Almost all my time these days is spent with folks between 30-60,” Eric says. “That youth got me excited about my own prospects of being a parent someday.”
Taking time off to explore one’s identity — at short-term financial cost — via a bike tour or other means helps “repel long-term burnout. We get more comfortable in our own skin, farther from the comfort of the known.
“We are forced to consider more deliberately what matters to us. We cannot cling to the certainty of a promotion of other concrete stepping stone.
“As my peers advance their careers and settle down, it’s easy to be overcome by feelings of envy or existential angsty. But I trust, deep down, that I am playing the long game, and that it will all work out in the end.”
Marcelle met Eric, and invited him to join her and her 96-year-old father — a Korean War veteran — for breakfast.
That early September Fish Market finish seems like a hard stop. Lederer plans to enter the University of Chicago’s MBA program this fall. (He will fly, not ride there.)
He hopes to combine his finance background with his personal interests, to find career synergy.
“I’m lucky to have the privilege to continue the search, and recognize it may never end.”
And for the athletes with disabilities who will benefit from the $50,000 Eric Lederer hopes to raise: They’re lucky to be part of his journey too.
(To donate to Eric Lederer’s Operation Fish Market, click here.)
Somewhere in America.
(Staples High School graduates do amazing things. “06880” is proud to report on their varied accomplishments. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
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