Everything's A-OK Up in Westchester

Sesame Street ventured up to the suburbs, shooting a bunch of episodes in Westchester County. The producers were eager to get the show out of Queens for a few days, thinking the open air would be healthier amidst Covid than the studio. 

I got to write about it for the Journal News. 

Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard was one destination for Sesame. 

Exec producer Ben Lehmann said Harvest Moon was pulsing with vitality. “Apples were on the trees, stuff was blooming in all the fields,” he said. “It was just a beautiful time to be there.”

When Your Marathon Plans Don't Quite Turn Out the Way You'd Hoped

 I got to do a NY Times story on those who do not finish the marathon--the dreaded D.N.F.--including what caused them to come up short, and how they reacted to this grave setback. 

It is a surprisingly low number of people that don't finish. Just 263 people out of almost 16,000 did not finish the Boston Marathon last month, while 380 out of over 25,000 did not finish New York. At other marathons, including Hartford and Rehoboth Beach, the numbers are a bit higher. 

Paradoxically, it is the seasoned marathoners who are more likely to pull out early. “If they’re not going to win a race or place, they may stop and that’s it,” said Kathleen Titus, the race director of the Philadelphia Marathon. “They’ll save their legs for another race they can compete in and win prize money."

Several sources spoke of the despair they feel after pulling out--sitting on the curb, crying, not quite sure how they'll get home. “The first thing that comes through your mind is all the time you spent training,” said Maria Luisa Cesca, who once sustained a hamstring injury during the Jacksonville Marathon. “You were doing so well, so many mornings with 4:30 a.m. runs before the kids get up.”

Yet everyone I spoke to gave it another go, and finished. 

Hiking With a Purpose? That's Disc Golf

I wrote a story about disc golf, which involves hurling a frisbee, or frisbee-type disc, at a basket set up a few hundred feet away, counting the throws it takes to get it in the basket, then doing it again on the next hole. 

There are two disc-golf courses in Westchester County (NY) and, as one participant who'd road tripped that day told me, zero in New York City. 

Disc golfers, many more who have come from ultimate frisbee than golf, told me they find it relaxing. More than one described disc golf as a hike with a purpose.

“It’s exercise, it’s meditation, it’s sport,” Peter Messing said. “I like the competition and all the guys are really cool. Everybody’s calm.”

I even took the pix for the story!

Westchester as NYC's Sixth Borough

Does Westchester County have any legit claim to being the proverbial sixth borough of New York City?

Some residents in the 9-1-4 think so. 

I did a story for Westchester Magazine on a few businesses, including Boro6 Wine Bar and Captain Lawrence Brewing, which does a Sixth Borough pilsner, playing off the sixth borough premise.

Not everyone sees Westchester as the sixth borough. Pat Kiernan, NY1 anchor, said, "Nice try. There's no sixth borough."