Stories from the First 60 Years with Budd Mishkin

It ain't over 'til it's over.  So true.  So true.

The New York Giants are back in the playoffs and their fans are pretty excited about a second round playoff game this Saturday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.  It's been a while since the Giants have been in the playoffs.  But whenever they are in the playoffs, I recall a game during which I made one of the cardinal mistakes of sports journalism.  Trust me...it's easy to remember "That Time I Cost The Giants A Playoff Game."

What do you remember from the most memorable sports night of your life?

Welcome to the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

This episode..."A Coat A Curse And The Cup."

The recent unveiling of the statue of Tom Seaver at Citi Field in New York elicited an understandable outpouring of emotion for the pitcher known as "The Franchise."  Seaver died on August 31, 2020.  A few weeks before that, another former New York baseball player died.  There will be no statues of Horace Clarke outside Yankee Stadium.  He became a symbol for an era in Yankees baseball that the franchise would prefer to forget.  It's easy to root for a team when it is winning championships.  But the true fan roots for a team just as passionately during bad times and remembers those teams just as lovingly.  

I wrote this piece about Horace Clarke and my first baseball game after he died in 2020.  It popped again recently on social media, so I've decided to voice it as well.  

This is the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."  I hope you enjoy "Ruth Gehrig Dimaggio Mantle Horace Clarke: The Ties That Bind Through Sports."

When the New York Mets unveiled the statue of Tom Seaver at Citi Field Friday before their home opener, it reminded me of this piece I wrote after Seaver died on August 31, 2020.  It's about Seaver, but mostly about the ties that bind through sports and my father.

I hope you enjoy "The Franchise," the latest episode of the personal narrative podcast "Stories from the First 60 Years." 

Postgame.  It's one of the stranger aspects of journalism, specifically sports journalism.  You enter someone else's home, a locker room, and ask them about their job performance.  I covered a thousand post game locker rooms.  Post practice too.  These are some of the lessons learned and memorable stories...moments that were funny, angry, monotonous, poignant and occasionally human.

Sometimes, the power of a phrase transcends the years, eliciting a smile 70 years later.

Welcome to the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

What is it like to grieve for your city from halfway around the world?

Welcome to the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

In this episode, a conversation with my wife Peri Smilow as we remember 9/11 and the days and weeks after that terrible day, leading Jewish High Holiday services and holding on tight far away from home.

You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this story about being somewhere on a day when you shouldn't have been there.  And that's why it was the "Greatest Rosh Hashanah Ever."

What does it feel like when the sports hero of your youth dies? Now I know.

We've all known difficult times, though most of us don't have to endure them publicly.  But what if the worst night of your professional life unfolds for all to see? How we respond to the struggle says a lot more about us than the struggle itself.  

Welcome to the latest episode of Stories from the First 60 Years.

When a loved one dies, you have memories, pictures and stories.  And if you're lucky, letters...letters that reveal how the loved one was thinking long before he became your father.

Welcome to the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years:"  Letters From My Father Vol. 2.

You thought you'd heard all of the stories about a parent who died years ago.  Then comes another story from out of the blue, an amazing story and an unforgettable letter.  Welcome to the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

Meeting your heroes can be tricky.  What if it doesn't go well? This is the story of a time when it indeed went well, an example of the great Wayne Gretzky's mantra, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  And an example of why it's so important to take those shots...now.

Long before Covid, it was not unusual for our work lives and personal lives to clash.  Same for our professional desires and family obligations.  Throw in religion, spirituality and tradition and you have the makings of "Passover and the Pope," the latest episode of the personal narrative series "Stories from the First 60 Years."

All of us have done an impersonation at some point in our lives.  But have you ever let an impersonation take over your life? I hope you enjoy the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

Who doesn't love the movies? Watching them? Great.  But being in one? 

I hope you enjoy "It Could Happen To You," the latest episode of the podcast "Stories from the First 60 Years." 

Is there a special place for you that no longer exists, a building whose absence punches you in the gut every time you walk by where it used to be and stare at its absence? I hope you enjoy the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years."

If we are fortunate, a person streaks across our horizon when we are young, never to be forgotten.  I hope you enjoy the latest episode of "Stories from the First 60 Years:"   "Beate I Hardly Knew Ye."

What do the 0.00000001% experience? Have you ever considered what it would be like to lose your anonymity? I never pondered until one Saturday night in Philadelphia.

We've all experienced it.  You see one of your musical/literary/acting/sports heroes and it's a perfect setting for a succinct, poignant thank you.  And you approach and say....

When Kobe Bryant died in January, 2020, most of the memories centered around his Hall of Fame NBA career. But my mind went first to a  memorable night in New York City in 2002 that only a select few were on hand to witness. That's why Episode 1 of "Stories from the First 60 Years" is called "The Night Kobe Came To The Rucker."