Last night, I received via e-mail what at first glance appeared to be possibly the most insulting piece of “constructive criticism” I had ever gotten from a reader. Beginning with the line, “I am fairly sure you are a very nice person. Being nice, however, does not make one a good writer,” it went on to detail this individual’s disappointment with my columns over the years – of course begging the question, why continue reading? – and the suggestion that I “stop vacillating…and actually say what (I) believe.”

Harsh, yes. But (somewhat) true. 

Last week, I was invited to participate in a “Welcome To The Media Arts Department” panel at my alma mater, C.W. Post, geared toward offering some words of advice to both incoming freshmen new to the major and those seniors embarking on their final year of college before heading out into the workforce.

Never being much of a public speaker, my initial reaction was one of slight trepidation.  But, upon further consideration, I thought I might actually have something to offer on this particular topic.  

I suppose it all started about two years ago. Somewhere between periodically trimming my hair and keeping up with my highlights, I decided I wanted to grow my hair long again. Like, really long. Like, this was going to be the last go-around, before I chopped it all off in favor of a more mature style. 

Any style, really.

Last week, the New York Yankees lost two legendary figures – one, in iconic public address announcer Bob Sheppard, the other, in larger-than-life owner George Steinbrenner. In terms of personality, the two couldn’t have been more polar opposites. In terms of impact on arguably the most famous sports franchise in history, their respective losses have shaken the very foundation of the team and its fans.