A new day

21. July 2008 by admin.

Today started out much like any other Monday morning.  Got up, made coffee and checked my e-mail.  But, this morning was different.  Many of you know Jeff Howells.  Not only is he Out’s Editor in Chief, but he is a good friend of mine.  His mother passed away last Friday.  Today she was buried.  Jeff is devoted and hard working.  Pick up any issue of Out over the past 20 years and you will see just how much.  Jeff, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Ed took off work and I closed the office so we could be there for him.  Ed’s mom, Doe (the friendly voice that answers the phone at the office) went along too.  We wanted to be there for him in person.  You know, when you work with people day after day, it helps to be friends and if you are fortunate enough, you become a family.  Real friends and family will always be there.

It is not only our relationships with our friends and family that help define us, but the compassion and strength they show us help make us more human.

When I first started this blog, I had to decide just how personal to get and how would I avoid invading other peoples’ privacy.   When it comes to people I care around, I will always avoid hurting them when possible.

I am a lifelong Pittsburgher and proud of it.  My father was a steel worker and racehorse trainer. My mother was mostly a homemaker until her and my father divorced.  I come from a large, mostly Italian family that has roots in Plum, Penn Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley.  Where does the Strejcek part of my name come from?  My Chechoslavakian grandfather.  He married my grandmother, Isabel Camillo.  Her parents were 100% Italian and I believe my grandfather’s mother was Italian too.  My mother’s father, Guy Suprano was also 100% Italian.

OK, I have to publicly admit that I am a mixed breed, but I must add…a proud mixed breed.  Ask me, and I will tell you I am 75% Italian…LOL.  Do I really know or does it really matter?  More important is what I have learned from these people and how they have changed my life.  A message, I hope, is clear to my friend who recently lost his mother. 

Later today, I found myself back at the office.  I made the drive into the city so I could get a few things done.  When I arrived, I discovered that the mail was still delivered, the Out offices were still intact and that this place would still be here Tuesday morning.  What was missing were the wonderful people that make this place enjoyable.  Tomorrow is new day.  We all can count on that!

Send your questions or comments to tony@outpub.com or post on this blog.

Have a beautiful evening.

Tony 

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