Courage

See a Grown Man Cry

by Bill Brenner September 25, 2015 Courage

People are making fun of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner because of his penchant for crying. He did it yesterday during Pope Francis’ visit, and today when he announced plans to retire. But I think his public displays of emotion are courageous. A lot of guys suck at crying. I’m no exception. I’ve always envied men who can do it in public. Mood music: I’ve never been the weepy type. To do so, in my mind, meant being…  [Read More]

The Only Way Out Of The Fog Is Through It

by Bill Brenner January 28, 2015 Coping tools

We all go through it: Something upsets us so much that we go into a fog; unable to function when we’re still required to do so. It rises up like a brick wall. Mood music: We smash into it a few too many times and go through the rest of the day dazed and confused. It’s a natural reaction to life’s more stressful and traumatic moments. If a loved one is sick or dead, or…  [Read More]

God Bless Cousin Melanie

by Bill Brenner January 27, 2015 Courage

I’ve always looked up to my cousin Melanie Segal. She’s been through a medical grind that would make a lot of people understandably bitter. But that’s not how she operates. Mood music: Through kidney and liver problems, she has lived her life with smiles, grace and good humor. Not once have I heard her complain about her medical difficulties. You never see her on Facebook complaining about her lot in life, either. In fact, I’ve seen her on…  [Read More]

Homeless Veterans and American Hypocrisy

by Bill Brenner January 6, 2015 Courage

The band Five Finger Death Punch has a new video for the song “Wrong Side of Heaven,” which focuses on the plight of homeless veterans. It struck a chord with me. Mood music: I’m not a veteran, but I have scores of friends and colleagues who are. They are respected and thriving. But there are many who aren’t so lucky. The plight of homeless veterans is an old story, and it highlights American hypocrisy. We have…  [Read More]

9/11 Lessons: We Rise Again

by Bill Brenner September 11, 2014 Courage

As we take time to remember those we lost on Sept. 11, 2001, let’s also remember what we’ve held onto. Mood music: As the years have passed, I’ve found myself comparing the terrorist attacks to the personal demons we all deal with at various points in our lives. Many of us have fears, regrets, dreams and nightmares. Like terrorists who threaten to blow up buildings and people, our personal demons threaten to destroy us. But as I’ve…  [Read More]

5 Things I’ve Done That Scare Me

by Bill Brenner September 3, 2014 Courage

A while back I wrote a post celebrating Eleanor Roosevelt’s call to “do something every day that scares you.” Rereading that post recently, I realized I forgot something important. Mood music: I forgot to mention how I’m living that advice and not simply parroting it to be cool. If this blog is to mean anything, I have to lead by example, though not in the ways you may be thinking of. I’m not about to skydive…  [Read More]

Support for Janessa Gordon

by Bill Brenner June 16, 2014 Courage

I’ve been following the story of 18-year-old Janessa Gordon’s hospitalization after a car wreck. I don’t know her personally, though I am acquainted with her mom, Kimberly Lepito, via Facebook. Mood music: I feel some connection with the young woman because she attended Northeast Metropolitan Technical High School in Wakefield, which I graduated from 25 years ago. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend her graduation last week because of injuries she sustained during the accident in Rangeley, Maine….  [Read More]

To the Coward with the Cell Phone

by Bill Brenner June 12, 2014 Courage

In Tuesday’s post, I criticized a mother for giving in to her child’s spoiled tirade and whining about the legal ramifications. But there’s another irritant in this story: the anonymous bystander who video recorded the mother leaving her child in the car with a cell phone and then sent it to police. Mood music: Yeah, Kim Brook’s essay irritated me. The worst wasn’t her leaving the kid in the car or her failure to lay down the law….  [Read More]

Eleanor Roosevelt Was a Badass

by Bill Brenner April 8, 2014 Courage

I’ve always admired Eleanor Roosevelt. She defied the society of her day and forged a new path for women. She was a tireless fighter for the disadvantaged. During WWII, she traveled to the front to visit the troops, despite the danger. She was an early fighter for civil rights. One of her most famous quotes was to do something every day that scares you. The older she got, the more badass she became. Mood music: In…  [Read More]

Cancer: Faces of Bravery, Faces of Fear

by Bill Brenner February 21, 2014 Courage

The photos tell the tale clearly. Beth Whaanga, mother of four, has been through hell. She has the scars to prove it. And when she decided to show the world, people on Facebook unfriended her. Mood music: Whaanga has been in a long and brutal battle against cancer. Multiple surgeries have left her body mangled, though when fully clothed, the scars are hidden. She chose to reveal those scars in a photo series called “Under the…  [Read More]

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