Against My Own Grain

The challenge of excelling at what doesn’t come naturally.

Me at 16, 1st string center, Pelham Spartans, Bronx Umpires Association division champions, 1972, 1973 & 1974.

I have always gone against my own grain. In high school, I aced math and rarely exceeded a B in English. With an aptitude for numbers, I could have slid into a good life as an accountant (a profession later experience taught me to respect). Instead, I majored in English education and journalism in college and struggled to become a…