Work In Progress Newsletter
Edition 17 | September 12, 2022

WRITE THIS WAY…
So excited to share edition No. 17 of the Work In Progress newsletter! I’m your special master of the good stuff Ryan McCrary. I’ve been scouring the news to share stories of hope and joy and triumph.  Away we go!

THREE DOTS… GOOD NEWS ONLY
I don’t recall ever doing anything this useful during middle school… students at Scotts Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield, CT are helping to raise guide dog puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind… The program has “helped all the kids and teachers be happy and calm” and have added joy to the school as only puppies can… Carlos Alcaraz won the 2022 US Open Men’s Singles title for his first Grand Slam championship at the age of 19 to become the youngest ever ranked No. 1 in the world… A story of resiliency, Alcaraz won three consecutive five set matches – the first to do so in 30 years – on his march to the final… Princeton (yes, the real Princeton University in New Jersey) announced last week it will cover costs for incoming students whose families earn less than $100K… This initiative will benefit nearly 1,500 students, or 25 percent of the Tigers’ student body… Everyone needs a passion, but not everyone finds it at the age of seven like Tariq, who was just named South Dakota’s Official Corn-bassador… “I mean, just look at this thing… I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing… It’s corn!”… Tariq was discovered after a string of viral social media videos… It wasn’t the storybook ending she wanted, but Sue Bird wrapped up a storied 20-year professional career last week when her Seattle Storm were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs by the Las Vegas Aces.

SPORTS
On Sunday St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols clubbed career home run No. 697, good for sole possession of fourth place on the all-time long ball list. The woman who caught it was attending the game on the one-year anniversary of her dad’s passing. When Pujols met with her and heard the story he told the fan to keep the baseball and even signed two more for her to commemorate the anniversary. 

PASSAGES One of the first anchors to thrive in the 24-hour news cycles, Bernard Shaw passed away September 8 at 82. Although his passing was largely overshadowed by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Shaw was a pivotal figure in the rise of cable news, starring for CNN as the networks chief anchor at its launch in 1980. Shaw was on air when Reagan was shot in 1981, chronicled the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and was live from his hotel room in Baghdad during Desert Storm in 1991.

BEST THING I SAW ON THE ‘GRAM LAST WEEK
BYU mascot Cosmo Cougar lost his head performing another ambitious stunt… → WATCH

BEST THING I SAW ON THE TWITTER LAST WEEK
Chicago’s Soldier Field was a flood zone Sunday when the Bears hosted San Francisco. On the final play of a satisfying 19-10 win, the Bears did some slipping and sliding…. → WATCH

OTD – SEPTEMBER 12
A low-key day historically speaking. We will strive for more excitement next week.

Notable Historical Moments… Alice Stebbins Wells was appointed as the first known female cop in the United States, by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1910… The US Supreme Court ordered the all-white Central Highs School in Little Rock, Arkansas to integrate in 1958… The USSR’s Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to impact the moon in 1959… Stefan Edberg def. Michael Chang in the longest match in US Open history (5 hours, 26 minutes). 

Famous Deaths… No word on whether he died in the shower… Psycho actor Anthony Perkins (1932-92)… Man in Black Johnny Cash (1932-03)… tennis star Jack Kramer (1921-09).

Famous Birthdays… Track and field superstar Jesse Owens (1913-80)… Legendary crooner Barry White (1944-03)… and Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker (1973-13).

Bonus Barry White Song: My First, Last Everything

WHAT I’M READING NOW
For Improvement: Life on the Run by Bill Bradley

**One sentence review: The Princeton Rhodes Scholar turned Basketball Hall-of-Famer turned US Senator recounts a pivotal season for the New York Knicks.  

For an Escape: Without Fail by Lee Child

**One sentence review: Jack Reacher saves the Vice President of the United States (and surely, democracy) from a would-be assassin in another rolicking adventure.

Embracing my inner history nerd: A History of Warfare by John Keegan

**One sentence review: A brilliant account of the history of war from antiquity to the early 1990s before the War on Terror entered the lexicon. 

ESCAPE POD
The Rewatchables podcast on The Ringer Podcast Network continues to be one of my favorite weekly listens. One of the latest episodes featured a breakdown of one of my all-time top-five movies, Saving Private Ryan. A remarkable episode and well worth a listen.

All episodes of The Rewatchables are available HERE on Spotify.

CLIP OF THE WEEK
The Sue Bird tributes are pouring in as a basketball icon heads into retirement. This one gave me the goosebumps!

MY GIF TO YOU
This is a whole mood and one I share after wrapping up another newsletter!

QUOTABLE
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
– George Bernard Shaw

THIS WAY OUT
Thanks for reading the latest edition of my Work In Progress newsletter. My goal is to spread inspiration and hope in a world that needs both more than ever. My goal is to release these newsletters each Monday – because who doesn’t need a shot of good news to start the work week? Look for a new article on my timeline later this week. Special thanks to Kim Kaupe and Terry Rice for encouraging me to launch this into the universe. As always, feedback is welcomed!