Work In Progress Newsletter
Edition 41 | February 27, 2023

WRITE THIS WAY…
Greetings and welcome to another special edition of the Work In Progress newsletter! I’m Ryan McCrary, your positivity pathfinder. For the last 41 weeks and counting I’ve been scouring the news, interwebs and the occasional archived AOL Messenger group chats to share stories of hope and joy and triumph. 

THREE DOTS… GOOD NEWS ONLY
Never ever too late… Meet Dr. Jason Arday, who at 37-years old is the youngest Black professor at Cambridge University… Making the story even more remarkable: Arday, who has autism, didn’t learn to read or write until he was in his late teens… Busting a move for a very good cause… Penn State hosted its 51st THON benefiting Four Diamonds, a non-profit established to battle pediatric cancer… This year over 707 dancers participated in the 46-hour dance marathon, raising a record $15 million… Scoring against the Big C… In one of those “only in the movies” moments, Sébastien Haller scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 decision against Freiburg on World Cancer Day (Feb. 4)… The scoring strike was a year removed from Haller’s own cancer diagnosis, resulting in four months of aggressive treatment… Meet twin miracles… Happy Birthday to Lenny and Moishe, who turned one against all odds Feb. 24… Born weeks premature to a surrogate mother in Kyiv on the eve of the Russian invasion, the twins made a perilous escape, codenamed Operation Gemini, to eventually land in Chicago. 

BEST THING I SAW ON THE ‘GRAM LAST WEEK
With 4:17 on the clock – the same time of the first earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria – Besiktas football fans in Istanbul, flooded the field with stuffed animals for children in one of countless efforts to ease the suffering. → CLICK

See more

BEST THING I SAW ON THE TWITTER LAST WEEK

Unicyclist straight LCD stunting… → WATCH

OTD – FEBRUARY 27
Enjoy yet another notable historical snapshot in the latest edition of On This Date… 

Notable Historical Moments… You’ve come a long way, baby… The first women’s magazine, “Ladies Mercury” was published in London in 1693… The modern British Labour Party was formed as the Labour Representative Committee in 1900… Let the Good Times Roll!… The first Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans happened in 1827… State sponsored arson… The Reichstag burned down in 1933 and the “1000-year Reich” is on the clock… One wonders what he would have commanded in today’s market… Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle signed a baseball contract worth $100,000 in 1963.  

Famous Birthdays… Of Mice and Men author John Steinbeck (1902-68)… Noted Black opera star Marian Anderson (1897-1993)… PGA Tour champion Gene Sarazen (1902-99)… Iconic actress and commitment-adverse Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)… Basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy turns 62… Half of one of Hollywood’s most enduring power couples (Paul Newman) Joanne Woodward turns 93.

Famous Nuptials… Civil Rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois (83) married award-winning author Shirley Graham in Queens NY in 1951.

Famous Deaths… Legendary trunk and luggage designer Louis Vuitton (1821-92)… Noted dog lover Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)… Won’t you be my Neighbor?… Fred Rogers (1928-2003)… Highly illogical Vulcan Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015).

Bonus Fred Rogers Quote: “To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now..”

Bonus Marianne Anderson Performance: Live at Lincoln Memorial → WATCH

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO AS I WRITE
I’m listening to the greatest hits of the legendary Nina Simone. Not a bad way to start the week! I encourage you to listen to her iconic cover of the Beatles classic “Here Comes the Sun → LISTEN WITH ME

WHAT I WATCHED
During a Work In Progress field trip we ventured to the multiplex to take in the soon-to-be-Oscar-contender “Cocaine Bear”. I am still processing the film that capped the late Ray Liotta’s IMDB page. So much to unpack in this one, which will probably go unresolved until I make at least two trips to my therapist. Major takeaway: do not offer cocaine to bears under any circumstances. Not a “think piece”. Not a movie for children. But, generally awesome nonetheless! → TRAILER

CLIP OF THE WEEK
Yep… I went way (way) down the rabbit hole for this one. I was thinking about Mickey Mantle and how MLB stars of that era went on TV shows to supplement their incomes. Found this gem from the 1980s TV show “Mr. Belvedere” in an exhibition baseball game featuring eight hall-of-famers. Note: video quality is not great.  →  WATCH

MY GIF TO YOU
Because there’s always time for a tuba solo… → CLICK

QUOTABLE
“Our greatest strength lies always in the protection of our smallest minorities.”
– Charles Schultz, Peanuts creator, 1970

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!