Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
One of the biggest decisions we make on a daily basis is what to save and what to throw out. A tin can? Throw it out. A plastic container? Might be useful someday. Old newspapers? Into the trash can. Old copies of Spotlight? Keep for future reference or give to a friend. This decision can be a difficult one when … >>
When people ask me where I come from, I tell them Pittsburgh. However, this is only partly true. I grew up in what we in Pennsylvania call a borough — a self-governing community in the suburbs without an actual center to it. The street my parents live on was built in 1950. What was there before it? “Woods” is what … >>
Eight years ago this Sunday, the child in us died, and we were all forced to grow up a little bit. That child was Fred Rogers — psychologist, musician, minister, TV star. For 33 years, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was the show that everyone in America watched when they were little. Rogers understood children like nobody else. He talked directly to … >>
The past week in the office has led me to one conclusion: there are better places to spend the summer than in a German industrial park. It’s nice to open the window to catch a breeze, but it’s never long before you hear: hammers, saws and other construction equipment jackhammers trucks that run their engines all day in order to … >>
“I wonder where we go when we die,” Calvin, the cartoon character, says to his friend Hobbes. Hobbes guesses: “Pittsburgh?” Calvin asks, “You mean if we’re good or if we’re bad?” The emptiness of that medium-sized city during the G-20 conference last week made me think I’d missed the Rapture or maybe the swine flu. Imagine everyone gone, except for … >>
Halloween has come early to Pittsburgh this year. The decorations are already up on the neighbors’ houses: jack o’ lanterns, dried cornstalks and scarecrows are scaring away evil spirits five and a half weeks before October 31. The Halloween colors, orange and black, have also appeared a lot downtown. They’re used on signs that announce road construction, detours and inconveniences … >>