Thanks for joining me on my little corner of the web! I’ve been meaning to start a blog for some time now, not only as a place to share news and thoughts, but a way to discuss any topics or questions that you, the reader, may want to address.

I thought I’d start with a story from my recent trip to Charleston and Savannah. The February weather was a little chillier than I’d anticipated (though better than the sub-zero temperatures we were facing in New York), but it was impossible not to succumb to the charm and warmth of both cities (not to mention the food!)

Savannah’s beauty has attracted many a director from various feature films, including one of my favorites, Forrest Gump. We saw Forrest’s bench in a local museum, and visited Chippewa square, where he waits for the bus. In the picture below, you can see me at the nearby Wormsloe Plantation, at the stretch where Forrest breaks free of his “magic legs” during an epic chase to escape some bullies.

Mama Gump’s famous line, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get,” was amusing to me when I first heard it at 12 years old. I never anticipated that only four years later, those words would become much more than a cliche when I faced a massive heart attack, a leg amputation, and a long, uncertain wait for a heart transplant. But many of those “surprises” in life came with other unexpected gifts - including the many amazing people I’ve met in my journey and the discovery of ways I can have an impact on others.

When I approached those trees at Wormsloe, I thought about my own “magic” titanium leg and the places it’s taken me in the 17 years since I first received it. And I started to run.