Searching for the Boston Bombing site

Searching for the Boston Bombing site, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

My friend Karen and I walked and walked around Boston. We had lunch. We saw old churches. At one point, we looked for the marathon bombing site. We knew there were two locations. We had an eye out for damage.

When I got back home and looked closely at my photos, I saw clearly that the aftermath of the 2013 bombings near the finish line at Boston Marathon is not destruction. The legacy of that day is clearly renewal and recovery.

Boston Strong is everywhere. Recognition, renewal, recovery. Boston Strong.

Robin, Boston

Dan's coffee run. Starbucks' 'Celebrate everylove'

This is one of Starbucks' Everylove stories.
Dan Dewey sharing love in Bloomfield, Michigan.

I really can't say anything to top this. Watch the video.

Robin, Tempe

Happy Flag Day, everybody

I went out for an early morning run today. Left the house at 6:30 while it was a little cooler and the light was gorgeous.
As I ran down one street, I saw a pickup truck filled with flags on poles. Boy Scouts were jumping in and out of the truck, planting those flags in the front yards.
It's Flag Day, I realized. The air was so crisp and the flags so pretty that I ran on with a smile on my face and my camera in my pocket.

Didn't even snap it. But the image lives on.

Happy Flag Day everybody.

... flags were kind of a big deal when I grew up. My dad was in the Air Force and life include a lot of insignias, uniforms, ceremonies. We knew the difference between staff and mast. We knew how to fold a flag into a tight triangle.

Seeing those flags line the streets this morning brought back good memories. (Although we cancelled our Boy Scout donation .. the one that brings the flags .. cause they have a thing against gay people.) And it feels like a warmup to the pomp and circumstance of the Fourth of July, just a few weeks away.

Now I'm craving hot dogs.

Robin, Tempe

Not for the faint of heart

May 28, 2011, tortoise or the hare?, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Arizona Road Racers Club has a funny sense of humor. But I fall for it every summer.

Today was the first in a series of five summer running races. Today's began at 7:30 a.m. and it was nearly 90 degrees when we finished. The rest of the races in the series begin at 6:30 a.m., early to beat the heat, they say. There is no beating the heat.

My Perfect Moment was at the starting line. A first-timer was asking me about the route and the heat and the crowd.

We are both signed up for the full series. We're committed to get up early and run in the sun. To train some and show up.

"You're here. That's all you need to know," I told her. She grinned, took a deep breath and took off running.


Robin, Tempe

Jonatha Brooke's beautiful "That's What I Believe"

I am borrowing a Perfect Moment today from Jonatha Brooke the beautiful singer. She posted a note this morning she tagged "sunday morning revelation." It starts with:

That's What I Believe
My mother woke up in tears this morning.
"I think I'm going to DIE."
I read her some of her favorite hymns....

=>=> read it all and then you'll know what this video is all about.




If you like that, you'll love Jonatha Brooke. Listen to this... All You Gotta Do Is Touch Me ... and then go buy some of her music. You can thank me later.

Robin, Tempe

Just Do the Distance

Feb. 6, 2011, Do the Distance, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Central Arizona Project canals snake through Phoenix. These are great running paths in the winter. Hot ones in the summer.

As I ran along this path today, I remembered the words of a good friend and runner who always coached me: "Nevermind the speed, do the distance."

This photo is one in my 2011 One a Day photo project which I display on Flickr/RobinJP.

Robin, Tempe

American Idol made me cry, in a good way!

OK, I have to admit I have spent the past two days crying. No, not tears of sadness, but tears of deep emotion. I admit, for the world to hear, I am a total mush! Yes, I said it, a mush! And it all started wednesday night, just before midnight when I turned on my DVD player and watched American Idol. It was one hour and fifty minutes into the show, when all of a sudden Chris Medina's story came on. Before I knew it, I sat up on my couch, and the tears started falling. Seeing this story once again reinforced for me that there are some amazing people out there! Here is Chris's story.




Susan, Tempe

A little peace in Tucson: Ben's Bells

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So glad a peaceful spirit is coming out of the tragedy in Tucson. Love this story. Love how they told it. Hope this spirit remains for some time.




Robin, Tempe

Christmas memories run deep

This is a guest post from Moshe Oberstein, Robin's brother. This originally was a Christmas morning email from brother to sister.

In 1981 I responded to a distress call in San Francisco Bay. It was on X-mas day and there was a five year old using the radio. He and his dad had spent the night sleeping on the deck of their sailboat. During the night the father had rolled off the boat and was missing. The kid was smart enough to be able to use the radio and we found him in a few hours based on what he said was around him. We never found his dad......thought about you this morning. Sometimes your life is touched by others in ways you can not fathom at the time. It took a fifty year old to understand what Xmas will always mean to that boy.

I remember getting packages from my dad when he was in Vietnam. He always sent me uniforms and hats. I still love both.

I remember bowls in the house with nuts in them.........don't know why.

I remember stealing X-mas lights off neighbors houses and throwing them in the street.

I remember my moms 'black pudding' I have no idea what it was made from and I never really liked it, but the sauce you put on top was good, with cherries. My mom also made peanut butter fudge. I'll remember that on my death bed.


I remember parties where the parents got drunk, or tired, and fell asleep. My uncle Rog would play the piano and my aunt Joan would sing in a husky baritone.

I remember a new sled. I was probably four.

I remember a clown punching bag about the same time.

Uncle Rog would set a train set around the tree. I used to spend ours with it, daydreaming about things.



A little later on Christmas morning, Moshe (who converted to Judaism in his 20s) sent this note from his San Francisco home.

Holiday blues, even for Jews
Who feast on food from China
The kids they shout
And run about
And cause their father angina.


Moshe Oberstein, Foster City


Moshe was in the Coast Guard that Christmas he helped save the young boy. And by black pudding, he really means plum pudding. Our mom made it in cans with the ends cut off that she'd steam for what seemed like hours.

When life gives you a wonky ticker, let's start making lemonade

Yesterday was the One Year Anniversary of a very scary, terrible, awful day.

More about that here: She is my heart. I'd give her my heart.

We made it. Suze made it. One year later, I'm so happy to have her around.

She's still working on turning that big old lemon into lemonade. But she's doing a great job.

I've always loved this 1-800-Flowers bouquet. They call it Make Lemonade. I sent it to Sue yesterday to mark her triumph over the tough times. I did it because flowers in the workplace are the ultimate way to show everyone else that your special someone is truly loved. It worked. Students heads were turned all day and often Sue heard them sigh, "Ahhhh...."

Yep. Aaahhh....

Robin, Tempe

A heartfelt thank you for another year

I woke up this morning and the first thing I said was 'Thank You, God!' I celebrated my one year rebirth today with a cupcake from Sprinkles in Scottsdale. You see, it was exactly one year ago today that I had to have my heart stopped and restarted.

I have this weird electrical problem with my heart that went completely out of wack on November 30th 2009. For hours it was racing at more than 220 beats a minute, and I ended up in the emergency room. I was surrounded by all these worried doctors who tried all these different kinds of medications to start my heart, and get it to restart in a normal rhythm, but it didn't work.

They finally had to shock me. Let me just say, that is not something anyone should go through. But it worked, it got my heart beating once again like it was supposed to do.

After having to go through two procedures to try and burn out the "bad" cells, I am doing much better. I now carry around a defibrillator to give me a little jumpstart if necessary, but I have made it.

I am alive and enjoying every moment of my new life.

So thank you to all my friends and family who have held my hand when I was too afraid.

And thank you to the love of my life Robin, who has not only held my hand, but let me cry at times, and at other's encouraged me to end what we so affectionately call "The Year of the Couch"!

This was me a few weeks ago, on a climb up South Mountain. It was a haul, but worth it, and I had my Robin right by my side. Couldn't ask for a better life than this!

Susan, Tempe

I'm starting to believe there are angels watching over me

I had a crazy week which included a couple of close calls. And even though things got pretty scary several times, things turned out OK. Actually, they turned out just fine. And now I enter the weekend feeling very thankful and somewhat relieved.

And I'm starting to believe there may be angels watching over me...

My week included flying from D.C. to Phoenix after a weeklong business trip. I worked a full day on Tuesday. I then put in another 5 1/2 hours covering the election. I volunteered to help edit stories and post blogs in the Cronkite News Service newsroom at Arizona State University. You can just about see me sitting near the far wall in the photo on the left above.

Angels start waking up, stretching... On Wednesday, after a very quick turnaround, I got to a 7:30 a.m. appointment to have a sonogram on my right breast. One of the two imaging machines in the office were broken, but I was patient No. 1. Out in 20 minutes. Determined not to worry about it until the results were in. Take one step at a time.

After another long day which included attending a large award luncheon, helping to run the 90-minute Twitter conversation #wjchat, and plenty of catching up, I headed home around 7 p.m.

That's when the angels really spread their wings...

My battery light was on as I drove the 15 miles home. As I got off the highway about 3 miles from home, my radio went out. Then other warning lights on the dash began flashing. I turned right hoping to make it another mile to a mechanic. I was about to turn left from one very busy street onto a side road when my car stopped altogether. It wouldn't start again. I had only enough power to run the emergency flashers.

I hopped out of the car to wave people around me and started looking for a phone number to the mechanic. Yet I was pretty sure they'd just closed. Cars were whizzing by on both sides of me. I don't have AAA.

I was thinking, 'How big of an emergency is this?'

Cars were whizzing by. People seemed really irritated that I was slowing them down. Irritated that I was having a personal emergency.

I called 9-1-1 - 'Car died. In the intersection. On Rural.' A very nice dispatcher said to stay in a safe place and a patrol car would be right there.

Angels are flying down low to start directing traffic...

A guy in a really big pickup pulled up and offered to push me through my left turn to get me through the intersection and onto the side street. At that point, the road was free. We could go. But my car was dead weight and he was slow getting me up to speed.

The angels gasped, averted their eyes but shot some juice to my car horn..

By the time I was coasting through the intersection, somewhere a light had changed and three lanes of cars were heading right toward me. They kept coming, weaving around me. I leaned on the horn, which worked. They honked back and I'm sure were swearing as they swerved around me, narrowly missing my car. I was coasting and braking and honking. And praying like only an atheist can. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

I rolled alongside the curb, out of harm's way. An officer pulled up behind me, turned on his lights and hopped out. Oh, man, I should have waited for you.

The angels started checking in to base camp to see if anyone else was in need...

My officer called for a tow truck. A second officer said she'd stay with me if I felt unsafe. I felt super-safe now. And within minutes a very helpful tow truck driver tried to see if he could diagnose my car's problem before he put it on his truck for a 3-block drive to my mechanic.

And before the final angel moved on...

My doctor had called to give me the all clear. No problems spotted on that morning's sonogram.

Robin, Tempe

Sunday morning hike with music in my head

SouthMountain, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Out early on a hike in the desert hills near South Phoenix. South Mountain has a wonderful loop that I love to run/walk. Part of it is along a flat access road. And more than half of it is up and down rocky ridges. It's grueling and fun.

As I took off today, I discovered my iPod was out of juice. I had only my own brain to entertain me.

That worked for about 45 minutes. Then I began a word-association game. The rhythm kept me bouncing down the hills.

This is how it went:

Brick.
brick house

House.
house sitter

Sitter.
sitter dog

Dog.
dog cat

Cat.
cat nap

Nap.
nap sleep

Sleep.
sleep eat

Eat.
eat love

Love.
love heart

Heart.
heart red

Red.
red brick

Brick.
brick house

Oh yeah.. it was fun. White-lady hip-hop.

I'm juicing my iPod as I write this.

Robin J. Phillips

Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young

Many of you have heard this poem/song before. But you may not know that what was put to music by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann was originally a column in the Chicago Tribune written by Mary Schmich. Go, journalism!

On June 1, 1997, the paper published Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young. Mary Schmich wrote what she said was the commencement speech she would give if she was asked to give one.

It's full of perfect lines.

"Do one thing every day that scares you."
"The race is long. And in the end it's only with yourself."

When I realized it began as journalism, that was my Perfect Moment.






Love those reminders about parents and siblings:

"The older you get the more you need people who knew you when you were young."

Let's all go call our brothers and sisters.

Robin, Tempe

Dallas parents hear daughter's heart pumping in donor recipient's chest

Parents travel to Arizona to visit with the woman who received their daughter, Taylor's, heart after she died in a skiing accident.

You may have seen this before, but I bet you'll cry again. | Here's a print story with more details: Heartbeat brings joy to parents of Coppell donor

You go, grandma

You go girl, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

I ran a 5K on Saturday morning. It was a killer. 94 degrees and humid in Tempe, Arizona.

The run is part of my campaign to get moving, lose a little weight, enjoy the peacefulness of the distance runner.

We all have our own reasons for being there. 764 people finished the race ... well, maybe 765.

I can't tell you who this lovely lady is. Bib No. 1186 doesn't show up in the race results from Saturday's Arizona Road Racers 5K Summer Series Race No. 4. But she did it. I saw her start. And here's her heroic finish. A Perfect Moment for us all.

And, thank god I beat her.

Robin, Tempe

It takes a village and my village has shown up

In my house, we've been dealing with some health issues this year. Nothing you really need details about, but enough to scare the pants off us every few months.

And let me tell ya, I'm not really good at reaching out for help, support, shoulders to lean on or even friends to hang out with me and play Yahtzee and eat M&Ms. But I'm getting better at it.

At the urging of several 'wise ones,' I have been learning to "lean in to the offers of help and support." I like that image. Leaning in. Kind of like leaning into a hug.

Today, I wanted a great big hug so I reached out in a way I just haven't done before. I sent emails, Facebook messages, Direct Messages on Twitter .. and even called one friend. "It takes a village," I told them, "to get me through this week." I asked directly for love, support, good thoughts, prayers. I. Asked. Directly. wow.

And, it all came rushing back to me. I have had such a river of love flowing to me from the four corners of the U.S. All day.

And my sweetie, who is undergoing some medical stuff tomorrow, is floating on a cushion of love and prayers.

It was perfect. I am so happy that I've been able to grow, learn, lean into the love.

We've still got a tough week ahead, but both of us are heading into it in a very positive way. Thanks to all the love. Thanks for all the love.

Robin, Tempe

There's no crying in 5Ks

They say that the hardest part of a run is the 10 steps to your front door.

I had the hardest time getting out of the house on Saturday morning to go run a 5k.

I was heading out to run the first in the 5-race Summer Series sponsored by the Arizona Road Racers. The series is designed to keep runners training through the hot summer. In northern climates, it's a challenge to run through the winter.

For a variety of reasons, I've not been running much this year. Running helps me deal with stress and makes it easier to cope with almost anything the day will bring. I needed to get out to the kickoff of the Summer Series. I needed to run again.

But it was tough. The alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. and I got up to get ready. But my mind came up with lots of reasons to stay home. I was this close to sitting down on the couch and finding a movie to sink into.

But I got out. And it was perfect.


The Summer Series is special because it is free for kids. That brings out school track teams and families. These cute little kids were out on the course with their own timing chips on their tiny shoes.

The little guy with his dad was so proud to walk across the finish line on his own steam.


And then there was this little guy with his mom was still listening to that part of his brain that told him he didn't want to be there. He looked a lot like I felt a few hours before. Hang in there, little guy.


Robin, Tempe

Whale of a good time.. yeah, really

I went out on a 4-hour whale watching tour today with the Dolphin Fleet in Provincetown, Mass. What fun.

We had such a successful day that Mike the tour guide/oceanographer on our boat reminded us several times that we were seeing "an obscene" amount of whales. "Remember, it's not always like this," he said. I guess he was afraid of us overselling future trips.



It was wonderful, if not just a little obscene. We saw between 30 and 35 whales all around the boat. And one was a calf hanging out with its mama.

I had seen humpback whales in Hawaii where they mate. In New England, in the spring, humpbacks are summering, eating, feeding, and the behavior is different. They agitate the water, frightening the fish so they gather in a nice snack-like clump. The whales then dive down, turn around and drive up to the surface with mouths open.

Mike taught us to keep an eye on bubbles and birds. The whales blew the bubbles to agitate the fish. The birds zoomed in to pick up fish the whales missed. Birds even sat on the whales' mouths as the giant mammals moved on the surface ... apparently waiting to pick up fish that didn't get swallowed up.


The whales gave us a show that just wouldn't end. In fact, our time was up and we had to return to Provincetown long before they had filled their bellies. Beautiful. It was just a wonderful day... great weather, endangered species trusting us to hang out in their feeding ground. And, as Mike says, remember, it's not always like this.

Photos and video by Robin J Phillips

Robin, Tempe

She said yes!

So, for more than nine years I have been head over heels in love with my partner Robin Phillips. We have gone through job promotions, job losses, moving across country, the birth of nieces, nephews, and grand nieces. We have even attended weddings for our nieces and nephews. We have enjoyed a wonderful family, and been part of those historic moments. But now, we are about to have our own historic moment.

I have finally convinced Robin to marry me! Yes, the woman I waited 37 years to meet, the woman who makes me want to be better, the woman who makes me laugh until I cry, and is there to hold me when I need shoulder. This woman has finally decided to make our love official, at least in the eyes of the state of Massachusetts.

We were both so excited about this decision, and began to tell friends and family this week. The reaction has been a bit mixed. My mother, god bless her, said she already thought we were married. Some said they were very happy for us. We have had some say "that's nice" and others just meet the news with silence. And I admit, it was a bit disheartening at times. I wanted everyone to be as excited as we were, to understand why this was so important.

But then, the perfect moment. We told our friend Michelle. I actually left a message on her answering machine. She called back about an hour later just screaming into the phone! She was so excited I could hardly get in a word edgewise! This was the response we were looking for.

Thank you Michelle for understanding how special this day will be for us, and thanks for agreeing to be there as our witness!

Tempe, Sue