Joseph Paul Bernstein - The Long and Windy Road

Chasing my Dreams, Hedging my Bets, and the Road in Between documented by efforts to balance writing with working. In theory, anyway. In practice, the blog was a mixed bag of all sorts of thoughts and ideas. Enjoy the selection of my favorite postings.

Chasing my Dreams, Hedging my Bets, and the Road in Between

September 2nd, 2019

Take a washed up childhood table tennis star with a broken ankle, an amateur pianist with an inexplicably damaged pair of wrists, an aspiring author/mediocre writer/voracious reader, and a heart with an incurable itch to fix the environment. Sprinkle in some flirtations with juggling, street performance, and comedy. Throw this eclectic band of hopes and dreams into the 9-5 Corporate America rat race. Care to know what happens?

Look no further, dear reader, for that is precisely what this blog is about.

What does the title, “Chasing my Dreams, Hedging my Bets, and the Road in Between,” mean?

It is a dream of mine to write science fiction and fantasy novels for young adults. Why? Because young and impressionable Joe Bernstein once found numerous¹ books that gave him reasons to, among many things, love both this world and the world of his dreams. In different ways, the messages these books shared provided me reasons to give, care, and treat others well. To do good, be good, give to others. To love, and all that good stuff. Thus, to be able to give that realization to another -- even one other person! -- would be deeply special in ways that words fail.

As much as I would like to be “flying away on a wing and a prayer,”² as I chase my dream of writing, I do have the finicky old detail of making a livelihood. Put concretely: I don’t want to starve. For if one wishes to make money -- or even scratch together a living -- writing is not the way to go. Thus enters my Corporate America career. For, as many times as I’ve griped³ to friends and strangers alike, I am blessed with the fact that I could pursue (and obtain) a degree in mathematics and computer science. This enables me to make a comfortable living, while providing a decent amount of free time on the side.

Therefore, I am at a cusp in my life, where idealism and dreams (and probably a healthy dose of naivety) meet responsibility for wellbeing, independence, and practicality. Rather than putting everything into a writing career, or focusing solely on my career, I will take a stroll down the road in between the extremes (or, in other words, hedge my bets.)⁴ A yellow brick road, we may call it (though hopefully not one of Elton John’s flavor.)⁵

I’ll balance the practical with the aspirational. Keep myself afloat in foreign waters, all while pointing the telescope to the stars. Ideally I will glance down from the stars, every now and then, to avoid collisions. Yes -- crashing is certainly a possible outcome. And yet, while I am liable to fail, I also may very well stumble upon a most beautiful adventure. Regardless of outcome, this blog will be a documentation of the attempt.

So... what’s going to be inside?

This blog will contain stories, lessons, and tidbits from both my professional career and my creative pursuits -- writing or otherwise. More than that, though, it will highlight my attempts and lessons learned about finding balance in life -- socially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I have an unwavering compunction that there is much to be done -- much I must do -- and so, this blog will be about sharing this attempt as genuinely, sincerely, and honestly as I can. Both for the sake of entertainment as well as for the sake of sparking questions and thoughts. Because what more can I really ask for, other than joyful learning and questioning, in my life and in yours?

These posts will come once a week, every week, until further notice. If you notice me slipping, do call me out! It would be greatly appreciated. But enough prattle -- I stand on eternity’s cusp: the world of college lay behind me as a new world stretches out ahead. Armed with perhaps an unhealthy dose of optimism and an unshakeable itch to help others, it is time to take the first step. Tuesday, September 3rd, my life in my new job as a software developer begins.

Wish me luck!

1) Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, The Gates by John Conolly, The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville

2) Theme from Greatest American Hero by Mike Post and Stephen Geyer

3) And griped and griped and griped

4) To hedge one’s bets, according to Dictionary.com, is to “lessen one’s chances of loss by counterbalancing it with other bets, investments, or the like.”

5) “So goodbye yellow brick road, where the dogs of society howl.”

"A Universe Full of Surprises"

September 9th, 2019

“A universe of surprises is what I pray for,” wrote Frank Herbert. Easy words to say – I find them often floating in my head – but reality can be a bit colder. The greatest surprise with this shift in my post-college life came neither from the pursuing of my dreams nor from the day to day grind. No – a great beacon of light faded this past Thursday, as my beloved Pop Pop passed away at the age of ninety two. He went to sleep Wednesday night, and did not wake up again. A painless -- even peaceful -- departure for a peaceful man.

He had a sweet nature and a gentle soul. Joyful, too -- the only time I ever saw him upset was the day when my Bubby passed away a few years ago. He was a consistent man. He loved his rice cakes and bananas, and had them every day, for many decades. During visits, when it was time to go, he always walked us to the door and waved goodbye. As a young child, when we were driving away, we would shout, “Chase us Pop Pop.” Without fail, he started to run after our car.

Any joke I shared, however funny (or not), would bring out his delightful laughter. His smiles were infectious, and I could not help but smile back if he shared one my way (and he often did.) He offered a steady, consistent glow. And as his physical presence drifts to eternity, his blessed memory will forever remain as a teacher of the joyful and lighter side of everything.

There is one piece of happiness in this time that I cling to, and it is the knowledge that Pop Pop has once again returned to be with my Bubby. He adored her, and it is a good thing for them to be reunited.

I will leave this post short, for my mind is not quite in a sharing mindset. To my devoted fan base – however few you may be – I am sure this post was certainly not what you expected. To be fair, it was not what I expected, either. Nonetheless: thank you for reading about this very special man.

Rest easy, Pop Pop.