About Me (Kurt) + This Website
When I was a kid growing up in South Jersey, the Philadelphia Inquirer was delivered to our house each morning. I wasn’t an enthusiastic newspaper reader, but when I did pick up the paper, I went straight to the sports and comics sections.
“What you talkin’ ’bout Willis (Tower)?”
Because unlike everywhere else in the paper, there wasn’t rotten news there.
I didn’t often even want to look at the front page, because it was always depressing…wars, disasters, unrest, diseases, poverty, the gloomy nature of human existence was described in great detail for all of us to see.
As a young lad, I hadn’t realized that the constant blaring of human strife in news reporting was…and still is…intentional.
I’m not one to declare my “era” to be better than any other, musically, behaviorally or otherwise, but I do feel news reporting is worse than ever these days…with the intense competition in media, it seems that they’re all competing to be the network that frightens the viewer the most.
What kid wants to read about that? And as a parent now, I want my children as far as possible from the news. Who wouldn’t?
We shield our children from the worst of the world’s problems, as we probably should, and we teach them that it’s full of beautiful things like beaches, amusement rides, magical donut makers, incredible musicians, wonderfully generous people, and selfless heroes.
Well, isn’t it?
I’m not saying we should ignore human suffering. Of course not. I am saying we should focus on solutions and what we can do to better people’s lives, rather than endlessly blaming those who differ ideologically. We should spotlight people who overcome adversity and how, not the constant news about it never going away.
I prefer, at least as a writer, to focus my attention on the great number of things around us…because the world is full of them…and stop focusing on human misery as if we owe it to the world to be unhappy. I don’t. And neither do you.
Over the years I’ve written about auto racing, ballparks and other sports venues, life in South Jersey, well-known and/or exceptional humans, iconic foods, and a great many other things. I’ve also written occasional blurbs that have made people laugh, which makes me happy. If you watch the news these days (have you noticed you can always say “these days” about disheartening news broadcasts?), you could probably use a laugh.
You’ll find no political ranting on this site, no hand-wringing over a virus, no endless forecasting of impending world doom. You will only find a great number of things in this world to read about. My purpose here is to inform, inspire, and entertain you through topics that interest me, using the God-given gift I have as a writer. I hope I succeed.
So if you’re tired of the endless negativity on your TV, have a look around this site. Save a bunch of money in your next trip to Fenway Park or Camden Yards. Read some stories about successful entrepreneurs who’ve found a niche. Print out the recipe for the best spaghetti sauce you’ll ever make. See what caused NASCAR’s downfall and how they can fix it. Or read some Amazon reviews and have a good laugh.
And if anything here truly informs, inspires or entertains you, drop a line and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Your Favorite Author,
Kurt Smith