. . .And Beyond

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Image Redefined - Profile on Keli Puza (Smith)

Image Redefined United States Olympian, Current National Team Member, and Mom, Keli Puzo is revolutionizing the image of the American Hockey Athlete Eighteen years from now, Xavi Puzo like many American teenagers will head off to college. He will be a handsome, bilingual young man embarking on his college journey with a fire in his eyes – a fire that is born of his roots, Pennsylvania and Barcelona, and bred of his modernly iconic and vibrant parents, Keli Smith and Inako Puzo. And if the oracles have their way, the fire in his eyes will set ablaze the teenaged promise land of dorm rooms, late night ‘study’ sessions, cafeteria food, and freedom. The oracles know, because they, like many in the USA Field Hockey community, have witnessed the very same force of fire in the eyes of Keli Puzo as she has set ablaze the traditional image of an ‘American Field Hockey Player’ and redefined it. Mother. Wife. Athlete. Determined, Competitor. Who is Keli Puzo? Before matches, she straightens her ...

Logan of Red and The Shadow of Dread

And sail they did, through the night. Through the night by the moonlight. And when the morning broke, and when the children awoke, it was Logan in Red, who first spoke. “As you, my comrades, slept, I served my duty, and peace I kept. For in the night upon us fell a terrible fright. A monster, a goon, an alien of the moon, the worst sort of undelight; it was a villain of the most gruesome sight. Where it came from, I cannot say, but the events unfolded in quite a peculiar way. It had begun in the dream, or so it seemed, for all was well, the sea sat calm, without the slightest swell. For we, the courageous four, had just set sail from the bay’s shore. Traveling for a time, slowly did we unwind, beneath the stars and moon, trusting danger did not loom. It was I standing at the mast, when a shadow upon me was cast. I thought nothing of it, a shadow of the night; that was it. But then, as I stood by the sail, suddenly, in my right ear, I heard a piercing wail. So to my left I did turn, an...

The Courageous Four

Four pairs of legs dangled over the dock, while the minds of four children were entranced by the ticking tock of the bays clock. Bored and tired these four children had become, because it seemed their great plan was slowly coming undone. All day long, the four children had sat by the bay, patiently waiting for their ship to come so they could sail away. For today they had intended, to sail to world’s never known, and never pretended. But the sun had slowly faded, and their eagerness, like month old milk, had become dated. The youngest Ellis of Yellow leaned upon William of Green who sat nestled, as if in bed, beside Logan of Red. And all of them rested upon, Kylie of Pink who carried upon her shoulders the weight of the kitchen sink. She thought, “How has this day become so long? I cannot remember when the sun last met the breaking dawn. Nearer now seems that the sun shall be set. And, oh no, oh no, the goal of our task is not yet met. What, now, shall we do? Will we be able to save th...

Day and Night: The Looking Glass Perspective

The reflection in the looking glass - it is a contradiction of sorts, for how can a thing appear to be completely itself while being the complete opposite of itself. The looking glass creates, what appears to be, an illusion. The illusion is created by the looking glass’s reflexive, almost magic, properties that enable a person to perceive a clear image of self. In life, sometimes, we encounter people whose presence provides us with this reflexive perspective. A contradictory perspective, so to speak – of something being the opposite and the same. If our lives were Shakespearan plays, we would call these people our character foils - a person who is quintessentially different yet remarkably the same as the other. And because of these contrasts and parallels, foils provide a lens for creating a more definitive image of a person. It was 5 am Tuesday May 11. Sleepy-eyed, and sleep deprived, a mob of blue-Asic clad zombies (also known as Hockey players) slowly trickled their way to the Ame...

The Voice

This is my first draft of a video submission to become the next Nike Field Reporter for Nike Women dot com. Let me know what you think.

What I Learned in the Land of Orange

For one night, and one day, the world turned orange. The people gathered in the small cobble-stoned streets of the city by the sea to hail the queen of the little land. And they all wore her color. The color of her passion, red, combined with the color of her lightness, yellow, to create the symbolic Dutch color of the Royal House of Orange. And so, on this night, April 30th, as they do every year, the army of orange amassed in the streets of the Queen’s city, Den Haag, smiling and dancing, embracing their freedom. And for what purpose did the people dance? Well, in anticipation of the birthday of the Queen’s mother. For, in a time not too long ago, the former Queen Julianna (mother of the current Queen Beatrix) on her “verjaardag” gave her people a gift - she gave them the gift of celebration. And by sharing the celebration of her birthday with the people of her land, she broke the barrier between the Royals and the common man. And now, as this holiday known as Queen’s Night and Day h...