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On Point With Dan Woog · On Point With Jaclyn Jeffrey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: This episode is sponsored by Rhizo, Masonry, and Landscaping.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to On Point with Weston today, where we introduce you to remarkable people with extraordinary stories who can help change the way we look at the world or in the way we look at our own lives.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so today, Dan Wog, a Westport legend, I am so excited to have you here.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: And thanks for taking the time.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: So I thought I knew a lot about you till I did a little bit of research.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: So let's see, you've been a coach, you have been a writer.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: This is what I didn't, I knew you were an author.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: I did not know you had written 17 books.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: 17 books.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and also obviously a community journalist publishing uh 06880.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot about you didn't know in terms of the authoring and all the books about sports, specifically about soccer, about how all of that intersects with LGBTQ issues, and also, of course, the um the history of Westport.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: So with all of that, um Dan as background and all of those different roles, I mean, what what has which role rather has do you think has taught you the most about people and community with all you've done?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh I'm a storyteller.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh 06880, I think, is is all about stories of people in Westport and Weston.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Westport would not be here without Weston.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: You were here first.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and what I do is try to create community.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, try to tell the stories of interesting people, trends, events, history, where we come from, where we're going.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I've I've done that in my books uh about LGBTQ issues.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've done it through my coaching, trying to create a community at the Staples High School boys' soccer uh level.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um so it all sort of ties together.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think the through line is I don't do bosses well.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I like uh being my own person.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so when did you think um, or actually, did you ever did you know or think that this would become what you do in terms of storytelling and journalism?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was always one of those kids who liked writing.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, grew up in Westport, and as long as I can remember, I always liked to see my name on a story in the sixth grade newspaper or Longlot's Junior High, or uh when I began writing for the old defunct Westport News when I was in high school, column called Up at Staples.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I liked being able to write, to give my opinion, to shine the light on people who deserve the spotlight.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Did I think it would lead to what it's led to?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, no.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, John John Lennon was right.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And other plans, certainly, you know, who knew what uh what blogging was uh in the 1970s?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: It didn't exist.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I didn't exactly expect to be here myself either.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I mean you just never know how things happen.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: But you've been here a long time as a resident and then as a coach, et cetera, et cetera.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you've watched Westport evolve a lot over the years.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think has changed the most?
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Westport has gone through several iterations, I think.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um my parents came in the 1950s.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I am sure that all the artists and writers and advertising people and Connecticut Yankees and farmers who lived there then uh sort of rolled their eyes at all the newcomers from New York who were moving in during the post-war era.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh then Westport went through its uh marketing phase when it was the marketing capital of the world.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in the 1980s, there were a ton of marketing companies here.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Marketing Corporation of America, um, many others.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it was the marketing, a marketing capital of the world.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh then it turned into the hedge fund people.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And now it's the entrepreneurs, you know, the uh people who are working from home, startups, um really sharp people.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so the change I think is in what drives the town.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um and Westport has always been changing and and it always will.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And do you think through all of those different changes, the um the texture of the town or what made Westport Westport has stayed the same, or is that changed too?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: It it is uh an age-old debate.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: The the people who say Westport is changing, it's not what it used to be.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: We've lost the artists, we've lost the writers, we've lost the you know, the old homes, whatever it is.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it it regenerates.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's you know, the restaurant scene is is great here now.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's a there's a ton of retail, there's a great mix between uh uh commercial and residential.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows what's gonna happen to Sagatuk?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um but it it any community has to change, it has to evolve.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, you look at Weston.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Weston is is grown substantially.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's now got its own dive bar.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, there are I I remember when Peter Meehan's uh Singing Oaks property uh changed from a uh summer camp to a uh residential development.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um communities change.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: What does not change that's what I was gonna just ask you.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: What hasn't changed?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: What has not changed is the community involvement.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: People move here to be for the amenities, they move to Westport for the school and Weston, for the schools, for the uh recreational opportunities, for the beauty, um, for the space.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but more than that, they want to be involved.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: They they want to lend their talents to whatever it is, you know, whether it's the Rotary Club or the PTA or uh environmental movement, they they want to get involved.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and that has not changed.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that's you?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I know your focus is is Westport, but given your experiences, do you think that's pretty unique to Westport as opposed to other communities?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: The desire to be involved?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: It it's so interesting.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I always ask people, why did you move to Westport?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the answer is always some kind of variation of it's not Darian or New Canaan.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure the people in Darianne and New Canaan move there because it's not Westport.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the little subtext there, I think, is that that there's something about this community that draws people in and gets them involved.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it, you know, I I've written a lot of books.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I could write another one on on you know the fact that all suburban communities are not the same.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um but but I really think there is a deep desire to be involved in some way in your community.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now that fewer people are commuting to New York, you know, they're doing it zero to three days a week rather than five days.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um there there are more opportunities to get involved.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's why the traffic is so bad.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people are driving their kids to school, they're driving to the Y, they're driving for coffee, they're driving everywhere because they're here, they're not in New York.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's an interesting perspective because it certainly makes me crazy.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Now I have an answer as to why it takes so long to get anywhere now.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: So now, with all your work and all your experiences and and the stories that you tell, what do you think really makes a community feel like a true community?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: Is it the involvement and or other things?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: The involvement is is key.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people don't sit around, they they do things, they're active.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um but but I think in the terms of of Westport, because that's what I know, um I I think there's so much, whether it's the Levitt Pavilion, the Fantastic Library, Longshore, Compo, Burning Hill Beach, Um, the schools, there are there are places to go, places to do things.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you sitting outside on on church lane on a summer night with your choice of uh basic American tavern or a Japanese restaurant or an Israeli restaurant, um leads to people doing things, feeling involved, talking to people, talking to strangers, you know, they're they're they've got their kids with them and giving them that idea that they're growing up in a place, this is your home, you know, Paul Simon, this is your hometown.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's sort of a roundabout answer to to your very direct question.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: No, I get it.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: I get it.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: So let me ask you, when it comes to your writing, and you've told so many stories, um what is it you think that consistently captures your attention?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, of all the things that you could be telling stories about, what captures your attention?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody has a story.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone has a story.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um they don't always realize they have a story, but everyone does.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: The what sorry about that.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: The uh the woman in West End who became a sourdough baker coming from Europe.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's an amazing story.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then she builds a business and she, you know, she's got customers coming to her home, she delivers.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um everyone has a story, a backstory, what they're doing, how they're doing it, why they're doing it, who they're impacting.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, a lot of people, if if I'm talking to you and you mention your background, a lot of people think that's interesting.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think, wait a minute, there's a story there.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Let me tell it.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So being able to introduce to tell these stories, to introduce people to people who might not know them, and to have them think, wow, you know, um, you know, I've got a I I'll do a story on special education, and all of a sudden tons of people can relate to it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or do a story on someone, you know, fighting through uh ALS or something like that.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or a high school student who creates his own business, whether it's window washing or you know, something high-tech.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um all those all those stories are create a community where people realize you know they're surrounded by other interesting people.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Are there particular kinds, given that everybody has a story, are there particular kinds that really stick I mean they're all interesting, they're all inspiring, but are there particular kinds that really that really stick for you?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I think there's there's a couple.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh anything to do with kids is catnip for me.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Any anytime I can shine a light on a high school kid, particularly one who doesn't always get the limelight, um, but is doing something in robotics or entrepreneurship or giving back.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's there's this fantastic kid who's doing cancer research at Yale.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um those stories are important.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Stories about overcoming difficulties, adversity, um, whether it's personal, whether it's a illness or disease, um, whether it's a setback in their life, um, those stories really resonate with me.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: You you look around, whether it's Westport, excuse me, or Weston, and you think everybody's got it great.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people are living in nice homes and they're, you know, got nice cars, and and and it's not always true.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um people have had to work really hard to get where they are.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and having gotten there, many of them find ways to give back.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so those are the also the stories about giving back.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: I I have to say, I mean, I read uh your blog every day, and I don't know if this is an innate skill or if it took you time to develop it, but you have an ability to tell the stories that you were just saying and and get and tell the story so well, but most importantly quickly and short, and it doesn't go on and on and on and on, and really able to capture the essence of what you're talking about.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, has that taken time to refine, or has that just sort of come naturally to you?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when I was writing for the Westport News, my column was 800 words.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I could do, I knew 800 words to within two.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh with a blog, I can write as long or as short as I want.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't have to cut anything or pad anything.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but at the same time, I realized that people skim.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they read fairly quickly.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I've I've worked pretty hard to uh, you know, sort of get to the essence.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I rewrite everything I rewrite, you know, I add it down rather than add in.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um and there's plenty of white space.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's uh short paragraphs, short sentences, because I don't want people to look at the screen or their phone and and feel intimidated.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to Well, it's a real skill.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I could never do it.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: You tell these wonderful stories just short, sweet, quick, and and and get the point across.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing I wanted to ask you about, as long as we're talking about this, I didn't mention it before.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things you do really well, and it can't be easy, is when you write up a story of something that is controversial for for whatever reason, and the comments and the way you have of of moderating that so that people, at least the way it looks to an outsider, they they don't get frustrated, they have an opportunity to express an opinion, but it doesn't turn into this chaotic, crazy thing that just goes on and on and on.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and you do that, I I guess you've learned to do that over time, but you do that really well.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and I spend a ton of time, more time than I would like, moderating the comments section.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there are people who are keyboard warriors.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: They they they even though everyone has to use their full real name, uh, people say things on on on their keyboards that they would not say face to face.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I do think it's really important that there is this forum, this back and forth where people can exchange ideas.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I lament the fact that there are not that many opportunities in society today, in our in our world, to do that.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: I wish there were more, but because there aren't, I take that responsibility pretty seriously to give people an opportunity to say what they want and be heard.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you do a great job of doing that, letting people be heard, but it doesn't turn into this whole crazy thing that just goes on and on and it gets insulting and all of that kind of.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure that takes a lot of work behind the scenes, but as someone who reads your blog, it just it's just nice to know you can express an opinion, others can too, and it's just not gonna go on and on and get and get totally crazy.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: So let me ask you a question.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: You've been doing this for a while.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um when you think local journalism has certainly changed a lot over the last uh several years.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think has gotten better and what do you think has perhaps stayed the same?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: Or or what have we lost maybe?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'll start with what we've lost.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: And and we've lost papers of record, um covering meetings, uh uncovering, you know, stuff that people in power might not want uncovered.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um we've we've lost people who know how to do that, the journalists and readers who care about it.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the I mean the current generation, people in their 20s and 30s, they don't read newspapers, so they'll read on online, but they won't read print newspapers, and they'd have a hard time finding them if they wanted to.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what we've gained, I think, is more access to more ways of finding information.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's whether it's 06880 or Weston Today or um somebody with a Substack or somebody who reposts something that you or I write on a social media where we don't even see it, but others do.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there's there's many more ways to access that information.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: And at the same time, there's, as we both know, there's tons of disinformation out there.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And um a lot of people who cannot discern what's true and what's false, what's opinion and what's fact, what's worthwhile and not worthwhile.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and that's how do you teach those skills?
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: You you know, you you learn them from an early age from older people, and and hopefully, you know, that hasn't died out completely.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: Are there things you think that blogger local bloggers or local journalists can do and offer simply because of what they are that mainstream media can't?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yes.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like what uh interactivity, being able to hear directly from readers and respond to them and give them a chance to respond.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the ability to put something out almost instantly, um, you know, not wait two or three days.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um the ability to document it with photos that you yourself take.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's it's it's it's a wide, wide media world out there, and anybody can participate.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I one of the things I like about 06880 is giving an opportunity to kids for to write them, to send, send in an opinion, send in photos.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the barriers to entry are pretty low.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I I think that's on the whole pretty good.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I I asked you this a little bit at the start, but just sort of wrapping up with all that you've done from the the coaching to the books to the writing, etc., what is all of that do you think taught you about community?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: Because that that's as you said, that's what you're sort of about.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh community is the key to everything.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: If and and community, you can divide define community in any way you want.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: The community of Westport, the community of Weston, the community of the YMCA, the community of my school, the community of my sport, um, whatever.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but being able to be part of something, to to feel that you you're not alone, that there's others like you, um, to be able to give back to that, to watch, to pass along traditions or uh help people set goals to join that community.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whatever it is, that that is really the essence of of who we are.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I I'm really fortunate to live in this community of Westport that is vibrant and Exciting and alive and ever-changing to be part of the community of Staples High School, which I graduated from and saw from a different perspective.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: And to be able to be part of that community.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then, as I said before, to be able to shine a light on those types of communities, I'm I feel very, very fortunate.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: And well, we're fortunate too to have you doing that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Let me ask you just some final questions here.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: When you you've interviewed so many people and told so many stories about so many people, uh, is there one in particular that stands out for you in that it changed how you either lived your life or how you viewed a particular idea or issue?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was hoping you weren't going to ask that much because I I don't have anything.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's fine.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: I can't say, but what I will say is that uh I have become much more, much less black and white over the years I've done this.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: I I see things in a much more nuanced way.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because of the people I've spoken with.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've I've I've talked to people who I may be diametrically opposed to them politically, or you know, they may be a a zealot in some way, shape, or form that I don't understand.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: But by talking with them, I realize that there's more to them than meets the eye.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's more to them that than that political opinion or that religious belief or whatever it is.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and I've so to answer your question, those are the interviews that are most meaningful and important to me because I learn a lot from them.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: No, I understand.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: I understand.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I have some lightning round questions just uh to wrap up.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're willing to answer, favorite place in Westport?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it used to be the Staples Soccer field, but they don't play there anymore because the grass has gotten bad.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I would have to go with the tried and true Compo Beach.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I would agree.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: I would agree.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: And uh looking back, is there a place that was in Westport, no longer here, that you miss the most?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh God.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know what?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't look at these lightning questions.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: I really should have.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think downtown Westport, as lively as it is now, there used to be when they had all the mom and pop shops, the hardware store, the grocery store, the you know, Christmas trees on top of the buildings.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: Kleins, don't forget Klein's, the bookstore.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Klein's remarkable bookshop.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the record hunter.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um places like that.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: It it was a it was a downtown for Westport.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now I think it's a downtown for shoppers.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: Now I understand.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: I understand.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you probably won't want to answer this one, but we'll give it a try.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, favorite interview you've done.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: And anyone who teaches me something.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: I know I knew you were gonna say that.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_02: Here's one.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: Here's one, I bet you'll answer.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: The favorite book that you wrote of the 17 you've written.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my memoir of my life in soccer called We Kick Balls, true stories of uh America's youth soccer wars, everything from dealing with kids, traveling to Europe with them, uh dealing with suicide uh players, that that you know, heavy stuff.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and the many, many ways they made me laugh, um, and what I learned from kids.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: My second favorite, my second favorite is my hist the history of Staples High School, um, which is just a really history of public education.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but boy, is that that 120 years of history is remarkable.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: And actually, I think you talked about this when we started.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, is there a book you'd still like to write that you haven't?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna write any more books.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: You're done?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Two reasons.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Takes a ton of time and nobody reads them anymore.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: Oh gosh, all right.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_02: And on that note, though, is there a book that you've read that you think everybody should read?
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Anything by John Irvin, just because he's such a master of the English language.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, and here's an easy one morning or night writer.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: You oh God, morning.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_02: Morning, okay.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_02: And one one word, one word that you think best describes Westport.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: Cool.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: And we've talked a lot about community.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that is what you're about, that's what you said.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: But but if you want to could wrap all of that up and leave our listeners with one thought, one piece of wisdom about or observation about what community means and why it's important, what would you say?
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I think as you look around, whether it's Westport or Weston, you get the sense that it's kind of everybody's the same, and you know, everyone, you know, not not white bred, but but it's a suburban community.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Both communities are so much more than that.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: As I said before, everybody's got a story.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: What goes on in each home is very, very different.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and to look around and to realize that what you're seeing is is not necessarily who those people are or or what they are.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and when you do that, when you open yourself up and and really dig beneath the surface or ask questions or talk or or relate in some way, um, boy, the world opens up in in spectacular ways.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: Dan, you are a gem.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: I am so appreciative of your time.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: I read you like everybody else does every day.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I thank you for what you I thank you for what you contribute to the community and and taking the time today.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: So thanks so much.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my God.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's fantastic questions.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: You made me think.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh what a what a fun afternoon.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, great.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Dan.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: You got it.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you to Rizzo Masonry and Landscaping for sponsoring this episode.