Robert McClellan

May 21

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Get Off the Tit!

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

First, a little history. Your overachieving male ancestors set the bar a bit high, and you may have fallen somewhat short of their manly accomplishments. Before most of them reached their twenty-first birthdays, most of your great-grandfathers defeated the Nazi’s and saved Europe. And, to make sure the rest of the world knew they were serious, in 1945 they dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. No reading between the lines – great grandpa was a bad ass, and the leaders of his day knew how to make tough decisions. After the war, they came home, used the GI Bill to…

Apr 21

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On Writing

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

To Be a Writer Every morning when I awake, I think about the man I want to be on this particular day. What project will I work on? What will I eat? Who will I speak with? What do I hope to accomplish during the next 15 hours? What little crisis or brush fire will break out in some area of my life? How will I handle setbacks, or duplicate successes? Will everything I care about be wiped off the face of the earth by a hurricane or tornado? It is a lot to ponder. Sometimes I’m certain I am…

Mar 09

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Two Wheel Smile Machine

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

I Can’t Act My Age Yesterday, while on a twenty-one mile ride on my new Cannondale racing bike, I came up next to another rider who waved and asked me if I had seen his friend behind us on the trail. The guy was on a titanium bike made by a specialty framebuilder called “Seven.” The bicycle was absolutely clean and fitted with the best components possible. The rider, behind his sunglasses and under his helmet, had a well worn, weathered face, and shocks of thick, white hair. “No, you’re the first rider I’ve seen since the trailhead,” I replied….

Feb 09

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Everett

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

Homeless I was homeless. For about a week. In the summer. Okay, I know that is not quite as challenging as being on the frozen January streets of a big North American city, wondering where my next meal or shelter bed will come from, but still, there was a short time when I had no home. I was between jobs and apartments. I did not plan well enough to have the funds required to get me over the hump. Like most of my major plans up to this point they had a fatal flaw: I was in charge of the planning…

Dec 09

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Jobless in America

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

Everything That Is Wrong With America’s Economy in One Minute I don’t know about you, but as I was growing up, in 1960s and 70s America, a working person could make a decent living. The blue collar men and women of my North Philadelphia neighborhood earned enough from factory, skilled trades and service jobs to buy a small Philly rowhome, raise and feed a family, and take a few weeks vacation every year. In 2013, it is almost impossible to simply keep one’s head above water with a service or trade job. Factory jobs are no longer considered in the…

Oct 09

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The Greatest Generation

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

It wasn’t supposed to be like this You have seen us around. Marching like lemmings into big box home centers, we try to reconnect with our self reliant ancestry. Our grandfather’s built their own houses, but we need Bob Vila to show us how to fix the ceiling fan. We are secretly dark men. Hating ourselves while taking long drags on unfiltered Camels, we are miserable. Born into the most prosperous and dynamic generation in history, we pissed much of our potential away. Our superficial mantra is “He who dies with the most toys wins.” To this end, we shine custom chromed…

Apr 09

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Scared in America

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

America scares the shit out of me. As I travel outside the United States, I am increasingly aware that my beloved country is reeling off the tracks. Economic security is a luxury only the wealthiest can afford, and physical safety can no longer be taken for granted. When I drive across the aptly-named Peace bridge from Buffalo, New York, into Ontario, Canada, a perceived weight is lifted from my shoulders. Suddenly, I don’t have to be on security alert, with my head on a constant swivel, in a state of hyper readiness to defend my wife or myself from assault, armed robbery…

Mar 09

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Dead Friends

By Jill Heinerth | All Posts, Robert McClellan | No Comments

My New Dead Friends Ron. Mark. Horst. Carl. Tim. Wes. Agnes. Xavier. These are my newest dead friends. My wife, Jill, worked with, trained, or was a colleague to them. She is not a cop, fire fighter, or soldier. She is a cave diver. So were they. Recently, I produced a documentary about a scuba diver who went missing in a Florida cave. I narrated the film, and said “Cave diving is sometimes referred to as the world’s most dangerous sport.” This simple statement created a shit storm of controversy among the cave diving community, and I was challenged and vilified on the Internet diving forums…

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