Articles Archive - Page 83 of 156 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Enter the warehouse and, if you aren’t bewildered by the seeming randomness of it all, you get a sense of the urgency. Mobile hospital beds. Crutches. Respirators. IV poles guarding bedpans. Hundreds of boxes of pharmaceuticals. Medical equipment bound for Nigeria, Uganda, Guyana. And for some reason, dozens of suitcases, many of them more than …

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American Spirit

Rocky’s World Behind the Diner Counter

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

Where’s Apollo Creed? Oh, hardy, har, har. Like he hasn’t heard that one like, ten thousand times before. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”254″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] “I also get a lot of ‘Yo, Adrian!’” Rocky says from behind the counter of his corner diner in Bloomfield. The counter is short. Really short. Not even waist-high short. “About four …

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History

Kennywood at 120

by Kate Benz

Everyone has at least one, and probably way more memories of Kennywood: Finally getting behind the wheel of the blue car on the Turnpike. Stealing a kiss on the Old Mill. Begging Mom for another hour at the park. Putting up with your own whining kids when you say it’s time to leave. The taste …

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PQ Poem

O Say Can’t You See?

by Samuel Hazo

We shout when we should be discussing, and the country in chaos accepts it. We shoot when we should be disarming, and the country in chaos accepts it. We claim that the poor are just lazy, and the country in chaos accepts it. We budget to build bigger prisons, and the country in chaos accepts …

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Creative Capital

Shined Shoes Can Save Your Life, Part II

by Greg Curtis

So there we were, in late 1970, having graduated from the U.S. Army Military Police Correctional Specialist Academy, the best-trained prison guards in the world. We had been assigned to one of the worst prisons in the world, the stockade at Long Bình, Vietnam, better known as the Long Bình Jail, or LBJ. Our job …

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Education

Black and White

by Bob Germaux

For the first eight years of my teaching career, the only white face in my classroom was mine. I was aware of that fact, of course, but only peripherally. My students were just that, my students. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I was colorblind. I just didn’t relate to my students at Westinghouse High School …

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Opinion

Lessons from the Farm

by Douglas Heuck

Out at the farm, there’s an old trailer that my parents bought about 30 years ago after the farmhouse we’d been restoring burned to the ground. I’m sure that when Mom and Dad were alive and used it on weekends, the trailer had enough of Mom’s touches to make it seem homey and nice. But …

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Regional News

Region’s Demographics Changing

by Julia Fraser

Southwestern Pennsylvania is starting to look more like the United States as the region’s population becomes more diverse, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates suggest. The demographic shifts are most significant in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh, where the Asian and Hispanic populations have been on the rise. In the five-year period from …

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American Spirit

Donna’s Dream and a Life of Roller Skating

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

Donna’s knee has been bothering her lately. Which is why she isn’t lacing up her white roller skates right now, the pair her late husband bought for her in 1963 for, geez, it must have been five hundred dollars. The same pair she was wearing 10 years ago when she was 71 and broke her …

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Events

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s “From Garden to Mexican Table” Gala Honors Rick Bayless

by PQ Staff

“From Garden to Mexican Table—A Gala Tribute to Rick Bayless” raised $260,000 for Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. Held at the Pennsylvanian on Thursday, June 14, the event drew 350 attendees. The seated dinner—following a presentation to Rick Bayless—was crafted by a group of the city’s finest chefs led by Bill Fuller and Justin Severino. [ngg src=”galleries” …

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Business

A Look Inside Google’s Unconventional Bakery Square Offices

by David Aschkenas

What is really behind the brick walls of that redeveloped Nabisco cookie factory building in Bakery Square, labelled with Google’s colorful logo? Think: hammocks, coffee shops, dining rooms, gaming rooms and pool tables. Created in collaboration with local architecture firm Strada, Google’s office space in Pittsburgh’s East End is playful, unconventional and inspiring with many …

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Creative Capital

Shined Shoes Can Save Your Life

by Greg Curtis

A few weeks ago, in a post about J. D. Vance’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” I mentioned in passing that I was convinced that having spit-shined my Army combat boots may have saved my life. I didn’t elaborate, and since then several dozen people have inquired about that brief aside. So here’s the story. To understand what …

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Sports

Play Ball! Faster Please

by Marino Parascenzo

Major League Baseball’s department of Faster Play, fearing that people will think the game has become sluggish and dull and will quit watching, has devised yet another new rule to perk things up, as Pirates fans might note this season. This one’s about mound visits. Like when the catcher goes out to the pitcher and …

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Events

“Galactic Get Down” Revels in Museum’s Vision of the Future

by PQ Staff

On Friday, June 15, the Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art welcomed a sold-out crowd of over 1,300 people to its annual Urban Garden Party. This year’s theme, Galactic Get Down, took inspiration from the museum’s vision for 2058, 40 years in the future. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”250″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Guests remembered the Mattress Factory’s founding …

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American Spirit

An Antique Point of View

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

Someday, Jim Barricella will retire from antiquing. Well, maybe not retire literally, but definitely do something else with his life. Something other than the never-ending hours he spends at his antique shop, Off the Avenue. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”248″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] If someone bought the place, Jim would set up a booth and stick some antiques …

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Creative Capital

Why Democracy Matters

by Greg Curtis

Just to make it simple, let’s define Europe’s “illiberal democracies” as those countries where elected leaders profoundly disagree with the liberal, inclusive, affluent worldview of the EU’s political classes. The British disagreed with this worldview so violently that they left the Union altogether. Most of the other “illiberal” democracies aren’t in strong enough positions to …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

Everything Must Change

by Sylvia Catello

   Everything must change. Nothing stays the same, and there aren’t too many things you can be sure of. At least that’s what George Benson says. It’s a heartbreaker of a song, but I think he’s right.    For Mother’s Day, my family took me to the Strip District, It’s one of my favorites with markets …

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History

August Wilson and the Joe Louis-Billy Conn Title Rematch

by Richard “Pete” Peterson

Pulitzer prize-winning dramatist and Pittsburgh native August Wilson dramatized the modern history of African-Americans in 10 plays, often called the Pittsburgh cycle, for each decade of the 20th century. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”144″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] In “Seven Guitars,” set in the Hill District in the 1940s, the key historical moment comes when his characters gather to …

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Regional News

Region Adds Jobs

by Julia Fraser

Employers continue to add to their payrolls in southwestern Pennsylvania in May, although there are signs it might be slowing. The region added 12,800 jobs from May 2017 to May 2018—a 1.2 percent increase, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. “There’s been little bit of slowing over the growth rates that have registered …

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Events

“Excursion to the Exotic” Supports Zoo’s Conservation Efforts

by PQ Staff

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium celebrated an Excursion to the Exotic on Friday, June 8. Six hundred guests were transported to Safari Plaza where they met elephants, giraffes, and a variety of animal favorites. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”249″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Guests were treated to mouth-watering food prepared by Taste, the Zoo’s catering partner, delicious drinks, …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

America in a Trance: An Observation of the Fading American Dream

by Niko J. Kallianiotis

About two decades ago, my father moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, which was my second experience with the United States. In the late 70s, he journeyed from Greece to New York City to work on his post-graduate studies, which evidently led him to the Keystone State. Living in Pennsylvania and traveling through its cities and towns, …

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History

Make No Little Plans

by Melanie Linn Gutowski

World’s fairs seem a quaint remnant of generations past, or perhaps a childhood memory of visiting New York in 1939 or 1964. In a world where news is literally at one’s fingertips, traveling hundreds of miles to marvel at the latest food production techniques seems unnecessary. And yet, world’s fairs live on. Though the U.S. …

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