John W. Miller is a freelance writer and baseball coach living in Pittsburgh.

An Ear for Music and Life

On a Tuesday morning in Squirrel Hill, Ceinwen (pronounced Kine-Win) King-Smith taps out notes on her piano. I stumble along, up and down the scale, straining my voice to match pitches. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”140″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Ceinwen listens. She’s been blind since birth, and is so good at listening that according to her daughter she …

An Ear for Music and Life Read More »

Our Changing Pastime

On a snowy night, I’m tossing winter batting practice in a gym to nine-year-old boys who play for Steel City Select, an elite Pittsburgh travel baseball club. We’re getting ready for the 2018 season, another chapter in the history of a game invented by Americans almost two centuries ago, and which has deep roots in …

Our Changing Pastime Read More »