Old Times at Lerner Newspapers

Back in the day, we had a lot of fun at Lerner Newspapers (or the Lerners, as our readers liked to call us). No department had more fun than the Circulation Department.
At one point, we decided to try to get the company involved in a bowling tournament. When our verbal offers (aka trashtalk) did not get much response, we decided we needed to get creative.
In a move befitting the WWE, we brought in a bowling trophy and awarded it to ourselves as the Lerner Champs. We took this photo, added some verbiage (aka more trashtalk) and put it on everyone's desk.
I don't remember exactly what happened with the bowling championships, but I do know that we established ourselves as THE coolest department. Come on...the shades, the mullets...we had it all!

Jason Farber, Cindy Dzien and Dave Perham in the front and Louie Atsaves and me in the back in Lincolnwood, IL-mid 1990's.

Seasons in the Sun

Dave Perham was my boss for my first 8 years at Lerner Newspapers. Perham also was our pitcher for a couple seasons.
Perham was a decent pitcher, but I think the losing got to him. He suggested we switch positions (him to 2nd base and me to pitcher). This seemed to work out very well for both of us. I really enjoyed pitching and I was even pretty good at times. I knew our team was bad and I knew we would lose a lot, but I accepted that.
Perham was more of a graceful athlete than me and he handled 2nd base solidly. He also seemed to have more fun and be more relaxed, as the pressure of pitching was off his back.
The picture below is one of my favorite action shots of our team. Look at the picture. Really look at it.
Okay, here are some specifics. Perham (as I stated) was our 2nd baseman. Chris Connole (from last week's piece) was our 1st baseperson. The ball is in shallow right field, yet they are chasing it. Our right fielder is nowhere in sight.
Look how much outfield grass is visible and our right fielder is not even in the picture. Even if it is a funky angle and it is closer to the infield than it appears, you would at least think the right fielder would be in the picture.
Perhaps this says something about our defense. Don't blame me...I was pitching. Scenes like this are probably what drove Perham to 2nd base.

Chris Connole and Dave Perham at Laramie Park in Skokie, IL-Summer 1994.