Outstanding Olympians
Tribes, Music Meals, Anna Smyrk, Katie Ledecky, Funny Feet
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes five fantastic feats from the Olympics, an important book about leadership and communities, dining before and after concerts, tonight’s house concert performer, the GOAT of female swimmers, and a silly shot of sock tans. I hope you like the picks and pics.
One of my favorite singers, May Erlewine, was at Sonic Lunch last week. I attended with Ray Bzymek and we met Barbara and David Osher and their granddaughter Whitney there. Everyone loved May and her performance.
Today was the 20th anniversary of the death of our father, Sol Louis Garfield, who died at the age of 86. He was a thought leader in the field of clinical psychology.
He loved the same things that I feature here: books, food, music, sports, and humor. He read and wrote books. He smacked his lips when attacking a spread of lox and bagels, corned beef and good rye bread, and halvah for dessert. He loved going to the symphony and to the opera. His favorite sports stars were Ernie Banks, Sandy Koufax, Elgin Baylor, John Stockton, Willie Galimore, John Elway, Wayne Gretzky, and Pete Sampras. He laughed so hard watching the Gourmet Night episode of Fawlty Towers that he fell off of his chair, and he loved to make other people laugh.
He taught me how to be a mensch. We will always remember him.
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Fave Five 97: Outstanding Olympians
Let’s Lead (Tribes), Music Meals (Fleetwood Diner, Stray Hen Cafe, Portillo’s), Australian Artist (Anna Smyrk), Supreme Swimmer (Katie Ledecky), and Funny Feet.
Fave Five List: Five Fantastic Feats
The 2024 Paris Olympics were very exciting. I want to highlight some incredible achievements from the athletes who competed there.
Mijaín López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event. He beat Yasmani Acosta of Chile in the 2024 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling 130 kg final.
Sifan Hassan won a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters. and marathon races in her career. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games in 2021.
Diana Taurasi wrote herself into history after earning her sixth Olympic gold medal in the U.S. women’s basketball team’s 67-66 win over France on Sunday. Taurasi, who surpassed former American teammate Sue Bird for most gold medals in Olympic basketball history. Since Taurasi’s Olympic debut in the 2004 Athens Games, she has won every game at the Olympics that she’s competed in (44 of Team USA’s current record-setting 61-game win streak). She is the only American basketball player, men’s or women’s, to play in six Olympics, let alone earn six gold medals.
Kevin Durant has now won four gold medals in the Olympics (2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024). In 2024, he became the leading scorer in Team USA's men's Olympic basketball history, the first Team USA player to win four Olympic gold medals, and the first male athlete to win four gold medals in a team sport.
Katie Ledecky has now won nine Olympic gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. With 14 medals and 9 gold medals, she is also the most decorated American woman, most decorated female swimmer, the female with the most gold medals (tied with Larisa Latynina) and fifth-most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Ledecky's eight individual medals at the Olympics are records in women's swimming.
Book Best Bet
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
This book had a major impact on me when I read it years ago. I recommended it to my children and also to my knowledge management followers. Its message—that we can all lead—is a powerful one. My daughter Tracy was inspired by Seth when she started her own interior design business after graduating from college in the midst of a recession. His encouragement meant a great deal to her.
From Amazon: Since it was first published in 2008, Seth Godin's visionary book has helped tens of thousands of leaders turn a scattering of followers into a loyal tribe. If you need to rally fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers around an idea, this book will demystify the process.
It's human nature to seek out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). Social media gives anyone who wants to make a difference the tools to do so.
With his signature wit and storytelling flair, Godin presents the three steps to building a tribe: the desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead.
A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It's our nature.
Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they're enabling countless new tribes to be born - groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming.
And so the key question: Who is going to lead us?
The Web can do amazing things, but it can't provide leadership. That still has to come from individuals - people just like you who have a passion about something. The explosion in tribes means that anyone who wants to make a difference now has the tools at her fingertips.
If you think leadership is for other people, think again—leaders come in surprising packages. Tribes will make you think—really think—about the opportunities to mobilize an audience that are already at your fingertips. It's not easy, but it's easier than you think.
Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur and most of all, A teacher
Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 21 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What to Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn). His book, This is Marketing, was an instant bestseller in countries around the world. His latest books are The Song of Significance and The Practice, and creatives everywhere have made it a bestseller.
Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!).
By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world.
In 2013, Seth was one of just three professionals inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. In an astonishing turn of events, in May 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame as well. He might be the only person in both.
Restaurant Recommendations
Music Meals
I usually dine out in Ann Arbor following the weekly Sonic Lunch concerts, and last week Barb and I tried out the latest location of a Chicago chain before a concert in Livonia.
Fleetwood Diner 300 S Ashley St, Ann Arbor MI, 48104
This colorful diner has always been a family favorite for its signature Hippie Hash. I took my friends Mark Mitra, Jeff Stoner, and Ray Bzymek there after a recent Sonic Lunch and they approved.
Meaty Hippie Hash Breakfast: Hash browns with corned beef, topped with grilled green peppers, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and feta cheese. Served with 2 eggs sunny side up and pita bread.
Stray Hen Cafe 403 E Washington Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Barbara and David Osher suggested this place after Sonic Lunch last week. It’s next door to Fat Daddys’ HOT Chicken & Waffles.
Breakfast Burrito: Jalapeño cheddar tortilla, scrambled eggs, jalapeño, tomato, black bean, grilled corn, Chihuahua cheese
Portillo’s 13004 Middlebelt Rd., Livonia MI 48150
I have eaten at this popular chain in Chicago before. The new location was very busy, and they had a bit of difficulty keeping up with all the orders and getting them right.
Chicago-style hot dog with everything, which includes mustard, relish, celery salt, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle and sport peppers piled onto a perfectly steamed poppy seed bun. Chicagoans call this “dragging the dog through the garden.”
Italian Beef Sandwich: Our famous, homemade, Italian beef is slow-roasted for four hours, thinly sliced, and served on freshly baked Turano French bread. There are many ways to order an Italian beef sandwich. The standard sandwich is served by splashing a bit of our flavorful, secretly-spiced gravy on it. Some like their sandwich “dipped,” which means we dip the whole sandwich in our gravy. You can also order it “dry,” with very little gravy. Why do we call it gravy? Because it’s actual gravy, just like grandma used to serve: We use the beef’s natural gravy that comes off of it while roasting for four hours. Topped with our homemade, oven-roasted sweet peppers and hot giardiniera peppers.
Marvelous Musician
Anna performed in our living room tonight for our 41st house concert. She has a sweet voice, plays the guitar very nicely, and has a delightful presence. This was her last stop on a tour of the Midwest before flying to Europe on Friday and eventually back to Australia to record a new album. Our audience enjoyed the show very much, as they always do.
From her site: With a voice described as ‘truly astonishing’ by Rolling Stone, Anna Smyrk is a powerful singer and songmaker from Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). Her songs are anthemic indie bombshells, pairing vulnerable lyrics with explosive arrangements and undeniable hooks.
2024 is shaping up to be huge for Anna. She's an official showcasing artist at SXSW in Austin and at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. This year will also see her set off on her first US tour and release her debut album.
The last few years have been massive for Anna. She recorded an EP in Nashville with award-winning producers Jake Finch and Collin Pastore (Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, boygenius). Released in 2023, the record is a smart, multi-layered offering filled with wry observations and muscular arrangements.
Described by Backseat Mafia UK as “a significant songwriter with an exceptional voice,” Anna Smyrk is a formidable artist on the rise.
The Excavator
Human Condition
Daylight Saving
January Makes Me Sad
Dreams (Cranberries)
My Playlist
Sports Star
It’s been a joy to watch Katie perform so splendidly over her career. A local hero in the Washington, DC area where she attended Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, she is not only the greatest female swimmer ever, but she seems like a wonderful person as well. It was nice to see her carrying the stars and stripes at the closing ceremony on Sunday.
From Wikipedia: Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997 in Washington, DC) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won nine Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. With 14 medals and 9 gold medals, she is also the most decorated American woman, most decorated female swimmer, the female with the most gold medals (tied with Larisa Latynina) and fifth-most decorated athlete in Olympic history. She has won a record 16 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships. Ledecky's eight individual medals at the Olympics and 26 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (both long course and short course), as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She is widely regarded as the greatest female swimmer of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle. Four years later, she left Rio de Janeiro as the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympic Games, with four gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. In 2023, she won gold in the 800-meter World Championship, becoming the only swimmer—male or female—to win six World Championship gold medals in the same event. In total, she has won 50 medals (38 golds, 10 silvers, and 2 bronzes) in major international competitions, spanning the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records.
Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year a record five times. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, international female Champion of Champions by L'Équipe in 2014 and 2017, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022. In 2024, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
Stone Ridge School has more Olympic swimming medal than most countries by Rick Maese of The Washington Post
The official medals table doesn’t show this, but a small all-girls Catholic school from Bethesda, Md., has bagged more hardware than all but seven countries. If Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart was a properly recognized delegation, it would find itself ahead of Germany, Ireland, South Africa, Japan, Switzerland and so many others.
Picture Pun
Sock it to me where the sun don’t shine.
