Understanding Nonsense — William Ryan

There are certain albums that have withstood the test of time and become legendary as they’re passed down from one generation to the next. That list includes, but isn’t limited to, The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind.”…

Doctor appointments at a cystic fibrosis (CF) clinic are a normal part of my medical routine, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t anxiety-inducing. After being weighed and getting my oxygen saturation, temperature, and heart rate read like the back of a baseball card, I begin to psych myself up…

I’m a Make-A-Wish kid. Rather, I was one. I’m now 30, but I had my wish granted 12 years ago because of my cystic fibrosis (CF). For those unaware, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants children with terminal illnesses and their families a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do whatever they like,…

For years, the TV news program “60 Minutes” on CBS featured a frequent segment by broadcaster Andy Rooney. In it, Rooney would pontificate on the day’s important topics. Sometimes he’d come up with a solution to a particular problem, while other times he’d rant just to rant. But his purpose…

I am, in no uncertain terms, not a nature person. I am a city person through and through. I find it comforting to be in a packed subway car rather than in the openness of nature. I prefer the bright city lights at night, not the stars in the sky.

I was never a fan of being single. Despite living life like it was a song that didn’t make the album “Is This It” by The Strokes, I didn’t like the whole process of meeting someone, going on a date, and never talking to them again. One of the…

Before I wanted to be a baseball player, I longed to be a film director. This came from watching movies by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis when I was growing up. I even tried acting, playing the role of an orphan in the musical “Oliver!,” based on…

It’s 2006, and I’m with my uncle and cousin at the ESPN Zone in New York’s Times Square. My uncle and I are watching the New York Giants have yet another meltdown at the end of a football game against the Tennessee Titans to continue a losing streak.

That which is visible can more easily be defined than that which is not. Of course, while the contents of a book can be different from its cover, readers can usually gain a sense of what the book might be about just by looking it. The same cannot be said…

Every morning, my grandfather used to run for the train he’d take to work. His job was in the boiler room of the American Museum of Natural History and adjacent Hayden Planetarium, making sure temperatures within the exhibits were perfect. Not bad for a guy with…

Fear often triggers one’s fight-or flight instincts. Depending on the circumstances, when it happens to me, I’ll either persevere through an unwanted situation or become paralyzed by fear. When I become frozen, I don’t want to do anything, and I let the fear caused by the situation just flush…

To become a National Baseball Hall of Fame member, you only have to be successful roughly 25–30% of the time you’re in the batter’s box. Using the word “only” may seem like I’m slagging on people like Willie Mays, who had a batting average of .301;…