In my last post, I said I knew the challenges awaiting Alex in Florida. Here’s how. In the summer of 1987, I was working for the Shoe Service Institute of America in Chicago’s Western suburbs. I edited their magazine, Shoe Service, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My boss had just announced his retirement. At their summer […]
Tag: Alex Lebovic
Adventures in Parenting
In 2017, I was hired to photograph a conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. A few weeks before the conference, Alex called. “How far is Ponte Vedra Beach from Gainesville?” I looked it up—about an hour and a half. She asked if she could tag along—and if I could extend the trip by a day […]
What’s So Tough About Being a Parent?
“You have homework,” Alex said to me after her first day of seventh grade. She handed me a piece of paper with a single question on it. “What’s so tough about being a parent?” The teacher who created the assignment allowed two blank lines for an answer. That was not going to be enough space. […]
Brady’s Pool
About the same time we stopped going to the dog park, our neighbors decided to add a canine companion to their family. As Diana tells it, they wanted a docile dog who was easy to manage. They went to the shelter and picked one who they thought was the perfect fit—Brady. Brady weighed about 70 […]
Affordable Care
In June of 2013, my wife and I were awakened by a phone call. Her mother, whose health had been failing, was dying. We needed to come to the hospital immediately. What followed was an emotional and stressful morning—especially for my wife, but also for me. I had never seen someone die before. I didn’t […]
Agent of Change
When Alex returned from Florida, it only took a few days before her pain became uncontrollable. She was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for what would become an extended stay. The pediatric oncology floor had strict rules to protect patients. At the top of the list—no animals. After a lot of pushing—and more than a […]
Kal-El
On a warm spring day in 2010, Alex shouted excitedly. “Dad, come see this!” She was looking over her mother’s shoulder at a Facebook post. A woman out for a morning walk found an abandoned puppy in a box by the side of the road. She couldn’t keep him and was trying to find him […]
Buster: The First Leader of The Great Dog Pack
Buster came into our lives in the late ’90s—thanks to a routine trip to the food court at White Marsh Mall. After eating, I’d walk to the pet store on the upper level to play with the puppies. That afternoon, I met a German Shepherd puppy—my favorite breed—and he was impossible to ignore. I played […]
The Wild Child Returns
Dakota and I walked along the shore of Lake Michigan on a summer afternoon in Door County. Dakota loves the water, so I let her wade in. My father texted. “It’s time to come back for dinner.” I called Dakota to come, but she wasn’t ready to leave. Usually, Dakota wears a harness for exactly […]
Why Start a Blog in 2026?
Starting a blog seems like a very 2005 thing to do. So why am I doing this here and now? Last fall I used my Facebook account to send a message to my wife and her son. Nothing special—just a product I saw that might help the sagging fences in our yards.Less than a minute […]