by Abby Margolis Newman (Saving the World One Teen at a Time on Mommy Tracked)
A few weeks ago, when the L.A. Dodgers were still competing for the National League Championship against the Phillies, I overheard a conversation between Henry and his oldest brother, Jonah (age 16, an ardent Red Sox fan), which went something like this:
Jonah (referring to current Dodgers player and ex-Red Sox Manny
Ramirez): Manny's not doing that well this year.
Henry: That's because he's not on the "juice"
anymore.
Jonah: A-Rod took steroids too!
Henry: Yeah, but that was in 2004.
Ever since the Barry Bonds scandal (which hit us hard here in the San Francisco Bay Area) and the 2007 George Mitchell report on the usage of steroids in baseball, there's been a lot of discussion in our home about who is and who is not on "the juice." When it was reported earlier this year that A-Rod (Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, one of the team's stars) admitted taking steroids, Henry wept once again. He was shattered by this news.
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Abby Margolis Newman has been a freelance writer for 15 years, and is now lending her talent to Mommy Tracked with Saving the World One Teen at a Time. She has written for The New York Times, Parenting, Working Mother, and Scholastic, among many other publications. Her earlier career incarnations include working as a film producer and as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood and PBS. But, in reality, she has spent the vast majority of her time over the last 15 years mothering three boys. She lives in Mill Valley, California.
