Bonni Brodnick Blog

After my stroke, Andrew officially created the position of "Cultural Director." My coming to the razor-thin edge of almost dying affected all of us.  In this new post, he wanted to take advantage of living closer to the city. No longer tucked away in the country, where the city was a good hour and a half by car, now, on a good night, we are only 36 minutes from midtown. (Andrew times it.) We regularly shoot into Manhattan to hear concerts at Carnegie Hall and Geffen Hall, attend the opera at The Metropolitan, see Broadway shows, and visit museums. In our town, we also have a Music Hall from the 1860s and Jazz Forum. I like to boast that this venue is on  Downbeat Magazine 's   list of the "100 Best Jazz Clubs in the World."  For upcoming concerts, I'll get a text: "Listen to Sibelius violin concerto and Dvorak 7. Later in the month we hear Beethoven quartet 15. His late quartets are extraordinary." Next text: "Also Silbelius symp 1 and Grieg p...

  It was afternoon, and my phone rang. A call from grandson in Brooklyn. He couldn't get the screen right, but I was charmed by him. Delighted by him! Uplifted by him! He made my day. I look at this photo often as I dearly miss my mother, and a very close friend passed last weekend. (In his sleep, in his bed next to the man who was the love of his life. JL made a graceful departure we would all want to happen to us.)  The photo makes me at least try to embrace the continuum of life. What's the phrase? One day at a time.  Look around you and seek inspiration from the little things. (For me, it was from this under-3-feet-tall person calling me in the middle of the day to say hello and "I love you, Bebe.")

                                   More photos from CycleNation fundraiser . . .   Photos by Creative Focus Designs 

Terminal Warehouse was buzzing as stationary bicyclists zealously showed support for CycleNation, the American Stroke Association's fundraiser. It was an honor to be invited to speak about my book,  My Stroke in the Fast Lane. I thought back to the first time I went into the city alone, I wasn't as strong. Z., my good friend, assured me that he would meet me at the gate at Grand Central. "Don't worry, Bonomo. I'll be there."  But the overriding feeling I had on this particular day was one of gratitude: that this body could take the train to the city, walk to the #7 to take the subway downtown to Hudson Yards, walk a few blocks to CycleNation, and then repeat the journey home. I couldn't resist this shot with the EMT team. When I mentioned that I was a stroke survivor, the gentleman on my left kept saying, "God bless you. God bless you." <> <> <> Just got back from the cardiologist. After taking the usual EKG, he told me my heart...

This will be a very busy week! On Thursday, 3/12/26, I'll be speaking at the American Stroke Association's annual event, CycleNation , down in Chelsea at Terminal Warehouse. I'm going on at about 7pm and will discuss my book,   My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery , as well as how the organization touched my life, specifically that Easter morning several years back.  After having a stroke on Interstate-95 at 65 mph (I know! It's everyone's worst nightmare), the ambulance brought me to a hospital that gave me a tPA (or clot buster). It didn't work.  I was still in critical condition. My heart was hovering over 30 bpm, with some beats occuring every 8 seconds.  With crucial minutes still ticking, another ambulance whisked me 43 miles north to Yale-New Haven Hospital, who were able to help me.  I am incredibly grateful to the American Heart / Stroke Association for its steadfast commitment to funding, facilitating, and accelerating the impact of i...

Pamela Kogen , my sister and a brilliant artist (if I may say so myself!), and I took a drive to Beacon, New York, a river town along the Hudson. Our destination: Dia Beacon. Formerly a Nabisco box-printing facility, it is now a museum dedicated to contemporary large-scale installations, paintings, and sculptures from the 1960s to the present day.  My favorite installations were: "Torqued Ellipses" by  Richard Serra Watching the light from the windows dance on these massive abstract sculptures was mesmerizing. These bold monuments measure 14 feet high and are made of weathered steel.  "Standing Walls," by  Larry Bell Stunning (as my mother used to say).    It was set on a pink rug (which I learned viewers can NOT walk on to get a closer view). The sheer blue-tinted glass panels are strategically arranged to create a minimalist elegance that feels as if they are floating. The two elements — the rug and the glass panels — give a striking geometric effect, reg...