SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 2019
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Good Life
COMMENTARY
7-step survival guide
to Sunday’s Oscars
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
Chicago Tribune
Suddenly, the Oscars are in-
teresting.
After a series of public pratfalls
in its planning stages, I’m genu-
inely curious about how this
Sunday’s host-free Academy
Awards ceremony turns out. I’m
not kidding. I’m interested.
This is what comes from
months of format decisions an-
nounced, then rescinded. And
this is what happens, happily,
when even the oddsmakers’
front-runner in the best picture
category doesn’t feel like a sure
thing.
These last few months have
What does
State College
music scene
offer artists,
listeners?
BY PATRICK NEWKUMET
For the CDT
For both audience and artist,
there is something special,
sometimes magical, in a live
performance. That charged
environment also brings with it
challenges and opportunities
that can define the day-to-day
experience of an emerging
band.
For musicians, more than
practice is involved in chasing
a dream. While the vibrant
State College music scene can
serve as the incubator, the
environment in which they can
hone their skills and make
their way up the ladder, their
view of success is as diverse as
their music.
Molly Countermine has been
an associate teaching professor
at Penn State in human devel-
opment and family studies and
local rock star for 21 years. She
sang with Maxwell Strait, then
Pure Cane Sugar and now Ted
McCloskey & the Hi-Fi’s.
During a recent Friday night
show at the Phyrst, Counter-
mine’s shirt commanded the
largely-undergraduate crowd
to “read the syllabus.” The
band was approachable, and
McCloskey’s guitar chops drew
the listener toward the stage.
The enthusiastic Countermine
doesn’t sing on every song, but
controls a leading, genuine
presence throughout.
The music industry has
adopted a sophisticated, in-
ternet-based model for taste-
making in various genres, but
local rock artists bear the bur-
den of approval at the street
level. Barring the use of any
wild aesthetic, fans tend to
best remember the groups that
can flat-out play. The draw-
back, especially for original
bands, is that the music itself
has to be just as memorable.
“We’re here because we
want to be here,” Countermine
said. “I’m the vocalist, but
SEE MUSIC SCENE, 4C
STEVEN RUBANO Photo provided, file
Local musician Erin Condo
McCracken performs at Happy
Valley Brewing Company, one
of several venues in State
College to hear live music.
1C
IN HAPPY VALLEY
reminded us of the necessity of
institutional change – constant,
sloppy, ill-considered institution-
al change. It’s the national man-
tra, certainly in politics. And it’s a
show business law. “That’s the
way we do things around here!”
the studio mogul bellows in the
1930 Kaufman & Hart comedy
“Once in a Lifetime.” “No time
wasted on thinking!”
Last August, the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
floated the announcement that
it’s time to add a second best
picture category, something like
best popular movie or best pop-
corn movie. (This was ABC-TV
muscling a decision, by all re-
ports – an attempt to reverse the
ratings slide.) Then came the
Aaron Long is pictured on vacation at the Oregon County Fair in 2017 with his girlfriend Jessica Share, far left, and her daughter Alice Share, and
Madi Saunders and Bryce Gallo. Alice, Madi and Bryce are all Long’s biological children through sperm donation. He connected with them through
genetic testing site 23andMe. Long donated sperm twice a week for about at year in State College in 1994. His story has since gone viral.
After donating sperm
in State College,
one man found his
offspring decades later
BY LAUREN MUTHLER
lmuthler@centredaily.com
For most people, answering
questions like “How did you two
meet?” and “How many kids do
you have?” can be simple con-
versation starters and easy ways
to break the ice when meeting
new people.
But for 1984 State College Area
High School grad Aaron Long,
the answers to those questions
aren’t quite so simple.
Long met his girlfriend, Jessica
Share, about 12 years after she
gave birth to his daughter, and he
might have as many as 67 chil-
dren. Long’s decision to donate
sperm about 25 years ago in State
College set wheels in motion that
he could never have imagined at
the time, which would eventually
change his life.
‘MODERN LOVE’
The first time Long shared his
story with the world was in Octo-
ber, when he penned a column
for The New York Times’
CARLOS SOMONTE Netflix
“Roma,” starring Yalitza Aparicio,
left, Marco Graf and Daniela
Demesa, is the favorite among
bookmakers to win best picture.
blowback, and the sarcastic mirth
was limitless throughout the
land. Academy president John
Bailey said never mind. Let’s
wait a year on that.
Then Kevin Hart came on
board to host the Oscars, before
objections to his arguably ho-
mophobic stand-up routines of
yore gathered momentum. Up-
shot: No host this year. Another
walk-back.
The season’s reversed Oscar
decisions also include the an-
“Modern Love” feature. After
that, the story of how a 52-year-
old anonymous sperm donor has
connected with some of his bi-
ological children decades later —
and fell in love with the woman
who gave birth to one of them —
has gone viral.
Long now lives with Share, her
daughter Alice, and Madi Saun-
ders, 21, another one of his bi-
ological children, in Seattle.
Share’s side of the story was
told by BBC News, and since
then, Long and his children have
been profiled by TV and radio
stations in Germany, Brazil,
Great Britain and the U.S. They
are also the subject of the docu-
mentary “Forty Dollars a Pop” —
titled for the amount Long says
he was paid for sperm donation
back in 1994.
Originally, Long said he
wanted to get his story out there
because he got tired of telling it
time and time again every time
he was at a party or met someone
new. But since then, he’s hoped
to use his story to inspire others
to find connections.
FACEBOOK.
TWITTER.COM/CENTREDAILY
Universal Pictures
“Green Book,” starring Viggo
Mortensen, left, and Mahershala
Ali is estimated by bookmakers to
be the second-most-likely winner
for best picture.
nouncement of four awards,
including cinematography and
editing, being confined to their
moment in the spotlight during
commercial breaks, with edited
highlights interpolated later into
the broadcast.
Bailey, himself a cinematog-
rapher, announced the change,
made to help keep the telecast
under three hours. Then he heard
from his constituents, among
them many of this year’s nomi-
LONG HAS HOPED
TO USE HIS STORY TO
INSPIRE OTHERS TO
FIND CONNECTIONS.
“I think people want to have
more family in their life, more
people that they’re closely con-
nected to,” he said. “Essentially
all the people I met through this,
they were strangers, but because
we have this almost accidental
DNA connection, we found it was
a good excuse to open our hearts
to each other and get to know
each other and bond.
“And I guess my takeaway
would be if you have the opportu-
nity to connect with more family,
then you should take it.”
‘I ALWAYS WONDERED’
Long’s story started in State
College in 1994, where he moved
after teaching English abroad,
was living with his mother and
driving cab for Handy Delivery.
FOOD
BLACK BEAN SOUP
WITH SHRIMP IS A
WHOLE MEAL IN A
BOWL 5C
nees. And now it’s back to the
way it was. And, as many have
cracked on Twitter, if “Green
Book” ends up winning Sunday,
no worries: The correction will be
issued by Monday.
Let’s be frank: It’s all guess-
work and frippery and, at least in
New Jersey, as of this year, a
chance to bet on the outcome
legally. As of Valentine’s Day,
“Roma” was the favorite to win
best picture, with “Green Book”
estimated by various bookmakers
to be the second-most-likely
winner.
With that heartening reminder
that the 2018 movie year truly
did offer something for everyone,
and with apologies to the late
Stephen Covey: Here are the
seven habits of highly effective
Oscar pundits, good through
Sunday.
1. BE PROACTIVE
Know the results so far. The
Producers Guild of America vot-
ed for “Green Book.” The Direc-
SEE OSCARS, 3C
AARON LONG Photo provided
With his girlfriend at the time
living in Germany, he felt sperm
donation would be a good way to
make some extra money. So he
donated twice a week for about a
year.
When 27-year-old Long walked
into Fairfax Cryobank, on the
corner of Hetzel Street and Bea-
ver Avenue, he never had any
expectations of meeting his off-
spring. As sperm donation is
confidential and DNA testing
wasn’t as available to the public
as it is now, he never thought
he’d have the chance.
“I always wondered, I always
sort of hoped I might get to see
them,” Long said. “As a joke, it
would sometimes come up, peo-
ple would talk about how many
kids they had, and I’d be like,
‘well I might have quite a few.’
So I always wondered.”
Long spent the next 10 years
traveling back and forth from the
West Coast to State College,
before eventually settling in Seat-
tle, where he now works for an
affordable-housing developer.
FINDING FAMILY
He always kept the thoughts
about how many biological chil-
dren he had, where they were,
what they looked like and what
they were doing in the back of his
head, until he starting seeing
advertisements for 23andMe
genetic DNA testing a couple
years ago.
Long signed up for the service
without any expectations. About
nine months later, he got his
results back, and at the top of the
list was the name: Bryce Gallo,
22, son.
SEE SPERM DONOR, 3C
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 2019
CENTREDAILY.COM Explore 3C

LEARNING TO LIVE first, there are moments of listener.

joy and laughter even in So, “once upon a time…”

The healing power of storytelling

BY EVELYN WALD
Our grandson just had
his first birthday. Although
not very interested in open-
ing presents, when his
mom pulled a book out of a
gift bag and handed it to
him, he immediately sat
down and opened the book.
He knows about books and
stories. And now we have a
new story to tell about our
cute, smart little boy.
There are also those
stories we create and listen
to throughout our lives. It
might be a grandparent or
friend who tells us the
story, but I believe stories
are integral to our lives.
Stories can make us smile
or laugh. Stories can make
us sad and bring us to
tears. Stories have a pow-
erful influence on us.
Search online for “storytell-
ing and healing” and you
will find a myriad of organ-
izations, studies and arti-
cles about the power of
storytelling.
Medical research has
been done on patients with
high blood pressure and
they have found that story-
telling can lower your
blood pressure. The re-
search, done at the Uni-
versity of Massachusetts,
continues. Dr. Thomas
Houston, lead author of the
study, believes “the magic
of stories lies in the rela-
tedness they foster.” Sto-
ries bind us together.
There was a time (rarely
happens these days due to
our busy schedules) when
families gathered together
around the table and
shared about their day.
Stories were created about
events and people. These
stories inform us, shape us,
touch us. Stories and the
telling of those stories can
and do help us understand
ourselves and one another.
We delve deep down inside
as someone listens and
enters into the depths with
us. Stories have the power
to heal.
Vanessa Jackson, foun-
der of Healing Circles,
states that “the spaces for
us to tell stories are dis-
appearing ... we need to
create more opportunities
for storytelling in our fam-
ilies, communities, and
nation. The re-introduction
of storytelling will help us
better connect to one an-
other and address deep,
underlying issues that pre-
vent us from fully healing.”
State of the Story offers
our community the oppor-
tunity to do just that: tell
stories. State of the Story
started out as Muriel’s
Repair in 2012. It was
founded by Pam Monk in
the wake of the Sandusky
scandal as a way to heal a
fractured community. In
the beginning, the group
consisted of 10-12 people
who periodically gathered
at Webster’s Bookstore
Cafe to tell their stories to
each other.
In 2014, this informal
group outgrew its original
format and became State of
the Story at The State The-
atre, with storytelling once
a month from September-
November and March-
May. In February 2016,
Learning to Live — What’s
Your Story partnered with
State of the Story to tell
stories of loss. Each Febru-
ary since then has been
devoted to stories of loss.
This year’s theme —
“Tears and Laughter
through Loss” opens up
another dimension of loss.
Six community members
will share their personal
stories of loss, tears and
laughter. The author Henri
Nouwen said “at many
moments joy and sadness
kiss each other.” Strange
though it may sound at
death. or “Grandpa, do you re-
Our storytellers will member when…” Keep
affirm that at 6:30 p.m. sharing your stories. They
Monday at The State The- DO matter.
atre as we share our stories.
Tickets are $7 and avail- Evelyn Wald is the executive
able at thestatetheatre.org. director of CACJ (Center for
I am one of those story- Alternatives in Community
tellers who will share on Justice). This column is
Monday. We’ve been gath- coordinated by
ering together to practice www.ltlwys.org whose
our stories and listen to one mission is to create
another. Already, I feel educational and
transformed through this conversational opportunities
experience. It enabled me for meaningful
to “dig deep” into places I intergenerational exchanges
hadn’t been before and on loss, grief, growth and
discover new perspectives. transformation.
I can’t wait to share it with
those gathered at The State
Theatre.
Stories draw us together.
Coming out of the dark
Births
forests we may begin not
only to see the light but
also to see things in a new
way that can change our
experience of a sad and/or
frightening event and per-
haps even transform us.
If you are not able to join
us for State of the Story,
please continue to tell sto-
ries. There is healing power
and human connection for
both the teller and the

FROM PAGE 1C
SPERM DONOR
It took Long about a
week to process this in-
formation. He “Googled
the crap” out of Bryce, and
found photos, making it
pretty clear Bryce was his
son. He then thought about
how to introduce himself.
“I kept it pretty basic,”
Long said. “I said, ‘I just
joined this site and believe
myself to be your biological
father, I hope you joined
this site looking for me,’
and that I’d be happy to get
to know him if he wanted
to.”
Bryce’s reply — “Dad, I
cannot express how excited
I am to be hearing from
you” — was almost in-
stantaneous. But more
FROM PAGE 1C
OSCARS
tors Guild of America vot-
ed for “Roma.” The Screen
Actors Guild voted “Black
Panther” for best ensem-
ble. The Writers Guild of
America went for “Can
You Ever Forgive Me?” in
the adapted screenplay
category, a terrific choice.
And the WGA opted for Bo
shocking to Long than the
quick reply and use of the
word “dad” was the in-
formation Bryce’s response
contained — that he had
already made connections
with five other biological
siblings.
“In the space of a few
hours, I went from one to
six (children),” Long said.
“It was mind-boggling.”
Bryce connected Long
with Madi, and then a few
months later, a new blood
relative popped up on
Long’s profile: Alice, age
11. This time, it was Alice’s
mother, Share, who
reached out. ‘Hey, I may
have two of your kids,’ ”
Long recalled her writing.
urges empathetic listening
to genuinely understand a
person. You can practice
this next time you’re talk-
ing to someone who hated
“The Favourite.”
6. SYNERGIZE!
If “Black Panther” wins
Sunday, it'll be fantastic for
ABC, owned by Disney,
which owns Marvel, which
made “Black Panther.”
7. SHARPEN THE
SAW
Your personal saw can be
Blanca Yuki
Share and her former sense of humor and seems would “love to meet them Vallejos Arai
female partner had each to appreciate that what we all.” Fernando Vallejos Burgos
given birth to a girl con-
ceived using Long’s sperm.
Share and her partner have
were doing was weird, and
strange and funny,” he
said.
As for whenever Long is
asked about how he and
Share met or about his
and Misato Arai of State
College are proud to
announce the birth of their
since split, each taking one Soon after that meeting, children, he doesn’t shy
daughter, Blanca Yuki
of the girls. After making Long and Share started away from telling the
connections with three of dating. Then all five — whole story, however com- Vallejos Arai, on Feb. 5,
his biological children, Long, Share, Bryce, Alice plicated that might be. 2019 at Mount Nittany
Long felt it was time to and Madi — went on a “We know it’s an in- Medical Center. The infant
finally meet them. vacation together for a teresting, strange situa- weighed 3.06 kilograms.
Having agreed to “Forty couple weeks. Next thing tion,” he said. “But we’re Blanca Yuki Vallejos Arai is
Dollars a Pop” documen- they knew, Share was in still just people meeting the granddaughter of
tary, Long’s first meeting need of housing, and Long each other and getting to Kenichi Arai and Reiko Arai
with Bryce, Madi and Alice invited her and Alice to know each other.” of Nagano City, Japan, and
happened with cameras move in — and they stayed. she is the granddaughter of
rolling. Although it wasn’t About a year later, Madi Lauren Muthler: Fernando Vallejos Valdés
the most natural of sit- was looking for a change, 814-231-4646, @lmuth1259 and Labibi Burgos Nasser of
uations — answering ques- so she moved in as well. Linares, Chile.
tions and smiling for the Bryce is in the Air Force,
cameras — Long said all but remains in close con-
four of them got along right tact with the others. SALE ENDS
away. So far, Long said he’s MARCH 18TH!
“They were all a little bit met four of his biological
shy and soft-spoken, but children, and knows of six
everyone’s got a good more he hasn’t met, but
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