The most beautiful people

We have known

Are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and found their way out of the depths.

These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life, that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.

Beautiful people do not just happen.

Elizabeth Kubler Ross

Good morning everyone, hope all is well and everyone had a good nights sleep. Before I begin what is the deal with the weighted blanket. I bought one, and put it on the bed but it’s heavy and it’s hard to move under it , so I don’t understand the point. Could someone Enlighten me on its benefit.
Yesterday I wrote about Balto, I made a mistake , if you want to see his statue it is in Central Park by 67th St. not 57th . I hope some crazy fool doesn’t find fault with him and want it removed which is so previlant today. But no sooner had I finished writing about him I went to watch the morning news, and the segment they were showing was all the pets that were left in the bad weather in Texas arriving at La Guardia airport to be put up for adoption. I don’t understand this concept when the weather gets bad, ex. A hurricane, a fire.a flood, a blizzard and you have to evacuate do you just leave your pet behind to survive on his own. What is that. I could almost understand, in a hurry you might forget something but a living thing. But I guess people have lost so much humanity that the cars today remind you to look in the backseat because people forget their own children. I don’t care how busy or in a hurry you are, there are priorities. Marylou in Pittsburgh,as you know is a vet told me a story of a woman who left her German Shepard in the car, in the garage in a heat wave for over four hours, she forgot her there. How do you not miss them , I can’t go from room to room or even the bathroom without Coco following me. If I don’t see him constantly I look for him. What is our society coming to. I know respect is something of the past but now are we losing decency too.
Animals. Pets are family they become an intigral part of our lives. I would like to say everyone should have a pet but I realize that is not a realistic idea, but I do believe they help our lives in many ways, for children it teaches responsibility and caring, adults companionship and unconditional love, seniors benefit tremendously, lowers blood pressure,exercise, wards off loneliness. And countless other things. I know personally that many of you have pets and in some cases have even been there when you made your decision and I would almost trade places with them because I know how much they are loved and cared for.
Now I have always had a dog, I think I got him when I was either 6 or 7 years old and he was there when I heft to get married, he was my best friend without sounding cliche, he was ever bodied best friend. Now you know I have recently reconnected with cousins I have not seen in over 50 years and in our early discussions the all remembered Pierre, one even remembered how he ate dinner before us and then we ate. I’m sure it was to ward off begging. Imagine to remember things like that , he must have been special. Now Coco is my buddy and has been for a long time, many of you know him or about him since his arrival. The love we have for our pets is immeasurably and their love for us the same. Again I will ask the question, how do you just leave them to fend for themselves, all I know is I could never do it, where I go he goes just like any other member of my family. By the way do you rennet Sammy, Justin’s homeless dog he wanted to keep,well he keeps in touch with the new owner, she sends him updates,Sammy is doing quite well, she has her own home now and spends the weekends at LBI at her beach house and is very much loved and adores the snow,after all she did live outside for years.
Ifound something nice to read it is a short poem about dogs, I think you’ll like it too , I’ve posted it on the blog page reflections of a life try to read it, if you haven’t guessed I love poetry and short stories and I like to share them when the go with what I am doing.
Enjoy your day, if you have a pet give them a little extra attention today it will make you both feel good. It’s supposed to be nice out today so we should try to take advantage of it. Til Tomorrow!

Things we learn from a dog

By Unknown

Have a happy attitude

Greet everyone with enthusiasm

Delight in the simple

Don’t hold grudges

Explore everything

Be supportive

Take plenty of rests

Loyalty is a virtue

Play is good

Set your limits

Accept treats

Protect those you love

Show passion with gusto

Be yourself

Love unconditionally.

These are life lessons we should all strive to do, we might be much happier.

Lord, help me to bring,

Comfort where there is pain,

Courage where there is fear,

Hope where there is despair,

Acceptance when the end is near,

A touch gentle with Tenderness, Patience and Love

Jennifer Smith R N

We must always appreciate what the medical professional do for us. Without them the word would be a very different place.

Good morning everyone, today is Monday February 22, 2021. Well the weekend is over and we actually had nice weather to be able to get out and enjoy it. As I mentioned yesterday I made a Porcetta , a rolled pork with many herbs inside, in Rome it is a famous recipe and made all over the city, especially in sandwiches so I set out to create this gastronomical masterpiece and I did a pretty good job. I could actually see the coliseum from my kitchen window. So my day was a success. I enjoyed making it but it was a long process.
Last night as I watched the news a realization came to mind we are approaching the one year anniversary of COVID-19. A devastating illness, that has gripped the world. A pandemic that has not been seen like this in over 100 years. A plaque that as of yesterday has taken the lives of 500,000 people, a half a million Americans alone, imagine the total around the world. With the help of god doctors and scientists have been able to create a vaccine to prevent the spread of this horror. The trouble now is Mother Nature is fighting against us to get the vaccine distributed.
If you enter Central Park near 57th street you will see a monument to Balto, Balto was a Siberian Husky Dog who in 1925 led a dog sled team across Alaska from Anchorage to Nome to deliver a vaccine that would prevent the death of Nome’s children from a diphtheria epidemic. Imagine that was almost a hundred years ago. If there was a need in Honduras,Guatemala,the continent of Africa the United States would have it resolved over night and that would be a great thing, a humanitarian thing. But here in the United States we have to cancel vaccine appointments because they can’t move the vaccine due to the weather. GET BALTO back , check the vetenerians, a dog could do better than all our sophisticated modes of travel. Get politicians to do something for a change besides going out to lunch. So now we have everything in place and all the esstial workers and countless volunteers will sit and wait , a disgrace.
Today , I would like to honor our nurses who have been on the front line of this situation from the onset, sometimes for days at a time with little else on their minds other than bringing help to patients. I could only imagine my mothers dedication during a time like this. So I have posted a tribute to them on reflections of life, please take a moment to read it. At sometime in our lives we all need a nurse.
Have a great day, remember to always be looking to find good in your life. That’s what makes life beautiful. Til Tomorrow!

Good morning everyone, today is Sunday February 21, 2020. Sunday already, a day devoted to relaxing, paying our respect to god and enjoying ourselves with family and friends. I hope everyone is feeling fine to partake in these activities today.
As you know I go to church on Saturday evening, in better times this woud lead into dinner out, but times as they are and the winter season I now come straight home. Last night was the first Sunday of lent. What is lent I have thought about it for years, it’s not about just giving up meat on Fridays, it’s gods way of giving us time to repent for all the wrongs we have done and be ready for a fresh start on Easter,
However, I think we practice that all our lives wheather you are catholic or not. In the English language there are two little words that change the whole game I’M SORRY, this gives us a new beginning that is what god is asking from us. But if it is easy why is it so hard to apologize. For most of my life I have found these 2 words the hardest to say. As a child my parents contended they could tell when I did something wrong through my eyes, they would wait for an apology . I would admit the wrongdoing and eventually say I was sorry and I was sorry for what I had done. It just was so hard to say it because it represented a sign of weakness, I had failed in some way. As you get older you think it is cool or worldly to act aloof, or act like you don’t care but you are really hiding something that is bothering you. In 1970 a movie came out, some consider it to be a masterpiece LOVE STORY, in many ways it was a powerful movie in terms of subject and theme. But there are two quotes from the movie that I think are iconic. ‘Love means never having to say you are sorry,’ how true is that when you love someone they know what is in your heart , and ‘ See I think you are scared, you put up a big glass wall to keep from getting hurt, but it also keeps you from getting touched’. These were 2 great lines to me and I really lived the second one for a long time.
It takes age, illness, and a pandemic for you to see how precious life is and it could be gone in a flash. This is what has happened to me. Most of the ideals I held onto somehow now seem useless and uunimportant. Those to little words are now more important to me than any other. What’s important today is family, friends and to live happily and enjoy life the best we can.
So this Lenten season I will await Easter, a holiday I might possibly love as much as Christmas fasting, praying, and asking god to forgive my mistakes. And you know what he will because that is what faith is all about. That’s what the two little words do , they give you another chance. So love all that is dear to you . I have shared a small but powerful poem on reflections of life try and read it.
Enjoy a great day, do something special. I am going to try and make Pocetta a dish from Rome,it seem a little above me so I’ve asked a real chef, Justin to help me get started I will keep you posted, Til Tomorrow!

Good morning everyone, today is Saturday February 20, 2021. Yes the month is flying bye, thank god sooner to warmer weather, I am actually looking out the window and see pink in the sky, so I will take that as a promise of a good day ahead. I don’t have anything planned yet but in a short while my life will be in a whirl wind and I will have a million things to do.
Yesterday afternoon around 4:30 I sat down with my cocktail, no don’t get excited it is v8 juice with horse radish and worteshire sauce but loaded with potassium so I have it every day plus the pills to get enough. It is rare that I sit at that time but I was all alone in the kitchen so I put on the news . In a few months they had a tribute to Blac History Month, I thought to myself, how involved I used to be in all the activities we planned in school for the month. How I miss that. But the featured person was Louis Armstrong, I feel he is one of the best musicians ever, the way he played that horn mesmerized me. I had recently see a piece where they showed his home in Harlem were he and his wife entertained and jammed with artists of every color. Now me I always have to relate things so I thought of two of my favorite songs of his Hello Dolly, which brought me back to 1967, I was a 14 year old kid but I knew everything and I went to see Hello Dolly on Broadway with my parents. The lead of Dolly was the incomparable Pearl Bailey ,and Cab Calloway and an all black ensemble. The show was Fantastic, at the end Miss Bailey came back on stage and announced that in the audience were many of the Olympian from the 1968 winter games in Grenoble she and Mr Calloway invited them all on stage to shake their hand and thank them for representing America, when they returned to their seats the two of them put on an impromptu show celebrating America. It was a great experience and one I have never forgotten
The second song is What a Wonderful Life, this song epitomizes the world to me . I have used it in many shows and programs I have put on. I have also taken word for word and gotten many meanings from it. I believe lyrics tell a story so they are as important or even more so than the music.
During Black History Month I will always celebrate, people like Miss Bailey, Mr Armstrong, and people of that generation. Just as I will always celebrate our fore eaters who came to this county. The are the people who lived and worked hard to break down, color barriers stereotypes, prejudices and many other hardships of life we can’t even imagine. To give us , all of us a better life , true at this time I think we are screwing it up royally. I have posted the lyrics to What A Wonder Life on the blog page Reflections of a Life. If you can take a moment and read them. There is great meaning there.
So day is Saturday, have some fun it is the weekend find something to give you a positive feeling. Til Tomorrow!

What a Wonderful WorldSong by Louis Armstrong

I see trees so green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you.
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.I see skies so blue and clouds so white.
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by.I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do.
They’re really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow.
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Good morning everyone, today is Friday, February 19, 2021. I realize it might seem foolish to put the date every day but yesterday I said to myself what day is it Thursday or Friday . No I’m not losing it but one day just seems to meld into the next that’s why it is important to keep busy with something, anything. Well it seems we were spared from a big snowfall, thank god today at least we can move around. I hope everyone is feeling well this morning, remember the weekend is upon us, and with that brings something special to do.
As you know I was a teacher for many years and before that a student and even a shop keeper, I like that term it seems like a mom and pop term for a small business. The one thing I felt was the most important component of any learning is literacy, the ability to read and understand language. It is the basis of all learning. Being a child of early days of television my generation began to move away from reading for enjoyment to watching television, this was all well and good however I was still made to read at least an hour everyday, but my real appreciation for reading came about in college that is when I started to connect different idea and adventures to reading. If I read something I had to somehow experience it the best I could either by doing it or eating a related food. I had to make a connection. I followed this through with my own children, if I read a story to Amanda about a tea party we had one. To me this is how we learned to make the page to real life connection. As a teacher I always tried to impress that on my students. Today children shy away from novels , too busy, boring a million excuses so it is our job to make them come alive anyway we can. With remote learning that seems like an almost impossible task. Yesterday I came across a word I had never heard before so as I used to tell the kids write it down and look up the meaning. With technology that can now be done in a second. The word is Bookstagrammers, they are people who use Instagram to get people excited about the books they read. They are posting recipes that inspire the book. It is a way to connect characters and themes. You can Google images of where a book takes place but you can’t Google the experience the taste of something. I feel this is a great idea in a way. I have always done this, what better way is there to truly understand something unless you experience it. I have always done theme days I called them if we went to a museum exhibit example Russian art, we lunched at the Russian Tea Room. As a child I once read about a smorgasbord, I asked my mother what that was , so we went to one, now I learned what it was and the synonym buffet. In school when Chinese New Year came about we had a celebration and kids from all classes could attend if allowed, so it also helped behavior,so the would be allowed to go. I have believed this concept all my life even as a director when I did the King and I , it was my first adventure with Thai food. Every play I did the same thing. Now I told you for some reason I cannot find the strength to sit through a novel since the quarantine but I have become interested in immigration at the beginning of the 20 th century and the affect on American cuisine from every culture. Thank god for the internet, it is something that took me awhile to use now it is my life line to knowledge that and my new phone.
Today is Friday start to plan you weekend for enjoyment. Have a great day. Til Tomorrow! Remember if you are Catholic no meat today.

Good morning everyone, I hope everyone is feel well this morning. Here in the northeast we are bracing for yet another snow storm. Today is February 18, 2021. This has been some winter and we still have a long way to go before we see the first buds of spring. How I long to see a crocus or a daffodil, but soon.
This week has been a busy one, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and now the snow. Every couple of months I have to make my rounds to the doctors, some live and some virtual but it is something I must do. My main question for them this time was about the corona vaccine and did I need to get it. All their answers were the same an emphatic yes. I shared some of my fears with them and one said you should be more afraid of COVID-19 than the vaccine , so I relented and made the appointment for February 27. The last doctor I went to on Friday who is also a friend, and I respect immensely, when I asked him the question he said you have not gotten the vaccine yet. With your history you should have been in the first wave of inoculations, it’s unacceptable, he told me to call the county office and explain my situation and I did they gave me a time to call the website if it did not work call back but it did and Marylou and i both went Monday and our second shot is March 15.
Through all my trepidation’s I was in a line to get the vaccine , however that was not the first time in my life I waited to be inoculated. Remember I come from a time as many of you share when certain illness were very dangerous, measles, chicken pox, fear of difigurement, mumps fear of sterilization from the fevers, diphtheria , meningitis these were all fears we lived with as children but the most dreaded of all was polio. When a vaccine for this was found the world rejoiced. So as I waited in line Monday I thought to myself vaccines have iradicated just about all of the diseases and thanked god for giving us the men and women who created these blessed things.
I understand the younger generations parental concerns about vaccinations, as a young parent I also felt the same way but I realized the need for children to be immunized because I had seen first had what these diseases were like and the damage and pain and suffering they caused. But today everyone makes their own choices, we have made our workld like that so it is their right to choose I guess. Today I have posted some pictures of Sabin Sunday and others people my age might remember and younger people might see what the world was like, remember they are on Reflections of life blog at WordPress. Check it out.
Again be careful today, find something good to do. Til Tomorrow!