Venerable Father Solanus Casey

Transcription

PRESORTED
STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY
Vol. VI, No. XLVII
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly
Thursday, November 27, 2014 • $1.00
The Saintly Priest Who Served Yonkers
By GLENN SLABY, Page 5
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
Page 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
Thursday, NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Community/GovernmentSection
COMMUNITY
Westchester Community College Under Scrutiny After Fraudulent Transcripts Emerge
By NANCY KING
Westchester
Community College is the
latest public institution to
come under scrutiny of the
New York State Inspector
General when it was revealed that a former
assistant basketball coach falsified academic
transcripts and forged an administrator’s
signature. As a result, the community college
has canceled its 2014-2015 Basketball
season. However the story doesn’t stop
there, because many student athletes use
Westchester Community College as a
springboard to play at NCAA four-year
colleges; the scandal has now spanned several
states and several teams.
Former Mt. Vernon High School star,
Jamell Walker was a star player for WCC
and was at the school on a full basketball
scholarship. He played on the award winning
team and was granted, upon completion of
what was thought to be a two-year stint with
WCC, a full scholarship to play ball with
nationally ranked Florida A&M University.
Not long after his arrival at Florida A&M,
an anonymous tipster informed the college
and the NCAA that Walker’s scholarship at
WCC had been stripped a year prior, after it
was revealed he only taken one class at the
college. In order to maintain a scholarship at
the college, a student must be matriculated
for a full credit load.
Upon further investigation, it was
revealed that there are several other former
WCC students who are also playing basketball for Division 1 schools and that they
too might be at a new school under less
than transparent circumstances. St John’s
University, famous for their Red Storm
team, has opened an investigation into the
eligibility of their star forward, who attended
WCC last year. Quinnipiac University in
Connecticut is now reviewing the transcripts of their star player, Gianni McLean,
who also attended Westchester Community
College. Concordia College in Bronxville
and SUNY Purchase are also investigating
all of their current athletes who transferred
to their respective schools after allegedly
attending Westchester Community College.
At the heart of this scandal is former
assistant basketball coach Richard Fields.
Last month, Fields admitted that he
provided false transcripts and he also forged
an administrator’s signature when doing
so. Oddly enough, Fields denies any doing
anything wrong. Call me ignorant but I
thought that forgery was a criminal offense.
Nearly every state in the union has a student
athlete who is under investigation for transcript fraud!
The transcript scandal at Westchester
Community College has given sports fans
a glimpse into the ugly side of the college to
professional sports superhighway. One must
wonder how many professional athletes
that we watch in the NBA or the NFL
have become superstars due to fraudulent
beginnings. When you connect the dots, it
seems as if a young person with raw talent
is plucked from the play-yard to participate
in collegiate sports at a junior college, where
they then live in hope of being noticed by a
four year college. If they are lucky enough to
be scouted and picked up by that four-year
school, they and the school, must then hope
that they are good enough to be drafted into
the NBA or NFL. It doesn’t matter if they
are legitimate students or not, it’s just the
bragging rights (do they receive cash as well?),
that these schools receive as a kickback every
time they can send a kid up to the pros.
In the meantime the NCAA has issued
the following statement: ”Student athletes
must meet academic standards throughout
their careers on campus to remain eligible to
participate in inter-collegiate sports”.That may
be a great statement on paper but one must
take into account how those legitimate student
athletes at Westchester Community College
are feeling right about now. Their basketball
season is canceled, a legitimate scholarship
may be in jeopardy, and their classmates who
are non-scholarship students are casting a very
shady eye at them. For the rest of us who live to
watch college ball and who can’t wait to see the
talent displayed during March Madness, we’ll
also be wondering if the talented athlete we’re
watching on TV has earned a legitimate ticket
to the big dance.
Nancy King is a freelance writer in Westchester
County, NY
COMMEMORATION
Community Marks 3 Years Since the Murder of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
By NANCY KING
On
a
frigid
November evening, a
vigil was held in front
of the White Plains Department of
Public Safety to commemorate the
third anniversary of the shooting death
of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. The 68
year old former marine was shot to
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death by the White Plains Police in
the early morning hours of November
19, 2011 after his medical alert bracelet
went off, in error. Chamberlain, that
morning, shouted through his door
that he needed no help and that all
he wanted was to be left alone. What
should have been a routine wellness
check erupted into a small army of
officers shouting racial slurs at the
elderly man. As the situation escalated,
the elderly man became more and
more agitated and as we all know now,
Chamberlain was eventually shot and
killed by those police officers after, they
alleged, he lunged at them with a knife.
Shortly after the killing, District
Attorney Janet DeFiore impaneled a
Grand Jury to investigate the killing
and of course, the Grand Jury found
the death of Mr. Chamberlain to be a
justifiable homicide citing the reason
that the police had to fatally shoot
him was because they themselves were
in perceived danger. The only police
officer who was terminated after the
incident was Police Officer Stephen
Hart. Hart was the officer who shouted
out the racial slur.
In the 3 years since Mr.
Chamberlain’s death, his son, Kenneth
Chamberlain Jr. has crusaded tirelessly
on behalf of innocent victims of police
shootings. He has also petitioned the
United States Department of Justice
to charge the remaining offending
officers with violating the Federal Civil
Rights of his father. That case is currently under consideration by the DOJ.
The family of Mr. Chamberlain has
also filed a $21 million dollar lawsuit
against the City of White Plains and
the White Plains Police Department.
What continues to make this
story so troubling is that death at the
hands of police officer continues to be
common. DJ Henry was shot to death,
by a Pleasantville Police Officer and
Ferguson Missouri is holding its collective breath concerning the shooting
death of Michael Brown at the hands
of the police.
Wednesday night’s vigil, organized
by the Westchester Coalition for Police
Reform included community members,
religious leaders and family members
of others who have been killed at the
hands of the police. Though it was a
frigid night, at least three dozen individuals attended the vigil. Kenneth
Chamberlain Jr. vowed to continue
on his mission to seek justice for his
father and to work tirelessly to prevent
this sort of tragedy from ever happening again. Unfortunately, shootings of
innocent people in this country are
becoming so common place that when
one hears about a fatal shooting at the
hands of the police, that the incident
gets little more than brief media
coverage. Until we end that racially
divided standoff with law enforcement, we will unfortunately be hearing
about incidents like this one for years
to come.
Nancy King is a freelance writer in
Westchester County, NY
Page 3
services. Surely this new plan will allow
for a new base of workers whose labor
will yield a fine tax harvest, but the most
important element to the political class is
the new wave of voters who will fuel the
rise of bigger government and amplify
over-inflated local budgets.
To achieve our potential as a society
and truly figure out what works best for
all of us, we need to be able to trust our
leaders. We need to be able to trust that
our laws are humane and that enforcement of our laws will be consistent. Once
laws become arbitrary instruments, subject
to the discretion of elected leaders and
legislators, who are highly influenced by
their political future, not to mention the
wants and needs and desires of the biggest
donors, we are sliding down a slippery
slope and as our descent accelerates it will
be more difficult to maintain control over
our path onward.
But if someone is making the case
that we are a nation of laws, as so many
politicians including President Barack
Obama did last Thursday evening, then
the responsibility to enforce the laws falls
in their lap. If our elected leaders falter in
their responsibility to enforce the laws that
they swore an oath to uphold then either
laws must be changed or the politicians
must be changed.
I personally don’t believe that amnesty
is a bad thing. However, I do disagree with
the imperial means of granting it without
the support of law and a fair legislative
process that allows for the democratic
process to do a cost benefit analysis, be it
financial or moral. I do believe that stealing
from productive individuals, on the local,
state and federal level to pay for people who
are not legal citizens is a crime, in itself. I
tend to believe that stealing from anyone
to provide for another via the use of force
is a crime, in itself, but that is politics as
usual and we’ve grown accustomed to this
bizarre ritual of human behavior.
The use of executive action introduced itself pretty much immediately after
the founding of this country. It is a useful
tool to achieve noble means but it can also
be a handy tool for the wicked-minded.
We’ve seen examples of both throughout history. None of us can say for sure
what this executive action will do to our
economy immediately or long-term, to the
future of America as a whole. And to me it
really doesn’t matter, because when a single
elected official becomes able to impose
his will despite a governmental system
that is set up with three branches for the
sole purpose of guaranteeing a system of
checks and balances, there is nothing left
to argue. We now live effectively in a dictatorship. Lack of outcry by an apathetic
public does not make it right. If we are a
nation of laws then we have to live by the
laws; change them through a legal legislative process or ignore them entirely.
WestchesterGuardianOpinion
Deconstructing “Doublespeak”
The use of executive action
introduced itself pretty much
immediately after the founding
of this country. It is useful
tool to achieve noble means
but it can also be a handy tool
for the wicked-minded.
By Kurt Colucci
As
defined
by
Wikipedia, “Doublespeak
is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or
reverses the meaning of
words. Doublespeak may take the form of
euphemisms (e.g., “downsizing” for layoffs,
“servicing the target” for bombing [1]), in
which case it is primarily meant to make the
truth sound more palatable. It may also refer
to intentional ambiguity in language or to
actual inversions of meaning (for example,
naming a state of war “peace”). In such cases,
doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth.
Doublespeak is most closely associated with
political language
There can be no doubt that we live in
very interesting times: an age where people
speak the same language but still need a
translator to make sense of the meaning
and context of the words used. True communication has become distorted; an
elusive goal.
Last Thursday, November 20, 2014,
President Obama held a press conference to discuss his plan on amnesty. As
defined in Wikipedia amnesty is “A pardon
extended by the government to a group or
class of persons, usually for a political offense.”
Wikipedia goes on to say “An amnesty may
be extended when the authority decides that
bringing citizens into compliance with a law
is more important than punishing them for
past offenses.”
Now I don’t want to get in to all of
the extensive and controversial legal issues
involved in amnesty because it’s quite
obvious that there are many competing
forces at work; all seeking to influence
public opinion. There are groups that
vilify the “illegals” and then there are
other groups that make the case that
these “illegals” actually help the American
economy by doing jobs that most
Americans don’t want to do. It is a very
polarizing and complex topic, and I do not
wish to delve into this, today.
I would like to focus instead, on
President Obama’s sales pitch for amnesty:
not on of what amnesty does or does not
mean for us; rather I want to focus on the
unspoken meaning behind the president’s
words and actions.
“We expect people who live in this
country to play by the rules.” If that’s the
case, why would he grant amnesty to illegals
who broke the established law and pardon
their transgressions? Now I’m not saying
these people should be deported. I’m not
saying they don’t belong here and I’m not
saying that they’re not welcome here. But
I am saying that according to current U.S.
law, they are here illegally. Would Barack
Obama or any president Republican or
Democrat, for that matter grant amnesty
to anyone who decided to protest and not
pay their federal income taxes? If we are
indeed a nation of laws, we cannot allow
those who are elected to enforce the laws
of the land, to pick and choose, what laws
they want to enforce. Enforcement of laws,
especially on a federal level, should not be
arbitrary. If we are going to have laws,
they should be enforced equally across
the spectrum. When we find that certain
laws are abusive or counterproductive to
the concept of freedom and individual
liberty, then we should hold our legislators
accountable for getting rid of them.
We constantly hear politicians and
legislators say that “we are a nation of
laws.” But we would be wise to realize that
a nation of laws can easily create a nation
of criminals by simply tailoring the rules to
apply to the many, who must obey, but not to
the few, who actually hold power over the
pliability of law.
Both parties ruthlessly pursue, and
court, the favor of public opinion. In this
case, public opinion simply means the
majority of people who vote. I believe that
what President Obama is doing with these
executive orders, is laying the groundwork
for a new generation of Latino voters.
Why? In America, Latinos are set to
surpass all other voting blocs as a majority.
So, to summarize and simplify the point,
Latinos will become the largest voting
block in America within the next decade.
Obama’s ultimate goal is to secure, for the
Democratic Party, carte blanche access
to this new and growing demographic of
voters. The net effect will be to fortify and
strengthen the Democratic stranglehold
on legislative and executive power, not just
on the federal level but on the state and
local levels as well.
Despite President Obama’s ruthless
commitment to a flawed ideology, this is
a very shrewd power play that will work in
his favor over the long-term. The net effect
will render the Republican Party useless,
despite the recent gains in the midterm
elections.
No matter the political gains that
either party achieves by polarizing an angry
public to avenge Obama’s amnesty or to
embrace the 5 million new “non-citizens”,
we as a nation have some soul-searching to
do. The change that needs to occur is not
to be done through the legislative process,
but must instead come from within each
of us, as individuals. Change doesn’t start
from the top and work its way down. True
change is a personal choice. Change means
a lot of different things to a lot of different
people because we are all individuals with
different likes, needs, wants, desires hopes
and dreams. That mother who’s crossing
the border illegally to get her children
here to have a better life is no different
from two working parents who struggle
through 40 or 50 hour work weeks to
give their children a leg up, in hopes of a
better future. The only difference is that
she was born on the wrong piece of soil.
Regardless of our country of origin, we all
feel that same human capacity for love and
seek a tomorrow that is better than today:
one that is filled with prosperity, peace,
security, and ultimately, happiness. The
primary issue I have is not with amnesty,
but instead, the ability for our new visitors
to take advantage of taxpayer funded
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Page 4
WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN OPINION
Re-shapers of the American Presidency—Then and Now
By LUKE HAMILTON
He never cared what
anyone else thought. He
was the President after all
and if you aren’t with him,
then you’re against him.
He came from humble beginnings.
Raised by a single mother, he was forced
to depend on family members for help
throughout the first half of his life; even
more so after the death of his mother. He
was a dissolute youth, getting in trouble frequently and spending more time partying
than sober. It wasn’t until he attended law
school that he began to leave behind the
misbehavior of his youth and start looking
for ways to make his mark on the world. By
the time he reached the zenith of his career,
he would be one of the most powerful men
in the world and would find ways to stretch
the boundaries of the Presidency like no
one had done before him.
This man was President Andrew
Jackson.
There are plenty of interesting correlations between our 7th President and
our 44th. The two men came from similar
domestic circumstances and arrived in
Washington after bruising campaigns.
Jackson fought scandalous allegations
spread by John Quincy Adams’ supporters
about the supposedly adulterous timing of
his marriage to Rachel Donelson. It was
alleged that they had met while Rachel
was still married and had lived in sin until
Donelson was able to obtain a divorce from
her estranged husband. The Adams camp
spread similarly damaging rumors about
the virtue of Jackson’s widowed (and longdead) mother. Old Hickory was seen as a
reckless frontiersman: uncouth, drunk, and
with a temper as quick as his morals were
loose.
Obama arrived in Washington after a
tumultuous campaign where he inadvertently revealed his redistributive financial
agenda to a plumber on-camera, dodged
past affiliations with an anti-Semitic,
America-hating pastor under whom he
sat for 20 years, as well as an anti-Semitic,
America-hating academic mentor. Rumors
continued to swirl about his ineligibility to serve as President, due to questions
regarding his American birthplace. Barack
Obama was seen as a radical progressive
whose gift for oratory was not enough to
compensate for his lack of administrative
experience and nefarious political ideology.
Despite the contentious arrival in
D.C., both men entered the fray determined to bend the nation to their will.
Jackson, hell-bent to defeat the cries for
Nullification, secession, and rebellion in
South Carolina and preserve the Union.
Obama determined to upend the status
quo and remake the nation along the lines
of his radical, progressive ideology; gutting
Constitutional rights while fabricating new
ones out of thin air. Obama has become
the Emperor, championing the Rule of
Ideology over the Rule of Law, gorging on
public money which he borrowed on our
credit to fill the tank of his utopian machinery. It must be noted that he has done all
of this with no resistance from a spineless
opposition party. (The Gutless Old Party,
indeed…)
It is at this point that the differences begin to make themselves clear.
Superficially, and circumstantially, these
men appear similar, yet substantially, they
couldn’t be further apart. On the subject of
finances, Old Hickory made it his mission,
while in office, to repay the Federal Debt,
a mission he accomplished in 1835. Under
Obama, the Federal Debt has ballooned
by more than seven trillion dollars. If this
increase was spread across all Americans
(as it inevitably will be), each household
would each owe $61,000 more than before
Obama took office.
Jackson loved his country with a
patriotism which was fierce and personal.
Obama believes his country is to blame
for much of the world’s grievances and has
systematically worked to weaken its impact.
President Jackson was a rigorous and hearty
man, who carried around a bullet in his
body for 19 years which he incurred in a
duel over his wife’s honor. President Obama
wears “mom jeans”, can’t name a single
player on his so-called favorite baseball
team, and bows in deference to leaders
of minor foreign nations. Old Hickory
was inordinately loyal to his family and
friends, standing by his Secretary of War,
John Eaton, up until his Cabinet was on
the verge of rebellion. Barack will throw
anyone and everyone under the bus if it’s
politically-expedient for him to do so. It’s
what he did to both his spiritual mentor
and the man who hosted his first campaign
fundraiser after the attention got too hot
on the campaign trail. Heck, he even threw
his maternal grandmother under the bus,
making her out to be a barely-closeted
racist.
Jackson dramatically expanded the
power of the Federal government, but he
did so by working against special interests on behalf of the people (e.g. his fight
against re-chartering the Second Bank
of America). Obama has dramatically
expanded the power of the Federal government by subjugating the freedom and
prosperity of the people for the benefit
of special interest groups. He chastised
the “greedy” healthy insurance companies
and then forced through a law which has
generated millions of new customers for
these companies, which in turn will likely
Community/Government Section.............................................2
Community.............................................................................2
Opinion Section..........................................................................3
Community Notices....................................................................5
Education/Technology Section..................................................6
Creative Disruption.................................................................6
Education................................................................................6
Worship...................................................................................7
Technology..............................................................................9
Arts/Entertainment.....................................................................9
Movie Review..........................................................................9
Eye on Theatre.......................................................................10
Cultural Perspectives.............................................................13
Calendar................................................................................14
CommunityCalendar................................................................15
Legal Notices.............................................................................14
Luke Hamilton is classically-trained,
Shakespearean actor from Eugene, Oregon who
happens to be a liberty-loving, right- wing,
Christian constitutionalist. When not penning
columns for ClashDaily. com, Hamilton spends
his time astride the Illinois-Wisconsin border,
leading bands of liberty-starved citizens from
the progressive gulags of Illinois to [relative]
freedom. Hamilton is the creative mind/voice
behind Pillar & Cloud Productions, a budding
production company which resides at www.
PillarCloudProductions.com. He owes all to his
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose strength is
perfected in his weakness.
© Luke Hamilton 2014
Mission Statement
Table of Contents
Commemoration.....................................................................2
lead to millions of campaign dollars for the
Democrats.
Now all of this is not to imply that
Jackson was a paragon of virtue. He was
not. As much as he championed “the
people”, his concept of that population didn’t include the black man or the
American Indian, as he strenuously acted to
deprive them of their property and freedom
throughout his career. As horrible as
Obama’s actions have been, I cannot equitably compare the defense of slavery and
forced emigration which took place during
Jackson’s administration to the discrimination and trickle-down poverty of Obama’s.
Yet we have not seen the complete reverberations of Obama’s imperial presidency.
It may be that the repercussions of the 44th
President’s actions outstrip the horrendous
ones taken by the 7th President in the end.
Sam Zherka, Publisher
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unbiased reporting of events and developments that are newsworthy
and significant to readers living in, and/or employed in, Westchester
County. The Guardian will strive to report fairly, and objectively, reliable
information without favor or compromise. Our first duty will be to the
PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, without fear
or hesitation, no matter where the pursuit may lead, in the finest tradition
of FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The Guardian will cover news and
events relevant to residents and businesses all over Westchester County.
As a weekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of delivery more
associated with daily journals, we will instead seek to provide the broader,
more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step accounting of events,
enlightened with analysis, where appropriate.
From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where,
why, and how, the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our
more abundant time, and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and
‘damage control’ often characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach
the very heart of the matter: the truth. We will take our readers to a point
of understanding and insight which cannot be obtained elsewhere.
To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necessarily better. And, furthermore, we will acknowledge that we cannot be
all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of
relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features
and columns useful in daily living and employment in, and around, the
county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
Page 5
EDITORIAL
We wish our readers a Happy Thanksgiving and give thanks for our many
blessings. Travel safely.
As Nancy King reports this week, three
years have passed since sixty-eight year old
retired Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr.
was killed by White Plains police officers
responding to a medic alert that triggered
accidentally. He was tasered and then shot
twice on Nov. 19, 2011; the officers claimed
he menaced them with a knife. One officer
reportedly hurled racial epithets at Mr.
Chamberlain and this was one of the last
things this Marine, who proudly served his
country, heard before he died.
On January 25, 2008, a Mount Vernon
officer, Christopher A. Ridley, 23 dressed
in plain clothes, was killed by Westchester
County police officers in downtown White
Plains as he tried to restrain a homeless man
whom he had seen assault another person.
Officer Ridley did have a gun and there are
conflicting reports as to whether he identified himself as a police officer prior to being
shot.
October 17, 2010 twenty-year old
Danroy Henry killed in Thornwood by police
trying to disperse rowdy college students.
I do not know the Henrys but I
often think how proud his mother
must have been when she learned
her son had been accepted to Pace;
how relieved she must have been
that he would be going to school
in Westchester County, such a safe
and pretty place. And he should
have been so very safe here.
In all three cases lethal
force was used against men of
color when non-lethal intervention would have been effective in
defusing the confrontation and these three
men would still be alive. In all three cases,
Grand Juries, who only hear the evidence
the state presents, declined to offer indictments. No family attorney is present to offer
evidence contrary to the statements offered
by the District Attorney. The officers acted
as Judge, Jury and Executioner three times
within four years, cutting short the life of
a retired Marine, a college freshman and a
young police officer and paid no penalty for
this. No wonder it keeps happening. It must
Danroy Henry
not happen again.
As the families of these men make their
way through the legal system in search of
justice for their loved ones, the public needs
assurance that police departments throughout the county work to address the deficit in
communication skills among their officers
when faced with potentially dangerous
individuals and where needed, build better
relationships in their respective communities.
As we have said in the past, Police
Officers are our first line of defense and
CommunityNotices
The Historical Society of the New York Courts
Announces New Event
Asian-Americans & The Law: New York Pioneers in the Judiciary on Dec. 15
WHITE PLAINS, NY (November
17, 2014) – The Historical Society of the
New York Courts is presenting AsianAmericans & the Law: New York Pioneers
in the Judiciary on Monday, December 15,
2014 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. at the New
York City Bar Association (42 W. 44th
Street, NYC). This event is free and open to
the public.
To register, please go to https://hsnyc.
formstack.com/forms/register.
The first part of the program features
a slide show presentation of historic photographs on Asian-American legal history
by Hon. Denny Chin, Judge, United States
Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
Hon. Denny Chin will moderate the
second part of this event, which includes a
conversation with the pioneering AsianAmerican judges in New York: Hon.
Hon. Denny Chin,
Randall T. Eng, Hon. Peter Tom, and Hon.
Dorothy Chin-Brandt.
CLE credit pending.
About The Historical Society of the
New York Courts
The Historical Society of New York
Courts is a non-profit organization founded
in 2002 by then New York State Chief Judge
Judith S. Kaye. Its mission is to preserve,
protect and promote the legal history of
New York, including the proud heritage of
its courts and the development of the Rule
of Law. The Society promotes its mission
through educational outreach to New York
State students, and public programs and
publications on these themes, which inform
our knowledge and role as citizens today.
The Society supports its programs through
contributions from its members, gifts and
grants from foundations, corporations, law
firms and individuals. For more information
about the Society, please visit www.nycourts.
gov/history.
they do a dangerous, difficult job. Our reporter
Nancy King, in an article
several years ago, noted that
our teens and young adults
need to understand that if
an officer asks them to stop
and hold up their hands, it is in their interest
to comply immediately to defuse a confrontation, before lethal force is triggered. This is
very good advice.
Our thoughts and prayers are with
the families of Mr. Chamberlain, Danroy
Officer Christopher Ridley
Henry and Officer Ridley who will mark yet
another holiday without their loved one. We
must commit to each other to work harder
to make our communities safe for everyone.
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Page 6
Education/TechnologySection
Creative Disruption
1948 – 1984 – 2014 – 1984 Again?
by John F. McMullen
In 1948, Eric Arthur
Blair, writing under his
much more famous pseudonym, George Orwell,
finished the classic “1984,”
warning us of a totalitarian government of the
future. That book and the equally important
“Animal Farm,” written, four years earlier, was
a rail against the despotic Soviet Union.
Animal Farm showed clearly the difference between the perhaps “pie-in-the-sky
Marxist-like “All animals are equal” mantra of
the animal revolution with what became “We
pigs are brainworkers. The whole management
and organisation of the farm depend on us. Day
and night, we are watching over your welfare. It
is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat
those apples.” as the pigs (a la Lenin and Stalin)
took over and formed a society in which
authoritarian government was the rule.
While Animal Farm seems to apply
only to Soviet Communism, 1984 has lessons
for us in the post-9/11 US world. It should
be understood that I am not, in any way,
equating the evils of Soviet Communism
with our present life in America. I am
pointing out, however, that the present state
of both technology and the domestic / global
world confront us with challenges that must
be dealt with.
The fictional 1984 was a world in which
current technology (in that case, two-way television), perpetual war, constant surveillance,
and the inability to determine who might be
government spies were the norm.
In the Wall Street Journal of Thursday,
November 13th, Devlin Barrett in a story,
“Americans’ Cellphones Targeted in Secret
U.S. Spy Program” (http://online.wsj.com/
articles/americans-cellphones-targetedin-secret-u-s-spy-program-1415917533),
that sounded too much like simplistic science
fiction to be true, wrote of a Department of
Justice program that employs Cessna airplanes flying over American homes to capture
“data from tens of thousands of cellphones in a
single flight, collecting their identifying information and general location.” This program, under
the command of the U.S. Marshals Service,
is said to have been operational since 2007
– seven years without the knowledge of the
public.
The technology underlying the
program, as defined in the Journal article,
utilizes devices manufactured by the Boeing
Company called “dirtboxes” which “mimic cell
towers of large telecommunications firms and
trick cellphones into reporting their unique
registration information.”
The day following the initial Journal
report, in a follow-up story, Barrett and a coauthor, Gautham Nagesh, wrote “The Justice
Department, without formally acknowledging
the existence of the program, defended the legality
of the operation by the U.S. Marshals Service,
saying the agency doesn’t maintain a database
of everyday Americans’ cellphones.” -- and
-- “On Friday, the Federal Communications
Commission, which regulates the nation’s
airwaves, said it had no idea about the program.
‘We were not aware of this activity,’’ said Kim
Hart, a spokeswoman for the FCC, which licenses
and regulates cell-service providers.”
These revelations come, of course, after
the Edward Snowden / NSA ones and the
later ones concerning the United States Postal
Service scanning and maintaining copies of
the envelopes of all first class mail. Perhaps,
this is not quite the same as Orwell’s two-way
televisions that monitor citizens’ activities but
they are close enough to concern privacy and
civil liberties groups.
Two days after the Journal’s second
piece, the New York Times had as a front
page article “More Federal Agencies Are
Using Undercover Operations” (http://
www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/us/
more-federal-agencies-are-using-undercover-operations.html), detailing how “The
federal government has significantly expanded
undercover operations in recent years, with
officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business
people, welfare recipients, political protesters and
even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.” The article
explains how that such undercover work
was once the purview of the FBI and a few
investigative agencies but has now expanded
throughout the government, including the
Department of Agriculture, Small Business
Administration, Department of Energy,
and the Government Accountability
Office. As the government, through electronic surveillance using tools that didn’t exist
when 1984 was written and undercover work
expands its reach into our lives, there is both
understandable concern for privacy and our
security in this post-9/11 world.
In short, it’s a different world than what
many knew as we grew in understanding as
to what appropriate activities by government
were. We are also awash in a whole new world
of “Big Data” that will dramatically alter all
lives in the future – an outstanding TED
presentation by Kenneth Cukier, “Big Data
EDUCATION
Vaughn College Installs Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo as Seventh
President after Holding Gala to Raise Scholarship Funds
Flushing, New York (November 13,
2014)—Vaughn College of Aeronautics and
Technology installed Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo
as the seventh president in its history on
Friday, November 7 in a ceremony that
took place in the College’s William DeCota
Hangar on the Flushing campus (86-01
23rd Avenue). The installation followed the
Vaughn Transformed Gala the previous
night where the institution celebrated
the completion of a nearly $40 million
renovation of the campus and the retirement
of the College’s sixth president, Dr. John C.
Fitzpatrick. The Gala, the first in Vaughn
College’s history raised $100,000 for scholarships and institutional priorities.
“This was a tremendous week for
Vaughn,” said President DeVivo. “The Gala
was incredibly successful and the funds
raised will help us achieve our mission of
assisting our students, many of whom are
first-generation Americans and first-generation college students, attain their dream of
obtaining a college education. She added,
“As I take on this new role, I look forward to
working with trustees, students, faculty, staff,
employers and community groups to impact
the lives of our students, serve the needs
of the industries where our graduates are
employed and support our local community.”
Is A Big Deal” (http://www.ted.com/talks/
kenneth_cukier_big_data_is_better_
data?language=en) lays that out well. Cukier
spends the majority of the talk pointing out
the very great benefits of the great abundance
of data and the new statistical tools which we
have to make sense of this data and put it to
use.
He concludes the latter part of the talk
(and I recommend watching it all --- more than
once) with some negatives, the first of which
may be the scariest – “Now, there are dark
sides to big data as well. It will improve our
lives, but there are problems that we need to be
conscious of, and the first one is the idea that we
may be punished for predictions, that the police
may use big data for their purposes, a little bit
like “Minority Report.” Now, it’s a term called
predictive policing, or algorithmic criminology,
and the idea is that if we take a lot of data, for
example where past crimes have been, we know
where to send the patrols. That makes sense, but
the problem, of course, is that it’s not simply going
to stop on location data, it’s going to go down to
the level of the individual. Why don’t we use data
about the person’s high school transcript? Maybe
we should use the fact that they’re unemployed or
not, their credit score, their web-surfing behavior,
whether they’re up late at night. Their Fitbit,
when it’s able to identify biochemistries, will show
that they have aggressive thoughts. We may have
algorithms that are likely to predict what we are
about to do, and we may be held accountable before
we’ve actually acted. Privacy was the central challenge in a small data era. In the big data age, the
challenge will be safeguarding free will, moral
choice, human volition, human agency.”
He also, as one might expect, points out
the massive impact on jobs that Big Data,
coupled with the Artificial Intelligence tools
to operate on it will have. I asked Pam Baker,
author of the recent comprehensive book
on the subject, “Data Divination: Big Data
Strategies” for her comments on Cukier’s
talk and she replied, in part “The impact on jobs
cannot be overstated. By my estimate, approximately 90% of all current white-collar jobs are
ultimately at risk -- including at the CEO and
board of director levels. That’s a huge displacement
and we must be working on that problem now to
prevent widespread suffering (unemployment,
poverty, hunger, etc.).”
Her concluding comment on the subject
equally applies, I believe, to the overall society
in which we will live – not only the data driven
aspects but also how we will interact with our
government and those around us. I quote
“None of us are trying to terrify or panic people
on this. We are collectively and individually trying
to communicate the gravity of the jobs situation
so that many people everywhere can undertake
meaningful planning now. If we address the issue
now, we can ultimately manage this situation to
the best benefit of mankind. That means mastering these new technologies and developing policies
and regulations that leverage the benefits while
also diminishing the negative impacts.“
As she said, it’s up to us to address the
issue now.
Creative Disruption is a continuing series
examining the impact of constantly accelerating
technology on the world around us. These changers
normally happen under our personal radar until
we find that the world as we knew it is no more.
Comments on this column to johnmac13@gmail.
com
John F. McMullen is a writer, poet, college professor
and radio host. Links to other writings, Podcasts,
& Radio Broadcasts at www.johnmac13.com,
his books are available on Amazon, and he blogs
at http://open.salon.com/blog/johnmac13.
© 2014 John F. McMullen
Page 7
Worship
Venerable
Father
Solanus
Casey
The Saintly Priest Who Served Yonkers
By Glenn Slaby
Father Solanus Casey’s
last words exemplified his
life: “I give my soul to Jesus
Christ.” Imagine, even for a
priest, to vow an eternity of
service: giving over your free will, forever;
forsaking any sort of reward for a lifetime
of service and vowing to continue to serve
until the end of time. With his last breath, he
offered himself up to God.
This November 25th marks the 144th
year since the birth of this individual, a wonderworker, with thousands of documented
cures, who suffered life-long side effects of a
he did poorly, eventually being dismissed
from the seminary.
Still desiring the life of a religious,
Casey was accepted by three different orders
but could not decide among them. After
some discernment and a nine day Novena,
which concluded on Dec. 8th, the Feast of
the Immaculate Conception, he heard the
Blessed Mother telling him to go to Detroit,
where the Capuchin order was based. He
joined them on Christmas Eve, 1896 and on
January 14, 1897 took the name of Solanus,
after St. Francis Solano, the Spanish missionary to Peru.
July 21, 1898, Bernard Casey
made a Simple Profession of Vows at St.
Bonaventure Chapel, Detroit MI. and continued his studies at St. Francis Monastery,
Milwaukee WI. Again, he experienced difficulties. His grades continued to be just
“average”or “passing,”causing his superiors to
question his suitability to continue religious
studies. After writing a letter to them, resigning himself to God’s will and displaying
great faith, Solanus was accepted and took
final vows with his class on July 21, 1901.
On December 8, 1903, Brother Solanus
was ordained a Sub-deacon at St. Francis
DeSales Seminary Chapel, Milwaukee WI.
In March 1904, Solanus was ordained
a Deacon, at St. Francis Church, Milwaukee
WI and was found worthy of ordination
to the holy Priesthood on July 24, 1904,
taking the holy vows of Poverty, Chastity,
and Obedience. Given his difficulty learning
German and Latin, he was ordained a
simplex priest, , who could preside at Mass, but
would not have the authority for the public
preaching of doctrinal sermons or hearing
confessions. Never showing resentment or
disappointment, the seeds of humility were
planted at the age of 33. On July 31, 1904, Fr.
Solanus Casey celebrated his first Mass at St.
Joseph Parish in Appleton WI.
After his ordination, Father Casey
served for 20 years in a succession of assignments in New York based Capuchin friaries.
On August 4, 1904, Father Casey arrived
at Sacred Heart Parish in Yonkers, NY, his
first assignment, which lasted fourteen years.
Known as Father Solanus, he first served as
sacristan, then director of the altar servers,
then porter or “doorkeeper,” answering the
bell at the monastery door – a job usually
reserved for Brothers, but limitations became
guideposts on his life’s path rather than road
blocks.
Though his jobs were minor, Fr. Solanus
took great pride in his responsibilities. He
soon edified the parishioners by his prayerful example at Mass and through his great
charity toward the sick, children, non-Catholics and the poor. His intense devotion to
the Eucharist was fostered through many
hours of meditation before the Blessed
Sacrament. It was at the monastery door,
though, where Fr. Solanus became a muchloved and personally sought-after counselor.
Sick people asked for his blessing and something remarkable began to take place – cures,
physical and spiritual which he quietly documented later on. Witnesses testified that
Continued on page 8
“The doctors understood how important
it was to get me back to work in a week.”
C
M
Ricky R., colon patient
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
©2014 Hudson Valley Surgical Group | All Rights Reserved.
childhood illness. Father Casey worked at a
variety of jobs as a young man and these ultimately led him to God’s chosen path, which
included serving in Yonkers and New York
City for twenty years.
Bernard Casey, the sixth of 16 children
of a Wisconsin farm family,was inflicted with
diphtheria at the age of eight. Diphtheria
permanently damaged Father Casey’s vocal
cords, leaving him with a wispy voice. His
early life showed nothing spectacular that
would mark Father Casey as a wonder
worker. His independent life began at 17,
when Casey left home to help support the
farm. This phase included falling in love, (the
relationship ended, due to objections from
the girlfriend’s mother) and various jobs
including work as a hospital orderly, a lumberjack, a guard in a Minnesota state prison,
(where he helped convert one of the Younger
Brothers from the Jesse James gang!) and a
Trolley car operator in Superior, Wisconsin.
While working as a trolley car operator, the
young Bernard witnessed a brutal murder,
which challenged him to rethink his life’s
path and answer God’s calling. Is there
such a thing as a coincidence? God doesn’t
waste anyone’s life. Everyone has a purpose, a
meaning; but our human condition does not
allow us the privilege of immediately seeing
God’s way.
This calling to the priesthood set
Casey upon a difficult path, yet his life was
a blessing for many. At the age of twentyone, though his education was limited, he
entered St. Francis High School Seminary
in Milwaukee. The discipline was enjoyable,
but the studies included German and Latin,
which were difficult for him and as a result
Father had two gifts: the gift of healing and
the gift of prophecy. The font, where he personally baptized over 300 people is located in
a dedicated shrine at Sacred Heart.
July 1918, Father Solanus transferred to
Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, 213 Stanton
St., in New York City, serving there until
Oct. 25, 1921, when he was transferred to our
Our Lady of Angels in Harlem, NY, returning to Detroit on August 1, 1924. During
his years at Our Lady of Angels in Harlem,
Father Solanus gave rise to the work of the
Seraphic Mass Association, (today called the
Capuchin Mission Association), founded in
Switzerland as a means to support Capuchin
foreign missionaries. Those who enrolled
their name with a small donation would be
remembered in the prayers and Masses of
the Capuchin Friars around the world. It
wasn’t long before the community noticed
that, when Fr. Solanus enrolled a person,
more amazing results and even complete
cures began to happen regularly.
“Man’s greatness lies in being faithful to
the present moment.”
On November 8, 1923, Fr. Solanus
wrote in a large ledger: “Fr. Provincial wishes
notes to be made of special favors reported as
through the Seraphic Mass Association.” He
would eventually fill seven notebooks with
over 6,000 entries, which ended in1956.
These favors he never attributed to himself,
but always to “the mercy and love of God for all
His people.” In an entry dated March 28, 1924,
he noted: “Patrick McCue enrolled for one year
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Page 8
Worship
Continued from page 7
Feb. 9, by fellow motorman---reported today
entirely cured of both gangrene and diabetes, and
working every day. Doctors baffled!”
His apostolate to the sick and to the
poor continued wherever Father Solanus
was sent. Soon after being appointed in 1924
to the Capuchin Friary of St. Bonaventure in
Detroit, Father Solanus was again appointed
as a porter and sacristan, remaining in these
positions for 20 years. Every Wednesday
afternoon he conducted well-attended
services for the sick. A co-worker estimates
that on the average day, 150 to 200 people
came to see him. Most of them came to
receive his blessing; 40 to 50 came for
consultation. Many people considered him
instrumental in cures and other blessings
received, though sometimes prayers were
not always answered as expected. On one
occasion, he had to tell the parents of a sick
girl “sometimes God needs little angels.”
Fr. Solanus’ service continued unabated,
during the years of 1941-1945, even through
well-earned semi-retirement, when he was
sent to the Friary of St. Felix in Huntington,
Indiana on April 25, 1946. There he spent
his time in prayer and again, ministered to
the sick and troubled, until his own infirmities brought him back to Detroit for special
medical care in the spring of 1956.
In 1956, Brother Richard, of the Father
Solanus Casey Guild, recalls growing up in
Detroit and as a teenager, “being very much
aware that many holy things and stories of
wonders occurred around Father Casey’s life.”
He recalls being a teenager and hearing a
woman walking down the street share that
she was “off to visit Father Solanus with
something she wanted him to pray for.”
Following a serious auto accident in 1956,
Brother Richard’s brother was seriously
ill and in danger of losing his leg. Brother
Richard, then 15, accompanied his mother
to seek Father Casey’s help and he told
them, “not to worry.” Before leaving, he asked
if he could “give them a blessing,” and he did
so, putting his hand on Brother Richard’s
shoulder. Brother Richard says his mother
later told him, “Her heart sunk then, because she
knew he was now destined for the monastery.”
Brother Richard entered the Capuchin order
eight years later and now serves the Father
Solanus Guild, caretakers of his legacy.
“I looked on my whole life as giving, and
I want to give until there is nothing left of me
to give. So I prayed that, when I come to die,
I might be perfectly conscious, so that with a
deliberate act I can give my last breath to God,”
said Father Solanus, while gravely ill. At
11:00 the next morning, July 31, 1957, on
the 53rd anniversary of his first Mass, Fr.
Solanus, who had been in and out of consciousness, suddenly sat up, opened his eyes
wide, stretched out his arms and said clearly:
“I give my soul to Jesus Christ.” He willingly
gave his last breath to God. Casey died of
Erysipelas*, a bacterial skin condition, on July
31, 1957, at St. John Hospital in Detroit. A
commemorative plaque was placed outside
the door of the hospital room in which he
died. An estimated 20,000 people passed by
his coffin prior to his burial in the cemetery
at St. Bonaventure Monastery. At his death,
all his worldly possessions fit into one trunk:
some tattered clothing and few personal
items, including a beat-up violin that he used
to play occasionally.
Pope John Paul II declared Father
Solanus the first American-born Venerable
in 1995 due to his virtues; 60 years lived
in a religious order and his 53 years as a
priest. The late Father Benedict Groeschel,
a former Capuchin, states that after Father
Solanus Casey’s death, a letter from Rome
was discovered, apparently unopened, which
granted him full priestly faculties to preach in
public and hear confessions. Groeschel takes
the position that Casey’s healing apostolate
would have suffered if this had been known.
“We must be faithful to the present
moment or we will frustrate the plan of God
for our lives.” – Father Solanus Casey
Editors Note: Father Solanus Casey’s cases
of reported medical favors (answered prayers)
are currently being studied by the Vatican. Upon
approval of a documented favor, he will be raised
to Blessed. Following another approved miracle,
he will be declared a Saint. The Guardian is
appreciative of the assistance of Mary Comfort
and Brother Richard at the Father Solanus
Guild for their help in researching this story
and for making their copyrighted photos available to us. For further information about Father
Solanus Casey, visit the website at: www.solanuscasey.org.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanus_Casey
- cite_note-10
Glenn Slaby is married and has one son. A
former account with an MBA, Glenn suffers
from mental illness. He writes part-time and
works at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison
where he also receives therapy.
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Page 9
public to understand that every student
should have the opportunity to learn
computer science and the critical skills
needed for virtually every career path in the
21st century. The study of Computer Science
along with all STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) disciplines, teaches
students problem-solving skills, logic and
creativity.
According to their website, Code.org is
a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to expanding
participation in computer science by making
it available in more schools, and increasing
participation by women and under-represented students of color. Companies
supporting the Hour of Code outreach
effort include Apple, Microsoft, Amazon,
Boys and Girls Clubs of America as well as
The College Board, Teach for America and
Khan Academy. Code.org reports that last
year, almost half the participants were girls;
8% were Black and 14% Hispanic while
Computer Science students on average are
only 18% female, 3% Black and 8% Hispanic.
Widespread participation in Hour of Code
is a key step in addressing the diversity gap
among future computer programmers.
Visit: http://hourofcode.com/
us# to learn how to organize an Hour of
Code in your community or use their on-line
tutorials to learn how to code yourself. The
website offers guided tutorials for all ages,
from kindergarten, to adults. According to
research posted on their web, students learn
most effectively when they are paired up,
sharing a computer and working together.
No computer? No problem; some tutorials require no computer at all. The tutorials
at Code.org will also work on smartphones
and tablets. With the aid of a projector, screen
and a web-connected computer an entire
group can learn code together by watching
the videos, solving puzzles and answering
questions. Beginner tutorials include: “Learn
to Code with Mark Zuckerberg and Angry
Birds!” -Suitable for Ages 4-104; needed
equipment includes modern browsers,
smartphones & tablets. Learning modules
for teachers are also available.
*All information for this article is based
upon information available on the Code.org
Website. MK
Midwest town on the banks of
the Mississippi. Roseamund
Pike plays Amy, his brilliant,
beautiful and calculating wife,
the Amazing Amy, we learn,
whose parents “hijacked” her
childhood in a series of children’s books entitled “The
Amazing Amy,” and unasked
for celebrity has followed her,
ever after.
As the plot unfolds, Nick
comes home from the beach on the morning
of his fifth wedding anniversary to find the
glass coffee table upended and in shards
across the floor. The cat is outside; his wife is
gone. He calls the police, who find evidence
of extensive blood loss, but no body.
Through flashbacks, we re-visit the
night Amy and Nick met at a party and he
is the smoothest talking, cutest guy in the
room. Both are writers in New York: witty,
articulate and perfect for each other. They
soon fall madly, passionately in love and
marry, vowing always to be there for each
other, reveling in the warm cocoon of their
relationship. It is an enviable marriage for the
first few years, until life kicks in and re-sets
the relationship. The recession causes them
to lose their jobs and soon, their savings.
Then, they re-locate to the Midwest to care
for Nick’s mother who has stage 4 Cancer
and this is where Amy has gone missing
Amy’s parents fly into town to help
Nick organize a search that proves fruitless
and Nick remains under a growing cloud of
suspicion. As the days go by and it emerges
that Amy is missing, but also pregnant;
unbeknownst to Nick. Margo, Nick’s twin, is
sure that whoever took Amy will return her
soon. Is she difficult, or just from New York?
As the investigation progresses, we learn
that the marriage by now, was actually very
strained and the cloud around Nick’s name
grows to the point where he hires Tanner
Bolt, a celebrity defense attorney, to help him
navigate the legal shoals ahead. Here’s the
thing, though: no body. It is really hard to get
a murder conviction with no body. So if Nick
is innocent, as he claims, what happened to
Amy? The ever-present Greek Chorus of a
media circus is determined to find out and
predictably, they follow Nick everywhere.
I really cannot tell you more without
giving the intricate plot away. The characters fight a psychological duel to outwit each
other, and Nick must solve Amy’s treasure
hunting clues scattered around town to
figure out what her next move will be. Gillian
Flynn, who wrote the script and the book,
will keep you guessing to the very end. Ben
Affleck is well cast as the husband trying to
work his way through a no-win situation.
Rosamund Pike is brilliant as the scheming
wife who is always several steps ahead of
her husband, and everyone else. Tyler Perry
plays attorney Tanner Bolt. Carrie Coon
plays Margo Dunne, Ben’s loyal twin sister
who sticks with him through the media
storm. Seila Ward plays TV talk host Sharon
Shieber who offers Nick a national platform
to tell his side of the story. Neil Patrick Harris
is the hapless ex-boyfriend who has carried a
torch for Amy since high school.
The movie is very well executed, but
it is not a very good date-night movie and
if there is nothing else you want to see, just
go out to dinner. Trust me on this. MPAA
Rating R for some very graphic scenes sex/
disturbing violence.
GOVERNMENT
TECHNOLOGY
Get With The Program!
Learn An Hour Of Code: Dec. 8-14, 2014
Participate In The Largest Worldwide Learning Event Ever!
Visit Code.org during the week of Dec.
4-12 to participate in the largest worldwide
learning event ever! An Hour of Code is
a “grassroots campaign” with the goal of
encouraging “tens of millions of students
to invest just one hour to learn beginner
computer coding skills, in celebration of
National Computer Month.”*
The organizers of Code.org want the
Arts & EntertainmentSection
MOVIE REVIEW
Gone Girl
By Mary Keon
“What are you thinking? What are you feeling?
What have we done to each other?
– Nick Dunne”
Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck as Nick
Dunne, the handsome, likeable husband of
a woman who has gone missing from their
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Page 10
EYE ON THEATRE
Visits, Visitations and a River Between
A Delicate Balance
Edward Albee’s “A
Delicate Balance” (1966)
is a crazy play. Imagine
Tobias and Agnes, an
affluent
middle-aged
couple, being surprised by the unsolicited
visit of another couple, Harry and Edna,
their best friends and neighbors. The
visitors have been seized by an unnamed
terror that has driven them from their
home, and have come to move in, it
seems, indefinitely.
Living with Tobias and Agnes, for
unknown reasons, is her younger sister,
Claire, an alcoholic. Privileged by her
condition to be sardonic and abusive, she
makes ample use of it. She is the only one
who claims to understand what motivated the intruding pair, but she doesn’t
explain the terror. Neither does Albee; I
very much doubt that he could.
One of the hosts’ problems is their
36-year-old daughter, Julia, who has
retreated to the parental home after each
of her three previous divorces, and does
so again in anticipation of her fourth,
impending one. Her room now has been
given to Harry and Edna, making Julia
understandably furious. One can’t quite
understand how one room can hold one
or two persons with their belongings, but
logic is never Albee’s concern. He is deep,
no questions asked.
Albee is also very proud of his
language, and claims to have his characters, i.e., himself, “speak in paragraphs,”
which is to say with supreme literacy.
The allegation notwithstanding, I have
demonstrated on at least one previous
occasion, that his vaunted language is not
without holes. One thing is certain: it is
not the one most humans speak. Poetic
heightening can be admirable; total unreality is not.
Let me demonstrate, by quoting
part of a longish speech, by Agnes to
Claire. “If you come to the dinner table
unsteady, if when you try to say good
evening and weren’t the autumn colors
lovely today you are nothing but vowels,
and if one smells on you from across the
room—and don’t tell me again, either of
you! that vodka leaves nothing on the
breath, if you are expecting it, if you are
sadly and wearily expecting it, it does—if
these conditions exist . . . persist then the
reactions of one who is burdened by her
love is not brutality—though it would be
excused, believe me!— not brutality at all,
but the souring side of love.”
The speech, in this mode, is longer
by a third, and contains the wonderful, “I apologize for being articulate.”
Articulate? Like hell: garrulous, verbose,
inflated, long-winded, prolix, wordy—
take your pick. What is worse, one senses
a cheeky smugness, a patronizing superiority behind so much of Albee’s dialogue.
This said, the production is lavish, yet
tasteful. Santo Loquasto has designed an
elaborate, extended setting that exudes
opulence, Ann Roth has contributed her
customary elegant costuming, and Brian
MacDevitt’s lighting has a luster all its
own. Pam MacKinnon, who recently
directed effectively a worthier Albee
revival, does so again here and has an
enviable cast, but all in vain. Glenn Close
(Agnes) and John Lithgow (Tobias)
couldn’t be more to the manner born,
her somewhat morbid cool and his rising
desperation eloquently portrayed. The
Martha Plimpton, Clare Higgins, Lindsay Duncan, Glenn Close, John Lithgow and Bob
Balabon in A Delicate Balance. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
great English actress, Lindsay Duncan
(Claire), artfully makes obnoxiousness
charming, and Martha Plimpton ( Julia)
rages and even listens with consummate
pugnacity. Bob Balaban is an unappealing Harry (how far from the delightful
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Glenn Close in A Delicate Balance. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
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Page 11
GOVERNMENT
EYE
ON THEATRE
Hugh Jackman as The Man and Laura Donnelly in The River . Photo by © Richard Termine
John Lithgow and Glenn Close in A Delicate Balance. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
the grandiloquent? Or in the assumption
that mystification is profundity?
Henderson Forsythe in the premiere production), but the part can support this.
Another fine British actress, Clare
The River
Higgins (Edna), persuades both when
If the couples in Albee have no last
simmering and when boiling over.
names, the trio in Jez Butterworth’s “The
Among its profuse mysteries is
River” lack even first ones. They are just
the play’s title: what or whose delicate
The Man, The Woman and The Other
balance? In one couple’s not just throwing
Woman, although the last-named may
the other one out? In the gratuitous be only a fantasy. Not much happens, but
appearance of an unfired pistol? In not
there is a mild final jolt, which critics are
driving us out of the theater (though one
asked not to reveal. I myself would be
couple I noted left after act one)? Or in
perfectly happy not to reveal the entire
the balancing of the preposterous with play. This is the kind of piece where you
Continued on page 12
Cush Jumbo as The Woman in The River. Photo © Richard Termine
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Page 12
GOVERNMENT
EYE
ON THEATRE
feel that whatever essentials might be
intended definitely remain unrevealed.
It would seem to be about fishing and
womanizing, in both of which the Man
indulges.
It is presumably about those things,
but it would be even nicer if there were
some compelling connection between
the two. Man and Woman are shown in
a cottage overlooking a river, which we
do not see. It emerges that the Man was
turned on to fly fishing at an early age by
an uncle who also encouraged his future
womanizing. It further emerges that the
Woman, too, was at fishing at an early
age, and has now caught a big one.
One important fish, long ago, got
away; the current one will be carved,
cooked and served for dinner. There is a
rather long, wordless scene in which the
Man performs some elaborate slicing of
fish, vegetables, and what have you, and
deftly preparing an elaborate dinner.
Hugh Jackman (the Man) does this with
the expertise of a great chef. The point is
either to give him that culinary accolade,
or to make a short-breathed play longer
by whatever means.
The play is mostly talk, narrative,
and a bit of poetry reading. The biggest
moment is when the Woman goes into
the unseen bathroom for a shower, but out
come both she and the Other Woman,
barefoot and presumably showered. In
another climactic bit, a cell phone has difficulties functioning. In still another, wine
is drunk and love declared. Not much
going on, but who cares, as long as there
is Hugh Jackman. For women and gays
in the audience this is audibly sufficient.
But, truth be told, Jackman is a star
who can actually act, and even uses his
arms expressively. Indeed, he can act up
a storm and even utter a shattering shout.
“The River” isn’t just so much water under
the bridge; it is proof that heartthrob
Hugh can do serious acting. Jackman is
supported by two attractive and talented
actresses, Cush Jumbo (I didn’t make that
up) and Laura Donnelly, and is cogently
directed by Ian Rickson. There is an
evocative set by Ultz, smart lighting by
Charles Balfour, and some highly suggestive music by Stephen Warbeck. In fact,
nothing is lacking except a better play.
Our Lady of Kibeho
I’ll say as little as possible about
“Our Lady of Kibeho” by Katori Hall,
whom I consider a poor playwright,
and even subliterate. (Upon request, I
can submit a bagful of her grammatical and usage errors, but why bore you
with that here?) Ms. Hall is a young
black playwright who has already won
every conceivable prize, award, grant
and fellowship, and will surely get
the MacArthur aka Genius Award in
due time. Alone among critics, I have
disliked two previous plays of hers,
and this one is no exception..
It takes place in Kibeho, Rwanda,
ten years before the terrible bloodletting, and is based on actual events
or nonevents. A young pupil at a
Catholic girls’ school has had visions
of and conversations with the Virgin
Mary. Gradually two other girls join in
this as well. The priest, their teacher,
is sympathetic, but doubtful. The
bishop, his superior, is delighted with
the prospect of tourists and money.
The emissary from the Vatican seems,
upon some tests, ready to authenticate
the vision.
The playwright appears to believe
it all and then some. Her script is full
of wonders: girls who levitate, beds
that break in half, the sun subdividing
first into two, then four suns. Only the
first of these miracles gets staged, as
do a couple of minor ones, e.g., vines
sprouting from the walls.
Michael Greif has directed dutifully all the dramatic and melodramatic
proceedings, and a fifteen-person black
cast, plus one white Italian priest,
cannot be faulted. Rachel Hauck’s
scenery and Emily Rebholz’s costumes
do the necessary, and there is a good
deal of nice choral singing, as well as
winning projections by Peter Nigrini of
beautiful mountains. Only fitting, this,
for a country so beautiful that, as the
script says more than once, God takes
his vacations there. He has also taken
one from this godforsaken play.
John Simon has written for over 50
years on theatre, film, literature, music
and fine arts for the Hudson Review,
New Leader, New Criterion, National
Review, New York Magazine, Opera
News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com
and Bloomberg News. He reviews books
for the New York Times Book Review
and Washington Post. To learn more,
visit the www.JohnSimon-Uncensored.
com website.
Starla Benford and Joaquina Kalukango in Our Lady of Kibeho. Photo by Joan Marcus
Nneka Okafor and Owiso Odera in Our Lady of Kibeho. Photo by Joan Marcus
Page 13
GOVERNMENT
CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVES
October 1
and homosexuality, which are
considered taboos in African
cinema. The film also establishes
a strong connection between
western culture and the cause of
the present day terrorist acts in
Boko Haram.
Director Kunle Afolayan
was attracted to the story line of
October 1 because it is a period
piece, which he had never done
before and it is also significant to
the current state of Nigeria. As a
result, he decided to explore the
film by adding his own ideas to
subsequent drafts of the script.
The older generation, especially
those who worked for independence, will be able to see
themselves in this film. October
1 is instructive to younger generations, many of whom, do not
know the history of Nigeria’s
journey to independence.
Afolayan has succeeded in
incorporating facts into fiction,
given his supreme technical skills
in handling actors and extras.The
By Sherif Awad
The winner of Best
Feature and Best Actor
Awards at the 4th Africa
International Film Festival
(AFRIFF) which ended
last week in Calabar, Nigeria, is October 1:
a 2014 Nigerian dark psychological thriller
written by Tunde Babalola; produced and
directed by Kunle Afolayan. It stars a mix
of contemporary actors and old school
stars like Sadiq Daba, Kayode Olaiya,
David Bailie, Kehinde Bankole, Kanayo
O. Kanayo, Fabian Adeoye Lojede, Nick
Rhys, Kunle Afolayan, Femi Adebayo,
Bimbo Manuel, Ibrahim Chatta and introduces Demola Adedoyin and Deola Sagoe.
The film, set in Colonial Nigeria, narrates
the story of Danladi Waziri (Daba), a
police officer from Northern Nigeria who
is posted to the remote Western Nigeria
town of Akote to investigate and solve a
series of female murder cases there, before
the Nigerian flag is raised on October
1, 1960; the day that became Nigeria’s
Independence Day.
After several release postponements,
the film had a number of private screenings
and eventually premiered on 28 September
2014 prior to its eventual screening in
AFRIFF, among the competitive features.
Compared to other Nigerian films, the film
has great production design, exquisite cinematography and quality performances. The
screenplay explores powerful themes like
tribalism, western imperialism, pedophilia
A scene from the film October 1
film succeds in being part serial
killer thriller and part period
drama about tribal tensions, the
post-colonialism era and independence. Nollywood does not
just offer action and comedy
films but appears to be rising to
international levels.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif
Awad is a film / video critic and
curator. He is the film editor of
Egypt Today Magazine (www.
EgyptToday.com), and the artistic
director for both the Alexandria
Film Festival, in Egypt, and the
Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The
Netherlands. He also contributes to
Variety, in the United States, and
is the film critic of Variety Arabia
(http://varietyarabia.com/), in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE),
the Al-Masry Al-Youm Website
(http://www.almasryalyoum.
com/en/node/198132) and The
Westchester Guardian (www.
WestchesterGuardian.com).
Director Kunle Afolayan after receiving his awards
Page 14
CALENDAR
News and Notes from Northern Westchester
By Mark Jeffers
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My children and wife
are celebrating, as I finally
turned on our furnace and
heat for the season. Layers
upon layers of sweaters and
sweat suits have been taken off and some
blankets returned to the beds they were
taken from and once my fingers thawed
out, I was able to write this week’s “Fleece
Free” edition of “News & Notes.”
It is time to start decking the halls…
literally with boughs of holly or with pine
cones, leaves, bark and more. The folks at
the Ward Pond Ridge Reservation will be
making holiday decorations that reflect the
natural beauty of the season. This timely
event is free to all ages and takes place on
Saturday, December 13th at 2:00pm in the
Trailside Nature Museum in Cross River.
The Bedford Community Menorah
Lighting will take place on the Bedford
Village Green, on the first night of
Chanukah, Tuesday December 16th at
5:00pm. The event will feature live music,
latkes, doughnuts, hot cider, crafts and
games in the Bedford Historical Hall.
An exhibit of photographs and
artifacts will mark the 70th anniversary
of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest
American land battle in World War II,
beginning Friday, December 12th, at the
Westchester Veterans Museum at Lasdon
Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial
in Katonah. The exhibit features dozens of
photographs of the intense battle during
which the outcome of the war was in the
balance. The array of images captures the
essence of the period, from soldiers’ dayto-day routines to their experiences on
the front lines, and includes images of the
allies, aggressors and civilians as well.
I am finally caving and taking my wife
to the train show at the Botanical Gardens
in the Bronx which she has been talking
about for years. However, if you don’t want
to travel that far, the Greenburgh Nature
Center in Scarsdale has a terrific display
of model trains presented by the Yonkers
Model Railroad Club. The exhibit is open
on every weekend until 4:30pm.
Our friend Frank from Yonkers
Raceway informs us that volunteers from
Empire City, Yonkers Raceway and the
Standardbred Owners Association of New
York assembled 3,000 pounds of pasta for
distribution during their annual visit to the
Food Bank for Westchester. Incorporated
in 1988, the Food Bank for Westchester is
one of eight regional food banks in New
York State. It acquires warehouses and
distributes more than 7.2 million pounds
of food annually to 265 frontline hungerrelief programs, including food pantries,
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residential programs serving the estimated
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hungry or at risk of being hungry. In 2013,
the Food Bank served 6,204,101 meals to
Westchester County residents.
The Food Bank for Westchester
has also started its annual “Check-Out
Hunger” campaign to benefit the more
than 265 hunger relief programs in
Westchester County. The campaign is
under way at supermarkets throughout the
region, including A&P, Balducci’s, Fairway,
PathMark and ShopRite. Supermarket
shoppers can help the hungry by selecting
$1, $3 and $5 donation slips at checkout
aisles of participating stores. Whenever
a shopper makes a donation, the cashier
scans the “Check-Out-Hunger” donation
slip.
Congratulations and three cheers to
the forty-one music students from Fox
Lane High School in Bedford for being
selected to participate in the annual New
York State School Music Association
Area All-State High School Concert, way
to go...
My wife and I used to rock our oldest
daughter to sleep singing John Denver
songs, so you know we won’t miss Ted
Vigil in “A John Denver Christmas,” a
heart-warming tribute that has become
a holiday tradition. “A John Denver
Christmas” will celebrate the holidays with
the beloved songs of the Rocky Mountain
troubadour, featuring cherished songs
such as “Rocky Mountain High,” “Annie’s
Song,” “Sunshine on My Shoulder” and
all of Denver’s hits, as well as some of
the holiday season’s best loved songs. Ted
Vigil’s uncanny physical and vocal resemblance to Denver will charm the audience
with his inspirational tribute to John
Denver and his musical legacy.
Food, Football and Family, Happy
Thanksgiving to all, we hope everyone has
a glorious Turkey day…see you next week.
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CommunityCalendar
Page 15
COMMUNITY THEATRE
“What Happens in the Woods, Stays in the Woods!”
The Armonk Players Present A Midsummer Night’s Dream By William Shakespeare
The Armonk Players will present
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream on Saturday, Dec. 6th, at
8PM, Sunday, Dec. 7th at 4PM, Thursday,
Dec. 11th, Friday, Dec. 12th, and Saturday,
Dec. 13th at 8PM and on Sunday, Dec. 14th,
at 2PM. Performances will take place at
Whipporwill Hall, 19 Whipporwill Road
East, in Armonk, NY 10504. Tickets are
$20 for Adults and $10 for students 18 and
under.
One of Shakespeare’s most popular
and widely-performed comedies, A
Midsummer’s Night Dream is replete with
confused lovers and mischievous fairies.
The director has retained the beauty of
Shakespeares words and story while setting
it in modern times with great imagination.
Be assured, “what happens in the woods,
stays in the woods!”
The show is directed by Christine
DiTota, the Assistant Director is Joy Arzaga.
Music has been arranged by Michelle
DeAngelis; Musical Staging by Christine
Gavin. The cast includes Tom Ammirato,
Bruce Apar, Anthony Barresi Jr., Steven
Bendler, Nancy Jane Blake, Daniel Carlino,
Isabella Marion DiBuono, Brandi Danielle
Gestri, Heidi Giarlo, Jennifer Edwards
Kawa, David Morabito, Mikaela Whitney
Russano, Julia Ryan, Tony Val and Leah
Wendt
www.armonkplayers.org
Westchester Broadway Theatre Presents It Happened One Christmas Eve
It Happened One Christmas Eve is the
heart-warming story, about an infant left on
the doorstep of an old brownstone roominghouse in Brooklyn on Christmas Eve, and
the magic she brings to the lives of those
who find her. The show features a book by
Bob Fitzsimmons, original music & lyrics by
Steven Silverstein & Barbara Campbell, and
musical arrangements by Steven Silverstein.
The story of “It Happened One Christmas
Eve” unfolds over several Christmas Eves.
Told in flashback, it spans many time periods:
1989 to 1919 to 1929 to 1938, 1941, 1944 and
1952. Then back to 1989.
The show is filled with favorite Christmas
carols, popular seasonal songs, and some
original songs sure to please the young, the
old, and anyone in between!! There are plenty
of story lines among a house full of interesting characters — an Irish cook, an English
spinster, a Brooklyn showgirl who dreams of
stardom,
a proud Boston poetess and two
Romanian brothers. Their lives are changed
forever one Christmas Eve when a baby is
placed on their Brooklyn doorstep. That baby
— they name her Dolly — grows in their love,
a child of charity.
There are also plenty of songs, some
familiar, some penned just for this show: From
“Silent Night” and “Holly Jolly Christmas” to a
bouncy “We Haven’t Got Time for Christmas”
that opens the show and a heartfelt “I’m All
Alone in the World.”
The cast features Devon Perry as Dolly
(last seen as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz!),
Xander Chauncey as Buddy (He appeared in
the Title role of Jekyll And Hyde here), WBT
veteran, Michelle Dawson as Millie, Jason
Elliot as Serge, Molly Emerson as Elizabeth,
pm Sunday Evenings: Dinner: 5:30 pm &
Show: 7 pm. Reservations: Call (914)-5922222. Also at: www.BroadwayTheatre.com
Group Reservations: Discounts for
Groups of 20 or More: Call 592-2225.
Luxury Boxes: Call 592-8730, for private
parties of 6 to 22. Enjoy dining and theatre
in an elegant private box. Additional features
include an expanded dinner menu, hot and
cold hors d’oeuvres, private powder room, and
Luxury Box reserved parking. Additional cost,
call for details.
WBT Mainstage:
• South Pacific - to November 30th and
Westchester Broadway Theatre Presents It Happened One Christmas Eve
By Bob Fitzsimmons and Barbara Campbell|; Musical arrangements by Steven Silverstein.|
Directed and Choreographed by Jonathan Stahl; Musical Direction by Leo Carusone; December
4th - December 28th, 2014. Photo by John Vecchiolla.
Nick Gaswirth as Sigmund, Leisa Mather as
Bridget and Jeanette Minson as Charlotte.
Bob Fitzsimmons, a gifted actor, director
and playwright, ran publicity for Westchester
Broadway Theatre in its early days and also
shepherded successful children’s plays there.
The graduate of Archbishop Stepinac High
School, directed school and community
theatre shows across Westchester until his
untimely death, at 37, in 1992. Each year,
WBT gives a scholarship in his name to a
Stepinac graduate who has excelled in theatre.
The production is Directed and choreographed by WBT favorite, Jonathan
Stahl, who has been at the helm for several
WBT productions including; Legally Blonde
and Nine. Musical Director is Leo Carusone
. Set Design is by Steven Loftus, Lighting
Design is by Andrew Gmoser, Sound Design
is by Jonathan Hatton and Mark Zuckerman,
Costume Design is by Matthew Hemesath.
The Production Stage Manager is Victor
Lukas, ASM is Ron Rogell, Properties are by
Grumpy Props. As with all our productions,
Lisa Tiso is the Associate Producer.
Ticket Prices Dinner & Show range
between $54.00 and $80.00 PLUS TAX
depending on the performances chosen.
Beverage Service & Gratuities are not
included in the ticket price. Discounts are
available for children, students, and senior
citizens at selected performances. Also check
the website for on-going Special Offers! More
news at: www.BroadwayTheatre.com
Show Times: Some Wednesday
Matinees: Lunch: 11:30 am & Show 1 pm.
Thursday Matinees: Lunch: 11:30 am & Show
1 pm. Thursday, Friday, & Saturday Evenings:
Dinner: 6:30 pm & Show: 8 pm. Sunday
Matinees: Lunch: 12 pm & Show: 1:30
returns December 31st to January 25th,
2015
• Camelot – January 29th to April 5th 2015
• West Side Story – April 9th to July 5th
2015
• Godspell – July 9th to August 16th 2015
• Backwards In High Heels – August 20th to
September 27th 2015
• Showboat - October 1st to November 29th
2015 and returns December 30th to January
31st 2016
• Tim And Scrooge- December 3rd to
December 27th 2016
Holiday Reading
From The Universe
Columbia University Dept. of
Astronomy
Dec. 5, 2014 at 7 PM, Pupin Hall
Every other Friday evening,
Columbia University Dept. of Astronomy
hosts free public lectures, followed by
guided star-gazing with telescopes,
weather-permitting, slideshows and Q &
A with real astronomers. The mini-slideshow lectures and Q &A are held during
the event so people can shuttle between
the stations or get a respite from the cold
on the roof. Attendence varies between
50-300 people. Lectures are aimed at the
layperson but children will get something
out of them too. All events are held at
Pupin Hall, Columbia University. No
reservations are needed, just show up.
An image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory of PSR B1509-58 -- a
spinning neutron star surrounded by a
cloud of energetic particles released in 2009
www.NASA.gov
Lectures are 30 minutes followed by 90
minutes of rooftop stargazing through
many telescopes. Stay only as long as you
want. For directions, weather updates and
more information, visit http://outreach.
astro.columbia.edu
Page 16
VETERANS DAY TRibute
New Rochelle Residents Commemorate Veterans Day
“it was a great day to honor all
our military Veterans, active and
inactive - they are the people that
stand and protect us and they cannot
be recognized enough.”
-- Deputy Fire Chief Henry Senno
The sun was shining,
on Tuesday, Nov. 11th as
a large crowd gathered at
Memorial Plaza for New
Rochelle’s
traditional
Veterans Day Service.
Under the leadership of Peter Parente,
President of the United Veterans Memorial
and Patriotic Association, (UVM & PA),
the program reflected the deep and persistent recognition of the Veterans who have
served the great country we live in. Ninetynine years young, Chaplain William Moye
said he would do his best with the invocation but next year he will also try his best
to be back. Chaplain Moye, who serves as
Chaplain for both the UVM and the PA,
invoked God’s blessing on our Veterans,
after which, the New Rochelle Symphonic
Band played the National Anthem.
Peter Parente set the pace for the
ceremony by reminding those assembled
that “over one million military personnel
are protecting our country, and they are all
volunteers.” He recounted how a group of
veterans over 90 years old, some in wheelchairs, went to Washington, D.C. to salute
their comrades from World War II. One
New Rochelle resident, the late Frank
Carafa, is a hero because he saved Bob
Dole when he was under heavy enemy fire.
Mayor Noam Bramson stated: “Every
Veteran in our city and nation has earned our
respect. It is their gift that we can think, act
and worship in this country” and asked if we
could imagine New Rochelle without our
veterans?
Brigadier General Michael Mann,
formerly of White Oak Street in New
Rochelle, recounted how in previous years
he enjoyed walking to New Rochelle High
School on July 4th to see the fire works,
especially because the day was filled with
patriotic spirit. His message to the crowd
was: “Don’t take liberty and freedom for
granted. Society needs to protect liberty and
freedom for future generations, ” noting that
this day used to be called Armistice Day,
but in 1951 to honor all Veterans, it was
changed to Veterans Day to reflect the llth
day of the 11th month in l918, the Day
World War 1 ended. At the time, people
thought World War I would end all wars.
He also recounted how many veterans
who have returned continue to serve in
their communities through scouting and
in other ways.
Colonels John Dodson and Roger
Heinman recalled some of their military
experiences and then placed the wreath
on the memorial at Memorial Plaza. A
moment of silence was followed by the
New Rochelle High School symphonic
band playing the Army, Navy and Air
Force hymns.
Ron Tocci, former Veterans
Administrator for New York State, closed
the ceremony by stating this was a day of
remembrance. “Saving our country has cost
the lives of a million Americans,” he noted.
“Returning Veterans face a myriad of issues
and challenges.” Saluting the sacrifices is
not enough. The needs of Veterans should be
brought to the attention of our federal, state
and local officials. Our number one priority
should be to take care of each other and the
country.”
Parente used the occasion to remind
the group of the New Rochelle military
men that did not come home. He pointed
out that the Armory is a perfect building
for Veteran uses and suggested that our
elected officials need to know that this
is what the public wants. He ended the
ceremony by saying, “put out a flag at your
house and fly it proudly.”
Among those attending the ceremony
was Deputy Fire Chief Henry Senno,
who felt “it was a great day to honor all our
military Veterans, active
and inactive - they are
the people that stand and
protect us and they cannot
be recognized enough.”
Dario Castellano,
a member of the Color
Guard and Fire and
Detail, felt it was a beautiful day to celebrate.
And said, ‘I am wishing a happy Veterans
Day to all the Veterans.” Louis Miele said,
“This was one of the best days to celebrate. I
only wish there would be more respect for
veterans and I want to thank restaurants like
Applebee’s and others for showing their appreciation for veterans.”
After the ceremony the large crowd
attending was urged by Parente to go
into the New Rochelle Public Library to
view the extensive World War I display
titled, Over There, Over Here, World War
Posters and New Rochelle’s part in the
great war. It includes extensive pictures
and articles prepared by Barbara Davis,
New Rochelle’s historian. Shown in the
library’s display are the New Rochelle men
who served in the World War I conflict.
Pictured are many of the 63 New Rochelle
residents who served.
Fort Slocum, a military base located
on David’s Island, was the “busiest recruiting depot” and 800 men arriving on
December 10, 1917 filled the fort. On
December 11-12 there were more than
2000 recruits. By December 15, 1917,
voluntary enlistment had stopped. Many
recruits had suddenly come to the city. It
is no surprise to hear that a United States
Marshall raided the city’s resorts and
found some soldiers drinking illegal liquor
in an establishment near City Hall which
had “scantily clad” females. Six owners
were arrested. On December 4, 1917 the
New York Times criticized the city and
suggested city officials be removed.
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
The Seventh Division First Battalion,
the only trained military organization, in
New Rochelle, was the first Navy Militia
to enter World War I. Men too old to
enlist formed a harbor patrol to protect
Echo Bay from enemy attacks. Red
Cross Ladies began to help in various
ways. Many residents gave money and
provisions. But still many recruits had no
place to stay. Various locations housed
these men: e.g. 250 in Germania Hall,
others at St. John’s Methodist, and South
Baptist churches, while others stayed
with home owners. More were housed in
Mount Vernon, Pelham, Larchmont and
Mamaroneck.
The sentiment among residents was
that every resident had helped the cause.
One young soldier said the residents had
worked hard and “made us welcome.” In
an effort to keep alive, the link with La
Rochelle, France, the city New Rochelle’s
founding settlers sailed from, many New
Rochelle residents raised money to adopt
children there, whose families and homes
had been destroyed by the war.
Paintings and posters from the
national World War I effort are also
shown in this exhibit, which will be on
display until December 3, 2014
Peggy Godfrey is a freelance writer in New
Rochelle.
All photos for this story © Jen Parent
Editor’s Note: Photo IDs not available at
deadline.

Venerable Father Solanus Casey

Transcription

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