Maroons Online Vol. 2… No. 8 Friday, January 28, 2022
“Bringing us all to a place we don't want to lose."
Observer: Office Hours
Macky’s New York: Playing With Clouds
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: Save The Date: Nov. 5th 2022
La Vita Cortellesi: Cod Soup
M + A NYC: Black Soapstone Keyhole Vase
James Stroker: Hope Coach
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
Siobhan Crann Winograd: Around The Village
Observer
Office Hours
Seeing professors during office hours is de rigueur in college or university settings. When you are in high school the moments were often more fleeting. A quick conversation while you were going to lunch or travelling between classes might be all the time a teacher might have. You could get to class early or stay late to get clarification on some aspect of an assignment. Or you could throw your own schedule into a tailspin by seeing a teacher after school. This was sometimes mandatory if there were a disciplinary infraction or if you received a bad grade on a test. It was the rare teacher who was able to shoot the breeze after a day of teaching, grading papers, and doing all kinds of administrative work.
Our teachers were busy and tightly scheduled. If one was also your coach then there was time after school to bring up non-athletic questions in the locker room or after practice was over. It was a tough balancing act for those teachers trying to support after school activities like clubs or social events, and at the same time direct their normal load of classes & students. I commend them all because it appeared at times that they didn’t have much time to catch their breath.
The best of times that I recall were when the teachers let their own guards down. I recall a field trip when we were visiting MOMA, The Museum of Modern Art, in New York City. Towards the end of the day a group of students and our Art teacher Dennis Carroll were sitting in a small indoor garden and talking about the art work we had seen that day.
Mr. Carroll is one of my all-time favorite teachers. He remembered this specific day from over 40 years ago when I last saw him a few years back in Asbury Park. He was delighted that I remembered the trip, too. Nothing specific about the day except for how we all felt and something Mr. Carroll mentioned at the time. He said, that we were engaged in learning together in a style that would have been recognizable to teachers and students from any era. There was nothing pompous or dogmatic in his style and nothing rebellous or overly childish in ours.
We were all having one of the good times that make educators want to teach and students want to learn. To me this is why we go to school. Much is made of the professional track that we are encouraged to follow, but how much of that is retained? I firmly believe a great deal of our most memorable and worthwhile schooling takes place in these casual conversations than is often given credit. What’s more, it’s these times which we repeat, or attempt to perform again, the rest of our lives. They are not age or place specific and bring us delight in ways that we can’t describe. We feel the moments deeply and they bring relief during times like these we are having now, and which feel some days like the worst of times.
Don’t let COVID bring you down. Search your memories for the earliest good times you can recall from your school days and revel in them instead.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
anuary 25, 2022 - Brooklyn waterfront
Playing With Clouds
A guy with a remote control moves a cloud behind the building - I wish his friend would bring his remote and one day move the building.
Shot in snow melt on chunky asphalt looking north with west tower of the Manhattan Bridge.
Time 4pm.
#mackysnewyork
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
I can't remember the exact date, but I probably took this about 15 ? years ago Elks Club.
Frank Vitale was RHS 1966.
If you know, you know.
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Save The Date: November 5, 2022
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame Nomination Form
Visit The RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
La Vita Cortellesi
Cod Soup
Son #2 returned to college today and requested my father’s Cod Soup for the final lunch.
Start with some olive oil in a good sized pot. Add in two diced potatoes, Yukon Gold, Red, or Eastern. I leave the skins on, but that is a personal choice. Let then toss and cook for a few minutes then add in a pile of carrots that have been sliced to fit your soup spoons. I am very fond of carrots in soups, so I go heavy with them. Moisten this with two cups of boiling water and a splash of vinegar (weird, eh?) and simmer around 10 minutes so the veggies approach tender. Add in a quart of chicken broth and a cup of risotto rice (usually Arborio) and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in a pound of cod cut into chunks to fit your soup spoon, give it another 5-10 minutes of simmering to finish the fish, remove from the heat, add in a sprinkle of parsley and hot pepper.
Serve with ground pepper and grated cheese - one of the few times one can put cheese on fish.
Macky gets the nod because our parents served this same dish to him for dinner this evening!!
M + A NYC
Black Soapstone Keyhole Vase
Inspired by art, designed in New York, and made by hand with love by artisans all over the world. Shop home décor and wearable accessories at www.mplusanyc.com
Smooth, rich soapstone; normally a grey veined, non-porous stone (that means it's water-tight), ours has been hand carved by master artisans in Agra, dyed as black as night and polished with a high shine. Feels good in your hands and looks stunning by itself or holding a few blooms. The base is weighted with solid stone. Natural variations and veining are evident in each unique piece.
Designed by M+A NYC
Made in Agra, India
Dyed, polished and sealed
Approximately 6”h x 3.25”d, .875” at mouth opening
Care: Wash with a mild detergent and dry with a soft cloth.
James Stroker
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
In January, clear skies go hand in hand with bitter cold nights. Because there is no cloud blanket to keep the heat from escaping into space, it can get very cold. That was the case last night. The sky was crystal clear, it was well below zero, and the Orion constellation was lit up so bright that I had to go grab my camera and take a picture.
I’m not very good at astrophotography, but it was a pretty easy job last night because the stars were so bright. You can clearly see Orion’s belt and sword, his shoulders and head. If you are familiar with Orion, you might even be able to make out his arm and shield.
Orion is in the southern sky right now. That easternmost star in Orion’s belt (the lowest star in the belt), is actually a cluster of three stars. It’s more than 20 times bigger than our sun, and it took over 1200 years for the light from that star to reach my camera’s lens. Light travels about 6 trillion miles in a year, so multiply that distance by 1200 years and let me know what it is. And that star can be considered a next-door neighbor compared to most of the stars out there. NASA just parked our new James Webb space telescope in its permanent location up there somewhere. Can’t wait to see the images that thing starts sending back.
Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands…”
Siobhan Crann Winograd
Around The Village
Below is a letter I wrote our Village Council at the beginning of summer 2021. A couple of points to note. Hybrid access is not about COVID, it is about citizen engagement and public expression. It is an action that aligns with "aging in place" and a "commitment to access" that our town values. Added to that it is a topic that should be discussed despite the chair's removal of it from the agenda which is not how a council of equals works fyi. Whether on the agenda or not, I will be going to advocate for the obvious tomorrow night.
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Hi and happy long weekend. I wanted to write to you all to express my sincere dismay at your recent decision to overnight pull the plug on remote citizen access to the council meetings. When Mayor Hache launched remote meeting access there was a resurgence in democracy in Ridgewood as many people were finally able to participate and voice their concerns and dreams for our town. It was simply amazing to see every public comment filled with our citizenry. At the last meeting after your harsh decision, two people (a married couple to be exact) participated, does this not concern you all? Did you even notice?
It is sad to me that this council would actively take steps to silence our community rather than do everything to encourage citizen engagement. It reflects poorly on us as town as we look antiquated and out of touch by going back to pre-COVID business as usual.
A couple of point that you should all consider while hopefully changing this bad decision.
*BOE is running concurrent platforms. There is no technical limitation and this is 100% possible.
*Hybrid promotes transparency and government accessibility to a wider swath of people. Good governance should want and actively be seeking ways to thwart apathy and encourage citizen engagement not stifle or silence it.
*Hybrid promotes inclusion and diversity as people who have child care issues, accessibility issues(driving at night, etc), travel for work, work nights and many other scenarios are allowed to engage.
*Hybrid is a return to the tax payer as Ridgewood's IT department and the clerks department both benefited from new hires under this new budget (increase of 4.3%, sigh) and are each up significantly (I can send you budget numbers by department if you want).
I would encourage this council to take immediate steps to run hybrid meeting as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Peace