Through the Eyes of a Stranger

My friend Sue has been visiting from London, England all week. Living in London, Sue is accustomed to bright lights, congestion and a plethora of choices of restaurants, stores and cultural events. In anticipation of her visit, I fretted a little about what to show her, where to take her. Having lived in a city much of my adult life as well, I couldn’t focus at first on what we have here that she doesn’t have. So I started making a list of places to show her.

Luensman Overlook Park was high on my list of places to show. If you’ve never been there, you should check it out. It has a spectacular view of Lake Erie and the surrounding area. I waited three days until we had a clear day with no haze to take Sue there. Even so, Canada was experiencing a bit of smog, contributed no doubt by the Nanticoke Refinery, so she had trouble picking out the smokestacks and buildings over there. But the view of the lake was awe-inspiring. I hesitated showing Sue a Great Lake since she lives on an island surrounded by oceans and channels, but she was taken by the view. I’ve been to the English Channel and there is a similarity but it’s just not the same.

London has several open air markets, most notably Leadenhall Market which is stunning with its glass ceiling. It was the most beautiful market I’d ever seen and much larger than anything we have to offer. But I thought it would be interesting to visit Ripley’s new Country Market, Westfield Farmer’s Market and Cross Roads, as well as the “new” Tops market in Westfield. It’s hard to tell sometimes with Sue what she thinks of things. She has a tendency to take it all in and mull it around for awhile before saying anything. I think that’s part of her “English reserve.” But she found each of our markets interesting and was intrigued by some of the products offered there, particularly the size of jars and boxes. “I’ve never seen such a large jar of peanut butter,” she commented while perusing the aisles of Tops.

The highlight of her visit so far (although I’m sure by the time you read this, there will have been others) was the day we spent having lunch at the pier in Erie, hiking a short distance through the woods at Presque Isle, watching the sun set over Lake Erie, having a bonfire and watching the stars come out. Sue’s assessment of the starry sky from my uncle’s backyard was, “A friend of mine was in my garden (backyard) in London and said what a lot of stars there were. I don’t know what she was seeing, but it wasn’t this!”

I’m glad she was here for the Memorial Day weekend. My father and I made our annual pilgrimage on Saturday to the cemeteries in Sherman, Slabtown, North East and Quincy in Ripley with Sue in tow. Of all the flowers we set out, the one most touching to Sue was the one we put at the grave of little Mabel Schoss in Quincy. Mabel was born in 1908 died in 1909 and is marked by years only, so there’s no telling if she was months old or an almost 2 year old. But she is separated by a large gap from her parents’ graves, with no one in-between. My dad feels sorry for her, being all alone like that, and always puts a flower on her grave. I’ll continue the tradition after he’s gone I’m sure.

Sue rode in the Memorial Day parade in Ripley in our ’57 Cadillac, waving and throwing candy in good old fashioned American tradition. It may be England’s tradition as well, but I’m claiming it as our own for now. As we passed the announcer for the parade, Dave Blackman, she was given a warm welcome, “We have a special guest with us today in the parade, Sue MacDonald, all the way from London, England. We’re pleased to welcome you.” Not an exact quote, but thanks Dave. She was touched and pleased. We are pleased to welcome her and wish her many more trips to America. Seeing our little corner of the world through her eyes has been a wonderful experience.

RCS Spirit Week Culminates with Penny Drive for Breast Cancer Awareness

Ripley Central School Spirit Week ended with several teachers, staff and a school board member taking it in the face, all in the name of Breast Cancer Awareness. As part of the Spirit Week activities, students collected change to donate to the Breast Cancer Awareness fund. In order to make the penny drive more interesting, staff and teachers, including Superintendent, Karen Krause, and school board president, Bob Bentley, volunteered to put their faces on buckets. The buckets with the most change earned the recipients a pie in the face. Names of students were drawn to determine who would deliver the pies.

Bob Bentley earned $74.93, mostly due to the efforts of his daughter, Kailyn Bentley, and his wife. “They ganged up on me!” declared Mr. Bentley. It earned him three pies, one each from Kirsten Milliron, Brittany Rogers and Kailyn Bentley. Other “winners” included: 2nd place winner Frank Lewczyk, Coordinator of Student Behavior, two pies from Justin Weigle and Allison Fisher; and a tie for 3rd place between new school principal, Lauren Ormsby, courtesy of Emily Bird; and school nurse, Eileen Skahill, pied by Emilee Steger. Ms. Michelle Flick, high school English teacher earned the dubious distinction of having 19 cents in her bucket and was awarded a pie in the face. In total, the school collected $338.57 to be donated to breast cancer research.

Originally slated as a secondary school event, the Penny Drive was extended to the elementary classes when they started collecting coins as well. “We got so many calls from the elementary teachers saying the kids wanted to be a part of it,” said Bert Fisher, class advisor, “we decided to invite them for the results.”

The Life You Save…

The students of Ripley Central School recently collected over $300 to donate to breast cancer awareness. Last week they held an assembly where they were able to throw pies in the faces of some of the teachers and staff whose buckets contained the highest amount of change. It was great fun, with lots of cheers, jeers and stamping of feet. The sobering fact is, however, that with current statistics, one in eight of those girls at the assembly will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in her life.

Every fourteen minutes, a life is lost to the disease. Over 40,000 people will die this year of breast cancer. Four hundred of them will be men. Although breast cancer is a disease that primarily strikes Caucasian women, African Americans suffer a higher mortality rate when diagnosed with the disease. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.

These facts were brought home to me once again when another friend of mine found out she had breast cancer. After the initial shock wore off, anger set in. “You need to tell people to not believe everything the doctors say,” my friend told me. The lump she found doing a self-check hurt. When she called the doctor’s office she was told, on two separate occasions, not to worry too much, breast cancer doesn’t hurt. “Well, it did hurt!” she said. “If I’d listened to them I would have figured it was nothing until it was too late.” Luckily her cancer was detected early and with a lumpectomy and radiation her prognosis is excellent.

There is no family history of breast cancer in my friend’s family. In fact, 85% of all diagnoses have no family history. The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being female, getting older and being overweight. She is obviously female, in her 50s and NOT overweight. Women who are overweight do have a higher risk because excess body fat increases estrogen levels in the body. Higher estrogen levels are a risk factor.
Women who have risk factors, including a certain gene abnormality associated with breast cancer, will not necessarily develop cancer. Some studies suggest that 40 to 80 percent of these women will develop breast cancer. But that also means 20 to 60 percent won’t.

Changing our lifestyles by not smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, losing weight and exercising regularly will significantly reduce our risk. Your mom always told you, eat your vegetables, they’re good for you. She was right. Do something good for yourself; eat more fresh fruits and veggies, reduce your stress levels by walking or meditation. Call your doctor. Get a breast cancer screening; learn how to do a self examination. And listen to your gut. If you think something is wrong, insist on further tests. No one is exactly the same as anyone else. Your symptoms, or lack of them, may be different from your friend or neighbor. Ultimately we are responsible for our own health. Stay healthy, not only for yourself, but for those who love you.

Well! That was certainly NOT what I thought I clicked on for font size. Forgive the huge font in the last post. Although it does make it easy to read for those of us who need reading glasses. ;)

Ripley Students are Grand Prize Winners in Contest for Prom Decorations

Ripley Central School was one of three Grand Prize winners in the Stumps, Proms Across America contest. Stumps, a major supplier of event decorations and supplies, sponsors an annual contest where schools can win gift certificates toward decorations for their proms. In a David and Goliath competition, Ripley students managed to come in second in the entire United States, winning $5,000 toward prom decorations, $1,000 for a D.J. and all the prom accessories such as crowns, tiaras and sashes.

The contest is aimed at showing school and community spirit by sending emails to the contest site. The three schools that sent the most emails were awarded the Grand Prize. This year’s top three contest winners were Alief Taylor High School, Houston, Texas; Ripley Central School, Ripley, New York; and Dearborn High School, Dearborn, Michigan. Going up against schools with over 10,000 students in their districts, the high school student body of Ripley, with just under 110 students, faculty, parents and friends managed to send over 187,000 entry emails in the Stumps Proms Across America contest. “We held voting parties where kids would come in and sit at the computers to send emails,” said Bert Fisher, class advisor. “We told the sixth, seventh and eighth graders that if they helped up we’d throw them a Spring Fling of their own,” she continued. “We even had second graders helping us.”

A gift certificate in the amount of $5,000 has already been awarded and spent in Ripley. “We bought a large fountain, archway and lighted gate, as well as other supplies,” commented Ms. Fisher. “A lot of these things can be used over and over. We’re pretty excited!”

A representative from Stumps will be at this year’s prom to do a follow up story for their magazine and web site. To see a complete list of winners, go to www.stumpsparty.com and click on the Proms Across America link.

Spring Cleaning

We’ve had hot, we’ve had cold, we’ve had everything in-between. It’s time to get down to Spring. I find spring cleaning to be a bit like the nesting instinct mothers go through just before the baby is born. It’s this overwhelming need to clean something, straighten up stuff and reorganize. I have great intentions when it comes to spring cleaning. I want to strip the room of all wall ornaments and moveable furniture and wipe down the walls, sweep away the cobwebs and clean the ceiling fan. Then my plan is to dust all the shelves, tables, chairs and knick knacks. Washing windows is not my favorite thing to do, but I force myself at least once a year. I am fortunate in this house to have tilt in windows that make washing the outside easy. After the windows, the vacuum cleaner comes out finish the job. Multiply that by seven rooms and it is a daunting task, at least in my mind.

I know there are women, and some men, out there who clean on a daily basis. I’m not sure what spring cleaning means to these people. But I’ll bet it isn’t a big deal. I had intentions of setting up a schedule of cleaning when I moved into this house: dusting on Monday, washing floors on Tuesday, vacuuming on Wednesday… you get the picture. It never happened. People walk into my house and they say Oh! You must clean all the time. They mistake cleaning with picking up. My husband is always on an anti-clutter campaign. He doesn’t care if the dust is an inch thick as long as the magazines and newspapers are put away. I will admit it makes the place look better at a glance, but I love the smell of a newly scrubbed house. Wonder if I’ll actually get any of it done?

A dear friend of mine from England is coming to visit at the end of the month. She is actually the impetus for cleaning. I have this insane need to make her think I am neat and organized person. I’m not sure why that is. But it does make a good excuse for getting things done.

The Art of Mothering

Mother’s Day is upon us once again. Several famous mothers come to mind as I reflect on the upcoming day honoring our mothers: Mother Teresa, Mother of Pearl, Ma Kettle and of course, Mother Goose. I have had a more personal relationship with Mother Goose than any of the others. I grew up listening to my mother recite her poems and then went on to recite them to my children. I even went to visit Mother Goose’s grave in Granary Burying Ground near the Boston Commons in Boston. Historians are quick to point out that Mary Goose, aka Mother Goose, wasn’t the real Mother Goose. But she’s good enough for me. Her gravestone says she’s Mother Goose, and I believe it. She’s with good company at Granary; Paul Revere was buried there as well.

Mothers are always spouting words of wisdom and doom to their children. It’s their way of showing they care, and an effort to preserve the species. Remember hearing “If everybody else jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?” I think jumping “off a cliff” might be indigenous to areas where there actually are cliffs. Perhaps in Nebraska or Kansas mothers ask if you’d jump down a well or something. But the point was you couldn’t do something just because “everybody” else was.

Or how about “Put on clean underwear! You never know when you’ll be in an accident.” The strong probability of soiling ourselves if we ever were in an accident may never have occurred to mom. Frankly, if I’m unconscious from being hit by a car (truck, tractor or deer, take your pick), I don’t think I, or the doctors, are going to care if I’ve done a doo-doo in my pants. But I’ll change my underwear daily on general principles.

“Be careful. You’ll put your eye out,” is one of personal experience for me. Kids are always running with scissors, sticks and other potentially lethal objects, and mothers are forever telling them not to do it. When my son was five years old, he was playing sword fight with a stick with a little friend. We two moms were sitting on the back steps talking, when a blood curdling scream came from the yard. My son had poked himself in the eye. I watched in grisly fascination as his pupil disappeared in a pool of blood. I rushed him to the hospital where he remained flat on his back for three days. Luckily no permanent damage was done, but let that be a lesson to you!

I recall quite often saying to my children, “Close the door – were you born in a barn?” Kids are always leaving the doors open, letting the flies in or the heat out. My parents are different. Go ahead, leave the door open. If the flies or bees get in, that’s okay. We’ll just capture them and put them back outside. My folks are born pacifists. We didn’t kill anything when we were growing up, except flies and mosquitoes. They evidently have no socially redeeming value. Bees, hornets, wasps; they all get rescued, if at all possible, and released back into the wild from whence they came. It drives my husband nuts. He’s a great poison man and has a killer instinct. He’ll poison ants, mice and dandelions any chance he can get. Me, I still try to catch and release. (Oh, that reminds me of fishing. I’ll have to remember to tell you that story another time.)

I’ll leave you with, “Don’t make that face or it’ll stick that way.” Hopefully you’re smiling, remembering your own mother’s words of advice. Keep smiling, may it’ll stick that way. Happy Mother’s Day.