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I’ve often fantasized about traveling back in time, but with the added benefit of today’s amenities at my disposal. I’ve dreamt of revisiting childhood, wholly embracing that which decidedly would have made the experience a better one. But usually said fantasies are slathered with ambiguity, lacking both substance and specificity relative to a given time frame on the continuum. Till now. Now more than ever it is clear to me that I’d like to relive that wondrous wedge of time spent as a third grader. Of course, my youngest charges are currently in the third grade, soaking up the vat of wonderfulness contained therein. Aside from the grand and glorious Land of Academia—peppered abundantly with computers, Smartboards and insanely vibrant people—Thing One and Thing Two have had the opportunity to gallivant hither and yon, enjoying some of the most scrumptious field trips on the planet. They’ve devoured infinitely engaging Read-a-thons and assemblies, too, during which "We met The Fly Guy, Mom!" Oops, maybe that was last year. They’ve attended spectacular book fairs as well and participated in seamlessly orchestrated Walk-a-thons—the celebrated yearly event that smacks of utter chaos, but effectively harnesses kids’ boundless energy and enthusiasm for the greater good. Needless to say, the rewards of being a third grader are many and varied. Indeed, let us not forget the consummate joy of classroom parties, Activities Day and RECESS—although in this day and age, the playground equipment "…is wicked cool, Mom!" We had splintery teeter-totters, by contrast. And a handful of swings that no one wanted to relinquish. Ever. And a steely gray jungle gym that was cold and unforgiving. So was the Maypole, with its whirling tresses of thick chains, although it was deliciously perilous to swing on said beast-of-a-thing. Great disparity, I’m told, exists even within the bathrooms of then and now. The automatic toilets, sinks and paper towel dispensers "...are entirely AWESOME, Mom! You should see ‘em!" Luxuries I couldn’t begin to fathom so long ago. That is not to say there were no bells and whistles when I was in grade school, but somehow my experience pales in comparison. We had no air conditioning for starters. Instead, we had windows through which wasps would enter, providing endless amusement and countless disruptions throughout the month of May. We had no fancy-schmancy computers either. Nor did we have Smartboards or the Internet. Instead, there were blackboards. Great masses of them, blanketing the walls of each and every classroom. And chalk—there was an obscene profusion of chalk, spilling from dusty wooden trays and teachers’ desk drawers. And fuzzy, felt erasers. Longish, rubbery ones, too—the most prized benefit of which was being chosen to clap those glorious erasers at the end of each school day, right before the buses arrived and herds of walkers were dismissed like cattle into the fields. The plume of chalk dust alone made us heady with the feeling of accomplishment and supreme importance. Then again, running to the teachers’ lounge to fetch freshly mimeographed handouts, in all their inky, stench-ridden glory, was deemed slightly wonderful, too—as were the resultant purplish blotches we wore on our fingertips with pride. Never mind today’s unspeakably efficient data bases, the ones that house everything from class rank to lunch money and library arrears. We endured the Dewey Decimal System. And card catalogs. And the purely archaic nature of film projectors—the rhythmic drone of which promised to lull us to sleep as seventh graders, thwarting our every effort to attend to the grainy war documentaries presented all too often. We carried actual milk money in our pockets, too, or were charged with keeping track of an infinitely tangible and less-than-tatter-proof lunch ticket for an entire week. Oh, the horror! Indeed, life as a third grader in the here and now is better, methinks. Planet Mom: It’s where I live. Visit me there at www.notesfromplanetmom.com and now at www.notesfromplanetmom.blogspot.com too!
Some days our mailbox, that spawning place for insincere greetings, bulges with unsolicited junk mail. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who solicits junk mail. The poor box sighs in relief when we pry the contents from its midsection. Hauling the stuff into the house, the battle's only begun. Unable to face the endless stream, we toss the unwanted postal emissions onto a To Sort Later pile. Not the best choice. The stuff multiplies faster than rabbits on steroids. Too soon, the pile reaches Everest proportions, leaning this way and that like a leaning tower of, well, trash. And leaning towers, like one of those kids' games of stacking irregular blocks, eventually keel over. We've heard of folks who've exercised due diligence in stacking their inbound Mail of Indistinction so carefully that they reach the ceiling, start another stack, and continue until their whole house is a wild maze of winding canyons walled by stuff that they could never bring themselves to open or sort. One little earth tremor, and their house of cards, letters, and catalogues comes tumbling down. Had they peeked, they'd have seen limited time offers for dozens of magazines, credit cards, insurance policies, and vacations. There would be countless opportunities to donate to obscure-sounding charities, real or unreal, that include words like "animals," "children," "veterans," and a plethora of diseases. They'd have encountered catalogues abounding with bargains they'd never dream of wanting, let alone needing. One of our endeavors for 2010, therefore, is to discover an effective way to deal with this daily mess of inbound trash. The Mrs. and I realized that if we didn't do something, our endeavor to get through the bags, boxes, and bins of unsorted mail would take forever. We brainstormed. We fretted. We consulted those rich resources of sound advice, the tabloids at the supermarket checkout. We asked friends how they do it day after day. One, who lives in a rural area, has a very active burn barrel. Another recycles as much as possible. Another shreds it for compost. The Mrs. consulted her therapist - no, not that kind, the kind you go to for aches and pains from the endless pursuit of finding new places to store "temporary" mountains of junk mail. Said therapist, a lady, agreed with her husband that she'd do the first sort. She'd put his stuff into a pile at a certain place on the kitchen counter, and she'd take care of hers. It's a guy thing, I suppose, but soon he was asking whether this or that had arrived as expected. Ironically, he's a professional counselor, so in her most diplomatic manner and tone, she suggested that perhaps, no guarantees of course, but perhaps he'd find what he's looking for if he attacked his month-old stack of mail. Did I mention that as soon as the stack begins to lean, she places a waste can strategically near the counter to catch the fallout? My major concern, of course, was that we'd have been chosen for a free trip or won the Big Sweepstakes and would never know it because those pieces would be buried with the rest. We finally concluded that the only effective approach is the NFL approach - tackle it head-on. That was a good thing. We discovered that credit card banks are deliberately sending out invoices disguised as junk mail so the envelope would be tossed aside, the payment date passed, and the customer assessed late fees and higher interest rates. It's another case of the unsuspecting being hi-jinxed by the unscrupulous. Our first sort was easy. Anything over a year or two old went into a huge trash can. Then the Mrs. sorted the rest - hers vs. mine. Now it's my turn. But first, I have a few other things on my To-Do list. And at the rate this stuff multiplies, my turn will be a forever endeavor. Jerry Westbrook is a writer living with the Mrs. and The Poodle in Winfield, PA, where he's looking for junk mail avalanche insurance.
American Idol Finalist When Aaron Kelly sang at Historic Bowman Field, in 2005, he was a polite little 12-year old in a black ten-gallon hat who sang country songs. Today, he is one of the darlings of this season’s "American Idol" and has advanced to the final 24 on the top-rated Fox TV hit. Kelly, from nearby Sonestown, PA, performed two country songs prior to the Williamsport Crosscutters game on August 24, 2005 and amazed the crowd with his talent at such a young age. Cutters Vice-President Gabe Sinicropi recalled Kelly’s appearance. "We were planning a ‘Salute to Country’ theme night at the ballpark and about a week before the event, our local country station, who was co-sponsoring the night, told me they had a local kid who could sing his heart out and would be a great addition to what we had planned. I figured it sounded good. We’ll have a cute kid singing some country songs." "Well this kid comes out to the ballpark and his black cowboy hat is just about bigger than he is. He’s got these great manners, and seemed mature beyond his years. Then he goes out and sings a couple songs. That voice, he just blew away the crowd. I figured that somewhere, someday we might see his name again. I didn’t know when and I didn’t know where. Now I know" Kelly, who has also performed at local county fairs in the area over the years, has developed quite a following on "American Idol" with his vocal talents, teenage good looks and polite demeanor. Sinicropi added, "We were proud to host Aaron in 2005, and wish him all the best in the ‘Idol’competition. In fact, we really hope that we can have him back this summer to celebrate his success with an ‘Aaron Kelly Night’ at the ballpark. With his permission, we’d love to immortalize him with a bobblehead giveaway. All of central PA is pulling for him" He will showcase his musical abilities tonight (Feb. 24) at 8pm on Fox while he attempts to remain in the running to be the next "American Idol". Voting will begin immediately following tonight’s show with the top ten vote-getters moving on to next week. Voting results will be revealed during the elimination show, Thursday night at 8pm on Fox.
The Pennsylvania
Garden: "The promise of spring and the river bank talks of the waters of March, the end of all strain, the joy in your heart.." By Antonio Carlos Jobim
Early March is a wondrous time here in the Susquehanna valley. There is an anticipation, a sense of change that comes along riding the winds of a blustery March afternoon. Soon our landscapes and gardens will burst forth in a dazzling display of springs finest colors. Already an observant gardeners eye can find subtle changes happening in the landscapes. This past week one of the earliest of spring blooming bulbs has begun to make it presence known here in our area. The tiny Galanthus nivalis or common snowdrop as it is known has peeked up through the cold late winter soil and has begun to bravely begin its delicate bloom display. Snowdrops are a flowering bulb that must be planted in the fall. They over winter and amazingly begin to flower in late February and early March. The blooms are small and only reach a size of about one half to an inch in diameter. They are pendulous like and hang delicately at the end of an upright greenish stalk with strap like leaves that are several inches tall. The tiny flowers are a milky colored snow white and resemble a sort of teardrop like bell. Snowdrops are the first true harbingers of the changing seasons blooming even before the first crocus, often pushing up through the cold late winter snow to bring us hope and a sign of the spring wonders to come. Another sign of the turning seasons can be found in the buds of the trees and shrubs in our landscapes and gardens. All around us the trees have begun to take on a subtle change as the buds have begun to plumb up reading to push forth the blossoms of another green season. Indoors we can bring a bit of early bloom color to our windowsills by forcing some flowering branches. Cutting and pushing woody stems into color inside is easy and now is the perfect opportunity to harvest some braches for an early indoor flower show. To start simply cut branches of spring blooming woody plants that are heavily budded. Some great choices for early forcing include forsythia, pussy willows, flowering quince, flowering crabapples, fothergilla, ornamental cherries, ornamental pears, cornelian cherry dogwood and PJM rhododendron. Harvest branches that are about half an inch in diameter as these tend be the easiest size to force. You may cut the stems to any length that suit’s the vase you are using as the forcing container. In effect as you cut the branches you are performing a bit of pruning so take care to properly remove stems leaving a well balanced, properly shaped plant. Bring your branches indoors and recut them removing an inch of the stem from the bottom of each. To help in the uptake of water you may also crush the bottom inch or two of each stem, pounding them carefully on a hard surface with a small hammer. This will help to open up the woody tissues and create more area for absorption. Fill your clean vase with tepid water that contains a floral preservative. You can create a homemade version by blending equal parts water to a citrus-based sugar soda, to this mix you can also add a couple drops of bleach to prevent bacteria build up in the solution. Place your stems in the vase and set in a cool spot away from direct exposure to sunlight. Generally it takes a good six to eight hours to fully hydrate cut branches. Once they have been properly soaked up shift the vase to a warm spot near a window and begin to force the buds open. In several days to a week the buds should start to break open and miraculously unfurl their elegant blossoms and delicate green leaves. Be sure to change and freshen the vase water about every four days, continue to use a floral preservative as this will extend the bloom show keeping the branches colorful and vibrant. Get a head start on the spring season this year, cut and force some branches indoors and enjoy a preview of the botanical wonders to come. From Propaganda Art to Pennsylvania
Freedom With brush in hand, Yury Karabash sits at a paint stained easel inside his warm studio in the midst of a Williamsport winter. Between brush strokes and spoonfuls of savory soup, Karabash recalls the frigid winters of his native Moldova and the years he spent in the early 1980s painting propaganda art while in the Russian military. Towering images of Lenin, Stalin, and the idea of limitless power and glory Russia wanted to project onto its people, where the visions that flowed from Karabash’ brush. "I was young, — only 18 — and I was painting like crazy, some days 16, 18 hours a day trying to keep up with what was expected of me," said Karabash. "It was work, work, work, always trying to keep up. At the time I didn’t know what propaganda was. To me, I was simply making art, murals, paintings for my country. I did that over four years. But, I was doing art, something I loved and trained for since I was ten years old and went everyday for many hours after school to a special art program. By the time I was 14 I had a professional education in art that other people would have when they graduate from college."
Karabash’s bold and vibrant work adorned many public buildings in Russia during a time when the country was under strict government control, which flexed their powers by limiting nearly every aspect of life; from what the citizens were allowed to buy, where they could travel and the censored news that cast Russia in the best light. It was a life without freedom. "When I lived there, my life was so different than what it is now," he said. "Back then, you had no freedom. Nothing. But at the same time, the people were so uses to living like that, being told what they could or could not do, they never thought life could be any different, any better. That was just the way our life was. Many people just accepted it." Although Karabash, 49, loved his homeland and his family that lived there, he longed for a life that was free, a life where the only limits to one’s success and happiness, was their own ambition. "Here in America, I can paint whatever I want and not be told by someone what I have to do," he said. With freedom in mind and the yearning for a fuller life, Karabash made the difficult decision to leave his family, homeland and emigrate to America. The process took several years, stacks of paper work and the approval the government, before he found himself on the shores of America, a country that seemed limitless in every possible way. "When I got here, I knew no English, knew no one here and had to find a job and a place to live," he said. "But even then, I knew America was not like what the Russian government said it was. America was freedom. You could go where you want, do what you wanted. I would go into a store and was amazed by all the things you could buy. If you wanted something and had the money, it was yours. In America if you want a car, you go and buy one. In Russian when I lived there, only the rich had cars and even then, you have to wait several years. And the cars where junk." With the help of a church, Karabash ended up in Tennessee, a place he knew nothing about, but he was determine to survive. After landing a job in a factory, he slowly began to learn English and become more comfortable in his new country. "One of my greatest accomplishments in life was coming to American and becoming a citizen. I love it here and the people have been very nice to me. At the same time, I still have feelings for where I grew up because that is a part of my history. It is my roots." As with many people in a new land, Karabash wanted to experience and explore the country he now called home. His travels were interrupted when fate paid a call and detoured Karabash from heading to New York City to State College to visit with people he knew. Three years later, he was still living there. During his time in State College, Karabash met a person who would be instrumental in his life and work as a painter — mural artist, Michael Pilato. "Michael has helped me so much and with so many things," Karabash said. "I helped him with the murals in State College, he helped me with my English and has been an amazing friends to me. So when Michael came to Williamsport, I came along too and now I share a studio with him and it is the most beautiful place I have ever worked. Many times artists are stuck in some tiny place with bad lighting, and now, I have lots of room and windows and a place where I can do my work and help Michael with his murals." A visit to the studio, located across from the Community Arts Center, yields an area filled with art, workspaces and everything else an artist would need to be creative and productive. "Yury is a master artist, his work is just amazing and filled with detail and color," Pilato said. "Many times you can see how his amazing past becomes part of his work. He is a true talent. He is like a brother to me and my family feels the same way, he has become part of our family. He is a gifted man and a gifted artist." Throughout the studio, pieces of Karabash’s work show they were touched by an artist whose experienced life, from the best to the worst and everything in between. Several of his paintings feature dramatic uses of color that slash boldly across the canvas. His work, clearly a mixture of abstract with a dash of modernism, features a controlled disarray of shapes, lines and hues that should not work together, but they do, thus creating a piece of art that captures one’s attention. "For me, art is part of my life and has been since I was two years old and first started to paint," he said. "Now, I live here in Williamsport and I can paint in a real studio. I like it here. The people in Williamsport are very nice. It is a relaxing place. I love to walk down Millionaire’s Row and see the architecture and the city’s history. The area is a beautiful place with so many mountains. It is a very peaceful life." Local High School Student By Jeffrey Allen Federowicz The houselights dimmed, the audience at the Community Arts Center became silent and Zack Wagner stepped onto the stage where musical greats such as Yo-Yo Ma, Ray Charles, Vanessa Williams and Willie Nelson once performed. Zach’s song was "Maria," his voice was spot-on and the audience was pleasantly surprised. The reason for their amazement was the fact that Zach was a local high school student and not a professional from the "100 Years of Broadway" performance the audience came to see. Zack’s performance at the CAC wasn’t the first time he took the spotlight, it was, however, one of his most memorable performances. "Singing at the Community Arts center was such a huge honor for me. It was a great experience and something I will always remember," said the Williamsport High School senior. "The cast of ‘100 Years of Broadway’ were such professionals and were so kind. It was an amazing night." Zack’s interest in music started at the age of three when he first started to entertain his parents, Christine and David Wagner, and his siblings, brother Zane and sister, Zoey. "We are all very proud of Zack for his performance at the Community Arts Center and for all he has accomplished," Christine said. "He is very dedicated and has a strong, soothing voice. Sometimes when he sings, I just get lost because when he is singing, it’s more than just a song, he is also telling a story." Zack’s own musical story includes performances at the Community Theatre League, including "Beauty and the Beast," "State Fair" and last year’s ACT-UP! Performance of "Footloose" at the CAC last year. It was his standout performances that earned him the opportunity to sing at prior to the start of "100 Years of Broadway." "I met Zack Wagner when we were both cast in "Gypsy" at the Community Theatre League about four years ago. I quickly took note of the fact that he was a gifted and dedicated performer and a singularly nice young gentleman," said Rob Steel, executive director of the CAC. "Zack was also a finalist in the Williamsport Idol event at the CAC two or three years ago, plus he played a lead role in the ACT UP! production of Footloose at the CAC last summer. I spoke with the producer of "100 Years of Broadway" about the concept of adding a local talent to the show and he turned on the green light on Wednesday last week. Zack as you have already noted, was ready, willing, and able." Zack passion for music along with his personality, has earned him praise throughout the community. "Zack is an extremely hard worker, very diligent, and very helpful. He strives for excellence in everything he does. He is also literally the most polite and conscientious student I have ever had the pleasure of meeting," said music teacher, Marisa Hickey. "Zack has always been a very gifted musician. Not only does he have a beautiful voice, but he also extremely expressive with his singing. It is this expression that really draws the listener to his voice." The CAC experience for Zach and the audience would not have happened if it wasn’t for the art center opening its doors to local talent. "This opportunity for Zack wouldn’t have happened if it were not for Rob Steel. He has welcomed local talent to the CAC, creating a situation where everyone benefits," Christine said. "When we moved here 13 years ago, the CAC was nothing like it is now. Rob has done an excellent job." The experience also showcased the high quality talent the area has, which was clearly visible when Zack took to the stage. Audience members at the CAC the other night were drawn to Zack’s voice and his professionalism, both of which are hard to obtain, even for a performer twice Zack’s age. "I was thrilled to see his performance! He appeared calm, cool, and collected- just as a professional musician should be," Hickey said. "I think that it was a great performance of a very difficult piece. It was a great choice for him, and it fit in with the "100 Years of Broadway" theme." It is with the support of his family, friends and his current music teacher, Sasha Tiaspo-Tedford, that Zack has developed as a singer, which will come in handy now that he is taking the next big step in his life, getting ready for college and a degree in music and the arts. "My family has been amazing. They are so supportive and encouraging. My brother and sister have attended every single performance I ever was in," Zack said. "My current music teacher has also been a huge help with my singing and encouraging me to do my best." |
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