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FROM WALLINGFORD – What Memorial Day means

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

This op-ed piece was written by Stephen Knight and published in the Record Journal on Sunday May 27, 2012

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, one of the most important days on the American calendar, because it is a day we set aside to honor those who have paid the ultimate price so that we may be free. Most often, this column covers local Wallingford political events, but those matters fade into utter triviality when one considers the significance of this holiday, and so that will be my topic, admittedly borrowing heavily from previous “From Wallingford” submissions on this subject.

I will start by making the observation that, over the years, while the day has lost some of its solemnity, Memorial Day has somewhat evolved into a second Veterans Day, where we not only honor those no longer with us, but also extend gratitude to those who are. Given that, with every passing day, there are so many that have served who are reaching the end of their time on earth, and given that our country is at war, with so many past and present members of the military having been placed in harm’s way, many never to return alive, it is entirely appropriate that we do so.

So, tomorrow, we honor those citizens among us who have answered the call and continue to answer the call to serve in the armed forces of the United States. From Valley Forge to Lake Champlain to Gettysburg to Verdun to Normandy to the Chosin Reservoir to Hue to Kuwait to Baghdad to Kandahar and countless other places in the world, the American soldier has stood and defended this country with honor and distinction, first with the ferocity and determination to win the battle, and then the kindness and compassion to win the hearts and minds of those they have liberated. They have always conducted themselves under the rules of international law and those of common humanity, and have been quick to condemn those incredibly few within their ranks who would stain that record of honor. And in their service, the American veteran — whether protecting the freedom of hundreds of millions of human beings in peacetime or liberating many hundreds of millions from tyranny and enslavement in wartime — has been a positive force throughout the world and has brought credit to this country. However, there is one special trait that, in my mind, makes the American soldier, sailor or airman an almost-unique figure in the history of conflict. Consider that, in almost every armed conflict you can name, one side was pursuing conquest and the other side was defending itself from that subjugation or annihilation. The defenders had a personal stake in the outcome, that oftentimes being survival itself.

But if you examine the history of the wars in which America has been involved, especially those in the 20th and 21st century, you see our involvement not only to protect the security and interests of the United States but, in a larger sense, to defend the concept that liberty and freedom are a basic right of all of humanity. To have risked their lives in defense of this high ideal and not just the protection of their homeland puts US military men and women in a category unique to human history.

He may no longer be president of France, but Nicholas Sarkozy, speaking to the US Congress, described this concept beautifully: “America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.

‘What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.

‘The men and women of my generation heard their grandparents talk about how in 1917, America saved France at a time when it had reached the final limits of its strengths, which it had exhausted in the most absurd and bloodiest of wars.

‘The men and women of my generation heard their parents talk about how in 1944, America returned to free Europe from the horrifying tyranny that threatened to enslave it.

‘Fathers took their sons to see the vast cemeteries where, under thousands of white crosses so far from home, thousands of young Americans lay who had fallen not to defend their own freedom but the freedom of all others, not to defend their own families, their own homeland, but to defend humanity as a whole.” To view photographs of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France where 9,387 US servicemen are buried renders one speechless at the contemplation of such heroism. It is an honor to call them, and all who have put on the US military uniform, our fellow citizens.

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An old “FROM WALLINGFORD” article of mine from May of 2009

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

I was backing up some files on my PC this morning and archiving them off the hard drive when I came across this old “FROM WALLINGFORD” article. It was the second one I wrote for the Record Journal back in May of 2009.

 

I finished reading a bedtime story to my two older kids, Andrew who will be five in August and Angela who turned three this past January. I try my best to read to them every night that I am home at a sensible hour, which fortunately is most nights. As part of the routine, I lay down with them for a few minutes each before I leave their rooms. The whole event barely takes an hour of time and that will often include playing on the living room floor for a couple of minutes with my youngest son Adam who turns one on the 17th of May.

Generally by 8PM I am headed back down to my home office to finish up whatever work I need to get done that had gotten away from me during the course of my workday. I say generally because Andrew will often protest a little bit because he would like me to stay until he falls asleep and today was no exception.  I said to him “tonight I really can’t; I have a lot of things I need to try to finish up before I go to bed.”

“Oh, OK Daddy, you can go then.” I kissed him on the forehead and got up. He called out “Dobranoc” (“good night” in Polish) as I left the room.

Tonight, part of that work that needed finishing happened to be my submission for this week’s edition of From Wallingford. I’m supposed to get this in before the end of the day on Wednesday. My previous submission (which was my first) was sent via email at the actual end of the day – midnight. I was happy this time that despite getting slammed at work that I was just doing a final proof read at 8PM and that I was going to have four hours to spare.

I was closing up browser windows on my computer before opening Outlook up when I realized that I still had the “Lyman Hall friends mourn Brian McCarthy” story open from the morning; I had gotten so busy at 6AM with work emails that came in that I stopped reading the paper online and only upon seeing the story again had I realized that interruption had occurred fourteen hours before.

I minimized the submission I was working on and started to read the story.

Brian McCarthy died on Monday due to injuries sustained from a single car accident on Whirlwind Hill Road which occurred on Thursday. There were two other teenagers in the car that had sustained injuries from the crash but the story outlined that they were both expected to fully recover.

I didn’t personally know Brian McCarthy. As I read the story that kept coming up in my mind for some reason. I did know from the article that he was somebody’s brother and somebody’s son. He was a “friend, classmate and teammate” to many. The story finished “Brian was such a great kid” “we are all going to miss him.”

I took a look at the submission I was about to send in for my article this week and decided to save it for another day.

I turned off my monitors and the lights in my office and headed upstairs.

My wife called out to me “did you finish the article?”

“No” I said, “I need to re-write the whole thing.”

I peaked in Angela’s room; she was fast asleep.

I went into Andrew’s room and as carefully as I could I laid myself down next to him.

He opened his eyes just slightly and said “are you done working Daddy”?

“No, but I’d rather stay here right now. I have until midnight.”

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FROM WALLINGFORD – Truth overtakes rail project

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

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This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD was written by Stephen Knight

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday August 7, 2011

I have been a student of the railroad industry for my entire adult life; as a student in graduate school, as a keenly interested observer, and as a professional transportation consultant. So I write this column with considerable angst, because it is my conclusion that the proposed New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail project that will run through Wallingford is a boondoggle of fantastic proportions. My inherent predisposition to support this project is overwhelmed when confronted with the 1) downright mythical speed and service projections, 2) wildly optimistic ridership projections and 3) blindly underestimated capital and operating expenses.

Speed and service projections: In a May 9 press release, Gov. Malloy stated that these trains would reach “speeds up to 110 miles per hour.” I say: only if you catapult the trains from every station like they do jet fighters off an aircraft carrier. Why? First of all, there will eventually be 11 stops in the 62 miles between New Haven and Springfield. That’s an average of less than six miles between stops. So where exactly will these trains do 110 mph? And — are you ready for this? — the service will commence with hand-me-down equipment from Shoreline East. According to their latest schedule, those trains, making all the stops, move between New Haven and New London averaging less than 50 mph, and do so on the most advanced, best maintained railroad track in America. Secondly, this speed in a corridor with thirty-eight grade crossings? Really? So calling the NHHS project high speed rail is utterly fictitious.

Ridership projections built on the sentiment “Build it and they will come”: in calculating potential ridership, the numbers presented assume a) many more daily Amtrak trains running on the line; b) enormous numbers of passengers feeding the line from the so-called “Knowledge Corridor” line in central Massachusetts which has yet to be rebuilt; and c) thousands upon thousands of people willing to live in this corridor and work 2 ½ hours away in New York City. In other words, the number of commuters between New Haven and Springfield that is supposedly the driving force behind this project could never, ever justify the price tag, so numbers assuming a complete northeastern United States rail system build out are used to puff up the stats.

Capital and operating expenses: The price tag for rail line and station construction alone is $647 million, and the project is counting on huge support from the feds. Here is the latest fed response: State of Connecticut request — $227 million. Fed grant: $30 million. Result: the project has already contracted to providing trains only during peak commuter times. And how much money is allocated to purchase rolling stock — the stuff you ride on? Zero. As mentioned above, the plan is to use the existing Shore Line East equipment until, well, who knows?

As for operating expenses, somehow the project is making revenue estimates, but they haven’t even set the fare schedule. How do you do that? But even assuming (do you see that word a lot here?) their revenue and ridership projections are accurate, there is an inherent, unavoidable, inevitable huge annual cash subsidy. This is not unusual. This is the norm, but could someone in Hartford admit that?

So here’s the rub. Even more than I love railroads, I love the truth. The unvarnished, straight up, tell-it-like-it-is, we can take it truth. And we aren’t getting it. We are being fed pretty pictures, fantastic blue-sky fuzzy numbers and gauzy descriptions of an idyllic life in a future northeastern U.S. economy that seems farther from reality every single day.

If these words seem harsh, they spring from disappointment.

Disappointment that this project is not a practical, financially sensible fit for the market in which it is to operate, and disappointed that you and I are, yet again, being treated like proverbial mushrooms: kept in the dark and covered with . . . well, you know what I’m saying.

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FROM WALLINGFORD – Moving along

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

As Published in the Record Journal Sunday July 17, 2011

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Editor’s note: Below is Jason Zandri’s final “From Wallingford” column. We thank him for his contributions to our readers and community, wishing him well in future endeavors.

When I got my first paper route in 1979, I didn’t know that I would have so many ways to contribute to the local news other than delivering it. I had my Outerwear Adventures in high school, my exploits with moving violations in the police blotter, and writing letters to the editor (to name a few), but I never thought I’d get the opportunity to write regularly for the paper.

Ted Moynihan’s “The Townline” ended and Editorial Page Editor David Andrews approached me with an opportunity to write regularly for the paper as part of a new column to be titled “From Wallingford” every third week opposite town “veterans” Stephen Knight and John Sullivan. As time would pass, John would leave to run for Town Council and the column alternated between Steve and me.

I enjoyed the synergies that came from writing directly opposite of Steve. There were times we were apart on issues and it was nice for Record-Journal readers to get both perspectives. There were also times when we would be (gasp!) in complete agreement on things — and I am sure that left people on the extreme left and the extreme right wondering what unbalanced the entire universe.

When the cycle comes around again, another town “veteran,” Mike Brodinsky, will be taking my place.

I wish I could continue to write for the column, but the one constant in the universe is change — and change is coming. I have a saying that I am fond of: “move along, or move on.”

I could continue “doing my thing” as it has been (“moving along” here in this column and out-and-about in town) — trying to do my best to be a better grown-up, good citizen and fair example to my kids of how one should be part of a community. I would be good with this, but I feel like I have more to offer and I cannot achieve it all from the outside.

I wouldn’t so much call what I am doing “moving on,” as that almost sounds as if it should be tied to getting out and doing something different. I would rather liken it to “stepping up.”

It’s easy to say “someone should take care of this,” yet way more difficult to be the “someone.”

If there is more to be done and someone needs to do it (and you find that no one is), then perhaps you should step up and be “someone.”

My passion for this comes from that infamous statement that was delivered by JFK from before I was born: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

What better place to try to do that than home? Wallingford has so much more potential, but we need everyone involved and in the game — residents, businesses and the administration. All three, separately, are parts of the whole and they cannot achieve well without the others. Only together can they reach greatest success.

I don’t believe, even in this economy and in the dismal mindset, that Wallingford cannot achieve greater things. It’s all up to the people. If they want to buy into all the gloom and doom and “it can’t be done,” then it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’ve personally proven “it can’t be done” wrong quite a few times, and I will continue to try to raise that number. “No” is a great motivator for me (just ask my parents or high school teachers). It takes a lot of “at bats” and strike-outs to hit home runs. The thing to remember is to keep your eye on the ball and never give up swinging for the fences.

So, dear readers, thank you for indulging me for the past two years, and always remember — “it’s your town; get informed and get involved.”

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FROM WALLINGFORD – Our future leaders

Monday, July 4th, 2011

As published in the Record Journal Sunday July 3, 2011

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As I sit to write my second-to-last From Wallingford piece, I’ve decided to write regarding some of the future leaders of Wallingford and beyond.

I am, of course, talking about the K-Kids from Highland Elementary School.

The Kiwanis Club-sponsored K-Kids is a service organization for elementary students worldwide for grades 1 through 5.

Highland is a K-2 school and has a group of about 60 first- and second graders that meet once a month under the supervision of Principal Victoria Reed and teachers Angela Buccheri, Kristina Kiely, Sarah Reynolds and Lisa Rodgers.

The K-Kids have taken on projects that directly help their school such as when they took the time to clean the school grounds and promoted recycling. They reached out beyond the school when they made and collected valentines for Veterans as well as taking on a hat and mitten collection for Master Manna. When the tsunami hit in Japan, their efforts went worldwide when they collected coins for the tsunami relief efforts.

Back here in Wallingford they had an ice-pop sale to raise funds for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund. The students decided that a local initiative like the fireworks, a show basically shown in their own backyards, would be something they could contribute to and they would be able to see the end result of their effort that their hard work helped made happen. As part of the final effort, the K-Kids made and hung posters around the school and wrote and read messages during the morning announcements. On the day of the sale they collected money from the classroom teachers and counted out and delivered the orders.

This was not the standard “bring home the fundraiser pack and pawn it off on Mom and / or Dad.” These kids dug in and did the work themselves, many times, before and after school. The students were involved in every step of the process and with direction and assistance, executed everything on their own.

They raised $500, which exceeded their own expectations and was gratefully appreciated by us. In the day and age of “kids today are spoiled” commentary on the whole (without considering the individual) we see an entire group of students learning the true meaning of teamwork, responsibility and civic minded efforts that give back to the community as a whole – right here at home and abroad.

What a wonderful example they set for their peers and at such an early age; one could only hope that it flourishes and grows rather than fades away over time. I hope they inspire their friends in other Wallingford schools to lead, as well.

Not follow – lead. We have plenty of followers; we need more leaders.

Duty and responsibility are a part of life and that is something these kids are already learning.

Life is not a spectator sport and they are learning this lesson, too.
As I am fond of saying here, “get informed and get involved” — and these kids are already involved. As they grow and learn they will “get informed.”

Perhaps a little of this might rub off on some the adults in the community that have gotten hard skinned over the years about engaging as part of the community. One could always hope. I would be satisfied enough if this next generation simply goes on setting its example without being tainted by the prior one.

So to the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023: I tip my hat to you – you’re off to a great start. Show us all up and become the citizens we all should be; continue to make us proud. Someday, when you’re grown up and are asked “how did you ever become so civic minded and such a diverse leader?” you can respond, “I grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, where I learned from great examples and had some of the best teachers in the world.”

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FROM WALLINGFORD – Father’s Day from afar

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

As published in the Record Journal on Father’s Day, June 19, 2011

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Today is Father’s Day. By the time most subscribers to the paper read this, my four children will be landing in Warsaw for their annual pilgrimage to Poland. From there they’ll be heading by car for the six-hour ride to the village of Zawadka in the administrative district of Gmina Łososina Dolna where my wife grew up.

The past few weeks since the major efforts of raising the funds for the fireworks celebration ended have been spent doing all the “last things” with them. Going for that “last” walk downtown just to get out and get some fresh air; getting that “last” pizza, making that last trip to the ice cream stand or taking the time to spend that “last” afternoon to enjoy Kendrick Park.

Father’s Day for me has generally meant saying goodbye to them for ten-to twelve weeks.

I consider the sacrifice of not seeing my kids for that period of time each year a worthwhile one, as difficult as it can be to be away from them that long.

The first few days of them being away is a nice respite; I have the house all to myself and there is no yelling and screaming, no “he touched me,” no “give me that, it’s mine,” no “Jason, before you go downstairs to the man-cave, could you . . .?”

After that, however, it does get a little old and little too quiet pretty quickly.

It is way too easy to say: “You don’t know just how good you have it” — but there is no decent way to describe it in a way that young minds can comprehend it. I know my kids enjoy the time there — seeing my wife’s parents and the aunts and uncles, running all over the farm, riding the tractor, and so on — but I also hear of the little things that they mention that they miss when I talk to them over the computer. Their bicycles, the other kids in the neighborhood, the DVR (because the concept that a TV show actually starts and ends at a given time and cannot be paused live escapes them).

I am hoping as they grow older that other things sink in; that for all the flaws of this country it is still one of the best places on Earth to grow up and grow old in — a country full of wonder and opportunity.

There is never a real need that goes unfulfilled here . . . that when there is the will, there is always a way to get something done because we have so much in abundance here — the means to do it, and the freedom to make our own way.

There is plenty of time for them to learn that once they grow older and understand more. In the meantime, while they are little and away, I will miss the garbage runs with all four kids in tow because right now they all think it’s “cool” to go for a ride and do that with Dad.

I will miss the fights over who gets to open the garage door and watching my two littlest ones, Adam and Alex at three and two years, try to solve the puzzle of how to reach the wall remote for the door that is five feet off the ground.

I will miss coming home to the ear drum- shattering shrieks of “ DADDY ’ S HOME!” after a long, 14-hour day. I will miss all these things and more, but I will take some comfort in the fact that I know they are safe and happy; that they are enjoying the summer away and that I will see them again in the fall. But I won’t feel too badly, really, on Father’s Day with them being gone because I realize that there is an opportunity to enjoy a little something with them each day — because, for me, every day is Father’s Day.

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MY TAKE – “FROM WALLINGFORD – The show will indeed go on”

Monday, June 13th, 2011

This week’s “FROM WALLINGFORD” titled “The show will indeed go on”, published in the Record Journal on Sunday June 12, 2011 was written by my counterpart on the column Stephen Knight.

This is a great example of where we are nearly in total agreement on something (a situation that does tend to happen believe it or not regardless of the fact that we sit on opposite sides of the “aisle”).

The whole article is a great read but if I might point out what I consider to me two of the more predominant points:

”The vast and ever-expanding web of environmental laws, rulings and regulations being formulated and carried out by myriad bureaus, commissions and agencies on every level of government used to have a narrow purpose of actually improving the environment. No longer. Those in power still claim this to be the goal, but it is becoming increasingly obvious to even a casual observer that the real purpose is an exponential expansion of the nanny state.”

This is blunt and to the point but it is dead on – these environmental laws, rulings and regulations USED to be there to allow these agencies to try to do what they could to improve things. Now that they are being leveraged by fringe groups of overbearing tree huggers WITHOUT thought or concern of how they are impacting mainstream everyday life of the majority of Americans and with the express intent more so of meeting the agenda of that fringe group ought to be criminal.

I have no issues with mainstream environmentalists; I know quite a few and support many of their efforts personally but when you get a “radical” fringe group of any flavor, political, environmental, etc. it is always a recipe for making things worse in the end, not better.

I am all for trying to get cleaner air for my kids and the effort to leave the world in better shape than when I found it but let’s not put up so many law, rules and regulations that I cannot take my car to work because the emissions standards become so high that only the top 1% of people in the country can afford a car anymore.

Let’s remember as well – there are 300 million Americans and yes we are still one of the major contributors to greenhouse gasses on a per capita basis but there are about 1.2 billion people in China and about 1.2 billion in India. At a little over 6 billion people on the planet in total those two countries contain about 40 percent of all the people in the world.

If you think we are doing all the damage (and right now we do own the highest burden) just wait over the next 50 years and see how these countries come into the fray and impact the planet.

Should we move first? Should we be setting the example? Yes.

Should we be shoving it down everyone’s throat here at home and all over the world? Should we be doing it at the cost of quality of life? Hell no.

“Everyone knows the anecdote about the frog and boiling water, wherein a frog placed in a pot of boiling water will jump out, but one placed in cool water that is then heated to boiling will sit in it and die. For the most part, we live our daily lives, too busy to notice that government is intruding in our existence more and more.”

I can’t improve on that at all. That has been part of my little private battle cry all along:

“Get informed and get involved.”

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FROM WALLINGFORD – It’s fireworks funding time

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

by Jason Zandri

If you’re a regular reader of “From Wallingford,” you’re probably keenly aware of the efforts to restore Wallingford’s annual 4th of July Fireworks celebration. Back in 2009, funding for the decades-old celebration was pulled from the town budget. The sitting Town Council at the time restored the funding from surpluses so that the event could still be held.

In 2010 it was a different story. Funding was cut and there was no ability to restore it — the show was cancelled.

At that time, I decided to take the effort out to the people to fundraise the entire amount for the cost of the fireworks themselves and all the city services — police, fire, public works, etc. I was quickly joined by Councilor Craig Fishbein and a short list of other volunteers.

Donations came from John and Jane Wallingford almost immediately. Some families that could went way above and beyond the call. Kim and Christopher Dellaselva contributed $1,000 in honor of their unborn child. Toby and Susan Rhodes held a tag sale and donated all of the proceeds raised, $500 in total, to the cause.

These large donations were important, but so were every single dollar and all the loose change given by everyone. Nothing alone was going to matter by itself but all of it together made a difference.

Donations also came in from local businesses large and small. There were a couple of major sponsorships, and the largest donation came in at $5,000 from Choate Rosemary Hall. There was also a huge publicity push by the Record-Journal, which, when combined with everything else, contributed to the desired end result — the 2010 celebration was saved.

Once provided to the residents of Wallingford “free” of charge (actually, funded by tax dollars at the rate of about $1 per taxpayer) the Wallingford Fireworks Celebration of the birth of our great nation was now and forever more going to be a grass roots effort.

The Wallingford Fireworks Fund is now a recognized 501 (C) (3) organization as designated by the IRS. Our Tax ID number is 27-2576599. We are fast approaching our 2011 deadline and time is of the essence. Funds need to be supplied to the town by the end of May — basically a week from the time you read this, on Sunday morning.

We have a good portion of the money already collected, but we are still about $6,000 short for the 2011 event as of May 18th. If we are to have the show for this July 4th holiday, we will need to collect the remaining funds before the month is out. If not, the funds will stay parked and we’ll keep them set aside for 2012. I know Wallingford can do it. We did so last year with less lead time, so I know we can this year.

If you have any capacity and/or desire to help us with the efforts in keeping this grand Wallingford family tradition alive, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Any donation, big or small, is going to help us close the gap to this goal. Every dime collected matters, and is as equally important as every $20 bill collected. If you can and wish to donate, you can do so directly via PayPal on our website at wallingfordfireworks.org. Alternatively, you can send us your donations made out to the Wallingford fireworks Fund at: Wallingford Fireworks Fund c/o 35 Lincoln Drive EXT Wallingford CT 06492

Thank you for supporting our efforts.

Thank you as well for doing your part in making Wallingford more than just a great New England town. By getting involved, you’re adding your own character to Wallingford’s personality as a great New England community. That cannot be bought nor paid for — that can only be freely given, and Wallingford residents do so in great abundance.

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Posted in From Wallingford, Philanthropy and Charity, WALLINGFORD - Event, WALLINGFORD - Local News, WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND | Comments Off

FROM WALLINGFORD – Mother’s Day and birthday

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

by Jason Zandri

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Sunday May 8th is Mother’s Day. It also happens to be my birthday and every few years both coincide on the same day like this year.

I remember as a child hating when this would occur because I wanted to have my birthday all to itself and not have to share it with another event. My family would be over my grandmother’s house to celebrate Mother’s Day and even though we might have had cake the night before to celebrate my birthday, I tired of hearing “Happy Mother’s Day” when it fell on May 8th.

I always tried to remember to make a little something for my mother for Mother’s Day. As I got older and made a little more money I would buy her things. They were mostly sentimental to her and rarely anything she really needed.

I felt at the time that I never really caught the whole grasp of the holiday. My mother did her thing; she took care of the house and made it a home. There was always something to eat if I was hungry and when my jacket needed mending I’d simply need to let her know and the next time I wore it the tear was fixed. If there was something going on she knew enough when to ask about it and also when to just leave me alone to figure it out on my own. I didn’t see the point of a holiday about it. I mean she was doing her thing. That was a cause for a holiday? Why not police officer day and sales clerk day too? I felt I never understood it.

I’m older now and I recently had the infamous “you’re not my mother” conversation with my wife.

“What are you getting me for Mother’s Day?” she would ask.

“Nothing – you’re not my mother,” was my response.

I was respectful when I said it but I felt the statement was the case – I wasn’t going to get her anything from myself because she wasn’t my mother. I expected nothing different from her come Father’s Day.

After the conversation I took my daughter with me for a ride down to Sweet Cioccolata so she could pick out things to get for her mother.

“Now remember, four small things for you and your brothers to give to Mommy,” I would tell her and she’d go around and point to the things she’d want to get.

“What about the flowers, Daddy?”

“What flowers?”

“There are no flowers for Mommy here. We’ll have to make another stop.”

( Angela is five, by the way).

“OK – we’ll go uptown to Wallingford Flower,” I would tell her and she’d smile.

We’d go in and say hi to Sal and my daughter would stare into the flower case. Sal would ask “which flowers do you want for your Mommy?”

Angela always manages to find pretty close to the most expensive arrangement in the case.

We’d head home with everything and I’d round up the kids to hand them the gifts to give to their mother. Angela always wants to hand over the flowers she picked out of the case so I let her.

The four kids are all around my wife and she smiles as they eat the candy that was for her and she is holding the flowers. “Thank you for the flowers,” she would say.

“Don’t thank me, Angela picked them out,” I would smirk back.

All this hoopla for a single-day celebration — when a mother’s work is 365 days a year, mostly around the clock, and the pay and benefits stink. If you had to actually hire someone to do it you’d either never find a suitable candidate or you’d have to pay a fortune for them.

Well . . . now that I think about it, maybe I do get the meaning of the holiday after all.

Gee, thanks Mom!

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FROM WALLINGFORD – WCI: happy anticipation

Sunday, May 1st, 2011

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday May 1, 2011

V-Knight_SThis week’s FROM WALLINGFORD was written by Stephen Knight

Last Wednesday evening, the Wallingford Town Council Budget Workshop had to do with reviewing some of the contributions that the town makes to various agencies that provide all manner of services to the residents of town. I came away – as did the Town Councilors – with a heightened appreciation of how the staff and volunteers of all these organizations impact this town and everyone lucky enough to live here.

I have previously made comments about two of them: the Spanish Community of Wallingford and Wallingford Center Inc. I would like to devote this column to updating you on Wallingford Center’s plans and activities. But before I move on to that, on behalf of board president Patricia Cymbala and executive director Maria Harlow, I would like to thank everyone who attended or otherwise participated in SCOW’s Wines of Latin America fundraiser. Your financial and community support of the agency and its mission means more than words can express.

Now on to Wallingford Center Inc., whose mission is to promote the downtown of our community, the simple philosophy being that a thriving downtown area is critical to the success of the entire town. Most of our funding is provided by the town, and we raise additional money through fundraisers, donations and merchandise sales. It’s a busy organization run by an irrepressible, enthusiastic, creative, organized and effervescent executive director named Liz Landow. Here are just some of WCI’s events that the people of Wallingford can look forward to this year: Gardener’s Market: This is a creation of the Wallingford Garden Club, but WCI has assumed responsibility for it this year. It will begin July 16th and run through September 17th every Saturday morning from 9am to noon at Johanna Fishbein Park. There are approximately fifty produce, bakery, craft and plant vendors, as well as a few downtown merchants invited to showcase their business each week.

It has become a mini-Celebrate Wallingford event where people come down not just for the opportunity to purchase items but to meet up with other members of the community. The nonprofit downtown organization Dry Dock will be selling breakfast sandwiches and coffee as well.

Summer Festival and Sidewalk Sale: another new and creative idea from our executive director that will take place from Thursday, July 14th through Saturday, July 16th. The event will highlight shopping opportunities at all the downtown businesses with a “Passport to a Weekend Getaway” giveaway, wherein a shopper will be given a “passport” to be stamped by each participating merchant. When the passport is filled, it’s entered into a drawing for a weekend vacation.

Celebrate Wallingford: this is WCI’s premier annual event. It will take place on October 1st and 2nd. Dozens of craft vendors and food vendors participate. Over thirty civic organizations and town departments will have booths. There is a special area for children’s activities, musical entertainment all weekend and a Health Walk co-sponsored by the YMCA and Wallingford Health Department. Wallingford businesses will also be there with displays. Thousands of people have enjoyed this event for the past twenty-five years.

Holiday Stroll: coming up on Friday, December 2nd for the third year. Downtown merchants open their doors for the evening, inviting people in for refreshments, shopping and giveaways. Last year, over $2000 in gift cards were raffled. Downtown restaurants have special menus and prices available. The popularity of this event is growing rapidly, and is turning out to be another wonderful opportunity for the residents of town to meet friends and celebrate the season. Wallingford Center exists to make sure that our downtown is viable and vibrant, and these events are put on to that end. But in a larger sense, events such as these yield a much larger result: everyone that attends not only will learn more about the heart of our town, but also will experience what it is that makes people so proud to call this home.

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