A Nurse Encounters a Soldier

Jeannine, shown visiting with family
 on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH.
(Bergeron Image.)

Yesterday, our family received this e-mail from Priscille’s sister Jeannine, who lives in Florida.  Although J. is now retired, she has had a long career in nursing, most of it with the VNA in Connecticut.  Always helpful, always cheerful, J. will go out of her way, always offering kindness and hospitality to others.

Below is J’s unedited account of her serendipitous encounter on Friday with one of America’s heroes, an Afghanistan veteran.  It is presented below in its entirety and with her permission.

"Good morning to all:  Would like to share a little story which shows how paying it forward can be rewarding to all of us.

Yesterday afternoon on my way back from running errands, I decided to stop at Five Guys to use the rest of a gift card.  In line in front of me, was a young man with a Vietnam emblem on a vest and on a cap as well.  He had 2 leg braces, 2 arm braces and crutches and was struggling to get to his wallet.

The Little Buggers are Mostly Harmless

This little critter was captured yesterday while
clinging to a boxwood shrub in the front yard.

There’s been a lot of publicity about the anticipated invasion of cicadas awakening from their 17-year sleep in the New Jersey soil.  But, at least from what I can observe, it’s been pretty much of a non-event. 

On the lookout for those insects for the last couple of weeks, I recently found dozens, if not hundreds around our home.  So far, though, there are no signs of any damage to trees or shrubs. 

There are hundreds of species of cicadas across the world, with about 100 different types in North America.  The kind which has garnered our attention this spring is known as Brood II of the Magicicada septendecim species – one of the most popular.  They emerge from the earth once every 17 years.  The last time was in 1996, when they overran seven middle and northeastern states, one of which is New Jersey.

Better than Humans

The regional, national, and international news stories which tend to dominate the pages of print media these days are not the most uplifting.  Yesterday, for example, The Sunday Star-Ledger ran another above-the-fold, front-page story on sex abuse. 

A Bottlenose Dolphin
(Courtesy of Wikipedia.com)

It is the latest in a series on this topic by staff writer Mark Muller, featuring a continuing investigative report by that newspaper on the Archdiocese of Newark and, in particular, the Rev. Michael Fugee.

Since the early 2000’s, I’ve done my own extensive, ongoing research on the issue of sexual abuse, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church.  I understand the nature and consequences of that problem very well, probably far more than most.  I’ve also come to discover how pervasive and pernicious it is throughout at least several other major professions.

However, it is not the sort of thing that I care to read about on a Sunday morning, as Pris and I settle down peacefully at the kitchen table with breakfast and a cup of coffee, preparing to read the Star-Ledger and the Courier News. 

Accordingly, I decided to bring your attention to several other, uplifting stories from the columns of the Star-Ledger instead:

Bedding for a Bear?

Today’s Bridgewater Patch reported several bear sightings in Bridgewater.  One was during daylight hours on Mountain Top Road – looked like a big bruiser in the Patch photo provided by a resident.  Another sighting was reported around Steele Gap Road, while a third – the one that really interests me – was the one near Blossom Drive.

Notice the large depression in the middle of this
mulch pile.  It was a well-rounded mound when it
came out of the dump cart.  A deer, or a bear?
(Bergeron Image.)

That last site is within walking distance from our home.  Could that same bear have slept on a fresh mulch pile under our bedroom window?  I mention it for this reason: 

About 10 days or so ago, I had mulch deposited in a mound at the base of a pine tree in the back yard.  I planned to use it later for a new Japanese maple that I had planted to replace Hurricane Sandy Storm damage.

Several days later, I noticed that this mound of mulch had a big depression in it (check the attached photo).  It must have been a deer camping out temporarily near the house.  Fresh mulch piles give out a lot of comforting heat for animals.

Seeking Finality

Boston Bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in a
TV Screenshot. (Bergeron Image)

This afternoon, writers for the Boston Globe clarified earlier reports that Boston Bomber suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had been buried in an undisclosed site “somewhere outside Worcester,” Massachusetts.

As it turns out, it was outside of Worcester – way outside!  The Globe disclosed this afternoon that Tsarnaev’s remains which had been lingering in a Worcester funeral home for days were secretly transferred and buried in a small Muslim cemetery in Doswell, Virginia, a tiny crossroads near Richmond, the state’s Capital.

Resolution in Sight with School Supervisors Salary Negotiations

Patrick Breslin, at the April 24, 2013, meeting
of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education
(Bergeron Image)

SUPERVISORS:  In a conversation with this writer earlier today, Patrick Breslin, President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education, disclosed that contract negotiations between representatives of the board and those of the Supervisors Association took place yesterday.  The parties, he said, “arrived at a tentative agreement.”

He indicated that the agreement is now being placed before the members of that association for their review.  Should the supervisors agree to its terms and conditions, the contract could be presented to the Board of Education for its approval as early as at the next school board meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the Wade Administration Building.

Dr. Schilder to Resign as Schools Chief

Dr. Michael Schilder, Superintendent of Schools,
takes notes at the April 24, 2013 Meeting of the
Bridgewater-Raritan School District.

Following a prior decision announced about only a month ago to withdraw his name from consideration as one of two finalists for the superintendent’s job heading up the Easton (PA) Area School District, Dr. Schilder, Superintendent of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, decided to submit his resignation as head of schools in Bridgewater and Raritan.

In a conversation this morning with Bridgewater-Raritan School Board President Patrick Breslin, I was informed that Dr. Michael Schilder has decided to retire and will be off-payroll effective August 1.  Breslin said that the superintendent “will be on vacation” for the entire month of July.  That effectively leaves only May and June for Schilder to remain on site.

Mr. Breslin indicated that he “officially got the letter of resignation May 1,” adding that this satisfies the 90-day notification requirement contained in Dr. Schilder’s employment contract.

Cars in Head-On Collision

The first of two cars involved in a head-on collision
on Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater.

This afternoon, prior to 4:18 pm when these photos were taken, what appears like a serious collision occurred on Washington Valley Road, about two miles east of Pluckemin.

The accident took place in the narrow area of a well-posted S-Curve.  This long and tricky section of road begins near Ricky Drive and starts to straighten out past Frohlin Drive, heading easterly towards Martinsville.

The second of two autos involved in a head-on
collison on Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater.

The scene of the accident occurred just one-hundred feet or so west of Frohlin Drive.

I have no information as to how many occupants of the autos there were or the
extent of any injuries.