Earth Day At Sunken Meadow State Park - Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Earth Day at Sunken Meadow State Park 9am, Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Special thanks to Carolyn and John for allowing me to photograph them as they enjoyed the wonderful weather at Sunken Meadow. 

Theater Review - "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm in Therapy!"

THEATER REVIEW - “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy!” Produced by: Presley Theatre Group - Playing at: Theatre Three, Port Jefferson, thru May 10^{th -} Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur 

Yes, “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy!” is one of the longest-running, one-man, comedy shows in history. And during two hours which seemed like four, that’s exactly the way it felt at Theatre Three on Main Street in Port Jefferson last Saturday: long … very long!.

Even in the hands of the gifted dialectician, Peter J. Fogel, this unrelenting half-Italian, half-Hebrew commentary on New York-style shtick is remarkable only inasmuch as it manages to resurrect jokes we’ve all heard time and again over the past thirty or forty years … and more. 

Even a shy Jewish boy’s recollection of stumbling on a mud-caked Woodstock honey named ‘Blossom’ might have seemed an amusing incident to a crude adolescent at one time … but it certainly no longer does. Woodstock is a sad chapter in our culture (if that isn’t too oxymoronic a construction) and history has rightly judged that there was nothing funny about it. Accordingly, the phenomenon has no place in this show.

Okay … that said, its inclusion is relatively harmless. But the play’s script (written by Steve Solomon) takes an altogether misguided tack toward the end of Act I. There, the ethnic harangue departs unwisely from its almost exclusively Jewish and Italian peccadillos (which the monologue’s very title leads us to expect) long enough to get itself into a bit of trouble. This is occasioned by a string of tasteless jabs that stray beyond the Jewish penchant for Chinese food, and take a poke at the Chinese themselves. Totally uncalled for.

It has been widely reported that writer Steve Solomon gave up teaching school in New York in order to write jokes … and ultimately put a series of them together and launched “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy!” at the Shubert Theater in 2006. Fair enough. Where Solomon might be stretching credibility, though, is in his contention that other modern comics have made a habit of stealing his material. 

Hmmm. How does that reconcile, I am compelled to ask myself, with my distinctly recalling hearing several of Solomon’s punch lines bandied about well before he was born?

Ah, me! It’s rare that anyone leaves Theatre Three feeling less than satisfied with their theater-going experience, but guess what? I was not the only aficionado eager to depart the comfortable old building when comedian Peter Fogel was taking his final bow. I noticed during Act II, for example, that a fortysomething woman beside me had been texting on her iPhone since intermission. She was apparently determined to conclude her private message even as the star of “…Therapy!” was being applauded politely, if not lustily during the play’s curtain call. 

When I looked left and right I saw, alas, that many of our neighbors in Row F Center were doing exactly the same thing. Texting … not applauding.

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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of ten novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. Ladouceur’s upcoming THE QUANTUM SYNDROME is patterned on the Atlanta child murders of the 80s and will be introduced at Long Island’s famed Book Revue on April 28^th.

Police Officers Daniel Sable, David Vlacich, Vincent Liberato - Saving Lives Is What They Do!

SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE OFFICERS AND RONKONKOMA FIRE DEPARTMENT EMT’S SAVE THREE LIVES

Three Suffolk County Police Officers from the Fourth Precinct and members of the Lake Ronkonkoma Fire Department saved the lives of three individuals who overdosed on the afternoon of Monday, April 13^th. 

 Police Officers Daniel Sable, David Vlacich and Vincent Liberato responded to a 911 call about individuals who were found unconscious in the bedroom of a home on Kirby Lane in Lake Ronkonkoma.  When the officers arrived at approximately 4:15 pm, they found the unconscious bodies of two women, aged 39 and 43, and a 46-year-old man.  The officers carried the victims out of the house, the Fire Department personnel immediately administered intranasal Narcan and they all regained consciousness. They were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital were last reported to be in stable condition. 

“These three individuals have another chance at life. We are proud of our member’s role in saving these lives and stand strong with the communities across Suffolk County in fighting and preventing drug-use.  We remind concerned parents that the PBA offers free drug-testing kits, which are available to the public at our Bohemia,” said Noel DiGerlolamo, President of the Suffolk County PBA. 

Editorial - SC Republican Misleader Comes To Smithtown

Suffolk County Republican MISLEADER John J. LaValle comes to Smithtown -

On April 8, 2015 Councilman Ed Wehrheim held a fundraiser at the Watermill Caterers* in Smithtown. Mr. Wehrheim’s friends, family and allies attended showing their support for Councilman Wehrheim as he readies himself for his 2015 campaign for Town Councilman.  Kudos to Mr. Wehrheim.  The kumbaya moment included support for Councilman Creighton and Deanna Varricchio (Receiver of Taxes).  

Enter into the picture John J. LaValle, Chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, AKA the Republican MISLEADER. LaValle came to the fundraiser in his official capacity as the benevolent leader of Suffolk County Republicans showing support for his buds Wehrheim & Creighton. 

Mr. LaValle earned his MISLEADER title due to the blatently erroneous emails he sent to County Republicans in the 2013 Primary. In the emails LaValle misrepresented who Smithtown’s Republicans designated as candidates in the Smithtown Republican Convention. In his email the MISLEADER replaced designated party candidate Patrick R. Vecchio with Councilman Robert Creighton and left off party designee Thomas McCarthy, mentioning only Kevin Malloy despite both being party designees. 

Smithtown Republicans didn’t buy into the LaValle email. They voted for Vecchio, McCarthy and Nowick who ousted party designee Malloy. Republicans voted against their party’s designee for legislator.

The result in 2013 was Team Vecchio won and Team LaValle lost. 

Message to Councilman Wehrheim, people have short memories when it comes to accomplishments but long memories when it comes to deceiving them. 

Editorial - John J. LaValle - Party Leader OR Party Cheater?

WRONG! Sloppy Or Deliberate? SC Republican Chair LaValle Sends Email Blast With Wrong Information 

Pat

*Wording was changed to reflect the name Watermill Caterers not Watermill Restaurant as originally posted.

American Association of University Women Promoting Equity And Education For Women

Members of the Smithtown Branch of the AAUW (American Association of University Women) volunteered on March 27, 2015 at Stony Brook University. They assisted with the ELECT-HER-CAMPUS-WOMEN-WIN training program which is supported by both the University and the AAUW.  The 35 college students who attended the event were involved in workshops which encouraged and trained them to build leadership skills in order to run for student elected offices and/or future elected positions in their communities. The participants were able to gain insight from speakers such as Assemb. Michaelle Solages, N.Y. State Assembly, District 22, who provided a motivating speech and question and answer session which encouraged the campus women to develop their skills in order to achieve their goals of winning elections.

Smithtown Branch of AAUWThe results of the 2014 ELECT-HER-CAMPUS-WOMEN-WIN training reveal that 78% of the participants who reported running for office won their elections and that 12% more students planned to run for political office after attending the ELECT-HER training.

The AAUW is the nation’s leading voice in promoting equity and education for women and girls. Since its founding in 1881, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day—educational, social, economic and political.

The Smithtown Branch of the AAUW is active in community outreach. Most recently the members were involved in collecting and donating much-needed supplies for the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 

The Smithtown Branch also sponsors various “interest groups,” such as the Literature Group, the Great Decisions Interest Group, the Handicrafts Group, and the Mah Jongg Group.

To learn more about the American Association of University Women you can find it at  HYPERLINK “http://www.aauw.org” www.aauw.org. To find out about membership in the Smithtown Branch of the AAUW, contact Lois Netter, tel. 631-544-1133 or at  HYPERLINK “mailto:alnetter@aol.com” alnetter@aol.com.