Smithtown residents lined Main Street, Monday, May 30, to cheer on the veterans, volunteer firefighters, Scouts and more that marched down the main thoroughfare to remember those who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
After the parade, which was hosted by the Smithtown Fire Department, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Town Hall.
By Daniel Dunaief
Once upon a time, a girl named Fiona read the book “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
She thought it was funny and charming that a child could see what no one else admitted. But then, something strange happened: she thought she could also see things that no one else could.
“That’s sweet, Fiona, but focus on your school work and let your imagination run wild at other times,” her father told her that night.
Fiona did as she was told because she wanted to please her parents and her teachers. It was her teachers that caused problems for her.
It started with Mrs. Butler in her third grade class. A tall, thin woman with white hair and glasses, Mrs. Butler always wore high-heeled shoes. She looked directly in the eyes of every student. One day, her friend Simona fell and hit her head. When Mrs. Butler bent down and checked on her friend, Fiona saw the kind of coat doctors and nurses wear appear around her shoulders. Fiona rubbed her eyes, but the coat was still there. Mrs. Butler calmly told the class to go to their seats, sent Bill to get the nurse and kneeled on the floor near Simona.
When the nurse left with Simona, Mrs. Butler’s white coat disappeared.
The next day, Jeff couldn’t understand a math problem. He wrote numbers all over the paper, but he didn’t have the answer.
Fiona noticed a change again in Mrs. Butler’s clothing. Instead of her powder blue blouse, she had an orange vest and white gloves. With numbers on the smartboard, she directed Jeff away from all the dead ends.
When he got closer to the answer, Jeff smiled. Fiona looked back at Mrs. Butler, whose orange vest and white gloves disappeared.
Later, Doug and Andrew got into an argument near the stack of books at the back of the room. When Doug swung his arm to make a point, he knocked over several books.
Fiona saw Mrs. Butler’s clothing change again, this time into the kind of black and white stripes that referees wear in football games. She could even see a whistle dangling from her teacher’s neck.
The next morning, Jill and Amanda couldn’t agree on how to do a class project. Jill marched to the front of the classroom to complain. Amanda followed closely.
While Fiona couldn’t hear everything, she saw a black robe form around Mrs. Butler.
When the conversation ended, Mrs. Butler said something that made both girls happy. They shook hands and walked back to their desks, where they returned to work on their project.
One day, Fiona arrived early to class. She and her teacher were alone and she felt like she had to say something.
“Mrs. Butler?” Fiona asked.
“Yes?” Her teacher replied.
“I see all the clothing you wear,” Fiona said. “I don’t think anyone else sees it.”
Mrs. Butler narrowed her eyes and looked carefully at her student.
“What do you see?” Mrs. Butler asked.
She described the medical jacket, the orange vest, the referee’s coat and the judge’s robe.
“What do you think of all that?” Mrs. Butler asked.
“Is it real?” Fiona asked.
“Thank you for seeing,” Mrs. Butler grinned. Other students walked into the room and class started.
Just then, Fiona heard an alarm. Mrs. Butler reacted immediately. She held up a shield and directed everyone to the back of the room.
While they waited, Mrs. Butler told everyone to remain quiet. The class waited for the all clear.
“It was a drill,” Mrs. Butler said. “You can return to your desks.”
Fiona was the last to leave the classroom that day.
“Fiona?” Mrs. Butler asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” she said. “Thanks for … everything.”
By Leah S. Dunaief
“What if,” is always an intriguing question. This is true for our personal lives, as well as for history. And one way to consider many historic “what ifs” is through a newly published book by Jeffrey Nussbaum, one of President Biden’s speechwriters, called, “Undelivered.” This is a compilation of speeches, never given, by historical figures, whose words Nussbaum tracked down over 20 years.
These speeches include, among others, the draft of apology that was prepared for General Dwight Eisenhower, had D-Day ended in failure, and Hillary Clinton’s victory speech.
Civil rights leader John Lewis’ original speech for the March on Washington, August 28, 1963, in which Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his iconic “I’ve got a dream” words, is also revealing of the tension among the civil rights leadership. PBS, the television news hour, interviewed Nussbaum this past Monday, and he said that Lewis had originally intended to declare, “We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did. We shall pursue our own scorched-earth policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — non-violently” but was dissuaded from those words. The sponsors of the March, who feared looking too extreme and harming the chances of passing the civil rights bill, begged him to withdraw that particular rhetoric Lewis, with his back to the wall, most reluctantly changed his words that night, writing and rewriting his draft at the base of the Lincoln Memorial until it was acceptable, but the earlier text is in the book.
One of the most fascinating speeches never given was the one awaiting the arrival of President John F. Kennedy on the lectern in Dallas on November 22, 1963. In that text was Kennedy’s warning of the existence of “a rise in the far-right wing camp of voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality.” He would have said that “we are the watchmen on the wall of world freedom looking outside and INSIDE. [Capital letters are mine.]”
The subtitle of Nussbaum’s book reads, “The never-heard speeches that would have rewritten history,” suggests that had Kennedy’s words been heard, history might indeed have been altered. As it is, people who read it after the assassination just regarded that speech as generally one of foreign policy.
These speeches demonstrate how outcomes rest on the razor’s edge of history. Fascinating are “those warnings made in their moment of time,” according to Nussbaum, “that resonate even more clearly today.”
Another historic instance mentioned by Nussbaum was of the three speeches written for Al Gore in the 2000 election. Gore was to give none of them that night. One was a victory speech, the second was a concession, and the third was in the event Gore won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote — prescient of the 2016 election. Nussbaum was one of those speechwriters, and that experience inspired him to write the book about other undelivered speeches.
Not all the speeches included in the book are about politicians and policy. There is the one by Barry Jenkins, the director behind the 2017 award-winning movie, “Moonlight.” Some of you may remember the flub that night, in which the wrong picture was initially announced as the winner and the wrong cast mounted the stage at the Academy Awards before the correction was made. In the chaos, Jenkins never got to say what winning that award meant for him. But here, in Nussbaum’s book, he does get to tell what he would have said.
“They were filming in Liberty City, Miami,” explained Nussbaum, “and as in many poorer neighborhoods, there wasn’t sufficient lighting. They had to bring in lights, which attracted children to the set. At one point during the filming, [Jenkins] looks over to Video Village, where all the monitors and editing equipment were, and he sees a young man wearing his [Jenkins’] headset who’s just planted himself in [Jenkins’] chair.”
“And in that moment, I saw in this child the possibility which I hadn’t believed I could ever see for myself,” Jenkins, who is Black, would have read. How poignant. And missed.
The Reboli Center’s June Artisan of the month is Kyle Blumenthal.
The Stony Brook resident is a painter as well as an artisan who creates hand painted silk scarves, which will be on display during June at the Reboli Center for Art and History in Stony Brook. In addition, she has several paintings in the Reboli Center’s current “Bloom” exhibit.
Blumenthal is an experienced and New York State licensed Art Education specialist. She studied Illustration and Advertising at the High School of Art and Design. She holds a BFA in Painting and Art Education from Pratt Institute, and a MA and MFA in Painting from Long Island University. She has served as part of the Art/Art History faculty at Empire State College and was recognized for her artistic achievements in 2010, when New York Foundation for the Arts named her a Mark Fellow.
Currently, Blumenthal teaches painting at the National Art League and leads a portfolio program (which she created) at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor, New York. Her work has been written about in Arts Magazine, Newsday, The New York Times and Art News. Kyle simultaneously works in many disciplines. Primarily painting with oil on canvas she has also worked as a Designer of Theatrical Installations for dance. She incorporates the ethereal superimposed upon the material as a concept she strives to convey in her work. The artist cultivates a large flower garden at her home, which supplies inspiration and resource for her creative works.
Blumenthal has exhibited her work at such venues as the Harkness House Gallery, Museum of American Illustration, and the Kean Mason Gallery in Manhattan, The Long Island Museum, Islip Art Museum, Guild Hall, Mills Pond Gallery and Staller Center on Long Island, and Sodarco Gallery in Montreal.
“I am honored to have been selected as The Reboli Center’s June Artisan. As an artist living in Stony Brook for many years, I feel this brings that sense of community which is important to me. I remember Joseph Reboli picking up frames from the Setauket frame shop as I was also there at the same time getting tips on how to make my own frames. I remember that his were custom ordered and it was the latest framing for oil paintings. Once again it is the kindness extended to artists and the community that carries on,” said Blumenthal.
Lois Reboli, a founder and president of the Reboli Center said, “Kyle’s work is exquisite, and her scarves are just beautiful. Her silk scarves are very popular in our design shop so we are very happy to have her as our June Artisan.”
The Reboli center is located at 64 Main Street in Stony Brook and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, please call 631-751-7707.
Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (R – 18th L.D.) recently announced that restoration has begun at the historic Coindre Hall.
“Working with the Coindre Hall Advisory Board, the community, my colleagues in the legislature, and county officials, I am proud to say that we have begun to restore the property to its former glory,” said Bontempi.
“Despite the narrative the rumor mill has continued to push, this land will not – and cannot – be used for any development or commercialization. Coindre Hall will be preserved for generations to come.”
“A major part of the CHAB’s mission is to restore the property without compromising the overall character of the complex and larger park,” said Bontempi. “Before the recent restoration work began, Suffolk County secured the necessary DEC permits. Notice of such permits has been prominently posted on the property for the public to view. This has been a transparent and cooperative effort.”
Upon completion of the work, a replanting phase will begin to replace any vegetation that may be impacted during the project. In addition, the wetlands are protected as per DEC guidelines.
“These are pristine wetlands, surrounded by native flora and fauna,” said Bontempi. “It is of paramount importance that we protect the site’s natural state.”
Some proposed uses of the restored boathouse include establishing a law enforcement station, given the complex and unique location on the shoreline, providing easier access to various points on the waterfront.
“Restoring this Suffolk County park benefits every resident in Suffolk County,” said Bontempi. “This is a tremendous victory for Suffolk County residents.”
To learn more about the great work done by the members of the community working on the Coindre Hall Advisory Board, please visithttps://www.scnylegislature.us/1187/Coindre-Hall-Advisory-Board.
The Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus (LIGMC) is celebrating Pride with a musical road trip – and you’re all invited to join them in traveling to “Destination – Anywhere!”
Featuring the works of Stephen Sondheim, Walt Whitman, John Denver, Peter Allen, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra and more, LIGMC’s “Destination – Anywhere!” concerts are set for 8 p.m. on Friday, June 10 at Saint Francis Episcopal Church, 1692 Bellmore Ave., North Bellmore; 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook, 380 Nicolls Road, Setauket/E. Setauket; and 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 12 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington.
“LIGMC began our journey to ‘Destination – Anywhere!’ all the way back in the winter of 2020, so we are thrilled that our audience will at long last join us on this wonderful musical trip,” Bradley Meek, President of the LIGMC Board of Directors, said. “I am so proud of the hard work and dedication that LIGMC’s 17 members are dedicating to making this a concert season to remember and cherish.”
Upon its completion, the full trip will have included several musical pitstops. On April 2, LIGMC ventured into the wonderful world of drag at its sold-out “Broadway’s a Drag!” cabaret at Sayville VFW Post 433. On Saturday, June 4, LIGMC will be previewing selections from “Destination – Anywhere” at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre as part of the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival’s arts pride event. And, after the season is complete, LIGMC is scheduled to sing the national anthem for the Long Island Ducks on Friday, July 22.
“It is always a joy to work with this dedicated, enthusiastic – and growing! – group of singers,” LIGMC Artistic Director Jeanette Cooper said. “Filled with musical twists and turns, ‘Destination – Anywhere’ is bound to have something for everyone. We hope to see you at an upcoming performance and look forward to celebrating Pride with you!”
Tickets are $25 and are available for purchase at the door or online at www.ligmc.org.
About the Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus (LIGMC)
The Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus is a voluntary, not-for-profit, community-based organization that provides diverse audiences with high-quality choral performances and musical experiences. LIGMC uses music to unite the LGBTQ community, fight prejudice and discrimination, affirm the contributions of the LGBTQ community to the region’s cultural life.
Northport residents gathered along Main Street, Monday, May 30, to cheer on the veterans, volunteer firefighters, Scouts and more who marched from Laurel Avenue School to Northport Village Park. The parade, organized by the Northport American Legion Post 694, honored those who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
After the parade, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the park.
Students are scared, and they’re not going to take it anymore.
Students Demand Action, an organization affiliated with Everytown/Moms Demand Action, planned a national school walkout for May 26 in response to the May 24 shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers lost their lives.
More than two dozen Kings Park High School students and over 200 Northport High School students joined in on the national event.
The local walkouts included speeches about the gun violence prevention movement, and the reading of the names of the Texas victims. A moment of silence followed the speeches.
The Kings Park students circulated a petition in 2018 when they were in William T. Rogers Middle School in response to the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, according to a statement from the group of students.
“We were angry that this didn’t end with Parkland,” the statement read. “That this didn’t end with Sandy Hook. That this didn’t end with Columbine. That children still have to fear going to school and that we still need to have national walkout events to protest the epidemic of gun violence in our country.”
Among the Kings Park students was senior Isabella Lenarduzzi. During a phone interview, she said she was angry after hearing about the Texas shooting and felt as if she needed to do something. When she saw the post from Students Demand Action, she reached out to her friend Jesse Gunnell, and they created a group chat with fellow students to come up with ideas about what they could do.
“People are really angry about it,” Lenarduzzi said, “Angry and passionate about it, too.”
She said parents, teachers and administrators were supportive of the students’ decisions, and they weren’t reprimanded by school personnel. She added that the teenagers stayed within the school’s courtyard to remain safe.
Hallie Schorr, a junior at Northport High School, said Northport parents, teachers and administrators were also supportive, and the students were outside for about 20 minutes.
She said she decided to participate because she’s scared for the country, herself and her father who works in a different school.
“It’s just terrifying,” she said. “I just wanted to be able to show my support and to let my school know that there are people in school who are really, really scared and want to make change.”
Schorr said she feels fortunate that she lives in a school district that is able to incorporate several security measures to protect students and staff members.
“I do feel safe in school, but it’s, I don’t know, it’s scary,” she said. “What if this happens?”
Senior Meyer, Freshman Deliberti combine for 7 goals, Lamendola and defense shut down Devils
By Steven Zaitz
The schools are separated by about six miles. Their boys lacrosse teams — by much more.
The top-seeded Northport Tigers showed why they are reigning Long Island champions, as they doubled up and dominated the number four-seeded Huntington Blue Devils 12-6 on Thursday, May 26. Northport advances to the Suffolk County Championship game against the Smithtown East Bulls.
After a sleepy and goal-less first eight minutes, Northport even spotted their arch-rivals to the west a one goal lead, as Huntington’s strategy of locking up Northport’s superstar Senior Attacker Michael Meyer seemed to work — initially. But Meyer would find the key.
He exploded for four goals, all of which came in the first half, including a buzzer-beating rocket with two seconds to go before the halftime buzzer. Meyer also had assists on four other goals — a standout performance in a huge playoff game.
Freshman attacker Jack Deliberti had three goals, Jacob Starcke two goals and roving long-stick Midfielder Andrew Miller scored two in less than a minute in the third quarter that restored a five goal Tiger lead and unofficially broke the Blue Devils’ back.
Northport played their usual brand of ferocious defense, forcing Huntington to the outside and lower percentage shots and Tiger Goalkeeper Luke Lamendola registered an eye-popping 16 saves.
It was a complete team effort if there ever was one, and it enables Northport to re-visit neutral site East Islip Middle School to play Smithtown East — the very field they beat Syosset 12-11 to capture the Long Island Title last summer.
“All week in practice, we went over situations where I, or someone else, is locked off and what we were going to do,” Meyer said, who now has 43 goals on the season. “So, we ran one of the plays we worked on, and I was able to get the ball with a short stick defending me.”
He made the short stick dearly pay.
From sharp angles and small windows at which to shoot, Meyer flung balls past Huntington Goalie SammyMac Arner with deadly accuracy over the course of the first 24 minutes.
“Michael is a special player,” said Head Coach Larry Cerasi. “He does everything a coach could ask for and then some. He’s not the most ‘rah rah’ type of guy, but he leads by example and has shown some of our younger guys the way to success.”
One of those younger guys is the ninth grader Deliberti, who like Meyer, has curly brown locks of hair sticking out of the back of his helmet. He scored the first goal of the second half off of a brilliant feed from Meyer,
“When I first came up to the varsity team, I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, being guarded by juniors and seniors,” Deliberti said. “But Mike has really took me under his wing and has showed me how to be a varsity player.”
Meyer was also showing everybody in attendance why he is complete superstar package. After Huntington staged a mini-uprising and cut the Tiger lead to 7-4 midway through the third period, Meyer found Tim Kirchner in the middle of the field, who shoveled it over to Miller on the right. The junior Army-commit beat Arner from 20 yards away. Ten seconds later, Meyer hit Miller on a beautiful diagonal pass right in front of the Devil net. Miller faked high and went low to scoop it past Arner. It made the score 9-4 with the third quarter quickly melting away. The final horn was more than a quarter away, but the game was over.
“That was a big swing right there,” Miller said. “Huntington had just pulled within three and I think it stopped their momentum.”
With a suffocating second half defense and Lamendola snuffing out anything that leaked through, the Tigers ticket to East Islip was punched.
Senior Jacob Starcke scored two in the fourth quarter and Deliberti finished the scoring when he rattled the ball off both posts and behind Arner for Tiger goal number 12. Northport had effectively taken Huntington’s Big Four attackers of Aidan McNulty, Robbie Smith, Liam Lennon and Chris Maichin out of the game with constant defensive pressure. This quartet combined for 183 total point in 2022. Also, part of the winning formula, was Tyler Kuprianchik’s customary dominance at the ‘X’. The future Penn State Nittany Lion won 71% of his faceoffs against Yale commit Anthony Annunziata. Annunziata was second to Kupianchik in faceoff winning percentage in the regular season in Suffolk I.
“Our defense is not only incredibly strong and athletic, but we are also a cerebral bunch,” said Defensive Coach and Northport alum Billy Cordts. “Quinn Reynolds and Andrew Miller are incredibly dynamic. Jack Sandrib and Jack Breckling are experienced and very strong players. Will Flynn is not flashy but does it all, plus Pat Sweeney, who is an incredible athlete. All of these guys made it a very difficult day for their best players (Smith and McNulty).”
Cordts, class of 2003, had to manage some adversity through out the course of the season. But the Tigers have proven to be extraordinarily deep in 2022.
“We lost some starters to injury and didn’t miss a beat. Dan Eagers and Jon Alfiero went down, and they are damn good players. We are all about team and we play for each other and willing to do the dirty work. That’s what enables us to dominate.”
They’ll need to do so for one more game to repeat as Suffolk County Lacrosse League A Champions — against a school that also sits about six miles away, but to the east. Will this one be more competitive? Lacrosse fan across Suffolk County are about to find out.
Residents lined Route 25A in Setauket for the return of the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 30. The parade could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.
The event kicked off at Setauket Village Green, and elected officials, Scouts, volunteer firefighters, the Ward Melville High School band and more started marching down Main Street and then headed east down Route 25A.
The parade ended at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park on Shore Road for a wreath-laying ceremony hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054. In attendance was Hank Ryon, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
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