Fireworks in the Village of Asharoken on July 4.
Photo by Steve Zaitz
Each year, we have the pleasure of covering the patriotism and camaraderie of our North Shore community.
While we love featuring fireworks and celebrations, it’s easy to get discouraged about the state of our nation. Yet, we are reminded each year to put it all in perspective.
On a rainy Fourth of July, as families gathered for barbecues and the fireworks shot into the sky, it’s safe to say most of us could recognize that we are among the luckiest of people in history to have the freedoms and opportunities we have.
To love our country, and our community, is to fight for them both. The Founding Fathers envisioned an active, informed and passionate electorate. We encourage everyone who took Independence Day to reflect on their patriotism and gratitude for our service members, and to think about how we got this wonderful freedom born out of a grand experiment.
The Founders were passionate citizens, many of whom risked their lives to design a government they thought would bring freedom and prosperity to all. This bit of history, which we all shared this week on July Fourth, is one we should remember each day.
We, too, should think of ways to improve our government. In these divided times, most of us have plenty of opinions on this already, but maybe not in terms of realistic expectations and compromise.
We must think about issues and consider ways we can move the needle. Writing to our elected officials and contributing letters to the editor are ways to do that.
The Founders wanted us to participate in the political process. We should follow their example and speak up, while being civil and compromising as we work toward mutually agreeable solutions for all.
The spirit of freedom we celebrated this week can live on throughout the year. It’s up to all of us to continue to pursue efforts to maintain equity and justice for all Americans and all members of our communities. It’s up to us to ensure that all of us feel free.
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 2023 St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival. Photo by Steven Zaitz
The 30th annual St. Anthony’s Family Feast and Festival drew thousands seeking fun over the course of a few days.
From Wednesday, June 28, to Saturday, July 1, the Fr. Thomas A. Judge Knights of Columbus and St. Anthony of Padua Church hosted the popular event at Trinity Regional School in East Northport.
Attendees enjoyed rides, games, food, a craft fair and more. The festival featured hat juggling and acrobatics by Ivan Arestov, a rock-climbing wall and, on the last night, the band Razor’s Edge performed rock ’n’ roll and grunge.
Yes, sometimes, I’m an annoying morning person, ready to poke my wife in the arm, kiss her cheek, or play peek-a-boo with a son who can barely open his heavy lids to notice me.
No, my son is not two, and yet, I still have the urge to smile at him and play games in the morning.
I’m the lone morning wolf in my family. Even my dog, who is as far from a wolf as a dog could be, sometimes closes his eyes tightly when I get up too early for him, hoping I’ll go away or, maybe, I won’t see him. No matter how much his fur blends in with the carpet, it’s impossible not to notice a 95-pound dog.
On the other end of the circadian spectrum, I start to fade early each day. Surrounded by family and friends, much of the time, who enjoy late-night snacks, conversations, giggle fests, and games, I can barely keep my head up and my eyes open.
“You look so tired,” someone will say at about 10 p.m.
“Huh?” I’ll respond, trying to figure out if they’re talking to me. “Oh, yeah, well, I got up early today.”
I get up early almost every day. Getting up late for me means climbing out of bed after 8 am.
I’d like to alter my circadian clock sometimes, but I can’t.
Sensing my imminent departure into dreamland, my wife sometimes asks me a question or two at the utterly reasonable hour of 10:30 pm. I do my best to pick up my head and offer a coherent answer, knowing that the top few floors of my cognitive team have packed up, turned off the lights and tucked themselves in for the night.
The balance between the morning and night person in our marriage means that one of us can handle whatever time-sensitive needs or responsibilities might arise throughout the day. We have shifts.
When we go out on dates, which we can do on any given night as empty nesters, we typically lean towards the earlier side for our outings. The other diners at the early bird special are often decades older than we, although we also sometimes eat with families who have young children.
Our circadian differences extend to the seasons as well. I love the winter, when the sun isn’t too bright, and the air is cooler. Skiing is one of my favorite sports.
My wife, naturally, revels in the summer sun, basking in the extra sunlight each day and soaking up the warmth of the midday sun.
These seasonal differences also mean that one of us often feels energized and inspired by the season. With my wife dressed in numerous layers, we can take a stroll in cooler weather.
During those days when the sun bakes the sidewalk, and the humid air weighs on my shoulders, I can carry ice water or my wife can obligingly dump a welcome ice cube down my back.
Apart from the bookends of each day, we find times when we can give each other our best, reveling in the accomplishments of our children, observing the absurdities of life, and laughing at the differences in approaches to play between our dog and cats.
Even as we are in the middle of my wife’s favorite season, I enjoy the summer more than I otherwise would, knowing that she’s fulfilled and, when I need it, ready to search for a comforting ice cube sometime around mid-afternoon, when I prepare to pass the baton towards her favorite time of day.
When I make my way downstairs in the morning, I am often singing, usually some show tune. This never occurred to me as being something special until now. But I recently read an article by Alexandra Moe in The Washington Post that “singing is good for you.” Since it’s always nice to learn that something you do is actually good for you, I am sharing this result of significant research with you. Perhaps now you will feel emboldened to sing beyond the shower.
In a study called, “Sing With Us,” conducted on members of a choir in a London suburb, tests performed before and after they sang indicated an increase in their physical and mental health. This was no ordinary choir, but rather one made up of cancer patients, and their singing “reduced stress hormones and increased cytokines, proteins that can boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness.” Ultimately the study involved 192 patients.
Other studies have found singing “lessened anxiety, stimulated memory for those with dementia, increased lung capacity and an easing of postpartum depression.” While singing in a group offers additional benefits, like social bonding and community, just singing because you feel like, if you are alone or with someone else, is calming and promotes a sense of well-being.
My mother would sing often when she was in the kitchen preparing meals. So did my dad, who would break into song at no particular time. I never thought about it then, but they did have nice voices, and they did sing on key. They didn’t sing together, just spontaneously. And they really were singing, not just humming along while they worked. No one thought it was strange, as far as I knew. It was in this way that I learned the lyrics to any number of World War I songs, which were popular when my dad was a teen. When, as a child, I would start to sing one of them, older people who might be sitting on a park bench, for example, would look surprised and ask where I had learned them.
And that is how my children learned Broadway show tunes. When we went on long car trips, in particular, we would spend much of the time singing together. I grew up amidst the Rogers and Hammerstein, then Rogers and Hart musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, the “golden age of musical theater,”and my children know those lyrics as if they had seen those magical shows, which were well before their births.
Some of our favorites were: “Oklahoma!” from the show of the same name, “Getting to Know You,” from “The King and I,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” from “South Pacific,” and “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” (a natural for our three boys) from “Annie Get Your Gun.”
All I had to do was start with, “Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry, When I take you out in the Surrey,” and they would all start singing from the back seat of the car.
While I loved all the melodies, my particular favorites were from “My Fair Lady,” including “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “Just You Wait, Henry Higgins,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “You Did It,” “Get Me to the Church On Time,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
I share this with you so you will know what I am singing when I begin. It is, I’m afraid, not always apparent. On the other hand, I would encourage anyone to sing, even if you think you can’t carry a tune or have a terrible voice. A friend was asked to try out for a play when she was in junior high, and when she began to sing the required song, the teacher interrupted her with, “No, really.” He thought she was kidding. But it was “really,” and for many years, she never again sang until she met me.
Everyone should sing, softly if you must, but do it. And if anyone asks, it’s for your health.
Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant in a scene from His Girl Friday, 1940
Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures & Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group
On Thursday, July 13, Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre will launch a new film and discussion series, presented in partnership with Wallace Matthews, former columnist for Newsday, the New York Post and ESPN. The series will use the medium of film to examine the relationship between Hollywood and the News.
Titled This Just In! The love-hate relationship between Hollywood and the News Media, the series will begin by looking at films from Hollywood’s pre-code era, and move throughout history, examining films that depict newsrooms and journalists — analyzing how they have been depicted in the movies throughout different periods of history. Each program will feature a film screening followed by an audience discussion led by Matthews.
The first three films covered in the series will be Lewis Milestone’s The Front Page, Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final, and Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday.
‘The Front Page’
Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Chicago’s reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien) wants to quit newspaper work and get married, but his editor, Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjou), is determined to keep him on the job. The court pressroom is full of lame reporters, all waiting to cover the hanging of Earl Williams. When Williams escapes custody, Hildy seizes the opportunity and bribes an insider to get the scoop on the escape. Can he keep Williams’ whereabouts secret long enough to get the scoop, especially with the Sheriff and other reporters hovering around?
‘Five Star Final’
Thursday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Edward G. Robinson stars as Joseph Randall, the ruthless newspaper-editor who will go to any length to get a headline for the Five Star Final. Facing declining circulation, he decides to dig up a 20-year-old killing. He sends reporter Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff) undercover to get a photograph of Nancy Townsend as she prepares for her daughter’s wedding. Now a pillar of society, Townsend shot her lover decades ago. But there are tragic consequences when Randall publishes the photo of Townsend with the story of the shooting.
‘His Girl Friday’
Thursday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.
One of the fastest, funniest, and most quotable films ever, His Girl Friday stars Rosalind Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson — who is matched only by her conniving but charismatic editor and ex-husband, Walter (Cary Grant), who attempts to use every tick in the book to keep her from remarrying. When adapting Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s play The Front Page, Howard Hawks had the idea of turning reporter Hildy into a woman, and the result is an immortal mix of hard-boiled newsroom setting with ebullient remarriage comedy.
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The Cinema Arts Centre is located at 423 Park Ave in Huntington. Tickets to the films are $15, $10 members. For more information on this and other events at the CAC, call 631-423-7610 or visit www.cinemaartscentre.org.
(L-R) LIMEHOF 2023 music scholarship winners Jacob Leshnower (Half Hollow High School East High School), Alexis Pabebianco (Mineola High School) Chris Hummel (Harborfields High School), Coleman Schubert (Babylon, Babylon Jr-Sr. High School) and Luca Alexandru (Syosset High School).
For the first time since opening the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) Museum in Stony Brook last fall, LIMEHOF recently awarded its annual music scholarships to five graduating students from across LongIsland in a special ceremony held in the main exhibit hall.
This year’s Distinction in Music scholarship winners include Chris Hummel (Centerport, Harborfields High School), Jacob Leshnower (Dix Hills, Half Hollow High School East High School), Alexis Pabebianco (Williston Park, Mineola High School), Luca Alexandru (Syosset, Syosset High School) and winning the Pat DeRosa Scholarship was Coleman Schubert (Babylon, Babylon Jr-Sr. High School). The Pat DeRosa Memorial Scholarship was created to honor the memory of LIMEOHF inductee Pat DeRosa and was awarded specifically to a High School Senior to continue their studies in Music on the saxophone or woodwind instrument.
“We are immensely proud of our scholarship winners who have been granted the opportunity to pursue their passion for music through higher education,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF’s Educational Programs Director. “Their talent, dedication, and commitment to their craft inspire us all. We believe that their journey will not only shape their own futures but also contribute to the rich musical legacy of our community and beyond.”
Both Patricia DeRosa Padden, the daughter of LIMEHOF inductee Pat DeRosa and her daughter, Nicole DeRosa Padden (Pat’s granddaughter), were in attendance to present the scholarship in his name to Coleman Schubert. Afterwards they were presented with Pat DeRosa’s LIMEHOF inductee award trophy by LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo. Pat DeRosa had been inducted during the Covid lockdown restrictions and unfortunately, he passed away in March of 2023 before the official in person presentation ceremony could be held.
About Christopher Hummel (Centerport, Harborfields High School, Violinist)
Christopher Hummel
Christopher Hummel has a passion for music which has brought him from Germany to Oregon. Equally comfortable leading an orchestra (he is currently serving as concertmaster of the Long Island Youth Orchestra), playing in chamber groups (he is the violinist in the HBK Piano Trio), and as a soloist (he has performed at the Majestic Theatre, and was a featured soloist during the Long Island Youth Orchestra’s 61st season), he has had the opportunity to work with some of today’s leading teachers.
Christopher has won national accolades (3rd prize in the 2021 Charleston International Baroque Competition, and 2nd in the 2021 New York MTNA Senior Performance Competition). He currently studies with Ann Setzer and Jennifer Frautschi. When not with his violin in hand, you will find him swinging a tennis racquet or spending time with his wonderful family.
Christopher is incredibly grateful to receive this scholarship from the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. This generous scholarship will enable him to pursue his passion for music at Juilliard, taking the next step towards his dream career of being a soloist. He would like to thank the scholarship committee, his teachers, and his parents for supporting him on his journey to becoming a professional musician.
About Jacob Leshnower (Dix Hills, Half Hollow High School East, Percussion and Piano)
Jacob Leshnower
Music has played a unique role in shaping Jacob’s academic and professional pursuits. Jacob began playing piano when he was two years old and chose percussion in fourth grade after being wowed by the timpanist at a Carnegie Hall concert. In high school, he played percussion in the All-District Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Symphonic Orchestra, and Marching Band, and piano in Jazz Band and Pit Orchestra.
Jacob also has had the amazing opportunity in recent years to perform as a percussionist in All-County, All-Eastern, and All-National ensembles, as well as the featured pianist in the All-State Symphonic Band. These experiences have provided him with an opportunity to meet like-minded people and confirm my commitment to pursue music as I enter college and beyond.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacob participated, by audition, in the Juilliard Summer Percussion Masterclass Series, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the NYU Sandbox Percussion Seminar. In addition, he has conducted original research into complex and important aspects of the intersection of music and psychology that has been accepted for presentation at international science competitions. Jacob plans to continue this music-related research in college and beyond, and he would like music performance to be a major part of his career. Jacob looks forward to attending Yale University in the fall, participating in ensembles while taking lessons at the Yale School of Music. “I am honored to receive the Long Island Music Hall of Fame scholarship because it is a testament to my passion for music and a source of great encouragement as I embark upon a musical career.”
About Luca Alexandru (Syosset, Syosset High School, Guitarist, Singer-songwriter)
Luca Alexandru
Luca Alexandru is a guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer. In addition to his selection as the jazz guitarist of the 2022 All National Jazz Ensemble, Luca was also selected as the jazz guitaristfor the 2022 All State Vocal Jazz Ensemble, a Bass for the 2022 All State Mixed Choir, a jazz guitar alternate for the 2021 All State Jazz Ensemble, and a finalist in the 2023 All Eastern Composition Symposium. In his free time Luca likes to write and perform music with his band, play soccer on his travel team, and teach guitar lessons.
“I am so incredibly grateful to receive this scholarship. I would like to thank all of my music teachers and mentors for their guidance and for inspiring me to be the best musician I can be every day.”
Luca is very excited for his future in Boston as he plans to attend Berklee College of Music and major in Music Production and Engineering.
About Alexis Panebianco (Williston Park, Mineola High School, Voice and Trumpet)
Alexis Panebianco
Alexis’s passion for music grew stronger after taking part in middle and high school musicals, choirs, and marching band. There was no greater honor in her music career than being Drum Major of the Mineola Mustang Marching Band. The band achieved 1st Place in New York State Championships for three years during her tenure. Participating in the marching band gave her the opportunity to learn important life skills, such as leadership, resilience, and accountability.
Alexis has also participated in the ACDA All National Chorus, the NAFME All Eastern Chorus and NYSSMA All County and All State Chorus’s as a soprano vocalist. Alexis’s positive experiences with music solidified her plans to major in Music Education at Hofstra University.
Her family has lived on LongIsland for three generations, and she looks forward to using her education and experience to help students on Long Island grow, mature, and expand their minds in the same way the resources of Long Island and music have helped her to grow into the student and musician that she has become.
“Thank you to the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame for awarding me the 2023 Student Scholarship! I knew that music would help me find my voice and purpose from a very young age.”
About Coleman Schubart(Babylon, Babylon Jr-Sr. High School, Oboe and English Horn)
Coleman Schubart
From a large musical family, Coleman Schubart is the fifth of six siblings and has a twin sister. Coleman studied piano and cello between the ages of 6 and 10 and then picked up the saxophone in the fourth grade. By the eighth grade, his school band was drowning in saxophone players, and his band director asked him to switch to oboe. Since then, Coleman has studied oboe with Dr. Terry Keevil, the Chamber Music Director at Stony Brook University.
Coleman began participating in NYSSMA at the age of six and consistently received score of A+ each year. In the 10th and the 11thgrade, he received scores of 100 on his oboe All-State auditions. He was an All-State alternate in 11thgrade and was selected for the All-State Band in 12th grade. Coleman is a member of the Tri-M Honor Society and has played in the pit orchestra of three high school musicals, covering clarinet, saxophone and oboe parts. Throughout high school, he has been selected for many orchestra and band festivals, and in 11th grade, he was the winner of the Eastman School of Music Award.
Outside of school, Coleman is first chair oboist in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, through which he has performed at the Tilles Center, the Staller Center, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall.
He has volunteered as a parish musician in three Long Island parishes. Under the baton of his conductor father, he has been afforded countless opportunities to play with graduate school and professional musicians in ensembles ranging from quartets to symphonic orchestras. Coleman has been engaged over the last year as a featured oboe soloist for several recitals. His most recent appearances were at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington and St. Patrick’s Church in Bay Shore.
Coleman will enter Michigan State University in the fall and will study with Dr. Nermis Mieses as a dual oboe performance and music education major. He looks forward to someday sharing his love of music with future students as his father did with him.
About the Pat DeRosa Memorial Scholarship
Pat DeRosa
Mr. Pat A. DeRosa performed for many years from Manhattan to Montauk and beyond. He taught music in Huntington and South Huntington and in 2018 the Guinness Book of World Records named him the “World’s Oldest Professional Saxophone Player”. (101 years old and still playing in 2022). Additionally, he was inducted into the Long Island Hall of Fame and the South Huntington Hall of Fame.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in South Huntington, Pat picked up a saxophone in the Bowery with his mom at the age of 12. After High School, he worked at Grumman before he was drafted into WWII where he played with the Glenn Miller Army/Air Force Band.
After the war, he played at The Latin Quarter and the Copacabana as well as other NYC clubs while attending the Manhattan School of Music where he received a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in English Horn and Oboe. He played with Tommy Tucker, Tex Benecke, Lionel Hampton amongst others while on the road stopping to make a movie in Hollywood where he was invited to have lunch with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. When he returned home, he was introduced to John Coltrane and they played duets together for three years.
Most recently he could be seen playing with his daughter, Patricia DeRosa Padden of Montauk, on piano and his granddaughter Nicole DeRosa Padden, also of Montauk, on vocals and flute as well as sitting in with numerous bands on the East End and Western Suffolk. Pat retired from teaching in 1978 but his students continued to contact him often.
This Memorial Scholarship has been set up for a High School Senior to continue their studies in Music on the saxophone or woodwind instrument. The criteria includes a 95 or above in Music and a 90 overall average. An essay should also be provided by the student to show why they would like to continue to pursue music.
Founded in 2004, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall Of Fame (LIMEHOF) is a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to the idea that Long Island’s musical and entertainment heritage is an important resource to be celebrated and preserved for future generations. The organization, which encompasses New York State’s Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, was created as a place of community that inspires and explores Long Islandmusic and entertainment in all its forms. In 2022, LIMEHOF opened its first Hall of Fame building location in Stony Brook Village. To date, the organization has inducted more than 120 musicians and music industry executives, and also offers education programs and scholarships, and awards to Long Islandstudents and educators.
The first editorial ever published in our newspaper [“The spirit of ’76,” April 8, 1976] declared our opinion pages as “a forum where everybody has an opportunity to be heard.” Through the many changes over the last 47 years, we affirm this creed unconditionally, subject to concerns of libel and good taste.
For nearly half a century, our staff, columnists and letter writers have broadcast ideas to the North Shore public each week. This page is our weekly community dialogue keeping vital communication channels alive.
Debate ennobles citizens. Through spirited exchanges, we empower our peers to interpret and digest local current events, enabling rational, informed decisions at the ballot box.
But how our times have changed.
With innovation, many of our discussions have moved from the printed page to the digital screen. Citizens today take their disagreements to social media, where opinions are not subjected to rigorous editorial standards and vetting procedures.
Social media often discourages thoughtful dissent. Unfiltered, shielded by screens, we inject venom and misinformation into our public forum. The natural consequence of this toxic social media culture is the decay of civility and decorum.
We live in a hypercharged, decidedly polarized political context. We expect media outlets and tech companies to squelch meaningful exchanges. We seek only information affirming our existing — often incomplete — worldviews.
Instead of debating, we dehumanize and delegitimize our political opponents. Through our collective softness and fear of dissent, we paint a warped picture of reality.
While our staff may object to some of the sentiments advanced on this page, we remind our readers that we are moderators, not censors. We hold up the words attributed to Voltaire, the great French philosophical champion of free speech, who once wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
We disagree with outlets and tech companies that censor divergent speech, stymie political discourse or needlessly encroach upon our deliberative process. However, we disallow hatred or what appears as personal attacks.
As journalists, we cannot bend our editorial code to meet the censorial standards of our age.
For this republic to endure, we must return to honest disagreement. So in this spirit, let us continue this noble work, allowing the conversations to flourish.
“I’m bored!” exclaimed my cousin, when we were about 10 and sitting in the backyard of my grandfather’s former dairy farm in the Catskills one summer afternoon.
I thought about that for a few seconds. “What does bored mean?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.
“It means I have nothing to do,” she railed.
“Oh. I’ve never been bored,” I replied unhelpfully.
“What do you do when you have nothing to do?” she demanded.
Again it took a few seconds. “I think,” I offered lamely.
My aunt, her mother, who was sitting nearby, burst out laughing.
Looking disgusted, my cousin got up and walked away.
I thought of that exchange, so many years ago, when I saw the headline in last Tuesday’s New York Times: “Let Children Get Bored. It’s Good for Them.” The article went on to advise that “in moderate doses, boredom can offer a valuable learning opportunity, spurring creativity and problem solving and motivating children to seek out activities that feel meaningful to them.”
How, exactly, did I spend my summertime hours when a visit from my cousin was a rarity and there was nothing structured amid the grassy cow pastures?
By the beginning of July, during my elementary school years, I had my books already signed out from the neighborhood library. There was a rule limiting the number that could be withdrawn at one time, but the librarians knew me, knew that I would be taking them away for the summer, that I would take good care of them and return them in September, so they let me exceed the number. Often they would make recommendations that added to my pile. So reading made up a large part of my waking hours.
I also remember picking blueberries from the bushes that grew in the pasture behind the house. They were wild berries. I don’t think anyone planted them there. They were sweet and delicious, and when I had my fill, I would bring back a small amount for my mother and sister, who were with me during the week. My dad would come up by Shoreline Bus on the weekends, and then I would roam with him across many pastures, marked by low stone walls, collecting blueberries in greater quantities.
I would invent games, like selecting a large rock as a target, then throwing small rocks at it from increasing distances, keeping score from one day to the next. If it rained, I would empty the glass jar in which my mother kept loose coins, place a pot against the far wall of the kitchen, then try to pitch the coins into the pot. To this day, I have pretty good aim when I toss something.
As an offshoot from reading, I guess, I would write sometimes. One of my favorite stories was about the antics of the Bobbsey Twins, by Laura Lee Hope, and I would try to dream up adventures for them when I had finished their books. I also loved horses, read the whole series about the Black Stallion by Walter Farley, then tried to extend it with my own amateurish episodes.
Sitting in the shade of a tree, I know I did a lot of daydreaming. I don’t remember any of those thoughts, but I do recall that I loved the smell of the nearby evergreens when the breeze blew and the warmth of the sun on my skin as it dipped down below the level of the tree limbs. In the evening, we could hear the frogs croaking and see fireflies momentarily lighting up the night sky. There were stars, millions of stars that were not visible in the city. And there was The Lone Ranger on the radio at 7:30.
My sister was two years younger, and I would make up scenarios in which I would be Miss Brown, and she would be my secretary. I would send her on all kinds of made-up errands, like mailing a letter at a pretend postal box a block away, and she would gladly run to oblige.
There was an innocence and a peacefulness in those loosey-goosey days that I think today’s youth, with their cell phones and video games, never know.
A scene from Harborfields High School 2023 graduation ceremony. Photo from Harborfields Central School Distrct
A scene from Harborfields High School 2023 graduation ceremony. Photo from Harborfields Central School Distrct
A scene from Harborfields High School 2023 graduation ceremony. Photo from Harborfields Central School Distrct
A scene from Harborfields High School 2023 graduation ceremony. Photo from Harborfields Central School Distrct
Valedictorian Lindsay Sung addressed the Class of 2023 at Harborfields High
School’s commencement ceremony on June 24. Photo from Harborfields Central School District
Salutatorian Alexa Best addressed the Class of 2023 at Harborfields High School’s commencement ceremony on June 24. Photo from Harborfields Central School District
For the Harborfields High School Class of 2023, the overcast skies on the morning of June 24 were not reflected in the brightness of the seniors’ spirits as they celebrated the school’s 64th commencement ceremony.
Superintendent Rory Manning was introduced by student Nahrahel Louis. After prompting a round of applause for the seniors, Manning asked them to put down their phones, be present in the moment and look at their families in the stands, before leading them in a relaxing mindfulness exercise and discussing the value of shared experiences.
“You, the amazing Class of 2023, continue to earn recognition for your academic prowess, your athletic feats, your musical talents and for doing the little things each day to be at your best,” Manning said. “We have all been through a lot, some more than others, but we all have shared experiences that make us a family. Enjoy this moment and be present.”
Salutatorian Alexa Best asked her classmates to recall an ordinary day attending school at Harborfields.
“On such a momentous occasion, it is easy to get caught up in this one large achievement and forget what brought us here,” Best said. “I want you to forget graduating for a moment, and instead pretend that you are all here celebrating that ordinary day you imagined. Imagine that one ordinary day is just as important as graduating from high school. My point is, we should give ourselves permission to appreciate the small moments in life. There is beauty in those ordinary days and memories. These are the moments that make graduating worth something. You’re not here celebrating the fact that you completed all your credits required by the New York State Education Department. You’re here celebrating the fact that you have woke up every day for the past four years to come to this school and see these people.”
Valedictorian Lindsay Sung pondered being ready for this major transition and lauded the power of connection.
“After today, I realize that we’re getting never back together, we’ll all be off in our adult lives doing our own adult things,” Sung said. “I think back to freshman year when I felt that high school was the scariest thing ever. But we survived, and high school doesn’t seem so scary anymore. While the transitions are scary in the moment, if we take it one day at a time, we’ll soon look back and suddenly it won’t be so frightening. In fact, it will seem as though time has slipped through our fingers before we even realize it, just like high school has. Even though we are on our own now, we are not alone. It is important to remember that we are moving forward together. We will forever and always be connected.”
Class President Alexandra Ebanks used her background in music as a keynote.
“Our commencement day is not just a milestone, but a musical piece of sorts, one that marks the end of a movement,” Ebanks said. “As our symphony’s movement draws to a close, we are reminded of the unity in our ensemble. This isn’t an end, but a transition to a new movement in our own song. May we continue to make music that rings true to our shared past, while creating harmonies for our future. Let us carry with us the lessons we have learned, humming the tunes of unity, resilience and love. From the first note to the last, we are one Harborfields Class of 2023.”
The day’s featured speaker, as chosen by the students, was history teacher Daniel Greening. Introduced by Student Government Vice President Elizabeth Kelly, Greening used the book “The Pioneers” as a springboard for advice.
“Life will be tough, but if you work hard and rely on people around you like the people you have in this community, you will be able to accomplish anything in this shining city upon a hill,” Greening said. “You are a special group of young people who have persevered over the past four extremely arduous years and have found yourself sitting here in front of friends, family and loved ones. Now it is your time to pioneer your own
journey. This great country has a history of providing opportunities for those who work hard, are resilient and take on any challenge in order to improve life for themselves and those around them. You are capable and strong young men and women who need to lead us into the next generation.”
Finally, Principal Marie Netto addressed her charges, using the Centennial Light, the world’s longest burning light bulb, as a metaphor.
“Even the smallest light can shine bright and make a difference, and that is exactly what I hope you all realize is within each of you,” Netto said. “In fact, your radiance is evident in this very moment as you sit in the campus of Harborfields High School as unique individuals alongside your classmates, supported by family, friends and faculty who share in celebrating your commencement. Just like a prism breaks light into a spectrum of colors, each of you has your own unique talents and abilities that can bring color and beauty to the world. My hope for you is that you will always embrace your individuality and let your light shine, for it is in being true to yourself that you will make the greatest impact.”
As a reminder, each graduate received a gift prism with their diplomas, before joyfully hurling their caps to the sky and walking out as new alumni.
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