Village Beacon Record

Ira Dunne, president of The Social Brain in Port Jefferson Station, at last month’s Bike and Helmet Safety Day event. Photo from the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce

By Joan Nickeson

Selfless and supportive. There are many 501c3 nonprofits in our communities, which hold a special recognition by the state and local governments. In the old days we referred to them as “charities.” 

Being charitable has never been more important, so I’m shining the light on one exceptional organization, The Social Brain, founded by Ira Dunne. 

A behavioral specialist with a master’s in therapeutic recreation, Dunne has transformed the lives of traumatic brain injury survivors on Long Island and their office center is right here in Port Jefferson Station.

“Traumatic brain injury survivors may be getting support during the week, but come the weekend, there is a void,” Dunne said. “Building social activities that accommodate their physical challenges has lacked organized support. That’s why we created the Social Brain.”

They just completed their first music therapy event, where clients interacted with a certified therapist and 15 different instruments. Dunne explained how singing of familiar songs builds cognitive skills, sparking memories. Manipulating instruments motivates and engages the individuals in a fun group setting. 

The Social Brain, a member of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, recently held a hugely successful Bike and Helmet Safety Day at the chamber train car. 

TBR News Media covered the event where new helmets were given away to children and adults, and the importance of head protection was discussed. All helmets had been donated via the Social Brain website; thesocialbrain.org. 

One hundred percent of their services are provided through donations. For more information contact Ira Dunne at 631-793-4311 or [email protected].

Joan Nickeson is an active member of the PJS/Terryville community and community liaison to the PJS/T Chamber of Commerce.

Photo from Mike Finnican

“What happened on September 11, is something that will be with me for every day of my life yet we know somehow we’ll pass through it. Time goes on. But it reminds us of the sole appreciation that we have always had for our family, our friends, our community and our country. He will be missed forever.” 

These were the words of Helga Curtin on Nov. 20, 2001, to identify the unique character of her late husband, Michael Sean Curtin, who was a sergeant major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and a member of the New York City Emergency Services Unit. 

Photo from the 3256 Foundation

On 9/11, Mike Curtin wished his wife a happy birthday, sent flowers to her job and expected to arrive back at their Medford home where he was planning to make her a special dinner. On this beautiful late summer day, the United States was attacked by terrorists and, like many other rescue workers, he answered the call to help others survive this tragic date.  

As an Emergency Services Unit sergeant, Curtin was no stranger to handling delicate situations. Being a member of a strong city law enforcement agency, it was common for him to deal with a myriad of responsibilities. 

He was well versed in leading hostage negotiations, administering first aid, facing suicide attempts and helping others through challenging rescues of citizens. He had significant experience through the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It was observed that he spent a great deal of time working with law and government officials during this early terrorism attack on the city. 

Always seen as a “squared away” leader through his time in the military, his presence was always felt during every type of incident, including Osama bin Laden’s first attempt to destroy this financial center.

Oklahoma City bombing and Harlem rescue

Two years later, he was ordered after the Oklahoma City bombing to assist within recovery efforts at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in that city. This building was devastated from domestic terrorism, where 168 people were killed, including six members of the Armed Forces. 

During this support, Curtin saw the red “blood stripe” of one of the two members of the Marine Corps that were lost in this debris. 

Randy Guzman was a Marine captain who worked in the recruiting station that was located on the sixth floor of this building. Curtin noticed his remains and right away asked for permission to detach fellow law enforcement and military figures to help him dig through the rubble to properly recover the remains of Guzman.  

For several hours, Curtin led this difficult task of using heavy machinery to reach this deceased Marine. Curtin was a combat veteran of the first Gulf War who was with the American spearhead to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi military. 

Photo from the 3256 Foundation

He still served in the Marine Corps Reserves, where he had the senior leadership rank of first sergeant. Once Curtin and his men reached Guzman, this loud work site, automatically became quiet, as the body was carried out with an American flag placed over the fallen Marine. 

Rarely speaking about his job, Curtin recalled this somber moment and said, “Everyone was watching in silence as we brought our Marine out.” 

The following year, members of the Guzman family and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) took a picture with Curtin to show appreciation for his determination and skills to assist the residents of Oklahoma City impacted by this explosion.

A good friend who worked closely with Curtin to handle the immense tasks of the Emergency Services is retired Lt. Owen McCaffrey of Bay Shore. This officer was Curtin’s supervisor of Truck 2 in Harlem that helped cover nine precincts from 86th Street to Washington Heights within Upper Manhattan. 

Thinking of his good friend, McCaffrey believed that Curtin was one of the finest sergeants within the New York City Police Department to lead his men. To this day, McCaffrey vividly remembers the positive attributes of Curtin as being a “devoted, reliable, and trustworthy cop.” 

He saw the positive influence of the Marine Corps on the presence of Curtin who always stressed the importance of training, drilling his men and getting them to quickly think during all types of situations. 

And while this Marine was a tough, no-nonsense individual, Curtin usually cooked his men a breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausage. McCaffrey recalled that Curtin was a “solid supervisor that always looked after his men that were highly trained for their difficult jobs.” 

The bravery that Curtin demonstrated never subsided, and in 1999 he saved a trapped resident of a Harlem building before the structure collapsed.

September 11, 2001

On 9/11, as Curtin was planning to return home for his wife’s birthday, America was attacked. As our citizens were putting their children on school buses and handling their daily functions, this nation was hit by the sting of terrorism in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and over the farm fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Right away, rescue workers headed toward the World Trade Center to help people escape the earliest moments of bin Laden’s assault on the United States. Curtin was with several other agency personnel who were quickly dispatched to aid others.

Never one to waver under any form of military or law enforcement duress, he was on hand to guide his men with the goal to save as many people as possible. Through this challenging chaos, Curtin and his fellow officers were in the middle of this attack that saw debris crashing around them, and thousands of people trying to flee from this terror. At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed, and it became apparent that the North Tower, also hit by an aircraft, would face the same the destruction.  

Photo from Mike Finnican

As some of his men were several floors above him to assist others to escape the North Tower, Curtin directed those officers around him to immediately leave this building before it collapsed, and head for safety. He refused to follow them, as according to McCaffrey, he made the “conscious decision” to stay with those remaining men that were still in this building, even as he realized that this building was going to eventually fall. At 10:28 a.m., officers from Truck 2 who were ordered to leave this location, watched in dismay as the North Tower fell to the ground.  They automatically realized that Curtin had passed away. He was one of 14 Emergency Services and Bomb Squad figures killed from these attacks on New York City.  

Whereas the authorities knew where Curtin was buried in the rubble of Ground Zero, it took until March 6, 2002, to finally locate the remains of this 13-year veteran of the NYPD. His body was not fully removed until Helga Curtin and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly arrived at the location. They were met by an army of rescue workers, law enforcement, salvage crews and government officials who were silent as Curtin was taken out of the debris with a flag placed over his body. Within the early morning hours, the motorcade that held Curtin was heading up FDR Drive in Manhattan. The streets were lined with police officers that stopped the traffic and saluted the remains of Curtin, who was escorted by his wife and local law enforcement and military leadership. Four years after Curtin lost his life with other rescue workers, President George W. Bush (R) posthumously awarded public safety officers the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor for those men and women who died in uniform during these attacks.

When speaking to different members of Curtin’s family, the affection that they have for him has never diminished since he died. This Rocky Point High School student was a strong soccer player who worked at the local statuary on Route 25A. After he graduated in 1975, he enlisted into the Marine Corps. His strong, smart and kind presence is still missed by his entire family from Helga, and his daughters Jennifer, Heather and Erika, also younger loved ones who are immensely proud of his honorable achievements to support this country.

Annual golf outing

Over the last 17 years, Curtin’s cousin Mike Finnican has been instrumental in organizing an annual golf outing that has been held at Cherry Creek in Riverhead. This function’s main goal is to remember Curtin and the numerous rescue workers and military members who have supported this country since 9/11. Finnican reflected on the hospitality of Curtin, especially during a July 4, 2001, barbecue that saw his cousin wear his red, white and blue shorts as he cooked for his family and friends. Some 20 years later, Finnican looked over the fairways and greens at Cherry Creek to see more than 300 people attend a golf outing that was held July 12. Finnican, along with his wife, children, grandchildren and members of the Lukasz, Dwyer and Curtin families, all donated their time to support their 20th successful golf outing. During the day, younger family members and friends wore smiles on their faces to sell raffle tickets and T-shirts for the 3256 Foundation. One of these included Michael Sullivan, the 5-year-old grandson named after Curtin, who was present with his parents and his cousins to support this family tradition.

Mike Curtin’s daughter, Jen Sullivan, with her husband Jon and their children, Michael and Grace. Child on the left is McCormack Baker, grandson of Mike Finnican. Photo from Mike Finnican

Curtin’s custom was to be warm to others, and this week his family and friends continued his legacy in making every participant of this outing feel welcome during a special annual event. Most people who read about the heroic exploits that Curtin presented in the military and the NYPD marvel at the abilities of this local graduate to serve at home and abroad. But this highly capable figure rarely addressed his experience and Finnican stated that Curtin “was a good man that never bragged about his experiences that was absolutely loyal to his family.”  

It is safe to say that Curtin’s name will be remembered for some time through this yearly golf outing. With a color guard and the sounds of bagpipes, laughter and stories that brought smiles to a crowd who listened intently about the professional stories of Curtin, it was easy to tell that everyone who played golf and attended the dinner had a grand time in honoring this hero. At the end of the night, there was a major raffle that saw people win televisions, video games, children’s toys, restaurant gift cards and an auction of sports memorabilia and baseball tickets.  

As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there will be noticeable grief to remember the almost 3,000 people killed on that fateful day. But the golf outing had a surplus of smiles from the family members of Curtin and those law enforcement and military veterans who look forward to seeing each other to support this worthy endeavor. 

The 3256 Foundation over the last two decades has created an important sense of comradery amongst its participants to never forget the moment that America was attacked. And this would not be possible if it were not for determination of Finnican and his team who have established one of the finest patriotic events in Suffolk County. Like Curtin, his family members are patriots who seek little fanfare, and they are motivated to reflect on a hero who spent his life defending this country in the Marines and always helping others in the NYPD. 

May we never forget about rescue workers like Michael S. Curtin who were the earliest casualties of bin Laden’s attempt to harm the American way of life.

Photo by Julianne Mosher

Famed scientist, inventor and entrepreneur Nikola Tesla would have been 165 this year, and the best way to celebrate his life and legacy was to party at his old lab in Shoreham. 

On Saturday, July 10, hundreds of people gathered at the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe for the Tesla Birthday Expo and Birthday Night Show.

The events featured a number of educational exhibits including many of the local STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — exhibits, robotic clubs, Tesla coils, Tesla car showcase, amateur radio, battlebots, Maker Space trailer, local artisans and an interactive STEAM bus from New York Institute of Technology. The daytime event was coupled with a lively nighttime celebration featuring the band ArcAttack.

“What an amazing day to celebrate one of this world’s most acclaimed scientist and inventor,” said county Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai). “Thanks to the many TSCW volunteers, local and international community support, and the many partnerships with government, Nikola Tesla’s legacy will continue to inspire and encourage our future scientists.”

The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, located in Shoreham, is Nikola Tesla’s last remaining laboratory. Known as a man before his time, he was deemed a genius while researching alternating current systems. He believed that energy didn’t have to be a rich man’s luxury. Energy could be available to all and powered naturally. He thought he could power the whole Northeastern seaboard from Niagara Falls. 

An inventor with hundreds of patents, he was involved in the invention of the radio, remote control and more.

In 1901 Tesla acquired the Wardenclyffe property in Shoreham to test his theories of being able to wirelessly transmit electrical messages, funded by J.P. Morgan. A huge 187-foot tower was designed and constructed for the purpose.

In 1903 creditors confiscated his heavier equipment, and in 1917 the tower was demolished. The concrete feet used to hold the structure can still be seen on the property today. 

Tesla was eventually cut off, causing him to lose control of the site. The property became a film processing company in the early ’30s, where harsh chemicals were dumped into the ground. The contaminated property was sold again and became shuttered in 1987. 

A decades-long cleanup ensued, and the property was put back up for sale. 

The community — locally, nationally and even internationally — came together to fundraise to eventually buy the property in 2013, preserve it and make it a real historic site. 

According to Doug Borge, chief operating officer at TSCW, “At our annual Tesla Birthday events, we not only celebrate Nikola Tesla’s contributions, but also his living legacy that we each build upon through science and innovation.”

The mission of Tesla’s last remaining lab is to develop the site into a transformative global science center that embraces his bold spirit of invention, provides innovative learning experiences, fosters the advancement of new technologies and preserves his legacy in the Tesla Museum.

The group imagines a world where people appreciate Tesla’s contributions, are inspired by his scientific audacity and engage in the future betterment of humanity.

“Today is a perfect example of where we are as an organization,” Borge said. “We’re a community hub for people that love science technology, that are associated with Nikola Tesla and to be a resource for people to leverage, learn and become their own version of Tesla.”

In general, technology and interactivity at this year’s Tesla Birthday Expo were more engaging and popular than ever, he added. New and expanded STEAM exhibits allowed attendees to get hands-on with Tesla inventions and technology. 

ArcAttack made their first visit to Wardenclyffe and took things to a whole new level with a performance at the night shows featuring Tesla coils, rock music and lightning-producing electric instruments. Volunteers in the audience were “zapped” in a Faraday cage, including TSCW’s executive director Marc Alessi.

“We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of attendance at this year’s Tesla Birthday events, due to the pandemic,” Borge said. “Fortunately, we had a great turnout at both the daytime Tesla Birthday Expo and night show.”

Borge added that “the expo is interesting because you can see the crowds clustering around specific exhibits and interacting with enthusiasm.”  

Some fan favorites were the 3D scan that showed the interior of Tesla’s laboratory as it looks today, the robotics and maker space area, along with the go-carts and robots zipping around. 

“This is such an exciting event for the community to learn about important advances in technology,” said attorney and advocate Laura Ahearn, of Port Jefferson. “I’m really excited about getting to meet community members that come here, and some of the high school students that have built from scratch robotic devices better than anything … when I was in high school, I wish I would have had the opportunities that these young students have because it’s going to help them in their future.”

Borge said within the next few weeks, demolition of the dilapidated, noncontributing factory building suffocating Tesla’s laboratory will begin. Additionally, they plan to break ground on its visitor center that will allow them to pilot exhibits and engage and educate more visitors at Wardenclyffe. 

“These are important next steps in the development of TSCW and a moment that many of our global supporters have been looking forward to since TSCW’s record-breaking crowdfund in 2012, which raised $1.4 million in six weeks from 33,000 donors in 108 countries,” he said. “These funds, along with a matching grant from New York State and contributions from supporters like the Musk Foundation, enabled us to purchase Wardenclyffe in 2013. Fast forward to 2021, and TSCW is now positioned to start renovations after raising $10.2 million and acquiring the necessary plans and permits. It’s important to note that we still need to raise another $9.8 million to finish developing the site.”

County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) also made an appearance.

“It’s just really exciting to encourage interest in science and to recognize the history here on Long Island,” she said. “It has such an important impact in so many ways.”

The center will be hosting more events this summer, including the Sound of Science concert on Aug. 28 in collaboration with another nonprofit, Rites of Spring Festival, that will offer a unique immersive musical experience by electronic musicians and contemporary composers.  

Sept. 23 is TSCW’s Third Annual Gala fundraiser for an evening of virtual entertainment, auctions and tech surprises. 

Later in the year, Wardenclyffe will host a Halloween event on Oct. 30, and their annual holiday lighting on Dec. 3. 

Stock photo

Starting on July 23, Tokyo will host the Summer Olympic Games with athletes from around the world without any spectators.

Medical director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony Brook University Hospital

Already postponed a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the games will look much more like the National Basketball Association bubble games and Major League Baseball’s empty stadiums than the current version of professional American sports.

“There is tremendous vaccination disparity throughout the globe,” said Susan Donelan, medical director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony Brook University Hospital, in an email. “Despite what many Americans believe, the global pandemic is very much alive and problematic. Superimpose this on the fact that another state of emergency has just been declared in Tokyo due to rising COVID-19 cases, and it is not difficult to understand how this decision was arrived at.”

Indeed, the Olympics draw athletes from close to 200 countries and territories, with thousands of competitors representing themselves, their families and their countries.

In Japan, just over 15% of the population is fully vaccinated, which is still “low compared with 47.4% in the United States and almost 50% in Britain, according to Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at St. Charles Hospital. “That greatly increases the probability of an explosion in the number of Covid infection cases especially if the Olympic stadiums are packed or even at 50% capacity.”

While people in the United States are increasingly relaxing restrictions after the increasing availability of vaccines, health officials throughout the world have not only had to contend with the uneven availability of the vaccine in different countries, but also with the spread of the more infectious delta variant.

The original virus, or so-called wild type, came from Wuhan, China. Over time, viruses mutate, typically during replication, when they incorrectly copy one or more of the base pairs in their genes.

Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at St. Charles Hospital

While most mutations are harmless, some can make a virus more problematic. Termed variants, viruses that differ from the original can produce different symptoms or have different qualities.

The delta variant, which started in India in December of 2020, has become the dominant strain in the United States and, likely in Suffolk County, in part because an infected person can transmit it much more easily.

The delta variant “concentrates in the upper respiratory cells, which is one of the reasons why it transmits so much easier among people and why it’s a concern,” said Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine.

Indeed, the delta variant is 50% more transmissible than the alpha, or UK variant, which was about 50% more transmissible than the original, Donelan wrote.

Boosters

Amid the spread of the delta variant, companies like Pfizer have been meeting with federal health officials to discuss the potential need for a booster shot.

Pfizer’s rationale for a booster is that the vaccine’s ability to prevent infection and symptomatic disease seems to wane six months after vaccination, citing data from the Israel Ministry of Health, according to Dhuper.

The World Health Organization, however, indicates that “more data are needed before reaching the same conclusion,” Dhuper explained in an email. A recent study in the journal Nature found evidence that the immune response to vaccines is “strong and potentially long lasting,” which is based on the data that the germinal centers in the lymph nodes are producing immune cells directed at COVID-19.

At this point, officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are unwilling to provide an emergency use authorization for a booster.

These government agencies believe people who have been vaccinated are protected from severe disease and death, including variants like delta, Dhuper wrote.

Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health

Popp expressed confidence in the CDC to determine when a booster might be necessary, as the national health organization reviews data for the entire country.

Someone who is vaccinated in the United States should have “decent immunity” against this altered virus, according to Popp. The immunity will vary from person to person depending on the underlying health and immunity.

Indeed, Popp said several vaccinated people who have come to Huntington Hospital recently have tested positive for the virus.

The hospital discovered the cases, all but two of which were asymptomatic, because they tested for the virus for people who were coming to the hospital for other reasons, such as a broken hip. Two of the cases had mild symptoms, while the others were asymptomatic.

“The effectiveness of the current COVID vaccines is quite high,” Dhuper wrote. “In fact, it is much higher than some other vaccines we commonly receive.”

He contrasted this with the annual flu vaccine, which has an effectiveness of around 40 to 60% from year to year.

Dhuper also explained that antibodies are only part of the immune response that makes vaccines effective. T-cells and memory B cells are also involved. Some researchers have found that T cells in the blood of people who recovered from the original version of COVID-19 recognized the three mutant strains of the virus, which could reduce the severity of any subsequent infection.

Based on the available data and current information in Japan, Popp said he would likely participate in the Olympics in Tokyo if he were a member of an Olympic team.

METRO photo
Post-pandemic thoughts for parents, teachers and administrators

By Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan

Huge sighs of relief can be anticipated when local public schools reopen their doors this September — exclamations of relief not only from children and teenagers eager to resume in-person learning full time alongside their friends, not only from teachers exhausted from long hours shaping lessons onto distance-learning platforms, not only from parents, weary from assisting struggling students glued to laptops, iPads  or iPhones at home while juggling or, worse yet, resigning from paid jobs, and also from business owners glad to have their employees back.  

But will pre-pandemic and post-pandemic classroom learning be the same, and should it be? Should “distance learning,” supported by expanded technological resources, be granted a larger role within the classroom, with less teacher-led instruction? Which medium of delivery ensures a greater payoff of maximum learning for the resources invested?

Two Three Village residents, educators at the top of their profession — Jacqueline Grennon Brooks, professor emerita of Teaching, Learning and Technology, Hofstra University, and her spouse Martin Brooks, executive director of Tri-State Consortium, an association of over 40 school districts in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — agree that the key to whether or not learning takes place is not how information is delivered but if knowledge is constructed. Whether it is a teacher or a book or a computer that provides a formal lesson, the students must connect the lesson to what they already know or have experienced for true learning to occur.

“Content alone is insufficient as a motivator for student learning: It must be combined with purpose … seen as meaningful by learners. Students learn best when engaged in learning experiences rather than passively receiving information,” according to the authors.

That theory of learning, called “constructivism,” suggests that you cannot directly impart knowledge, but you can facilitate experiences in which students construct knowledge. Jacqueline and Martin Brooks agree that the job of the teacher is to create meaningful experiences that enable the learner to do just that.

“There are kids who struggle to learn if what is being taught is not offered in a way that is particularly relevant to them. In order to figure out ways for them to have ownership of their learning, skilled teachers, interacting in person with these students, focus not only on content but concentrate on approaches that lead to critical and creative thinking.” 

What many parents and children learned during the pandemic is that at-home distance learning in front of a laptop, iPad, or iPhone cannot replace in-person classroom experiences created by skillful teachers. Virtual classrooms also denied children the opportunity to develop social skills through interaction with their peers. When schools reopen in September, students, parents and teachers will welcome the opportunity for true learning to begin again. 

Further reading: “Schools Reimagined: Unifying the Science of Learning with the Art of Teaching,” by Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks (Teachers College Press, 2021).

Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan is the former director of education at the Three Village Historical Society and an educator, writer and lecturer on art, artists and American history.

Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a conversation I imagined having with an alien who I  envisioned landing in my backyard. Here’s how I figure a conversation between an alien who speaks the language of my dog and our beloved pet would go:

Alien: Tell me about those humans?

Dog: They talk to each other constantly.

Alien: Does the noise bother you?

Dog: It’s not particularly problematic, but it is hypocritical.

Alien: What do you mean?

Dog: When we’re in the backyard or out for a walk, they tell us to be quiet or something much meaner when we speak to other dogs. They don’t want us to bark with other dogs, and yet they talk nonstop like they have so much to say. 

Alien: What else is different about humans?

Dog: They never smell each other’s butts. By the way, do you mind if I hump your tentacle?

Alien: That’s fine. So, why is smelling each other’s butts important?

Dog: We get all kinds of information, about where the dog has been, what grass it’s eaten. Speaking of which, are you planning to feed me sometime soon? I’ve been making those cute eyes at you during our entire ride and you haven’t felt the need to toss me food.

Alien: So, what do humans do all day?

Dog: They seem to be slaves to some small object they hold. Every time it buzzes or beeps, they immediately look at it, as if they will get in trouble if they don’t. Sometimes, they say something, like “Oh my gosh, I forgot,” or “Oh no, you don’t,” and then they run somewhere. I think that object gives them directions.

Alien: Are they pleasant?

Dog: Sometimes. They seem incredibly happy when they scratch our bodies and we move our legs. Once in a while, I do it if I think one of them is having a tough day.

Alien: Do they seem intelligent?

Dog: Hard to say. They don’t understand the value of sleep. They spend hours each day with the things in their hands or staring at a flickering screen. At night, they look at another screen on the wall in their bedroom.

Alien: What’s your favorite game to play with them?

Dog: There’s a big difference between my favorite and their favorite game. They love to play something they call “fetch.” They can be pretty simple and easy to please. When they like something, they keep doing it.

Alien: And your favorite game?

Dog: I call it the “mud game.” When everyone is wearing something fancy, nice or white, I go into the backyard and find the darkest mud. I come in and jump on them or spread mud on the floor.

Alien: Any other observations?

Dog: Just as they start to bring compelling smells into a room, they spray or roll on the scent of flowers over their bodies. I tried to copy them by rolling in the flowers outside, but they didn’t like that.

Alien: What do they say to you?

Dog: They seem especially fond of the word “sit.” Whenever someone comes into the house and they don’t know what to say to the other person, they tell me to “sit” and the other person laughs and nods. 

Alien: Do you like humans?

Dog: Humans, in general, are fine. I am not all that fond of those people who make unhappy faces and say they are not a “dog person” but a “cat person.” Who could possibly find those hissing creatures more appealing than dogs?

Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Vacations are wonderful. That’s stating the obvious. But vacationing now, in largely post-pandemic times, brings a special kind of joy. I felt it because I have just come back from vacation with a sense of happiness and peace that I wish I could bottle. And I just happened to read an article that speaks to this very subject, the “rush of a real vacation.” 

Now you might think it’s the result of breaking out after almost a year and a half of pandemic distancing, of masking and zooming and otherwise limiting and isolating ourselves. We did that, these last 10 days, driving up the New England coast slowly and spending quality time in Maine. We certainly enjoyed the freedom of the open road, stopping where we had a notion, taking back country routes on impulse, drinking in those picturesque harbor towns, eating lobster rolls, taking pictures of lighthouses. After relative confinement, that was exhilarating. 

But there was more to the experience than that. The article I read, “There’s a Specific Kind of Joy We’ve Been Missing,” by organizational psychologist Adam Grant in the July 10 issue of The New York Times, talks of collective effervescence. This is a concept introduced in the early 20th century by the sociologist Emile Durkheim describing “the sense of energy and harmony people feel when they come together in a group around a shared purpose.” 

So if you are participating in a brainstorming session with colleagues, enjoying a baseball game or a movie with new seatmates or even chatting with a stranger on a train, there is the joy of connection. That didn’t happen during the dark days of COVID-19, although there was some of that early in NYC when people were clapping and banging pots and pans with spoons at 7 p.m. every night to honor hospital workers. And it didn’t happen on Zoom, where the common response after several meetings was fatigue.

We stopped for dinner one night on the way up the seashore in Portland, where we met with an editor who had worked at The Village Times 30 years ago. She took the ferry over from one of the offshore islands and had a lobster roll with us in DiMillo’s restaurant. That eatery used to be the Martha Jefferson, a Mississippi River paddle cruiser for sightseeing and parties on Port Jefferson harbor more than 50 years ago. The present owners bought the old boat, tidied it up, anchored it permanently at the Portland docks and have over the years turned it into a seafood palace.

We spent three days in Camden, a charming fishing village with loads of tourist stores to wander in and out of, which we didn’t do but did enjoy a sailboat ride in a 36-foot schooner that we shared with a family from Alabama. There were a number of people visiting from the Deep South whom we met and chatted with, several owning summer homes in Maine. They drove the considerable distance, like us, enjoying the liberating journey. I want to salute an especially fine restaurant there, in Rockland, called Primo, started by a woman originally from Long Island, that serves farm-to-table food in delicious fashion. Diners can also tour her lush gardens in the rear. Ask for the Russian kale salad for an unusual treat. And if it’s your thing, enjoy the Farnsworth Art Museum, with its impressive collection of three generations of Wyeths.

We loved our time in Bar Harbor (or as they say, Bah Hahbba), and especially Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. If you go, know that you will need a ticket in advance if you wish to see a famed sunrise or a sunset from the summit of Cadillac Mountain.

I have always enjoyed chatting with strangers while waiting in lines or riding in elevators, among other conducive situations. I learn all sorts of information, usually useless but not always, this way. Friends I have been with will bear witness to this voluble habit. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed those casual conversations until this trip. I certainly agree with the theory of collective effervescence put forth by Durkheim a century ago. And we awarded the title of best lobster roll, after many samplings, to McLoons Lobster Shack of South Thomaston, in the friendly state of Maine.

Photo by Dawn Olenick

Sound Beach Property Owners Association East and Sound Beach Property Owners Association West in Sound Beach, Beech Road Beach in Rocky Point, Broadway Beach in Rocky Point, Terraces on the Sound in Rocky Point have all closed to bathing due to the finding of bacteria in excess of acceptable criteria.

According to Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gregson Pigott, bathing in bacteria-contaminated water can result in gastrointestinal illness, as well as infections of the eyes, ears, nose, and throat.

The beaches will reopen when further testing reveals that the bacteria have subsided to acceptable levels.

For the latest information on affected beaches, call the Bathing Beach HOTLINE at 852-5822 or contact the Department’s Office of Ecology at 852-5760 during normal business hours.  http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/HealthServices/EnvironmentalQuality/Ecology/BeachMonitoringProgram.aspx

To view an interactive map of beach closures/advisories, visit: https://ny.healthinspections.us/ny_beaches/

Media Origins captured the fireworks from the Village of Asharoken.

Fourth of July is a time meant to be spent with friends and family while barbecuing some of the best American meals.

It’s also the one holiday a year where lighting off fireworks from morning to night time is completely acceptable — even encouraged. 

This countrywide celebration of America may be enjoyable for most but for others, such as combat veterans and first responders suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, it can be an extremely stressful day. And when fireworks are set off on other days, it can be even more unnerving for them and others. 

Is celebrating this national holiday at the cost of our own heroes? 

According to a National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, 87% of veterans have been exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event and experience on average of 3.4 such events throughout their service. The National Institutes of Health also recorded that an estimate of 400,000 first responders in America have at least some symptoms of PTSD.

The degree of exposure varies from person to person, therefore affecting the magnitude of their illness.

The sounds of fireworks — loud, sudden and reminiscent of traumatic events — may trigger PTSD, making it difficult for some who experience symptoms to enjoy their holiday. Lighting off fireworks throughout the month or late at night could additionally put a veteran or first responder into a bad spot. 

Even weeks after the Fourth of July is over, sleeping troubles or nightmares may persist.  

Paws of War, located in Nesconset, rescues and trains shelter dogs to become service dogs for Long Island veterans and first responders. With the mental pressure of dealing with the holiday, a service dog can also serve as a calming aide to those coping through a PTSD episode.

One way to make sure a veteran doesn’t become triggered is to involve them in lighting the fireworks so the shock of hearing the fireworks won’t be unexpected. Many veterans choose to light fireworks for their family. 

There are many other ways to celebrate the Fourth of July and summer that don’t involve setting off fireworks. Fishing, boating, visiting historical parks, watching patriotic movies and barbecuing are just some of the alternate options that families can do together to celebrate. However, if you’re still itching for fireworks, sparklers are noise free and easy to bring anywhere you go.

So next Fourth of July, being sensitive to veterans and first responders could turn their nerve-racking holiday into a happy one. 

Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

I recently spoke with several scientists about work they were doing for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. In chatting with them, it became clear that researchers love acronyms the way my dog loves anyone willing to toss him a few morsels of food.

I was just thinking about how much time I’d save in my life if I could start my own set of acronyms, all designed to create word efficiency and to develop the equivalent of an insider’s club.

For starters, how about OKWAM? As in, this place is definitely OK without a mask because they don’t mind if you walk around with your face uncovered.Then, perhaps, there’s MAPH as in masks are preferred here. You don’t necessarily have to wear a mask, as you might on, say, a commercial airliner, but you would make the owners of the establishment happy and feel safer if you did.

In the world of politics, President Joe Biden (D) merits his own set of acronyms. If you think he’s bringing back civility, you might appreciate the chance to tell someone that you believe BMAC, for Biden makes America civil.

Now, of course, Biden, as with his predecessor, has numerous detractors. The New York Post is as eager to capture his daily verbal stumbles as the left-leaning papers and news organizations were to seize on former President Donald Trump’s (R) “covfefe” and other scrambled words. In that case, you might see Biden as a PINOE, as in a president in need of an editor, or a PINOC, as in a president in need of a compass.

Trump deserves his own set of acronyms. Borrowing from the redundant wording of the movie “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” (2004), supporters of the 45th president might say TIARA, as in Trump is always right, always.

Those who find the former president slightly off kilter, however, might believe he has a FANTS problem, as in facts are not Trump’s strength.

TOSID seems appropriate for both sides. That one stands for the other side is deceptive. That applies to Democrats and Republicans, each of whom sometimes reflexively suggest that the other side can’t possibly be honest because, if they were, the argument they’d like to make isn’t as powerful.

In the wonderful world of summer weather, how about HEFY, as in hot enough for you, or perhaps, CIRN, as in can’t it rain now?

Yankee fans are probably bracing for another mediocre, at best, half of the baseball year. Sure, we have talent, and we get periodic glimpses of adequacy, but we wind up looking like a fourth-place team. I have the feeling it’s NOY or not our year.

Parents have spent almost two years struggling with child care, education and their sanity amid a pandemic that has caused their children to become more like home-based barnacles than school-based students. To that end, and you can pronounce this one however you’d like, how about FCTKSIS, for fingers crossed to keep school in session?

Children, of course, couldn’t control whether their schools opened, which left them even more powerless to act out against the rules, tests or social pressures that follow them around like Pigpen’s dust storm from the Charlie Brown comics. They are now struggling with the need to EFTEW, or to emerge from the electronic world.

Many of us made normal hygiene habits optional. These days, we should consider recommending a SMIYL to our friends, as in a shower might improve your life.

While disconnecting during a phone call, turning off our video momentarily or covering our computer camera were options from home, we sometimes find ourselves stuck in conversations or interactions that aren’t working for us. We might need to beg someone to SAM or stop annoying me.