Eric Stewart will raise the baton on Saturday, May 13 when the Long Island Symphonic Choral Association (LISCA) presents its annual spring concert, Masterworks by French Composers of the 19th and 20th Century at 8 p.m. at St. James Roman Catholic Church, located at 429 Route 25A in Setauket.
Stewart took over the role of conductor in January after Thomas Schmidt, the previous conductor of the venerable, nearly 50-year old community chorus retired after serving for 11 years.
Eric Stewart
Expressing his whole-hearted enthusiasm for the selected works of the upcoming program, Stewart said, “This wonderful, all-French program features delightful variety, despite the fact that all three pieces were written within one hundred years of one another (1865-1959). Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine is a beloved staple of the choral repertoire. It is short, sweet and features melodies and harmonies prototypical of French Romanticism.”
He continues, “Poulenc’s Gloria mixes light and playful moments with some deep and brooding passages. It is full of wit and beautiful contrast. The highlight of the program, Durufle’s Requiem, re-imagines Gregorian Chant, combining it with 20th century impressionistic sensibilities. Chant-like melodies and Renaissance inspired counterpoint are imbued with lush harmonies and sweeping orchestral gestures. I could not think of a more exciting program with which to make my debut with LISCA.”
Classical music was not Stewart’s first love. Dabbling with a variety of instruments as a child led to an intense focus in his teenage years on the guitar with a plan to pursue a music degree in performance of rock/jazz fusion style. An “aha moment” came at age 17 with the purchase of a CD of Mozart Piano Concerti.
“Struck so deeply by the music,” his focus changed completely. Piano studies followed, but a sense that it was too late to be pursuing a classical instrument for performance, his focus shifted to composition and conducting. A summer spent at Interlochen Arts Camp cemented his decision to pursue a career in classical music. Stewart studied composition and conducting at the Peabody Conservatory (B.M. and M.M.), going on to earn a doctorate in composition from the University of Toronto. His compositions have been performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
We look forward to introducing Stewart to our faithful audience of the past 49 years and extend a special invitation to those who haven’t experienced our concerts in the past as we anticipate our 50th anniversary next season. A reception with light refreshments will be held following the concert.
Tickets may be purchased through our website at www.lisca.org, from singers and at the door. General admission is $25, seniors, $20 and students are free. For further information, call 631-751-2743.
Fotis Sotiropoulos and Chrisa Arcan with local children in the village of Ileret.
By Chrisa Arcan
Led by Dr. Fotis Sotiropoulos, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), a group of Stony Brook University faculty and administrative personnel visited the Turkana Basin in Kenya in March with the goal of setting the stage for the 2017 CEAS Global Engineering Field School (https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/ceas/news/2017/march/global_innovation.php).
The trip was organized by Dr. Lawrence Martin, Professor at Stony Brook University Department of Anthropology and Director of the , (TBI) (https://www.turkanabasin.org), a Stony Brook University affiliated institute established in 2005 in Turkana, Kenya, by world renowned anthropologist and Stony Brook University Professor Richard Leakey.
Fotis Sotiropoulos and Chrisa Arcan with local children in the village of Ileret.
Under this newly established CEAS summer program, a group of undergraduate engineering students will visit TBI for an immersion education on global issues and needs that are different from what they are familiar with, in order to develop engineering solutions to address the survival challenges of people in rural Kenya and other places facing similar issues.
TBI facilities were developed with the purpose of offering a permanent infrastructure to enable year-round paleoanthropology and related scientific research in this remote area of sub-Saharan Africa. The Turkana Basin is a region where abundant evidence documenting the history of human evolution has been uncovered.
Recent research on DNA shows that every human being alive today can be traced to a common ancestral population that lived around that area 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. It is literally the birthplace of humankind. Today TBI, with its two field centers, one on either side of Lake Turkana, is a global center of excellence in paleoanthropological research.
Women and children dig deep into the dry river beds to find their daily water supply.
Our first stop was a two-day stay at Mpala Research Centre. The center is affiliated with Princeton University and conducts research in conservation and wildlife with a focus on benefiting the surrounding communities. Thanks to the director of the center, Dr. Dino Martins a former TBI postdoc at Stony Brook, our stay at Mpala was absolutely memorable: We toured the research facilities, the surrounding areas and dry river beds and brainstormed on opportunities to harness the local resources and develop programs that would benefit the local communities, and we marveled at the amazing landscape and its rich wildlife.
From Mpala we boarded a single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan airplane and flew to TBI to start our next journey in the northern-most region of Kenya to Ileret, a small remote village in northern Kenya, in the east side of Lake Turkana, close to the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
As we took a tour of the local clinic, Beatrice, the nurse of the clinic described the multiple health conditions of the locals, especially the children, and the limitations under which she works. The majority of children suffer from at least one type of malnutrition with a large percentage of them being stunted; the latest prolonged drought has exacerbated their condition and increased their deficiency of multiple essential nutrients.
The clinic we visited, a stand-alone small structure, consisted of only a few rooms and of bare medical essentials; everything was in dire need of repair: broken windows, cracked walls, limited medical supplies and a nonfunctioning fridge meant to store drugs, to name a few.
Yet, despite all this, Beatrice and her assistants work tirelessly to perform medical miracles (and always with a smile), from prenatal care, to deliveries, albeit their complications in need of serious surgical procedures, to child nutrition supplementation, to treating any communicable disease, to community education for family planning, vaccinations and many more. My discussions with the nurse brought to life my education on global health and nutrition.
We had the opportunity to see firsthand the local needs and current community projects supported by TBI, like the clinic, school and teachers, and appreciated the opportunities in alternative energy solutions, food systems and health.
We visited the local villages and witnessed the devastating effects of the worst drought in 60 years on peoples’ survival. We saw women and girls digging by hand deep into the ground to find a little bit of precious water, which they also had to carry back to their homes.
Needless to say the water was contaminated with organic and inorganic material, and the apparently clean water from boreholes had fluoride at dangerously high levels. The drought and scarcity and poor quality of water took a devastating toll on food production and livestock for people in that region. Thus food quantity and variety are extremely limited and the signs of food insecurity are apparent in every child and adult.
Village houses
We visited the village homes, single-room domelike structures, built by women from tree branches and corrugated metal sheets that serve as both a cooking and sleeping space for the entire family. Cooking inside the structures creates dangerous air pollution, and as the nurse in the clinic pointed out, respiratory problems are the most prevalent health conditions, especially among children.
We had the chance to interact with the locals and best of all to play with the children; their excitement and fascination when we took selfies and saw themselves on the screen was contagious. What a joy to interact with the happiest children that I have ever seen, despite their daily hardship for survival!
Located in a remote area with scarce resources, TBI is the ideal place to serve as an incubator for inspiration and pilot testing of future engineering, agriculture and public health ideas that can be transferred to benefit the local communities.
All the facilities at TBI have been built by locals using construction materials that, for the most part, were manufactured on-site. The facilities are powered using wind and solar energy and the water is purified using reverse osmosis. It is even equipped with a small greenhouse farm, testing vertical hydroponic and organic farming techniques that can support the growth of a variety of vegetables under harsh local conditions. All these initiatives and more serve as inspirations for future sustainable programs that can benefit the local communities.
Our trip to Kenya lasted only a week but it was filled with fascinating and enriching experiences. We left with many images, impressions and feelings, but most of all with a hope and a motivation that each one of us has found a compelling reason to return and contribute. However, our trip would not have been as rewarding and fulfilling without the organization and hospitality of everyone whom we met and who contributed to our memorable experience.
Chrisa Arcan, PhD, MHS, MBA, RD is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University.
It’s time to connect sugars to metabolic dysfunction. As a quick reminder, sugar is a paired unit made up of glucose and fructose.These are the same two sugars (a term that can be used generically for the various related calorie-bearing sweeteners) that comprise high fructose corn syrup. Also notable is that starch is composed of long chains of glucose. Consuming too much of any or all of these substances puts stress on your body in numerous ways. Our individual metabolic vulnerabilities fall prey to this stress, as some individuals may develop diabetes and others cardiovascular disease, etc. This lesson will focus on the stress that too much glucose can place on your metabolism.
Since your body can use glucose for energy, we are quick to accept this “blood sugar” as a good thing. We are equally inclined to believe the marketing that encourages us to buy more (sport drinks, pasta, etc.) especially if we also believe the claims that dietary fat is unhealthy. It turns out, however, high blood levels of glucose (more than two teaspoons) can be lethal. Consuming a typical sugary beverage (or a bagel) threatens to introduce five to 10 times that amount.
Chris Zenyuh.
Luckily, your body is equipped to protect itself from such assaults and in the case of a glucose “rush,” it calls upon cells buried within your pancreas to produce insulin.Insulin works like a verbal command to your fat cells, directing them to remove glucose from your blood before it can reach dangerous levels.The more glucose consumed, the more insulin produced and the more your fat cells are called into action. (Notably and ironically, high insulin levels actually reduce the ability of your muscle cells to absorb this energy, leaving them, and you, still hungry.)
These verbal directions, when repeated frequently throughout the day, become tiresome to your fat cells, which develop a sort of hearing loss described by the medical community as “insulin insensitivity.” Progressively more insulin than before will be required to get the job done, crossing the line to a pre-diabetic state. Eventually, the cells become unable to “hear” the insulin commands (insulin resistance), a condition known as diabetes.
If that is not concerning enough, insulin also functions as an inflammatory signal to your body. Inflammation, a topic of its own, is a critical component of our health maintenance. It should work in concert with our natural repair mechanisms. But when out of balance, it inhibits our recovery from even normal wear and tear. One may develop arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and/or require extended recovery times for illness and injury.
Recent research places the blame for heart attacks on the inflammation that can develop along the walls of your arteries. Ironically, the cholesterol that was once thought to be the culprit is now seen as evidence of your body’s attempts to repair this inflammation.
Similarly, obesity, once viewed as a pre-cursor to diabetes, is now known to be just one symptom of glucose management malfunction that may occur as diabetes progresses. The acronym TOFI (Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside) has been coined to describe individuals who appear healthy, but have metabolic dysfunction that is dangerously real.
Our society has yet to learn the difference between looks and health. Many thin individuals are unknowingly pre-diabetic or at risk for heart disease. Even the acronym TOFI continues to promote the stereotype that fat is unhealthy. And yet, there are plenty of active, overweight individuals who are metabolically healthier than many of the thin people who judge them.
Whether absorbed from starchy foods or literally half of table sugar, glucose represents both an energy source and a cause of disease, depending on the amount and frequency of its consumption. Knowing how your body metabolizes glucose is an important step in being able to make better food and beverage choices for a healthier life.Choose well, live well. “Chow for now!”
Chris Zenyuh is a science teacher at Harborfields High School and has been teaching for
30 years.
I have had the privilege of teaching high school science (biology, chemistry and physics) for the last thirty years. For the last ten years, I’ve had the additional privilege and responsibility of developing and teaching an elective we simply call “Food Science.” It’s not your usual health class dietary guidelines, nor does it rehash the familiar mantras of counting calories and exercising to balance intake. Instead, we study the cultural, historical, scientific, political and economic contexts of our food system and how that system impacts our environments, both external and internal. This in turn enables students to make much more informed decisions about what they want to put in their bodies.
When it comes to sugars, confusion is the name of the game. There are dozens of ingredients that mark the presence of sugars in our food: maltodextrin, dextrose, invert sugar, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup and starch, to name a few. Regardless of what the food industry calls them, your body sees basically three end products of their digestion: glucose, fructose and galactose. Which ones you eat, and how much, will dictate both their value and their danger to you.
You may have heard of three additional sugars — lactose, sucrose and maltose. Lactose is a combination of one glucose and one galactose. Also known as “milk sugar,” lactose is the nemesis of lactose-intolerant individuals who lack sufficient quantities of the enzyme that can digest it. Instead, bacteria that reside in their intestines get to process it, making painful amounts of gas as a by-product. Galactose can be converted to glucose in your body, but most individuals do not consume enough dairy to make this a source of concern.
Maltose is another type of sugar. It is a pairing of two glucose units and is the namesake for maltodextrin, etc. Consuming foods with maltose adds glucose to your diet — worth keeping track of as part of your total glucose consumption.
However, the most likely source of sugars in your diet is either sucrose or high fructose corn syrup. Sucrose, known also as table sugar, can be derived from sugar cane (cane sugar) or sugar beets (sugar.) Like lactose and maltose, sucrose is a paired structure, made of one glucose subunit and one fructose subunit. That is what your body absorbs regardless of the source (even organic.)
Sparing you the science behind its production, high fructose corn syrup is approximately half glucose, and half fructose too. Regardless of the marketing efforts by the Sugar Association and the Corn Refiners Association to make you believe one is better for you than the other, they end up, metabolically, in a virtual tie. Debating which to consume is a distraction from the consequences of consuming too much of either, or both.
Stock photo.
The consumption of sugar (the term is legally owned by the Sugar Association as the sole name for sucrose) used to be limited by the relative expense and difficulty in obtaining it from its tropical source. Now the record levels of corn production in America have made it relatively cheap to produce and distribute sugar’s nearly identical-tasting competitor, high fructose corn syrup. You can find it in soda for sure, but also in pickles, peanut butter, ketchup and pretty much anywhere sugar might be used for additional appeal to consumers.
This has paved the way for the combined consumption of these sweeteners to reach more than 150 pounds per year per person in America. This far surpasses the 60 pounds per year considered by some experts to be the maximum amount that can be metabolized without ill consequences including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, cataracts, personality and cognitive dysfunction, some cancers and (by the way) obesity.
Tying glucose and fructose consumption to the metabolic consequences noted above requires further discussion. And now, you are properly prepared for those lessons. As we say in Food Science class, “Chow!”
Chris Zenyuh is a science teacherat Harborfields High School and has been teaching for 30 years.
A view of the Stony Brook house, a half a mile from the water. Photo from Donna Newman
Erratic weather patterns have become more prevalent, causing climate change believers to cite them as evidence of the declining health of the Earth. Still, for many people the changes have had no tangible effect on their daily lives. I experienced my first, rather distressing significant outcome of the climate crisis seven years ago. It had to do with my homeowners insurance.
Donna Newman. File photo.
We purchased our first — and only— home in northern Stony Brook in 1973. Major selling points for our little white cape cod house were: it was located in the renowned Three Village school district; it was on a large, beautifully landscaped piece of property in charming Old Field South; and it was not far from West Meadow Beach on the Long Island Sound.
When choosing homeowner’s insurance we selected a major company with a solid reputation. It was already providing our automobile coverage and even offered a discount if you took out multiple policies.
Over the years I only remember submitting one insurance claim, when a burst pipe damaged the wall-to-wall carpeting in our living room and dining room. Even through major hurricanes like Gloria and Sandy we never experienced any flooding in our basement.
Then in 2010 — quite out of the blue — a letter arrived from the company informing us it would no longer be able to provide us with the homeowner’s insurance we had counted on for 27 years.
What? Why?
We always paid our premiums on time. We had only one claim in all those years. I was completely bewildered.
I placed a call to the office of the president of the company and was told that, due to recent statistical data evaluations, the company had determined it was necessary not to renew coverage for anyone living within a mile of the water.
“But,” I argued, “you have insured us for 27 years. Our house is in the exact same location as it always has been. I just don’t understand.”
She explained that things had changed; that there would be no exceptions; and that I needed to look for a new insurance carrier.
“What about longevity,” I countered. “What about loyalty?”
She said it wasn’t personal and that she was sorry.
I threatened to drop the auto coverage on our two cars and to tell everyone I knew about this upsetting turn of events.
“Whatever you need to do,” she replied, and she apologized again.
So it was that, already in the year 2010, climate change was being taken very seriously by big insurance companies seeking to minimize their liability.
I began to wonder if we’d even be able to get insurance, considering that “things had changed.”
It took us some time to locate a company that would provide the same level of insurance coverage we’d previously obtained. Thankfully, with the help of a local broker, we were able to get a policy with a much smaller company that we had never heard of before.
And here we are in 2017, hoping that our policy with our current insurer will be renewed come the fall. We’re also hoping we’ll never again have the need to file a claim.
Donna Newman is a former editor of The Village Times Herald.
Ben May is a Mount Sinai High School senior student. Photo from Ben May.
It doesn’t take much to start helping the environment.
Eight-year-old me was exploring a stream with my brother and our friends. As we began heading home, I spotted a large plastic container sitting on the bank. Everyone else seemed to ignore it, but I wandered over to examine its contents. After a quick examination, I decided it contained nothing of interest and threw it back to the ground. My brother yelled up at me to ask why I was not recycling it.
I responded, “No one else is going to do that, why do I have to clean it up?”
With a stern face, he said, “For exactly that reason.”
From this quick conversation, my outlook on the world was forever changed. Humanity faces many challenges, but not everyone chooses to help confront them. The environment is in danger of destruction; it is our obligation to save it.
I began my environmental activism at Mount Sinai High School. As a sophomore, I founded the Environmental Outreach Club. This club implemented a recycling program and facilitated annual beach cleanups each year with a turnout of more than 70 students. It amazed me how many people were ready to help. Even a small group of passionate youth can make an observable difference. Then, last fall, I found myself one of three high school students on the planning committee for the first Long Island Youth Ocean Conservation Summit. This event, where participants heard from environmentalists such as Fabien Cousteau, was meant to bring about youth-driven conservation efforts. Since earning a minigrant from the summit, the Environmental Outreach Club has been pressing for the elimination of one-use bottles and cans from the cafeteria of Mount Sinai High School.
Thus far, we have installed three water bottle refill stations throughout the school and plan on selling reusable bottles at the cafeteria. We hope to later replace the vending machines with beverage fountains to eliminate the need for one-use cans and bottles. Local projects usually have the most powerful impact to someone’s community with small-scale actions creating large-scale changes; however, national endeavors bring a far-reaching aspect to environmentalism.
Last year, I had the honor to be a member of the seven-person Sea Youth Rise Up delegation to lobby President Barack Obama (D) to establish a new marine protected area off the coast of Cape Cod. We met with the Environmental Quality Council at the White House, ran a live international broadcast on World Oceans Day, filmed a documentary and visited the United Nations in New York City to bring attention to the cause. As a teenager, it is difficult to enact change at the federal level, but this opportunity enabled me to engage in debates that directly affected legislation. When Obama heard our collective voices and established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, which protects large sections of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Cod, I realized change can be created by anyone — no matter their age. After returning from the Sea Youth Rise Up campaign, I was appointed communications coordinator for the national Youth Ocean Conservation Summit organization, was a guest speaker at this year’s Long Island YOCS, and have been invited to speak at an upcoming TEDx event in London this June.
From my limited personal experience so far, the world of environmentalism is composed of smart, passionate people. Today — even when temperatures and sea level are rising, fish stocks are being depleted, water is becoming scarce, petrochemicals are being added to the oceans at an exponentially increasing rate and a mass extinction is occurring — I am still extremely hopeful. After meeting other people who help mitigate these ailments of our society,both by small-scale and large-scale actions, I am confident in our collective ability to save our world.
Over my few years of being an environmental advocate, I have learned two things: the opportunities to get involved are endless, and an open door foreshadows more doors to come. Every opportunity that presented itself to me has been the product of some previous action I had taken — all tracing back to my brother yelling at me to throw out a piece of plastic.
Ben May is a Mount Sinai High School senior and is the founder of the Environmental Outreach Club at the school.
While walking near Central Park the other day, watching the construction of a massive skyscraper, a thought came to mind. On one hand, we as humans posses the brilliance to make this happen, and on the other hand, we have difficulty getting along in a humanistic manner.Amazing, I say. Sad, I say. Unfortunate, upsetting and disturbing, I say.
In the words of Bob Dylan, “the times they are a changin’.”But for the better? Or for the worse?
As I see it, the concept of abuse is out of control. Whether the form taken is physical, mental, sexual, drug, alcohol, eating, et al., it appears out of control.
How difficult it is for humans to fully embrace the concept of “things are the way they are, because we, together, allow it; because we choose to be disconnected.” We seem to struggle to think clearly and to stay united and connected. It takes a conscious level of awareness or mindfulness, or whichever terminology fits, to be developed and focused.
Again we are currently witnessing a high level of abuse in our society, in various forms: violence, terrorism, drug abuse, mental abuse, suffering, among others. We all play a part in allowing it to continue. We can all benefit by training our minds to be caring, respectful, gentle, kind, loving, understanding, tolerant, patient and sensitive with each other and also with ourselves.
We have collectively allowed ourselves to tolerate behaviors which have become the norm in today’s society; behaviors which are abusive, hurtful and disrespectful. Consider allowing ourselves to focus on the effect our behavior has on ourselves and on others — to create a healthier society.
Focus on the effect our behavior is having on the receiver, with regard to sincerity, honesty, caring, understanding, sensitivity, love, compassion and truthfulness — so that this new approach may become infectious and result in an epidemic — like a plague, or a disease which spreads rapidly through society.
Each of us has within us the potential to develop this new consciousness, with the proper training, guidance and support. Let us focus not solely on ourselves, but on others — and collectively work towards creating a healthy society for ourselves and future generations.
Let us allow ourselves to empower ourselves, to feel a greater energy in being part of building a consistently better place to live. Let us be constructors of the creation, rather than recipients of unhealthy circumstances created by individuals with, perhaps, unhealthy motivations.
We do not have to accept these changing times, if we learn how to empower ourselves. Let us collectively do this — in great numbers. Let us not just talk about it. Let us live it as part of our lifestyle on a daily basis.
In the words of Eli Wiesel, “We must always take sides, neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. We must interfere.”
Paul Feinberg lives in S. Setauket. He is a retired Three Village junior high school guidance counselor and acting administrator.
Above, one of two rufous hummingbirds seen in an Aquebogue backyard. Photo by Cathy Taldone
By Cathy Taldone
My holiday decorating was abruptly interrupted by a “RARE BIRD ALERT!” received from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. A rufous hummingbird, a western native, was spotted at a private garden in Aquebogue on the east end of Long Island. I dropped everything, jumped in the car with binoculars and camera hoping for a glimpse of this tiny creature. This was a rare sighting indeed! While there are over 350 species of hummingbirds in the world, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the only common species on Long Island. Rufous hummingbirds are known to be found west of the Great Plains but not in the East.
Above, one of two rufous hummingbirds seen in an Aquebogue backyard. Photo by Cathy Taldone
The bird loving homeowner noticed this unusual hummingbird at her feeder in November and contacted the Quogue Wildlife Sanctuary and the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society. She knew the bird should have migrated south and had lost its way. She was looking for advice on how to help it find its way back on its journey. She was keenly aware that with winter approaching, this 3.5-inch bird weighing slightly more than a penny had a future that was in jeopardy.
The ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds make their migration each year to Mexico. The rufous hummingbirds may breed as far north as Alaska and make their 3,000-mile trip along the West Coast to Mexico to spend winter in a warmer climate.
As I and other birding enthusiasts arrived in her backyard this past weekend, we were delighted to learn that there was not one but two rufous hummingbirds in this quiet east end backyard. We were rewarded with the visual display of two rufous hummingbirds fighting over the feeder. Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world but also very aggressive and will fight another to protect its territory. For me, this was a “lifer,” my first time seeing the species. We all watched with excitement and joy as these birds went back and forth to and from the nectar-filled feeders and the flowers still in bloom due to our warm fall weather.
While a sighting such as this would be extremely rare during the warm months, it is extraordinary to find one the first week in December. However, this summer a rufous hummingbird visited the Morton National Wildlife Sanctuary in Sag Harbor. It was there a few days and then disappeared.
Recently, wintering rufous hummingbirds have appeared in eastern states as far north as Massachusetts. There was a rufous hummingbird in NYC the winter of 2012 and another in 2011. One made it through to the spring and the other did not. How did these hummingbirds get so far off track?
Above, the second hummingbird spotted at a feeder in Aquebogue. Photo by Cathy Taldone
Researchers over the last several years determined that some have changed their route, traveling east before heading south, giving rationale as to why these birds have been sighted in a number of eastern states from October to January. The challenge for these wintering birds is to survive the weather and lack of protein. They live on the nectar from flowers and insects for protein.
According to Dr. Paul Adams, founder of the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary, two rufous hummingbirds appearing in November is an extraordinary occurrence. To help the birds make it through the winter there needs to be a cooperative effort to help them meet the challenges of the cold.
As I return to the routines of the holiday season, I plan to make another trip to see the birds again. Dr. Adams will visit the residence and give his advice on how to help the birds manage the winter here, and hopefully these birds will survive the Long Island winter cold and snow. Meanwhile, nature will take its course. The rufous hummingbirds of Aquebogue may or may not make it to spring. These birds, just like all species, hope to make it to the next season, taking life’s challenges one moment at a time.
Ricardo and Eva Estevez with their children, Amelia Estevez Creedon and Ricardo Estevez Jr. Photo from Amelia Estevez Creedon
By Amelia Estevez Creedon
I am a Cuban-American woman born and raised in New York City. My parents have instilled in us a love for the United States and patriotic passion. We are also proud of our Cuban heritage and are affected by situations that arise in my parent’s native home.
My father came to the United States in 1960 after fleeing the Communist regime. My mother came to the United States in 1961. They met in the United States and married in 1971.
My father lived a prosperous life in Cuba.
He was a farmland owner and a veteran of the Cuban military. He also did many side jobs. One of his side jobs under the Batista government was to drive dignitaries to their desired destinations. My father loved Cuba. He loved the nightlife andtime with friends and family and was very proud to be Cuban.
My father was imprisoned. He remembers hearing men cry before they died in front of the firing squad. He was beaten, starved and tortured.
But when Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, everything changed. My father was imprisoned. He remembers hearing men cry before they died in front of the firing squad. He was beaten, starved and tortured. The soldiers would insult, humiliate and mutilate the prisoners. The men in the prison were not criminals, but people that were incarcerated for voicing their opinion, going to church, refusing to join government-run organizations and more. My father was able to escape from prison and Cuba and help other families come to the United States.
My mother lived with her parents and two sisters. They were poor and worked hard to make a living. My grandfather was a mailman. My grandmother washed clothes for neighborhood families. Despite their poverty, my mother has precious memories of her country. She remembers school being a place of great learning. She recalls the love that existed between neighbors. She remembers a childhood filled with dreams, play and joy. All that changed after Fidel Castro took power.
Castro established watch groups within communities to make sure that civilians were obeying the rules he had in place. Neighbors began turning in neighbors for playing television programs that were considered anti-revolutionary, or eating food that was meant for the soldiers, or for gathering for prayer, or expressing views that were different from that of the government.
My mother remembers the frequent assaults on her house. Soldiers would enter by force in the middle of the night. The rationale for this entry might have been that a neighbor had heard them speaking ill of the government, or that they had some item that was considered counterrevolutionary. One night, my mother’s family was told to remove their crucifix from the house and replace it with Fidel Castro’s picture. My grandfather refused and was taken prisoner. He was incarcerated in a dark enclosed space, alone, starved, beaten and humiliated.
My grandparents knew they had to leave the country.
My mother remembers the frequent assaults on her house. Soldiers would enter by force in the middle of the night.
They applied for a program through which they might gain permission to leave. This program consisted of the family working in an agricultural camp for two years. This did not ensure exit from the country but placed their name in a lottery. The family was separated within the camp and lived in barracks. Life in the camp consisted of working from dawn until dusk cutting sugar cane. The work was brutal. The workers were given raw horse meat to eat, had no work breaks and limited water. My mother remembers being taunted by the soldiers. They would spit at her, call her “gusano,” which means worm, and was a popular derogatory term used to describe anti-Communists. The barracks had bunk beds with no mattresses or pillows. The workers were housed in these cramped quarters and the outhouses were filthy and unkempt.
My dad passed away this past March. My grandparents died two years ago. They knew that the government was still oppressing many, as well as incarcerating political prisoners and dissidents on the island.
This type of oppression continues today. The inhumane treatment of many Cuban citizens is still occurring. My parents, as well as grandparents, became United States citizens shortly after arriving. When they first arrived they worked long hours cleaning floors, waiting on tables, basically doing whatever work was available. My father was able to learn different trades as time passed so that he could better provide for our needs. Neither of them was a stranger to hard work and they taught my brother and me to value it as well.
They came to love the United States as their home. They were, and my mother still is, fiercely proud to be United States citizens. They taught us to love our country but to always have hope that Cubans in Cuba might also one day be free. They always reminded us that anyone could be successful if they worked hard in the United States and that freedom was not free. Every year our family prayed that Cuba would be liberated from this dictatorship. For my father and grandparents, Castro’s death would have restored a glimmer of hope that despite the years of tyranny, things could change.
Unfortunately, my grandparents and father never saw this day. Fidel Castro’s death does not mean that communism is over or that the brutalities will cease. His brother, Raul rules similarly. Yet, Castro’s death gives many Cubans a hope for the future, a hope that one day democracy and freedom might come to Cuba.
Amelia Estevez Creedon lives in Sound Beach. She is an elementary school teacher at Riley Avenue Elementary School and a school librarian, the leader for a Webelos and Bear den for Cub Scout Pack 204 in Miller Place and a member of the Sound Beach Civic Association.
Visitors wait to enter one of the homes on the tour. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Patty Yantz and Patty Cain
The Three Village Historical Society hosted its 38th annual Candlelight House Tour last weekend. Titled Visions of Historic Setauket: A Look Back in Time, the event attracted over 1,000 visitors to our little hamlet.
This year’s tour was dedicated to four members who passed away this year, Blanche Tyler Davis, Chuck Glaser, Bruce McCauley and Elaine Stow, each of whom played a vital role within the society.
A living room is decorated for the holidays. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Four of the five homes featured in this year’s tour were originally owned by members of the Wells family. The tour served as a history lesson of life as it was around the pond. The ticket contains much history of the area and is a keepsake in itself. We are honored to have the kindness of the wonderful homeowners who opened up their beautiful homes decked out in holiday decor.
Gallery North and the Three Village Historical Society history center added more historical interest to the tour. We are so thankful for our generous sponsors and restaurants, and the numerous volunteers who served as decorators, house chairs, committee chairs, traffic people and docents and our staff who worked hard to make this event come to life. Without their support and generosity the tour would not be possible.
Visitors wait to enter one of the homes on the tour. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The Candlelight House Tour is the biggest fundraising event held by the society. The proceeds enable the society to continue to preserve local photographs with proceeds benefiting the society’s educational programs.
This year the Friday night tour with a reception at the Old Field Club was in such high demand that for the first time we opened a few tickets to the Friday night tour without the reception. This too proved to be successful. On Saturday people could start the tour with breakfast at the Old Field Club. The food and the views at the site set the tone for a wonderful day. The weather was perfect, the homes were perfect, the location was perfect and everyone who supported this event was perfect!
On behalf of the society, a deep heartfelt THANK YOU for all who helped make this year’s tour the success that it was. It is events like this that makes the Three Village area a wonderful place to live!
Patty Yantz and Patty Cain are the tour co-chairs of this year’s Candlelight Tour.
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