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Your Turn

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Recently I was in New Jersey with my former college roommates. 

We had been Zooming and planning to get together for months. The yearbook came out and we laughed over it. We tried a yoga pose to alleviate back pain, discussed the kids and uses of turmeric. 

We moved to the subject of CBD oil, and dispensaries, when “Sheila” handed us each a small, light weight, paper package.

The next day, retelling this to my 22-year-old, she surmised that, as early 80s college grads, the package likely contained something illicit. 

The envelope, however, contained compressed laundry detergent sheets. 

I was cautiously impressed. My roomie-tribe had vowed decades prior to reject plastic packing when possible. 

The envelope label read in part, “eco-friendly, cruelty-free” and “biodegradable anionic and non-anionic surfactants.”

 To this point I had used powder detergent. I buy the cardboard boxes locally and they do nicely in the outdoor fire pit when empty.

Once home, I gave my 20-year-old Kenmore a whirl. The sheets worked well in both cold and hot washes. 

My kid said they are easy to use. The thin 6 by 10-inch, lightweight envelope takes up minuscule space in the cabinet and the perforated sheets will do 60 loads. 

I foresee fewer shopping trips for me, fewer transport ships and trucks and a reduction in carbon emissions. 

The efficiency in cold water is especially important, I think. Globally, cold water is what humans have greatest access to. 

E.B. White once wrote, “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” 

I suffer the same affliction. When shopping, my first thought, after “How many carbs?” is, “How big a carbon footprint?” Thus, I began deeper research. I was curious about the manufacturing process of the emerging hydrate-at-home cleaners if I am to use them. 

As a Long Islander I am not always convinced that dirt is worse than harsh chemicals. Dirt and I are not so different.

Nutrients for humans come from food directly or indirectly through plants grown in soil. If a cleaner breaks down dirt, it breaks me down on some level as well, no? 

What I found is, although all forms of laundry detergent manufacturers have, in response to consumers, removed most phosphates, other substances known to pollute the environment remain. 

With regard to packaging, most people I know are putting plastic into the recycle bin. 

A quick survey of friends in Brookhaven who use liquid detergent, revealed that half had purchased plastic laundry jugs stamped with an HDPE ‘2’ symbol. 

The other half either found no recycle number stamped on the plastic at all, which I found alarming, or, the symbol was high. Not in a good way. 

In either case, these cannot be recycled in Brookhaven. I found one of my own shampoo bottles cannot be recycled. 

Although I have found vegan laundry sheets, cleaning action and chemical ingredients seem equal.  

The choice then for me, is either heavy thermal energy use at the front-end drying process for sheets or on the back end with disposal and transport of plastic jugs. 

After discussion with the family, we are abandoning boxes of powder for laundry sheets. I will throw the envelope in the chiminea when it is empty.  

On a personal level, my goal will be to do fewer loads of laundry and wash my hair less often. You’ll likely find me in dirty jeans and a bandanna covering my hair — flashback to senior year.

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

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Photo from Wikipedia

By Barbara Anne Kirshner

The boys of summer are back!  And with them the voice of the New York Yankees’ John Sterling, and the partner he’s referred to as his compadre for some 16 years now, Suzyn Waldman. For this Yankees fan, the start of the 2021 season, April 1st, featuring this pairing on Yankees radio, WFAN, can’t happen soon enough.

I grew up watching the Yankees with my mom, an avid Yankees fan. She knew all the players by name. During the late 1990’s into latter 2000, whenever Mariano Rivera came to the mound, Mom would say, “It’s all over now, the Sandman has arrived. It’s good night Irene.”  And to Mom’s delight, more times than not, Rivera would close the other team out. 

John Sterling. Photo from Wikipedia

In 2007, my mom suffered a major stroke with smaller ones to follow. She was in and out of hospitals and physical therapy centers. I was with her every day driving from my home in Miller Place sometimes to Port Washington, then to Glen Cove, then to Amityville and for a while, she was home in Plainedge.

During those long trips each day, I listened to WFAN and the Yankees game. It was at that time when John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman became my special friends, always there to make the drive I had to take more comfortable. Mom passed away September 2009 and the last time the Yankees won the World Series was November 4, 2009. I always felt that she sent the Yankees blessings from Heaven and that’s why they won that year.

Though my daily drives ended in 2009, my connection to WFAN and those Yankee broadcasters remained intact. I enjoy the clever repartee between Sterling and Waldman that, combined with their ability to detail every pitch, every hit, every base run, allows the listener to see the action clearly in the mind’s eye. 

Even at the times when I watch the game, I always turn down the volume on the television and turn up the volume on Sterling’s and Waldman’s play by play. Sorry, Michael Kay, but for me, no one compares to them. Sterling’s signature remarks add to the fun of the game. The amusing catchphrases Sterling has for each player combined with his final bellow for a Yankee victory of “BALLGAME OVER! THEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN, THEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN” and his calls for home runs of “It is high, it is far, it is gone!” adds an extra excitement to the game that I just can’t miss.

Suzyn Waldman. Photo from Wikipedia

In August 2020, due to health reasons, Sterling had to step away from his broadcast duties for several games and, though Waldman was her usual wonderful self, there was something BIG missing. The only other time Sterling stepped away from broadcasting the Yankees games was in 2019 for four games. Before that he called 5060 consecutive Yankees games.

This year, Sterling has made it known that he is in fine health even at 82 years of age so hopefully we can look forward to an entire season with the twosome doing their thing for the Yankees. Happily, the season begins on time not like last year at the height of COVID when the baseball season didn’t start until July 23 and ended after 60 games on September 27.

During spring training 2021, Sterling had the opportunity to call the March 15 and 22 baseball games with his former partner, Michael Kay, on the YES Network. It was good to see and hear my favorite sportscaster, but I look forward to his pairing with Waldman.

Sterling’s compadre, Waldman, is multi-talented. She was a musical theatre actress who segued into sportscasting, not an easy transition for a woman to make. Her opposition is well-documented. But she has maintained her dignity and flourished in sportscasting despite everything. At the Yankees home opener on July 31, 2020, Waldman sang the Star Spangled Banner, receiving high praise for her rendition.

The boys of summer return April 1st and with them the voices of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, still stellar after all these years together. So off to the broadcast booth we go for those familiar voices of Yankees baseball.

Miller Place resident Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist, playwright and author of “Madison Weatherbee —The Different Dachshund.”

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Casatiello Photo by Melissa Arnold

By Melissa Arnold

Aside from a five-year stint in Suffolk County, Long Island, I’ve spent all my life in the shadow of Philadelphia, on the Jersey side. South Jersey is full of delightful perks — sprawling farmland that earned us the Garden State nickname; the Shore; Wawa convenience stores; and a melding of diverse cultures.

My Italian-American family has been here for several generations now, long enough to have lost our immigrant relatives and their knowledge of the language. Two things do remain: our family recipes, and the mashed-up, incomprehensible names we have for Italian foods. (Perhaps the most well-known is “gabagool,” our word for capicola made famous in The Sopranos.) 

Each year on Palm Sunday weekend, my grandfather, whom I called Poppy, would visit with football-sized parcels wrapped in aluminum foil under each arm. Inside were stromboli-like breads stuffed with Italian meats and cheeses and rolled up like a jelly roll. Poppy called it gozzadiel. His wife, Eleanor, made them annually for everyone they knew.

It’s been more than a decade since Poppy passed away and the gozzadiel deliveries halted. I could never get the recipe out of Eleanor because she never had one — like most Italian women, she baked with her senses, not measurements. “Just make a pizza dough and put the salami, ham and cheese on it,” she told me good-naturedly. That was all I got, and then eventually she passed, too.  

A few weeks ago, as Palm Sunday approached, my late-night thoughts wandered to the upcoming Easter traditions and to the gozzadiel we mention wistfully each spring. I began to Google intensely from my bed, grasping at straws: “Italian meat bread.” “Rolled Easter bread.” “Gozzadiel in English.” I got lots of recipes, but none of them were right. Google doesn’t speak our broken Italian.

Finally, I landed on a Neapolitan rolled bread called casatiello. Using my rudimentary Italian skills from high school, I spoke the word aloud into the dark. “Ca-sa-ti-ello … Ga-za-diel.” Close enough! But a proper casatiello features chunks of meat, and whole hard-boiled eggs affixed to the top with crosses of dough. Eleanor’s bread had layers of meat, not chunks. And there were no eggs atop ours. But it was a start. And this year, so help me, I was going to make it.

Mind you, I am not one of those crazy people that made a sourdough starter in the heat of last year’s lockdown. I love to cook, but I’m no social media influencer. I know how to follow directions and call my mother. Mostly, I just improvise.

So I did what Eleanor told me — I went to ShopRite and bought a refrigerated pizza dough, nervously plopped it into a bowl with olive oil, covered it up and said a prayer. A few hours later, my husband and I stared at the puffy, risen mound as if it were an infant. “Let’s do this,” he said.

Using a pepperoni bread recipe as a guide, we rolled out the dough in a rectangle as thin as we could, then covered it with my mom’s recommendations of Di Lusso Genoa salami, BelGioioso provolone, and imported ham. More cheese. More prayers. A careful, tight rolling and an eggwash, and finally, the trip to the oven. I read that the inside should reach 160 degrees, which took some trial and error — it needed 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and another 10 minutes covered with foil at 350 degrees (I was nervous).

The result was a perfectly golden behemoth. The next day, we gathered around my parents’ table as my father made the first cut to reveal a beautiful spiral and, miraculously, the exact flavor of our beloved gozzadiel. My dad raised his eyebrows and declared, “This could raise them from the grave. You nailed it!”

I was unprepared for the visceral flood of nostalgia that washed in with those first bites and transported me to another time. This was a true food memory, the kind that happens at tables like mine all over the world to bind families, friends, and communities. And it was glorious.

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Nan Guzzetta. Photo by John Griffin

By Michael Tessler

It was devastating to hear of the passing of one of our community’s greatest treasures. For those of us lucky enough to have known Nancy Altman “Nan” Guzzetta, we all knew just how special she was. It’s important that everyone who didn’t know Nan knows just how she impacted their lives too.

Nancy Altman “Nan” Guzzetta. Photo by John Griffin

Most in our community knew Nan as the owner of Antique Costume & Prop Rental on Main Street in Port Jefferson. For decades, she helped quietly bring to life every festival, celebration, and fun historical event in the area. When Nan was called to service, she didn’t just show up; she would move heaven and earth. Truthfully, on more than one occasion I saw her hoist a mannequin twice her size over her head … just to ensure a Civil War general would have the proper brass buckle. To say she took her work seriously would be an injustice; she didn’t just love history … she lived it. 

To Nan, her costumes weren’t just pieces of fabric … they were living pieces of history and art, many of which were originals or perfectly replicated to exact historical specifications. She explained to me that it wasn’t so much the details that mattered. It was about the respect that came with it. To her, it was personal that we honored legacies properly. 

Nan was feisty, funny, witty, and smart. She was both ahead of her time and yet seemed to belong to a bygone era. She was sophisticated, cultured, and worldly. For a woman of such small stature, she stood taller than most and never relented when she knew she was right. She was a woman of great principle and yet always shared a tenderness with those who knew her.

Here’s the truth though. Nan changed lives with her gift of time travel.

For the small child lacking in self-confidence whom she transformed into a Dickensian character of old and unleashed upon the streets of Port Jefferson, they will always know the joys and confidence that community service can bring. For the young woman who heard the forgotten story of a Setauket suffragette during a Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) Spirits Tour, she’ll spend the rest of her life knowing she too can transform policy and shape the future. For the Ward Melville High School freshman celebrating Culper Spy Day who sees a little of themself in Setauket’s Revolutionary War heroes, their lives will forever be transformed by Nan Guzzetta, a woman who made it her business to bring history to life and ensure no story go untold.

Nan left an incredible impact on so many, but to me, she was an unlikely friend and unforgettable mentor and confidant. Despite an age difference of some 60 years, our lives were wonderfully intertwined. We first met when she costumed me at just 10 years old as a Dickensian pickpocket for the Village of Port Jefferson’s annual Charles Dickens Festival. By chance, her son and his family had bought my childhood home which brought both of us great joy. 

Nan costumed Times Beacon Record News Media’s (TBR) first major film project, The Culper Spy Adventure, and helped introduce me to the wonders of film. We became great friends and our chats around history and politics would sometimes last for hours and hours. Occasional tea with her and her wonderful husband became some of my favorite memories. 

I’d always look forward to volunteering at the TVHS Spirits Tours, not just because they’re fun but because I knew it gave Nan such a thrill to see her costumes come to life when worn by such a passionate group of actors. Nan quite literally saved TBR’s Revolutionary War feature film One Life to Give on more than one occasion, procuring us silk stockings and enough tricorn hats to outfit a Continental Army. She was always there when her community needed her and she was always there for me. 

A few years ago, Nan picked up the phone, and on the other side of the line was a Hollywood producer in need of some costumes for a new series. Despite the fact I wasn’t yet a mature and/or responsible adult (as Nan often liked to remind me when I failed to bring back properly cleaned frockcoats) she insisted that the producer speak with me and consider hiring me to work on the show. He did. 

Some dozen or so television shows later here I am on my third year in Los Angeles running my own production company and because of Nan, I’ve now had the chance to work in Hollywood and achieve my dream of being a storyteller. Without her, I’m genuinely not sure where I’d be. I’ll forever be indebted to her for jumpstarting my journey and for all the kindness, understanding, and generosity she showed me. 

My last conversation with Nan was just about a month or so ago. We didn’t talk much about the past, but about our optimism and hope for the future. For her, history was a blueprint and a guide to help us do better. She had so much hope, especially in today’s young people.

Nan will forever stand among the greats in this community, no less than a Melville, Mather, Woodhull, or Strong. In everything she did, she thought about her neighbors, and the joy she could bring them, and the magic of history she could share. Her passion for the past was only surpassed by her love of family. To her, her children and grandchildren were and are the greatest gift she could leave behind to the place she calls home. 

Nan, you can rest easy knowing that the community you inspired will pick up that mantle and continue your work. Now it is time for us to honor your legacy and to ensure that future generations know of the extraordinary life you lived and the standard of service you set for us all.

Until we meet again, Nan. Thank you for making history. 

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When Lucky Dog premiered in 2013, viewers quickly fell in love with host Brandon McMillan, who rescued 'unadoptable' dogs from animal shelters across the United States.

By Barbara Anne Kirshner

Several years ago, on a Saturday, as I flipped through the channels on the television, I came upon a reality show titled Lucky Dog. As an animal lover, I was curious to find out “Why were these dogs so lucky?” I got my answer in affable host and trainer, Brandon McMillan, who seemed committed to securing forever homes for unwanted shelter dogs.

Each week, Mc Millan took his audience on a journey that featured an “unadoptable” canine. Through his seven common commands of sit, stay, down, come, off, heel and no, the discarded dog transformed into a loving, well-behaved pet. McMillan then matched the dog to perspective owners and even conducted lifestyle training to further meld animal to adopter. In one instance, McMillan taught a dog to surf so he could join his new buddy on the waves.

When Lucky Dog premiered in 2013, viewers quickly fell in love with host Brandon McMillan, who rescued ‘unadoptable’ dogs from animal shelters across the United States.

The scenario of the show was always the same. It began with McMillan at his Lucky Dog Ranch training a rescue when the distress call from a local animal shelter alerted him of an overlooked dog headed for euthanasia. McMillan dashed to the shelter at the eleventh hour, headed down that sterile hallway of gated scared dogs until he faced the one needing instant saving. He would open the gate, go inside the kennel, sit next to the cowering creature, speaking gently all the while. Once the canine settled, McMillan would say, “Let’s get out of here.” And off they happily went together. 

The first stop was at the vet for a complete physical that confirmed the dog was healthy for training, then off to McMillan’s Lucky Dog Ranch where a red training collar was snapped on followed by introductions to other lucky dog rescues. McMillan then matched the dog to the best adopter and did a home inspection. In one episode, he arranged for sod to make the backyard dog friendly.

Then came the magical day when the rescue would meet the forever family. In the final scene, McMillan always delighted the adopters by showing up unannounced with new charge in tow. As a sign that the dog had completed training, McMillan would replace the red collar with a green graduation collar then kiss the dog and turn it over to the happy new owners. Cue the violin strings and take out your tissues! I always dissolved in happy tears for the lucky dog and the lucky family.

The mantra, ”From hopeless to home, that’s our mission, one dog at a time” was the final sound cue over the credits.

At the start of January 2021, I and millions of other Lucky Dog followers were suddenly struck with the disappointment of no show! At first, I thought it had been pre-empted for a week, but on the following Saturday still no Lucky Dog. That’s when I googled the show and discovered Brandon McMillan had stepped away from his Emmy award winning series. 

In an Instagram post dated October 2020, McMillan announced that his 182nd episode was his last. The reason given for this sudden departure was clashes with CBS over the direction the show was headed.

He explained:

“As the years went on big money started pouring into the show which meant more cooks in the kitchen making decisions. This is where Hollywood can take a great idea and turn it into a money driven business.”

McMillan concluded:

“When the fun gets taken out of a tv show then it’s no longer fun to show up. This was a serious show that saved the lives of hundreds of dogs. Mission accomplished. But this is not the end … it’s just the beginning.”

For McMillan fans like me, he left us with a glimmer of hope that he would continue saving dogs and maybe start a new animal series.

Last Saturday, I happened onto CBS at 10 a.m. and to my surprise I heard the Lucky Dog theme and saw the Lucky Dog Ranch logo. My euphoria however was quickly squashed when the images of a husband and wife team, Eric Wiese and Rashi Khanna Wiese, replaced McMillan as the hosts. 

The scenario remained the same with a few minor changes. At the start of this episode, instead of McMillan training a rescue dog, Wiese was training his own dog. Isn’t the rescue message missing in that? Tasks were split with Wiese training while his wife matched dog to owner. Another difference was instead of McMillan’s trademark red training collar followed by the green graduation collar; Wiese started with a silver tag traded for a gold tag. 

Every other aspect of the old show remained intact making this a weird déjà vu experience. There was the anxious call from the shelter alerting imminent euthanasia for an unwanted dog. They even had a Lucky Dog Ranch, but there were no dogs in training. Wiese incorporated McMillan’s same seven training commands plus the lifestyle lesson. Then the ultimate “good-bye” with dog handed to family. The final mantra was even the same. One can only hope McMillan is collecting royalties for the use of all his ideas.

But will the Lucky Dog fans accept these two new hosts? They seem pleasant, but McMillan’s passion for saving animals is missing. Everything is calculated with no original stamp from this couple and how long have they have been in the dog training business? Their Lucky Dog Ranch was empty. CBS took pains to copy the award winning formula, but in my opinion, this version will fail without McMillan at the helm to swoop in wearing his heart on his sleeve saving dogs and loyal viewers alike.

Miller Place resident Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist, playwright and author of “Madison Weatherbee —The Different Dachshund.”

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Photo from Barbara Anne Kirshner

By Barbara Anne Kirshner

LIPSTICK — the outward expression of our inward feelings. If we are happy, we choose cheery colors, if we are down we might gravitate toward the more subdued. Lip color also strategically complements our outfits. For the power suit, we go for bold tones; for comfy weekends, we seek naturals. We celebrate the seasons with rich russet and brown shades for autumn, reds for merry winter holidays, pastels for blossoming springtime and bright playful oranges for carefree summer. 

Lipstick has been our crowning accessory for centuries starting with Sumerian men and women who created it from natural substances like fruits, henna, clay rust and insects. Mesopotamian women ground precious jewels to add color and shimmer to lips. Egyptians like Cleopatra created striking shades of purple and black from carmine dye derived from grounded cochineal insects. 

Through the centuries, lip color has been a barometer for our culture and personal expression. 

In the 19th century, only actors and actresses wore it for stage, though not in public. Sarah Bernhardt, the famous actress, was one of the first to wear lip color in public. 

By 1920, lip products gained a place in everyday lives of women. James Bruce Mason Jr. created the first swivel tube in 1923 which is still used today. When women gained the right to vote, lipstick was their symbol  of feminism.

Lip color gained popularity in the 1930’s heading into the 1940’s when, during World War II, red lips were considered a boost to the morale. Besame’s American Beauty was one of the most popular shades of red.

The 1950’s saw women copying their favorite Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn who were glamorously adorned in bold reds. 60% of all teenage girls at the time wore lipstick. Even Queen Elizabeth II got into the craze by creating her own shade to match her coronation robe which was customized by Clarin’s and named after her Scottish country home, The Balmoral.

The 60’s and 70’s saw a variety of lip shades inspired from pop culture. Corals were prominent with Maybelline’s Orange Danger topping the market. Flavored lip products such as Bonnie Bell’s ‘Lip Smackers’ gained popularity especially with the teen market.

Shimmers and glosses were the ‘in’ thing for the 80’s. Bold reds were back as an expression of power dressing. Hot pinks became the rage for the dance crowds and Goth lips for the alternative sub-culture.

In the 90’s environmental consciousness demanded chemical free, more natural formulas for lip products. The big craze of the 90’s was outlining with dark lip pencils and filling in with lighter lipstick. Mac and Urban Decay were born.

Shine and lip glosses were back in the 2000’s. Now, there are endless varieties of lip colors and formulas to match any whim. We can go from that natural look with nudes to outrageous choices like green, yellow and blue.

Lip products evolved into a global multi-billion dollar industry which had been expected to reach 13.11 billion dollars in 2020. This healthy market was on its way to breaking records when COVID hit and we found ourselves shielded behind masks that covered those colorful lips. At first, we continued to paint, but quickly realized not only didn’t anyone see our efforts, but we stained our masks in the process. We were reduced to a simple swipe of clear gloss to moisturize, but no need for anything else.

The lip product market as well as the entire beauty industry drastically fell in 2020 as a result of the pandemic making last year historically one of the worst. McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, predicts makeup sales will continue being soft for the foreseeable future since for a time at least, when consumers return to the workplace, masks will be a required part of the uniform which will further slow lipstick’s recovery.

Anxious for COVID to evaporate as suddenly as it moved in ravaging life as we knew it, we thirst for normalcy. We want to rip off those masks that sequester us from the world so we may once more display our signature look enhanced by every color of the rainbow and then some. We long to return to our creativity applying shines, glosses, sheers, shimmers, creams, frosts, satins, metallics, mattes and pencils. We long for that vibrant or dramatic look that only our old friend lipstick can provide.

BUT until that fateful day we are resigned to — NO LIPSTICK REQUIRED!!

References:

— Gerstell, Emily, Marchessou, Sophie, Schmidt, Jennifer, Spagnuolo, Emma. “How Covid-19 is changing the world of beauty.” McKinsey & Company. May 2020.

— Sengupta, Avipsha. “A Complete History of Lipstick.” Stylecraze.com. October 9, 2020.

— “100 Years of Lipstick: Looking Through Trends Over the Decades.” Beauty Connoisseur.com. October 3, 2019.

Miller Place resident Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist, playwright and author of “Madison Weatherbee —The Different Dachshund.”

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Jo Ann Havrilla in a scene from 'Stephen Wins the Olympics' with Stephen Colbert

By Barbara Anne Kirshner

Dreams do come true. How terribly worthless and dull life would be if we didn’t aspire for something even though we might be surrounded by those voices of “reason” warning us to be practical. But sometimes that dream plays out in ways we never would have imagined.

Jo Ann Havrilla

Take acting for instance. What does it mean to be an “actress”? Is it someone walking the red carpet, cameras flashing, posing in a sequined Versace gown and dripping in Harry Winston diamonds? Is it making major motion pictures or bowing on a lavish Broadway stage to enthusiastic applause or being featured on a long-running television series?

There’s Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Viola Davis living the dream; all household names commanding oodles of money acquired from the wheelings and dealings of big-time agents securing Academy Award-worthy roles for them. But not all actresses luck out with this iconic recognition. In fact, most don’t “make it.”

“There’s a broken heart for every light on Broadway” is an adage that holds much credence. Many come to the Great White Way in search of a life in the theater, but few receive the recognition that Lin-Manuel Miranda with his Hamilton has enjoyed. 

There are some actors who aren’t house-hold names, yet they manage to earn a living wage doing what they love.

Meet 70-year-old working actress, Jo Ann Havrilla, who grew up in Jericho. She pursued the dream refusing to give up. That persistence paid off with some major motion pictures, television, stage and commercials. What makes Havrilla stand out as a formidable presence is her greater than life upbeat nature, energetic persona and timing equal to that of Carol Burnett.

Hers is a life of perseverance. At 23 years of age, she moved from her family’s Jericho home to a studio apartment in Manhattan where she resides to this day with her husband, Brad Firminger.

She earned her equity card while in her early twenties and doors opened for professional stage work.

Jo Ann Havrilla in a scene from ‘Hairspray’

Havrilla’s ability to play characters of all ages, especially those much older than her years, landed her the role at age 38 of Prudence Pingleton, the overprotective mother of Tracy Turnblad’s friend, Penny, in John Waters’ 1988 cult classic film Hairspray. 

In 1989, Havrilla appeared as  Boolie Werthan’s loyal secretary, Miss McClatchey, in another classic film, Driving Miss Daisy, this time with the legends, Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. That same year she was in the Tom Selleck, James Farentino film, Her Alibi.

A role on the 1989-1990 television series True Blue followed the films. Other television credits include All My Children, One Life to Live and the Michael J. Fox series, Spin City. 

In 2004 Havrilla was featured in the comedic role of diner waitress Maxine  in the short film Sara Goes to Lunch which received recognition at the 2005 Fargo Film Festival.  

In 2010, Havrilla landed a role on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report opposite Stephen Colbert performing in a satirical skit titled “Stephen Wins the Olympics.” Havrilla played Colbert’s coach, Svetlana Oranskaya, strong as nails with a thick Russian accent. Her hysterical performance made the scene so successful that she was invited back during the 2014 Olympics to recreate Oranskaya. Hopefully, Colbert will resurrect Oranskaya during this coming summer’s Olympics. 

In 2018 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated the 30th anniversary of the making of Hairspray by reuniting Havrilla and the cast with their director, John Waters, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles. 

Much commercial work and personal speaking appearances keep her busy to date. Havrilla centers her talks on her lengthy career and what it was like working with some of the most prominent personalities in show business. She enjoys retelling how John Waters worked with a mere budget of 2 million dollars, making it imperative for the actors to nail the scenes on the first take. 

Havrilla knows she has been lucky though her name may not trip off your tongue. But look through magazines or newspapers and you just might see her inviting grin or watch the original 1988 Hairspray, Driving Miss Daisy or Her Alibi and see her doing what she loves best — being a working actress.

Her advice is don’t ever give up. Your dream may not materialize quite as you envision, but persistence pays off. Doors will open and opportunities will unfold. Believe in yourself and you can make dreams happen.

Postscript: Havrilla’s inspirational message of ‘never giving up’ happened in a dramatic way on January 26, 2021, when 48-year-old country singer/songwriter, Thad Cockrell debuted on The Tonight Show, getting a chance of a lifetime to perform his original song “Swingin” remotely with the Tonight Show band, The Roots. 

This story is as fantastic as it gets. Jimmy Fallon heard Cockrell’s anthem song while he was in  the local hardware store. The lyrics, with the motivating chorus “If I’m gonna go down, I wanna go down swinging,” so impressed Fallon that he invited Cockrell, who had been a struggling artist for decades, to perform his song on The Tonight Show. Cockrell’s album, If In Case You Feel the Same, released in 2020, hit number three on iTunes, shooting him to instant success.

Miller Place resident Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist, playwright and author of “Madison Weatherbee —The Different Dachshund.”

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A car buried in its driveway during the snowstorm earlier this month. Photo by Bill Landon

 

Anthony Portesy

Another storm in Brookhaven, another botched snow removal. How many times must residents be forced to deal with such incompetence when it comes to snow removal? Potholes and snowdrifts don’t care what political party you belong to. In the Town of Brookhaven, the superintendent of highways is elected in an at-large election, rather than appointed, as is the case in many towns in which a department of public works exists. In both of my bids for Brookhaven Town highway superintendent in 2017 and 2019, I openly criticized why pay-to-play practices are eroding our roads and quality of life and the status of the Highway Superintendent as an elected position is a large part of the systemic plague eroding the department’s accountability.

The fact of the matter is this position should be filled by appointment, rather than election. Many decisions on infrastructure need to be based on 10- and 20-year capital plans, and the sobering reality is that elections force a short-term vision that channels reelection interests over long-term planning. It is why we have cheap “mill and fill” paving jobs, rather than full-depth reclamation projects to address underlying structural integrity in roads. If John Q. Public sees roads getting repaved, many do not know that pricing decisions like asphalt composition and curb milling have a long-term impact as to whether the roads will crumble after three years or last for 10 years.

The reality is that towns on Long Island that have elected highway superintendents have structural deficiencies in projects that develop due to the pressure of electoral races. Towns like mine, Brookhaven, should put up for referendum whether to convert their highway departments to DPW formats. None of Nassau’s towns elect highway superintendents, but with the exception of Babylon and Islip, all of Suffolk’s towns do.

In many jobs, what we want is competence. Voting for a town clerk, a county treasurer or a highway superintendent based on politics and party affiliation makes no more sense than choosing an airplane pilot based on those criteria. The current system creates nests of patronage and homes for unqualified political hacks that harm both our governmental structures and the residents who need their services. For instance, what gives my highway superintendent the capacity to lead a highway department when his résumé includes a short stint at New York State Assembly, a Suffolk legislator and, before that, a claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance.

The position of highway superintendent is a job that requires expertise in equipment purchasing, operation and maintenance, emergency management and personnel. The elected town supervisor should pick a person with an engineering background to oversee the department and suffer the lash of voters if he or she picks an incompetent one. In Brookhaven, we get the finger-pointing roulette, where town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) points the finger at Dan Losquadro (R), who in turn points the finger at the supervisor.

We need to look at all jobs, at every level of local government, to determine if political philosophy plays any part in how they should be done. Where it doesn’t, voters should pass referendums making them appointive positions — and punish the elected leaders doing the appointing if their choices fail.

Part of my goal in running for this office twice in Brookhaven was to draw attention to the issues that plague my local highway department, problems that have led our roads to look like they belong in Beirut, instead of Brookhaven. Unfortunately, a well-funded incumbent with a campaign war chest in excess of at least $400,000 makes a political upset nearly impossible with the incumbent able to blanket the airwaves with radio ads and your mailboxes with glossy mailers by the dozens. As a result, the status quo becomes calcified. I had never intended to run the department like my predecessors had I won the election. Rather, I had intended to immediately move the town board to propose to eliminate the position in a referendum to the voters. The position of highway superintendent in my town is one plagued by political patronage, and as I said in both of my campaigns, “Politics has no place in pothole repair.”

Anthony Portesy, of Port Jefferson Station, is a private attorney who ran for Brookhaven superintendent of highways in 2017 and 2019.

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Jack Wilson at the piano

By Thomas J. Manuel, D.M.A.

There’s that old saying that, “A picture speaks a thousand words.”

As I walk through the Jazz Loft lately I’m more mindful of the photos that are throughout our 6,000 square foot museum that is sadly idle and quiet these many months. I have some favorites, although they all speak to me in different ways. For me the photos speak stories of my friends and they remind me of our time together, albeit brief. They are also powerful reminders of this great lineage in Jazz that we who participate as musicians are all a part of.

When I pass the photos we have of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington I look at the youthful faces of my friends, who looked quite different when I knew them, and I repeatedly think to myself, “Wow, how amazing it must have been for them to share the stage and create music together with those giants!”

Louis Jordan as a baby

Born roughly two years apart, Ellington in 1899 and Armstrong in 1901 respectively, both had already lived through the first World War and they would go on to witness the Spanish Flu epidemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and the turbulent 1960s and the Vietnam conflict.

One can read Louis Armstrong’s descriptions of his experience of the 1918 influenza pandemic firsthand as he remembers it in his 1954 memoir Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. There he says: “Just when the government was about to let crowds of people congregate again so that we could play our horns once more the lid was clamped down tighter than ever. That forced me to take any odd jobs I could get. With everybody suffering from the flu, I had to work and play the doctor to everyone in my family as well as all my friends in the neighborhood. If I do say so, I did a good job curing them.”

Today Jazz musicians and artists in general are experiencing a complete and utter shutdown that literally hasn’t been seen since over a hundred years ago as Armstrong described. The question of course we’re all asking ourselves regardless of what walk of life we come from is, “How do I deal with this? What do I DO?”

One of the greatest American composers, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington might be of inspiration and assistance to us as it was Duke Ellington who once said that, “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” Put that little caveat together with some sage words of wisdom from old satchel mouth himself and you’ve got quite the collaboration of ideas— in the spirit of Jazz of course. Louis Armstrong’s own theory on how to solve those problems was that, “If lots more of us loved each other, we’d solve lots more problems.”

The music of these larger than life giants in Jazz continues to inspire us decades after their departure from the stage of life, but if one digs deeper (and ya gotta dig to dig, ya dig!?) you’ll find a type of inspiration that speaks to that deeper place in each of us. It speaks not just to the heart, but to the soul. It speaks not just about happiness, but of joy.

These are truly different things and Duke and Pops were not only in tune with them, they were absolutely vibrating with these truths. In fact, their generation was indeed one that was skilled in navigating problems. When I walk through the Jazz Loft and purvey these photos of youthful legends I can’t help but think about how skillfully, how successfully they fought their battles and wrestled their giants.

Teddy Charles dancing with his sister

Vibraphonist Teddy Charles (actually Theodore Cohen, Teddy Charles was his stage name) had a father who discouraged music and was forced to change his name to gain entrance into the music business because his given name was too Jewish. Luckily his mother who had been a somewhat accomplished pianist and singer who dabbled briefly in early entertainment playing for silent movies and vaudeville encouraged her son’s musical journey. Charles would continue to compose, perform, arrange, record and produce, one of the first quintuple threats in the music industry alongside his pals Mingus, Trane, Monk, Bird, and a slew of others.

Pianist Jack Wilson was so poor that his parents literally couldn’t feed him so he was sent from Chicago at the end of the Great Depression to live with an aunt up north who had enough means to do so. Luckily for Jack there was a piano in the house which became his emotional outlet. He’d later join the army and would be appointed the director of the Third Army Area Band; the first black person to ever hold the position. Wilson would pursue college studies at the University of Indiana and go on to collaborate with Dinah Washington, Sammy Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughan and his trio would become the hard bop jewel in the crown of Blue Note Records.

LLoyd Trotman, in black shirt, with Duke Ellington, third from left

If you pay the Jazz Loft a visit when we’re open again you can gaze upon the photos of others like Louis Jordan, Lester Lanin, Keely Smith, Arthur Prysock and Lloyd Trotman. Without even trying these individuals modeled their values and taught us what really was important. Forged by the struggles of their time they’d go on to become the grandfather of rock n’ roll, pioneering Grammy artists, civil rights workers, and to produce the soundtrack to the American experience during the 20th century. If you don’t recognize the names you’re sure to recognize the tunes: “Stand By Me”, “Let The Good Times Roll”, “From Here to Eternity” “That Old Black Magic” and if you’re old enough, remember “Let it Be Lowenbrau”?

There has never been another person like those mentioned prior. They were men and women of deep faith, undying love, tenacious conviction, profound insight and constant hope. They taught us that it can be easy to quit during difficult times without a strong and proper foundation, and in doing so showed us that hard work and living ones truth can build that foundation to withstand the hard times.

Their’s was a deeper message not to let anyone think less of you because you are young— to be an example to all in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, and so much more. Their example was one of seeing our problems as wondrous opportunities to do better, and most of all, to show love. They were, in a word, JAZZ. And if Jazz were a person, we’d all be a better person our selves for having them in our lives.

Tom Manuel

Author Tom Manuel is a Jazz historian, music educator, trumpet player and Founder and President of The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook. For more information, visit www.thejazzloft.org.

This article first appeared in Prime Times, a supplement of TBR News Media, on Jan. 28, 2021.

 

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A scene from a previous TVHS Candlelight House Tour

Like many small not-for-profits, the Three Village Historical Society has struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas in the past — from our beginnings — we were fortunate to be able to rely primarily on memberships, private donations and revenue from major events like our Candlelight House Tour — our biggest annual fundraiser. That model is not sustainable during the current pandemic.

The board of trustees has worked hard over the past 10 months in an attempt to reorganize and economize. During this time, we have developed more efficient processes, secured small grants, held fundraising events, lobbied both the town and county for support, met with local sister organizations regarding collaborations and consulted with others about possible strategies. Despite these efforts, like many other local businesses, we have a challenging 12 to 18 months ahead of us.

As of Jan. 22, day-to-day operations have been temporarily restricted. Programs will be suspended, and staff has been trimmed down. We will maintain our phone, email and social media communications and will continue to provide monthly Zoom lectures. Our primary purpose at this point is to ensure the care, protection and integrity of our collections and continue our online programming.

Please check our website (tvhs.org) and social media for announcements. We will continue to share updates throughout this period. While there is limited response by phone, we remain available to answer questions by email and work with you. We can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 631-751-3730.

We are in this together and understand many local businesses and nonprofits are suffering. We thank you for your support and understanding. Buy local. Support local.

Stephen Healy, President

Three Village Historical Society

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