Estelle O'Connell

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“Remember when old December’s darkness is everywhere about you, that the world is really in every minutest point as full of life as in the most joyous morning you ever lived; that the sun is shining down, the waves dancing, and the gulls skimming down on the beach as freshly […]

Christmas 2020

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According to Wikipedia a coat of arms is a symbol used to identify families or individuals. It is a detailed design that often includes a shield, crest, helmet, motto, and more. The image could be used as a whole, or the crest can be used as a simplified symbol.  There […]

Family Crest

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Ireland is home to a Polish community totaling approximately 150,000 people, 2.57% of the population according to the latest census, and the Polish language is the most spoken foreign language in Ireland One of the first known contacts between Ireland and Poland took place in the late 1600s when Irishman […]

International Relations

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States […]

Choice or Chance?

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I was born in Bayonne, NJ, and when I was growing up, my family vacationed at the Jersey Shore.  My father would stand with me at the water’s edge, the in-coming tide tickling our toes, and tell me that there was another city named Bayonne across the ocean in France.  […]

The Tale of Two Cities

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Over the past several weeks, I suffered from a set-back in spirit.  After a surgical procedure on June 17th, the healing process was going well, but I just felt, for lack of a better term, Blah!  No energy, no appetite, no interest in anything.  I stopped putting on makeup and […]

I’m Not Dead Yet!

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How often have we heard or said it?  Probably more times than we can count.  We say it to show surprise when we meet someone at an unexpected place or find out that we share a friend, an acquaintance, an experience, etc., with another person. It’s meant to indicate similarity […]

It’s a Small World

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It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief; it was the epoch of incredulity.  It was the spring of hope; it was the winter of despair.  The opening […]

Dichotomy

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Does anyone remember when doctors made house calls?  Years ago, when we lived in Bayonne and my very young children were sick, I called Dr. Orleanski, our family physician, spoke directly with him on the phone and described their symptoms.  After office hours, he drove to our apartment, which was […]

My Virtual Life Continues

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Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865 and claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history, requiring the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.  By the late 1860’s Americans in various towns and cities […]

Honoring Our Heroes

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For the past few months we  have been dealing with the crisis of the coronavirus, Covid 19, and the many dangers it has presented for so many throughout the globe. It began in Wuhan Province, China, either in a market or a lab—it really doesn’t matter—and wreaked havoc around the […]

Danger + Opportunity

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A Cost/Benefit Analysis of the current situation.  Virtual is defined as “not physically existing but made by software to appear so.” Through the miracle of modern technology I have been able to do many of the things I did before Covid 19 while still observing the guidelines. On Sunday I […]

My Virtual Life

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The other day when my son was winding the grandfather clock in the living room, the pendulum fell off and he was unable to reattach it because the hook had broken.  I’ll have to call the Clock Doc to fix it.  My Mother had built that clock from scratch (not […]

What Day Is It? 2

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Since the March 31st mandate we’ve done our part in social distancing, staying home and missing meetings, classes, fun gatherings and contact with family, friends and co-workers.  Just getting accustomed to the upheaval in our schedules was challenge enough, we’re also faced with how to fill the hours.. Here’s what […]

What Day Is It?

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In the tradition of the Christian Faith, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the solemn time when we commemorate the journey of Jesus Christ through  His passion, death and resurrection.  In past years, we gathered together to pray and to ponder the events of the week, but this year is […]

Holy Week 2020

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April Fools’ Day has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures. Traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, then yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue the subject in on the prank. Historians have linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which […]

Don’t Be an April Fool!

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Robert Frost, (1874-1963) was an American poet who depicted life through the language and situations of the common man.  One of his most famous poems was “The Road Not Taken.”  Every day we are faced with decisions, choices of varying significance.  Some, such as what shall I wear today, or […]

The Road Not Taken

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 2020 is a Leap Year.  It takes Earth about 365 days and 6 hours to orbit the sun. Those extra six hours create a problem for our Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII and introduced in 1582) which is only 365 days long.  In order to keep step with […]

Carpe Diem

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Susan Brownell Anthony was a suffragist, abolitionist, author and speaker who was the leading figure in the women’s voting rights movement.  She was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, MA, the second of eight children to a cotton mill owner and his wife, but only five of her siblings […]

Susan B. Inspires Me

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In just a couple of days we will celebrate Valentine’s Day, ostensibly the most romantic holiday of the year:  ubiquitous chubby cherubs and big red hearts, candlelight dinners, gifts of roses and chocolate, perhaps lacy lingerie or dazzling diamonds, all accompanied with flowery phrases of undying love.  But what if […]

Love and Loss

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Robert Keith McFerrin (born 3/11/1950) is an American jazz vocalist known for his unique vocal techniques.  His song, Don’t Worry Be Happy was a #1 pop hit in 1988 and won Song of the Year and Record of the Year honors at the Grammies in 1989.  The message is simple […]

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

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Her name is Sage Walker and the book she authored, The Awakening, is a collection of 125 poems, each with a positive, inspirational message. The page I turned to was the following: You Are A Star (ironically the meaning of my name) You are a star Which came from the […]

Positivity

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