Dear John,
I have a computer problem so I am on WEB mail tonight.
I believe that Ed Drohan is a member of the Class of 1961, and Colleen Carey is a member of the Class of 2004. (That article was published May 22, 2004)
Mike
[JR: Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated. Got a get new glasses. Google thinks strangely about what's "new"!]
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Posted in JEmail
http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=41559
Earth Day Talk Focuses On Population, Consumption
National Geographic CEO John Fahey Addresses Environmental Concerns
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Earth Day began 39 years ago as a teach-in to bring awareness to Earth’s environment. Today, more than 180 nations observe the day, and Georgetown marked the occasion by welcoming National Geographic’s president and chief executive officer, John Fahey, to talk about the importance of sustaining natural resources.
Nearly 100 members of the Georgetown community gathered in Copley Formal Lounge for the April 22 event — sponsored by the Lecture Fund, the Office of the Senior Vice President, Center for the Environment, EcoAction and The Corp.
Fahey and Georgetown President John J. DeGioia both recalled their introductions to Earth Day. Fahey was a student at Manhattan College while DeGioia was in junior high school.
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Fahey, John M. Jr. [MC1973]
[JR: Ahh, the new religion of Earth Day. Gaia! Sorry, but you can read the whole article. As an injineer, we have to be efficient and not pollute. But, I could hear the pitter patter of little feet. Limit the population to prevent damage to Mother Earth. The Malthusian catastrophe; a fallacy. Sorry, maybe I'm just crotchety this morning.]
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Paramedics turned away in Richardson accident: official
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A potentially life-saving ambulance was dispatched to the ski hill where actress Natasha Richardson suffered a critical fall on Monday, but the emergency workers were turned away and told they weren’t needed, a paramedic says.
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The folly of man. We think we know more than we do.
In this case, we’ll never know. But one can easily see in our collective mind’s eye: a relatively quick ride to the hospital, an MRI, possibly a burr hole in the skull, maybe surgery, some drugs, and few days later she walks out to the rest of her life.
Maybe, maybe not.
After Sonny Bono’s skiing accident, you’d have thought helmets would be a “fashion item”. I’m sure celebrities don’t want to be pictured with “helmet head”.
I hope all my fellow Jaspers wear helmets all the time.
It’ll help when the read my babblings and want to beat their heads against the wall.
Or if they go skiiing, bicycle riding, or drive anywhere today. Lot of nuts out there; not all wearing tin foil hats like me!
Hope this unnecessary death leads to common sense wisdom on the ski slopes.
Hope this doesn’t lead to more dumb laws. People have to be free to make mistakes. Even fatal ones.
Right to Life? Only if you value it. And, protect it. Starting with your own.
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http://www.jasperjottings.com/2009/jasperjottings2009W17.html
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Posted in Administrivia
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2009/03/dayintech_0309
March 9, 1945: Burning the Heart Out of the Enemy from Wired Top Stories by Tony Long
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1945: In the single deadliest air raid of World War II, 330 American B-29s rain incendiary bombs on Tokyo, touching off a firestorm that kills upwards of 100,000 people, burns a quarter of the city to the ground, and leaves a million homeless.
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Tokyo immediately burst into flames. The combination of incendiaries, the way they were dropped, windy weather conditions and lack of coordinated firefighting on the ground resulted in a firestorm similar to what occurred two years previously in Hamburg, and only a month before in Dresden. Temperatures on the ground in Tokyo reached 1,800 degrees in some places.
The human carnage was appalling; bomber crews coming in near the tail end of the raid reported smelling the stench of charred human flesh as they passed over the burning capital.
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The firebombing campaign, coupled with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are believed to have killed more than 1 million Japanese civilians between March and August of 1945.
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[JR: My Dad, an XO on a LCI, got to Japan and saw some of the destruction. He didn't talk much about it, except if he had a large supply of adult refreshment. I can remember one "discussion" with an uncle who was a WW1 vet. Before I got shoved out, I remember him saying: "there's no excuse for murder. it wasn't war." Anytime, I read these descriptions I think of that personal testimony. And, as I wrote in my book: "How can one human being do this to another?" Sadly.]
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About New York; In the Bronx, A Graduation With Honor
By DAN BARRY
Published: Saturday, May 22, 2004
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KATHLEEN MERCADANTE took her place in the second pew of the main chapel at Manhattan College, joining the cap-and-gown sea of men and women about to receive a diploma. Cameras whirred and clicked in the back of the room, while outside, rain clouds parted for the sun to bless a graduation day in the Bronx.
On one side of the center aisle sat dozens of young adults waiting to receive master’s degrees in education and engineering. And on the other side, people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, a few with gray hair beneath their caps, and old enough to be the parents of those in gowns to their right.
These older graduates had finished Manhattan’s Adult Degree Completion Program, which is intended for people who once began but never finished their college careers, because of children or hardship or just life. According to its director, Jeff Katz, the program helps people to ”complete what has been unfinished.”
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”Colleen Carey.”
Ms. Mercadante remained still, her face set in an expression that said I will not cry, as Mr. Katz explained that Colleen Carey had died — and that Kathleen Mercadante would be accepting the diploma for her older sister, Colleen, college graduate.
Colleen Carey died last June, suddenly, of diabetes; she was 42. She loved to cycle and to golf and to tell jokes. She loved taking her nieces and nephew to concerts and plays. She loved helping her neighbors, so it was only natural that when one of them became ill, she treated him to takeout and cared for his cats. Oh, and she loved cats.
Colleen especially loved education, no matter how life often sidetracked her pursuit of a college degree. Little by little, though, she collected credits at local colleges, and when she learned that Manhattan’s adult program was being made available to employees at the Entergy Corporation, where she worked as a manager, she seized the opportunity.
”She always wanted to better herself,” her sister said. ”She wanted more. And I guess she knew that without her bachelor’s degree, it wasn’t going to happen.”
COLLEEN constantly emphasized the importance of an education to her family, and supported her younger sister’s decision to pursue an associate’s degree. But Ms. Mercadante had to drop out.
”There were just a few too many things going on,” she said. ”I finally had to say, which ball am I running with today? School will have to wait. But I’ll pick it up again when the time is right.”
When finally Ms. Mercadante stepped forward to accept her sister’s degree, she felt gratitude to Manhattan College, for making the moment possible. She felt admiration for all the people around her who had worked so hard. She felt pride in her sister’s accomplishment, and a little angry. More than anything, she wanted to be in the gallery, snapping photographs of Colleen in cap and gown.
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[JR: A well written poignant story. Too many times we over look these opportunities to motivate ourselves with the life stories of our fellow Jaspers. Too soon we get old; too soon we get smart about what really matters. THis story struck me because usually I do obits for Jaspers who graduate and then some number of years later, they die. This fellow alum is unique in getting the order reversed. Hopefully, we can learn to tackle the important stuff early in life.]
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Dear John,
I believe that Ed Drohan is
http://www.legacy.com/NYTimes/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=126568034
Anthony J. Scala Sr.
SCALA–Anthony J. Sr., of Vero Beach, Florida, and long time resident of Harrison, NY, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 85. Mr. Scala was born in New York City on August 24th 1923. He graduated from Manhattan College and was a lieutenant in the US Navy serving in the Pacific during World War II. Mr. Scala retired from Lowy & Donnath, an electrical construction firm in New York City, in 2002 and served as president for over 40 years. He was a registered Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, and Idaho. He is survived by his four sons: Anthony Jr. (Mary Ellen) of Port Chester, James (Deborah) of Harrison, Peter (Joyce) of Massachusetts and Christopher (Kerry) of Harrison, his 13 grandchildren and his wife Jadwiga. He was predeceased by his wife Helen and son William. Visiting hours will be at Graham Funeral Home, 1036 Boston Post Rd., Rye, NY, on Sunday from 2-4, 7-9, with the funeral mass on Monday at 11am at St. Gregory the Great Church in Harrison.
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Scala, Anthony J. Sr. [MC????]
Guestbook: http://tinyurl.com/d2hhr7
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Dear John,
I believe that Anthony Senior is a member of the Class of 1944.
May He Rest In Peace.
His son, Anthony Junior, is a member of the Class of 1974 and, I believe a member of the Board of Trustees.
Mike
[JR: Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated. ]
Scala, Anthony J. Sr. [MC1944]
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http://riverdalepress.com/full.php?sid=8364¤t_edition=2009-04-23
Manhattan College gives incentive to stay on campus
By Kate Pastor
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Samantha Kotch, a sophomore at Manhattan College, lives in a dorm on campus this year, but had hoped to move into her own apartment for her junior year.
That’s no longer possible for her.
The college has sent out letters saying that, starting next fall, it will give 20 percent less financial assistance to every student who moves off campus.
Commuter students have always received smaller packages than their on-campus counterparts, and the student handbook has always contained a provision for decreasing aid if a student moves out of the dorms, says the school. But until now, the college gave students who slipped off campus a break.
Those days have come to an end, and Ms. Kotch is on the losing end of a battle to live, as she sees it, like a grownup.
“My mom wasn’t so keen on getting an apartment anyway, but now it’s completely out of the option,” she said.
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According to Thomas Ryan, Manhattan College’s vice president for finance, before the new dorm was built, the college rented out space in the nearby apartment buildings because only 1400 students could be housed on campus. Those contracts were terminated last June when the new building opened, he said. And there are still more than 400 vacancies in campus dorms.
So the college will no longer financially enable those who choose to move.
“The college gets hit a double whammy and the student makes out very well.” said Mr. Ryan.
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[JR: A well written view of how MC is really running a hotel inside a school. Must be a real balancing act.]
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Email from Carolyn Predmore
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Hi John,
Hope you enjoy this weekend. I am joining Dr. Dick FitzPatrick and his team at the Unity Walk for Parkinson’s on Saturday in Central Park. It should be gorgeous and I really like seeing Dick’s family every year.
This is a walk that I have done with Dick FitzPatrick (Management) for several years. We start at the Band Shell at 1 pm and do a 2 mile circuit at a reasonable walking pace. If anyone would like to join us, please do, all are welcome.
Carolyn
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[JR: I'm sure any Jasper that shows up would be welcome. Any one, who wants to contribute, can.]
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http://thericatholic.com/stories/2095.html
Church honors jubilarians for joy-filled ministries
Posted Apr 23, 2009
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PROVIDENCE — Eighteen women and men religious in the Diocese of Providence are celebrating anniversaries of their ministries this year.
They will be honored on Sunday, April 26, at the 10 a.m. Mass in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence.
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin will preside, and Father W.P. Marquis, O.P. from Providence College will deliver the homily. A reception for the jubilarians and their guests will follow in the Cathedral hall.
The annual jubilee celebration is sponsored by the diocesan Office for Religious and the Council of Religious.
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50 years
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Sister Ann McKenna, RSM, a native of Providence who grew up in Warwick, entered the Sisters of Mercy on September 8, 1959, at Mount St. Rita Novitiate in Cumberland, and pronounced her first vows on August 16, 1962. She completed her undergraduate degree in English at Salve Regina University and her masters degree in theology at Manhattan College in New York. Sister McKenna taught in schools in Rhode Island, Belize, Honduras and Belgium. In addition to teaching, she ministered in religious education programs in Alaska and served as a member of the team ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Pawtucket for eight years. Sister McKenna has been involved in many aspects of the work of the Sisters of Mercy including membership on the Central American Coalition, the Mercy Elementary Education Network, the Woman’s Ritual group and the Mercy Sponsorship Office which oversees sponsored ministries of the Sisters of Mercy. Sister McKenna was the founding principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Academy, Central Falls. Her present full-time ministry is teaching Spanish at Our Lady of Mercy School in East Greenwich.
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McKenna, Sr. Ann [MC????]
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