Sunday, May 12, 2013
Mother's Day is here and offers an opportunity to show the women in your life how much you love them. Happy Mother's Day, Coventry Moms!
"I'd like to be the ideal mother, but I'm too busy raising my kids." -unknown No one knows who said that, but it rings more true than not. Around the world, there's one thing that unites women more than any other: raising children. Whether away at work, staying at home or straddling the gray area in between, we all experience similar struggles, joys and ... the gray area in between. So it is with eagerness and anticipation that moms look forward to one day a year where cooking is optional and gifts abound. There was a point when Mother's Day was less about brunches and hanging baskets, as it has drastically morphed from the intention of its founder. The founder of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis, trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Perhaps sharing my experiences with anxiety will help you cope!
I see myself as a fairly stable guy. I may be looking through jaded eyes, so my point of view might be skewed; but all in all I think I’m doing alright. Of course, that may be a problem in itself – thinking we’re ‘doing alright’. I suppose most of us think that way. But anyway, I’m sticking to my guns on this one. I’ll probably be investigated now because I said ‘guns’ on the internet. As I mentioned in a column I penned some time ago, I’m going to write a book based upon Dr. Thomas Harris’ best-seller, I’m Okay, You’re Okay. My version will be entitled, I’m Okay, You’re A Whack-Job. So you see my point, right? Most of us think we’re just fine, but there are those who think we’re ‘a few ants short of a picnic’. Perspective my friend – …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Boston's police, firefighters, EMTs and medical workers were outstanding in the face of such a massive disaster. Is it time they get the hero's reception they deserve?
Boston's run the gamut of emotions this week, from terror to sadness to perseverance and, finally, joy. Throughout the entire topsy turvy week, however, everyone said the same thing: Boston's first responders did an outstanding job. From the injured at the finish line to the academics and public policy experts, an entire nation has lauded Boston's police officers, firefighters, EMTs and medical professionals for their response to the bombing. With the bombers now both accounted for, someone on Facebook got themselves a good idea: We've had Duck Boat parades for the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots in the past 12 years. How about we crank up the Ducks and take to the streets to say thanks to the city's first responders? The Facebook …
Friday, April 19, 2013
State Representative Patricia Morgan discusses how union actions may possibly lead to increased tax bills for RI residents.
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, April 19
The following is a letter by Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-Coventry, Warwick, West Warwick) posted Friday on the Central Coventry Citizens Taskforce for Fire Protection website: "Fire taxes are going to become a larger and larger part of many Rhode Islanders’ tax bills if union leaders have their way. And it’s a story that starts in Coventry. What started out seven months ago as a struggle by Coventry residents to prevent a 60 percent jump in their fire-district tax rate has morphed into a fight by the union to gain unfettered and permanent access to their pockets. With 43 fire districts in the state, this has implications for many Rhode Island households. Rhode Island fire districts are independent of the towns where they are situated and …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Rep. Scott Guthrie's most recent letter regarding the ongoing Central Coventry Fire District case, which was read in court on April 10.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, April 11
Your Honor, I attended the Town Council emergency session last evening. Exhibiting leadership, the actions of the Town Council and their commitment to public safety shows true. They are simply helping bridge a gap in the collection of revenue. My observations were that the misinformation continues. The audience continues to believe that voluntary vouchers are still in effect. We both know, your Honor, that the first, second and third quarter tax payments were ordered to be paid by this court. The ratepayers present continue to not accept that fact. Most of the audience gave the impression that they will not honor that tax obligation. The message from the court has not reached the ratepayers. Ratepayers need to be educated, in a very …
By Laura A. Flanagan
- OPINION
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Thursday, April 11
At the last minute invitation of a friend, I attended the Emergency Meeting of the Town Council on Tuesday night. Admittedly, I have stayed away from Town Council meetings for quite a while. I have also not closely followed the fire district situation, because I live in the Anthony District. First, let me say that I do not like the idea of the Town loaning money to the fire department. In my view, it makes all the taxpayers of Coventry liable for the debt of others. Folks like myself and my neighbors already have a fire district tax, and I think it stinks that we are now liable for another districts financial failures. Selfishly, it does not seem fair or just. It makes me angry. The fact that the leaders of this particular fire …
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Are you thinking of looking for a cottage rental on the Internet? Buyer beware! Check out what happened to my wife and me a few years back!
I’m writing this the day before our two-week respite on the beautiful island of Georgetown, Maine, comes to an end. Did I say, “island?” Well, it is an island in the technical sense. It is, in fact, separated from the mainland by a body of water, the Back River, which empties into the mighty Atlantic some eight miles downstream, but its accessibility to Maine-proper via a bridge slightly diminishes the island feel. My wife, Berta, and I discovered this place online while searching the Internet for an escape from the rigors of the world. Ah, the magic carpet ride that is the Internet. Allowing one to go where no man has gone before – or was that Star Trek? Enabling one to leap tall buildings in a single bound. OK, that was Superman. But …
Friday, March 15, 2013
My annual take on the derivation of the expression, Beware The Ides Of March
Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue shriller than all the music Cry “Caesar!” Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: What man is that? Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March. In this scene from one of Bill Shakespeare’s greatest works, Julius Caesar, a soothsayer warns ole’ Jules to be wary of March 15th, the ides of March, which is the very day that he is to be assassinated by the conspirators who have plotted against him. But, in spite of his wife’s nightmares of his murder, the admonition of the soothsayer and numerous warnings; Caesar goes out on the ides and meets his fate. Here’s my version of what transpires. Caesar, who has grown extremely …
TSA has announced that items that were previously prohibited will be allowed, including pocket knives.
Beginning April 25, several items that are prohibited on planes will be allowed, including small pocket knives, announced TSA Administrator John S. Pistole. The TSA said the change would align them more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. The decision to allow knives has raised many eyebrows including those of Delta Air Lines’ CEO Richard Anderson, who said it would increase safety risks, according to ABC news. New items that would be allowed on planes: These similar items will still remain on the prohibited items list: We asked our Coventry Patch Facebook fans what they thought of the changes: Cher Pryor: I have never been on a plane n now I don't think I ever will. Linda Waleryszak Langevin: I don't think…
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The columnist shares a reflective moment.
“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can …
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11:53 am on Sunday, May 12, 2013
Happy Mother's Day Mom..and to all Mom's. more ›