I am the owner of Falcon, the rescue Aussie that escaped from me on November 18, 2018 and was captured on November 23, 2018. I wish to thank the Town of Suffield, the two ACOs, the police, and the Suffield Forum. I especially want to thank the group of women on Hill Street that are the real reason why I have my dog back. If it was not for their patience and treats, I believe the dog would probably be cruising around the Oxen Hill Farm area. Special thanks to the Vet Tech who I observed taking her time to have the escape artist eat food out of her hand and slowly put her finger through his collar.
Most of us are traveling on a highway once in a while, especially on a holiday, and stopping at a rest stop. Have you ever really looked at someone pushing a mop around on the floor or cleaning a restroom? Well, there they are in a thankless job for a probably minimum wage with no future promotion. And no tip jar. Many others get tips like a waitress or hairdresser and in other service jobs.
It is easy to think that there is not much kindness in our very divided world. I looked up a simple definition of “kind” in Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary, which is meant for use by new English language learners. Their definition is “… showing a gentle nature and desire to help others….wanting to do good things and to bring happiness to others.”
About two months ago, I was surprised when a gentleman ahead of me in the checkout line of a dollar store, swept my few items into his pile and said “I got this”. Not expecting his kindness, I first reacted with “Oh, those are mine.” Then I realized he meant to pay for my items. I felt really touched and also had the desire to “pay it forward,” so I paid for the few items the woman behind me was buying. She too was surprised and repeatedly thanked me, telling me the items were to decorate her classroom for special needs students.
ByKerry White, Friends of the Kent Memorial Library |
Happy New Year! For Suffield, one of the highlights of 2019 will be the re-opening of the Kent Memorial Library on North Main Street. What a joyous occasion that will be! The Friends of KML are especially looking forward to the pleasure of viewing the three large photos that were hung on the wall of the lower lobby in 1992, and were removed and stored for the recent renovations. Some Suffield residents may not be aware of how and why these photos came to our library.
As a proud resident of Suffield (since 1970), I am writing to detail the positive impact that Suffield Academy has had on my children and other children who went through the Suffield Public school system. I coached travel basketball for boys and girls, grades 5–8. Gym space in Suffield was always limited. Not only did Suffield Academy allow us to practice in their gym, but the Academy staff and students were always welcoming. The teams I coached were able to practice in a better facility for longer periods of time and extra days during the week.
It’s sometimes hard to hear the good things happening around us, what with all the stories about continued gun violence, invasions of immigrants, hacking of voting places, media disparagement, name calling, and worries about health care, to name a few. It’s good, then, to reflect on some of the good that regular citizens do that make this country great. #1–According to CBS News, as thousands of people gathered to mourn the 11 Jewish souls murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Wasi Mohamed, the executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh announced that the Muslim community had raised over $100,000 to pay for funeral and medical expenses of the victims. He also offered the protection of the Muslim community at Jewish services- literally offering to stand outside the synagogues—as well as to escort anyone there and back or even to a grocery store if they were scared. #2–The many national and local organizations and individuals who step up to donate money, but most especially time, whenever there is a disaster or crisis like hurricanes, tornados, fires, and shootings, should be noted. #3–We recognize those many random acts of kindness like police buying boots for a barefoot homeless man, getting a lost wallet/phone returned intact, meals for the homeless supported and served by many, many organizations, dry cleaners that clean an outfit for unemployed job interviewers, paying for the meal of the person behind you at McDonald’s (or wherever), standing up to bullies, helping to build/repair homes for veterans or the elderly, inviting lonely people into your circle, offering a kind word or gesture, showing respect for others in word and deed.
Recently I attended a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry V at the Hartford Stage Company; I found it satisfactory though not exemplary. Because I had not read the play since college, I watched the rendition on DVD by Kenneth Branagh. It was bloodier than I had remembered, and modern movie techniques allowed for a great deal of violence and agony—enough, I thought, to almost overwhelm the beautiful language. A few days ago I watched the Laurence Olivier version, which was filmed in 1944, with the kinds of sets that reflected the war shortages experienced in England, and the kinds of somewhat melodramatic costumes and makeup that were more prevalent in that era. In fact, Olivier’s Henry V was one of the first to be recorded on film and the first, I believe, to be recorded in technicolor.
The staff of the Observer was generally happy with the October issue. We thought it had a variety of interesting articles and some beautiful pictures. It also contained a slightly revised Voters Guide, published a month earlier than traditionally had been the case to give voters more time to reflect and with a revised format, designed to give the candidates greater latitude to describe their virtues. Unfortunately, as some of you may have noticed, it arrived several days later than our goal of town wide delivery on the first of the month. For that we apologize.
ByMarilyn Christian and Carol Griffin, Co-editors-of-the-Month |
If we were to list the many values of our beautiful town of Suffield, we could probably fill the pages of this newspaper. Our wonderful citizens, great schools, lovely buildings and churches, parks, local businesses and emergency services are all special. But the one thing that separates us from many other towns is the amount of open space, forest and farmland which is the envy of other municipalities. How did this happen? It was the combination of excellent legislation and the forward thinking of individuals, farmers and town leaders who took advantage of the opportunities available.
