By Eric Schoen
So much going on in the United States this week as little by little we get out of quarantine and get a breath of fresh air, hot and steamy as it may be. But hey it’s summertime. A summer we will never forget. As a friend of my mom said, she lived through the Great Depression but has never seen anything like this!
GOOD TROUBLE
Born on an Alabama cotton farm, John Lewis became one of the most visible activists in the Civil Rights era. He led peaceful protests in Nashville, marched in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King, and was beaten in Selma during Bloody Sunday. In 1986 he won a Congressional Seat in Georgia representing one of the most diverse Congressional districts until his death.
When we see the rioting and chaos going on in the world today, we have only to look and see the accomplishments of John Lewis whose slogan was ‘Good Trouble.’ Oh, if only those causing destruction in our states today, things like the boarding up of the windows of the shops on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan or toppling statues the history of which they don’t fully understand would heed his advice.
So much can be accomplished by Good Trouble versus burning, breaking, shattering, cursing, disrespecting, beating that we see all around us upsetting our lives and the lives of others. When will we ever learn, When will we ever learn?
REGIS
There are so few people who can make us laugh, help us stop our tears turning them into (no pun intended) Joy and were admired as much as Regis Philbin. When he would enter a room the attention was focused on him, and everybody loved him.
Whether you know him from Regis and Kathie Lee or Regis and Kelly or the game show he worked so hard to become the host of when it crossed the pond, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ just mention the name Regis Philbin and it brings a smile to your face. On television or in a show with Kathie Lee that I saw in Atlantic City, what you see was what you get. No sugar coating, just a great man there to help you ‘ forget your troubles, c’mon get happy!’
There’s no good way to die but he died of natural causes in his sleep. And that’s the final answer.
COVID 19, MASKS AND HAND WASHING
What don’t people understand? Two things we have readily at our (no pun intended) hands to stop the spread of Covid 19 are masks and washing our hands. Does wearing a mask pose that much imposition on your life? If you don’t want to look like you are contagious you don’t have to wear the KN95 or N95 masks or the Darth Vader face shields. Simply wear a scarf or mask (DAISO, the Japanese Store in Scarsdale with some prices in Japanese and some in US dollars has adorable cat masks for $2.50.) Save your life and the lives of others for $2.50? I think it’s worth it!
Someone dropped a set of keys near my sisters home the other day. A car or cars had run over them, but there were still salvageable keys. I picked them up, put them on the planter in from of the house, scrubbed my hands with soap and water and wiped my hands with an alcohol wipe. No, I’m not crazy obsessive. This is what you have to do in the times we are living in. Again I remind you you should have been washing your hands with soap and water since you turned age 2.
Harmon Face Value has this gigantic container of Dial Antibacterial Soap for $5. Use a 20 percent off coupon and you have enough bacterial soap to last for a while for $4. Just refill those dispensers it’s that simple.
Parties in Long Island and New Jersey with 200 to 2000 people, no face masks or social distancing. Life Guards, yes those we rely on for safety in the water partying on Long Island and two dozen getting Coronavirus in the middle of the summer? What’s wrong with these people?
OPENING SCHOOLS WITH AN EXTRA 4000 STUDENTS
If Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Edwin Quezada pulls off opening of the Yonkers Public Schools this September which are already 4000 students over building capacity( without social distancing) he will truly be ‘The Miracle Worker.’ Let’s not forget an additional several hundred students expected to arrive from the 2 Catholic School closures.
My only advice to you parents out there is to keep in touch with your child’s school, Teacher and Principal this summer. Join Facebook groups like Yonkers Parents Seeking Solutions as another source of information. Get active in the PTSA. Lobby the Mayor and City Council and State Legislators for funds to bring about those scheduled to be laid off as the new school year begins.
It’s your child. Get Involved!
BABY YOU’RE A FIREWORK!
My idea to divide the city into 18 and have one of our 18 fire rigs patrol a section of the city on the 4th of July? Many readers liked the idea, and there were some who did not.
Barry McGoey, head of the Firefighters Union pointed out that this is the work of the Police Department enforcing the laws and not the job of firefighters. The police complain they don’t have enough manpower to enforce the law.
Some who listen to my radio show or read the paper don’t see fireworks on the 4th of July as a problem. Maybe their house was not one of the two homes burned down on Independence Day, I just don’t know. All I know is that it was pretty loud in the neighborhood I live in on our nation’s birthday this year.
Is my solution to a problem that has plagued us for many years to quote Regis, ‘The Final Answer?’ No, but at least it gets us talking about how to deal with a nuisance bothering us for a long time. City Hall certainly has not come up with anything to solve the problem.
Removing 12 cases of fireworks from the streets. People who I have mentioned that number to think it’s laughable. Maybe we can send a police car out with a fire rig to enforce and extinguish. Just a thought. Keep them coming!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
