You are invited to the 36th Annual Equal Opportunity Day Awards Gala, a Mardi Gras Masquerade on Friday, April 23rd!
February, 2010 – Happy Valentine’s Day
Letter from the Editor
February, 2010
Dear Around Wellington Readers,
Happy February and Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope that you are all having a good start to the New Year! I’m
writing this after a beautiful morning at the Komen Race for the Cure, just breezy and lovely along Flagler in West Palm Beach and so many spirited groups wearing their best shades of pink. We also had the fun of decorating a pink PortaPotty last night, celebrating our friend Tracie, a breast cancer survivor with a “Royal Flush” princess theme. Our team won the prestigious pink plunger for best decorating of a PortaPotty, thanks to overall potty art director Kim Knobbe. Silly, right?
It was a beautiful full moon last night, the brightest one of the year, and you could also see Mars quite clearly! And how, you might ask, did I remember to get outside around midnight and look up at the sky? THANKS to our monthly columnists Anna Sanclement, who writes “The Space Room” and always adds a little astronomy at the end of her sci-fi news under the heading of “Sky Events this month.” This month Anna writes about Battlestar Galactica’s “The Plan” and “Caprica.”
Speaking of the stars and the moon, writer Karola Crawford gives us a good summary of what’s going on in your astrological world each month. This month in “Astrology at Work in your Life,” she focuses on Pisces, but as usual, gives a little advice for each sign too.
Our terrific contests continue! Thanks again to My Gym in Royal Palm Beach for providing our most recent prize, a birthday party! If you have been trying and haven’t won yet, please keep trying! As I’ve said before, this is an attainable goal! Don’t forget to enter to win our beginning-of-the-month contest, a relaxing one-hour massage at Massage Envy. So please enter between February 1st – 10th. The winner will be announced on our website on February 11th. And here’s another great contest coming in the middle of the month! You could win a 90-minute European facial with microdermabrasian at the newly re-opened Sanda Gané European Day Spa in Wellington, valued at $275! Please don’t forget to enter this contest beginning February 15th! Look for their special Valentine’s offer in our AW Coupons! THANKS to our advertisers for making these contests possible!
In this month’s Teen Talk, columnist Evan Baumel seems to be exactly on the pulse of what’s going on and what’s going wrong in this country. He addresses political extremism and says, “As the future generation, we must make it our mission to cooperate with people who hold different views from ours.”
As we get ready for another Valentine’s Day, writer Marla Schwartz gives us a glimpse into the lives of several couples who work together. She asks, “How do couples who work together succeed at both love and business ventures?” Check out “Valentine’s Day Insights” in our AW Stories of the Month to see how these couples “make it work,” even after an-eight or ten hour day together.
Writer Marla Schwartz also brings to our attention the marvelous husband and wife team Adam and Carrie Simpson; they teach drama at Lynn University! Another great couple who “work together” and “play together.”
For a tasty change of scenery, see Terri Farris’ travel column about the annual, 75-year-old Strawberry Festival at Plant City.
There are so many other great articles and features this month!
THANKS, as always, to our readers and our advertisers! We appreciate you!!
And whatever you decide to do for Valentine’s Day, I hope it’s a special one. Whether you’re cutting out pink hearts with your preschooler or going out to a favorite restaurant with your sweetie pie…or consuming an entire box of chocolates single-handedly, I hope it’s a great day! Let’s hope it’s the first or the second option!!
Cheers,
Krista Martinelli
Editor
February, 2010 – Valentine’s Day Insights
Valentine’s Day Insights
From Married Couples who Work Together
By Marla E. Schwartz
“BE MINE!” “KISS ME!” Those little meanings emblazed on chalky hearts are a big business. According to the National Confectioners Association about 8 billion of them were made during last year’s Valentine’s Day, which is enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona and back again twenty-times. An additional one billion valentines are sent every year, making it the second largest card-sending holiday next to Christmas.
It’s the one day a year that’s set aside for lovers to share their feelings for one another. So how do couples who work together succeed at both love and business ventures?
“I’ve had several couples in therapy who work together and the difficulties usually come from lack of clear definitions of roles, space and communication,” according to Helen Banta PhD, who has over 35 years of bilingual clinical experience doing psychotherapy and psychoanalysis with individuals and couples in Broward and Palm Beach counties. In many ways, marriage is a work-in-progress under any circumstances, not unlike a business.”
The following couples discussed their relationships/co-entrepenurial ventures. They’ve all been asked the same questions.
When and how did you first meet?
When did you begin working together?
Favorite traditions as a couple?
Most romantic Valentine’s Day together?
If you could travel on a romantic vacation together– where would you go and why?
Do you believe in soul mates?
Relationship advice?
Advice for newlyweds?
Do you wear the same color clothes as the same time – if not, what do you think of couples who dress this way?
Three nouns best describe your relationship? Anything else?
SAM & FARA SAX
This beloved husband and wife design team founded VAN GALZ TM Jewelry.
VAN GALZ TM Jewelry, 12902 SW 133rd Court, Miami. Tel: 786.735.1187, Fax: 305.259.1956, info@vangalz.com.
When and how did you first meet?
FARA: We met when I was a temp at Sam’s office. He asked me out to lunch and the rest is history.
SAM: Yes, but it took a little persistence on my part to convince her to dump the sandwich and go to lunch with me.
When did you begin working together?
SAM: It’ll soon be eight years.
Favorite traditions as a couple?
FARA: Traditional Friday night dinners at home with our two daughters.
SAM: I knew intuitively that she meant much more to me than just a steady.
If you could travel on a romantic vacation together– where would you go and why?
FARA: Traveling to Alaska has been a long time dream of ours.
Do you believe in soul mates?
FARA: Sam and I always felt we were soul mates as our connection was intense.
Relationship advice?
FARA: Communicate!
SAM: It’s especially important to communicate when hurt and/or angry.
Advice for newlyweds?
FARA: Always remember to agree to disagree.
SAM: Empathy for your partner is more effective than sympathy.
Do you wear the same color clothes as the same time – if not, what do you think of couples who dress this way?
FARA: Sam and I have been married a long time and that sometimes happens naturally for us because we think alike but we haven’t intentionally dressed the same.
Three nouns best describe your relationship?
FARA: Intense. Fiery. Feisty!
SAM: If not managed carefully, boardroom issues can easily spill over to the bedroom. It’s real important to separate the two.
Anniversary: Oct. 13th, 1992.
MICHELLE BERNSTEIN & DAVID MARTINEZ
Chef Michelle Bernstein is a Miami native. Many recognize her from the Emmy-nominated PBS weekly television series, Check, Please! South Florida.
Michy’s, 6927 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. Tues–Thurs, 6:30-10:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 6-11 p.m.; Sun, 6-9:30 p.m. Tel: 305.759.2001; www.chefmichellebernstein.com.
SRA. Martinez, 4000 NE 2nd Ave, Miami. Mon–Fri, noon-3 p.m. & 6-11p.m.; Fri-Sat 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Tel: 305.573.5474.
MB, Cancun, Tel: 305.774.0040 or 888.774.0040.
Michelle Bernstein at the Omphoy, 2842 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. Tel: 561.540.6444.
MICHELLE: We both worked at the Mandarin Oriental’s Azul. We became co-workers, then friends and eventually bliss!
DAVID: Since Azul.
MICHELLE: We lunch together at least three times a week.
DAVID: We do something nice together at least once a day…whether it’s sitting outside or walking the dogs.
MICHELLE: David surprised me with a candle lit dinner in our backyard with a beautiful table, flowers, and a delicious dinner from one of our favorite restaurants. Best of all I didn’t cook!
MICHELLE: Skiing. We’ve only gone a couple of times but loved it!
MICHELLE: I do now.
MICHELLE: He’s not much into PDA; we definitely don’t make out in front of people but we do a lot of cheek kissing and holding hands.
MICHELLE: Be patient.
DAVID: Friendship is the most important part.
MICHELLE: When it happens, one of us usually ends up changing. I think it’s kind of silly but it’s not my place to judge.
MICHELLE: Happiness. Lovingness. Spontaneity.
MICHELLE: My husband rocks! Thanks to him, I’m a better person
Anniversary: Oct. 8, 2005.
FRANK RANDAZZO & ANDREA CURTO-RANDAZZO
Anyone who believes the old adage that “too many chefs spoil the broth” hasn’t met Frank Randazzo and Andrea Curto-Randazzo.
Talula, 210 23rd St., South Beach. Tel: 305.672.0778; www.talulaonline.com.
Creative Tastes Catering, 12229 SW 131 Ave., Miami. Tel: 305.256.8399; inquiries@creativetastes.com; website: www.creativetastes.com.
ANDREA: We met at Tribeca Grill in NYC. I was on my internship from the Culinary Institute of America and he was a cook. We started dating and moved to Miami together.
FRANK: Christmas Eve. We have a large gathering and I cook. We also take the kids trick or treating every year.
FRANK: What’re you trying to get me in trouble? We really work our tails off on Valentine’s Day. It’s one of the biggest days of the year for us in our restaurant. That’s our Valentine’s Day treat to each other.
ANDREA: Italy. We were supposed to go on our honeymoon but when we got married it was a month after 9-11. We got talked out of going and in hindsight I wish we would’ve gone because now it’s so much harder.
FRANK: It would have to be somewhere secluded.
ANDREA: I do. Frank is mine.
FRANK: As I get older I believe there are soul mates out there.
ANDREA: There’s a limit. It’s nice to be affectionate but you don’t have to be making out in my restaurant.
FRANK: Subtle, but yah.
ANDREA: Communication is the key. You won’t catch us not speaking for days.
FRANK: A relationship that’s going to succeed involves lots of compromise.
ANDREA: There’s another person to consider.
FRANK: It all changes. It doesn’t change over night – but it changes.
ANDREA: I don’t like the whole dressing alike thing. I’m all about individuality and expressing yourself.
FRANK: I’m not one of those people who need to show my attachment to my significant other by dressing similar.
ANDREA: Crazy. Sincere. Forever.
FRANK: Competitive. Loving. Energetic!
Anniversary: Oct. 7, 2001.
TROY AND BARBARA ECKONEN
They co-own Tropical Gym & Fitness. Troy began the business as a personal trainer and body-builder when he first moved to Florida from a small town in Ohio. Soon his wife-to-be came into the pictures and for these two lovebirds with a seventeen-year age difference, the rest certainly is history.
TROPICAL GYM & FITNESS, 930 Sample Rd., Pompano Beach; Tel: 954.478.1380; troy@tropicalgym.net; www.tropicalgym.net; hours: M-F: 7–11 am & 4–9 pm, weekends: 8 am – 2 pm.
TROY: I was working in the gym and she was walking across the parking lot. I wanted to sell her a membership but she came to work for me instead. We got married a year-and-a-half later.
TROY: Twice a year we like to go to Joe’s Stone Crab; after having a nice long day on Miami Beach riding bicycles.
BARBARA: We work every Valentine’s Day together. But they’ve always been very special.
TROY: The bottom line is we spend it together, on the job and afterwards.
BARBARA: I’d go to the south of Brazil because it’s beautiful and very romantic.
TROY: I would go with her but I’m more the Alaska type.
TROY: I do. It’s more than a coincidence that I met her because there are so many instances in our lives where we compliment one another.
TROY: I think it’s nice to be warm. But be considerate.
BARABRA: I’m from Brazil and everybody kisses and hugs each other in public.
BARBARA: You should respect each other.
TROY: Do it! Get married.
TROY: Hilarious.
BARBARA: I don’t like it.
TROY: Dramatic, as in the dramatic changes we see in people’s lifestyles.
BARBARA: Happiness. We’re always very happy together.
Anniversary: June 18, 2009.
STEPHANE AND FLORENCE OLIVERO
The owners of several lingerie shops in Europe, Stephane and Florence Olivero opened their first U.S. venture in Hollywood, FL. “We have the most beautiful selection of the best brands of sexy French lingerie,” Stephane said.
Vita Venice, 2025 Hollywood Blvd., Mon-Thurs 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri-Sat 10-10. Tel: 954.342.9284; www.vitovenice.us.
STEPHANE: A simple strike of lighting during an evening with friends.
FLORENCE: He had no doubt, me neither!
STEPHANE: We started our first company together a year after we met. The magic is finding the equilibrium within the passion, the private life and the professional life.
STEPHANE: Humor.
FLORENCE: Valentine’s Day 2005 without a doubt. He asked me to marry him.
FLORENCE: My dream destination is the Taj Mahal.
STEPHANE: Yes. Florence is my absolute and exclusive soul sister.
FLORENCE: We’re French – we’re very affectionate.
STEPHANE: Respect each other.
STEPHANE: The magic of the first time is compensated by the discovery of each other.
STEPHAN: We have very different styles to be dressing alike, but we respect others who do so.
STEPHANE: Love. Complicity. Trust.
FLORENCE: Love. Passion. Unity.
Anniversary: Oct. 12, 2005.
ANTONIO AND KATHERINE AMADEO
Antonio and Katherine (Katie) Amadeo operates The Naked Stage with John Manzelli at the Pelican Theatre, Barry University, Miami Shores.
Here’s a list of just a few regional acting credits they’ve been awarded:
Katherine – The Patient in 4.48 Psychosis (Carbonell nomination for Best Actress), Clarisse in Fahrenheit 451 (Gablestage).
Antonio – John Merrick in The Elephant Man (Carbonell nomination), Mosaic Theatre; The Pillowman (2007 Carbonell Award Winner), GableStage. His set design for 4.48 Psychosis earned him a Carbonell Award nod. He has a REMY Award for service from SouthFloridaTheatre.com.
Their most important fundraising activity is the 24-Hour Theatre project held every year in Miami. They recently produced MACON CITY, an original Comic Book play from the ground-breaking, local playwright Marco Ramirez.
The Naked Stage, (866).811.4111 nakedstage.org.
TOGETHER: We met at Actors’ Playhouse doing The Sound of Music.
ANTONIO: She was Liesel and I was the Nazi.
ANTONIO: We got married at Casa De La Paz in St. Augustine, so that’s a favorite destination of ours.
KATIE: One tradition that Antonio and I have is that we have breakfast together every morning. It’s nice to have the little morning time together. We usually put on a DVD for an hour or two.
KATIE: The Sound of Music just closed. Our relationship was about five-months old. We had dinner at the Melting Pot, he treated, brought Roses. We came back to his apartment – and there were all these different breeds and they were so beautiful. I’ve always loved stuffed animals and it was so thoughtful and tailored to who I am as a person. I was so touched.
KATIE: George Schiavone was randomly taking pictures at a Carbonell party and he happened to take a picture of our first kiss
ANTONIO: And she made me an art graphic of it. It’s one of my favorite things.
KATIE: London and Ireland. I’m Irish and I’ve never been.
KATIE: Yes. I felt an instant connection to him and the room lit up when he walked in.
ANTONIO: Soul mate isn’t a term I use a lot. I believe in true love.
ANTONIO: There are lines of decency and respect for other people that you have to be aware of.
ANTONIO: Every married couple has to be entirely open and communicative and come up with rules of marriage that fit them so when issues do come up at the very least you’re on the same playing field.
KATIE: Be honest and open.
ANTONIO: I think a lot of couples get really impatient and judgmental very quickly about the other person and marriage is hard.
KATIE: In relationships things are never completely equal and you have to roll with it.
KATIE: No we don’t. But it did happen the other day.
ANTONIO: If others love it why should I judge?
ANTONIO: Love. Patience. Respect.
KATIE: Friendship. Trust. Understanding.
Anniversary: Sept. 6, 2003.
Valentine’s Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet (1600-1601):
To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn’d his clothes,
And dupp’d the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5
HOW TO SAY “I LOVE YOU” IN A FEW DIFFERENT LANGUAGES:
|
French – |
Je t’aime, Je t’adore |
|
Gaelic – |
Ta gra agam ort |
|
Italian – |
Ti amo |
|
Portuguese – |
Amo-te |
|
Spanish – |
Te quiero / Te amo |
=================
A native of Toledo, OH and a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz has been a professional journalist since her teenage years and is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, and a freelance writer for CRAVINGS South Florida in Aventura, as well as Around Wellington Magazine and Lighthouse Point Magazine. An avid photographer, her images have appeared in numerous Ohio publications, as well as in Miami Living, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was originally read at First Stage in Los Angeles and in the same city produced at the Lone Star Ensemble. It was then produced at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and then taken to an Off-Broadway playhouse by its producers Adam and Carrie Simpson. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feel free to contact her at: meschwartz1@hotmail.com.
February, 2010 – Four Green-Friendly Valentine’s Gift Ideas
Living Green
Four Green-Friendly Valentine’s Gift Ideas
By Christine Smith
Valentine’s Day is a great time to begin your Eco-Friendly lifestyle. If you’ve ever said to yourself: “Sounds cool, but I don’t know where to begin,” then this article will make it simple for you. Here are four gift ideas to give to your “special someone” – while also protecting the environment and setting a good example for the ones you love.
1) Buy Local Flowers
Do you know that over one-half of the flowers sold in the United States are imported from countries where toxic chemicals and pesticides are not monitored at all, and are even legal to use? Not only is the importing of these flowers toxic to our environment, but you could be exposing your loved ones to those chemicals and pesticides. Buying flowers that were grown domestically and locally will lower the negative impact on our environment and you will also be supporting your local community.
2) Give an Experience
Get creative. Pack a picnic and take your partner to the beach, park, or simply have a picnic in front of your fireplace. Don’t have a fireplace? Do what my husband did before we had one… build one out of candles! You can also prepare a meal together or give each other massages. Or, consider things that your partner likes to do and then plan a day or evening around those things. Remember, the purpose of Valentine’s Day is to show our loved ones how much we adore them, not to show them how much we can buy them. Keep this in mind when planning your experience. Experiences make great and memorable gifts!
3) Bake Your Own Goodies
Did you know that cocoa farmers only receive 5 cents for every dollar they produce, while companies that are involved in the process of getting chocolates into our hands receive over 70 cents of each of those dollars? Instead of supporting the unfair trading conditions that exist by giving imported chocolates, give your loved one home-baked goods this year.
4) Homemade Cards & Gift Wrap
Make your own cards. Remember when we were younger and we used to receive those love notes with the boxes that told us to check “yes” or “no”? Rather than spending extra money and wasting paper, spend some time and write down what your partner means to you… then express it in a homemade card. If you decide to buy a gift or card, buy an Eco-Friendly gift, and when wrapping it – use creative options like grocery-store brown paper bags (free – and usually made from already recycled paper) wrapped with recycled bows or use recycled gift bags.
Christine Smith is a Principal, as well as the Director of Marketing for Fine Lions, Inc. Fine Lions specializes in a proprietary Eco-friendly wood graining process that is applied to non wood products to give them the appearance of natural wood. This earth conscious application may be done on exterior and interior doors, garage doors, kitchen and bath cabinets, as well as other surfaces. To learn more visit http://www.finelions.com.
February, 2010 – An Interview with Author Kathleen Kent
Cultural Corner
An Interview with Author Kathleen Kent
By Marla Schwartz
The thing is – history is malleable, whether we want to believe it or not. And the fact of the matter is – there’s a lot about America history that’s difficult to accept, let alone understand. But what if someone bore witness, in effect and then wrote about one of these particular events in time?
In essence, this is what author Kathleen Kent has done in her debut novel, The Heretic’s Daughter (Little, Brown). Kent was one of the many gifted authors to grace South Florida with her presence at the Miami Book Fair International 2009.
Kent is a tenth-generation descendent of Martha Carrier, one of the first women convicted in the Salem Witch Trials, which is the subject her novel. This beguiling tale will no doubt be gobbled up by readers of historical fiction, but people who truly treasure reading about parental love and self-sacrifice in the face an overwhelming sense of collective madness will most definitely relish this novel.
The novel explores the plight of the Carrier family who are first generation colonists in New England. They had hoped to escape the plague of smallpox in their homeland, but inadvertently brought it along with them to the new world.
Kent’s novel is narrated by Sarah, Martha’s spirited teenage daughter, who valiantly takes us through the horrors of this particular time in America’s early history.
Kathleen Kent was able to take time out of her busy schedule to answer a great deal of questions for AROUND WELLINGTON readers:
QUESTIONS FOR KATHLEEN KENT
AROUND WELLINGTON: I understand that while growing up you heard stories about your ancestors who were executed because they were found guilty of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials. At which particular point in time did you realize that the story of the Carrier family would make a great piece of historical fiction?
KATHLEEN KENT: Fortunately, I grew up with the stories of Martha Carrier, my grandmother back nine generations who was hanged as a witch in Salem in 1692, and the Carrier family’s involvement with the witch trials. From the time I was about eight-years-old, I remember my mother and grandmother telling me, not only stories of the witch trials, but anecdotal tales of 17th century life, passed down from generation to generation. By the time I was in college, I had wanted to put that history and those family legends into novel form. But it took many years before I had the time and resources to write a book-length retelling of Martha’s life. I spent 20 years living and working in New York in various commercial enterprises and was “on the runway” to fifty before I began the research and writing that became The Heretic’s Daughter.
AW: Obviously, the Carrier family was caught up in unfortunate times … but why did people in colonial times hang others as “witches?”
KK: It’s hard to imagine, as modern, rational thinkers, the time and place that was Puritan New England, where there was no separation of church and state, where you were guilty until proven innocent and where women were targeted as witches because of their mental instability, their position in society, and their combative dispositions, especially if they stood in opposition with the “Town Fathers.” In order to understand the Puritans’ actions and motives, it’s important to understand that these were transplanted Europeans, strangers in a strange land, who believed literally that the Devil was alive and well and living in New England. Death was always close at hand, through disease, childbirth, Indian raids, and these people lived in superstitious dread and had a firm belief in the Invisible World. The theologians conducting the trials, examinations and executions of the witches were using a source book from the Middle Ages, the Malleus Malleficarum, which could explain any wart or birthmark as proof of the Devil’s Mark.
AW: Do you see any common elements in your book that can be compared to modern times? Such as HIV/AIDS or the current swine flu pandemic?
KK: Unfortunately, there are parallels to the witch trials still relevant today. In every culture there are, for example, fundamentalist groups who refuse to engage in the civilized discourse, who do not adhere to due process of law, who suppress free speech and free expression, and who strive to oppress the weakest members of society; often women and children; persecuting those who fall outside of narrowly defined patterns of “the norm”. Arthur Miller of course wrote “The Crucible” to illuminate the McCarthy era witch trials, and there are groups of individuals still today, in this country, who are censored and excluded for having differing religious views, ethnic origins or sexual orientations. We’re still as a species trying to overcome millions of years of the self-protective, xenophobic response to “The Other.”
AW: Do you have a favorite historical novelist? If so, who is it and why?
KK: I have always loved Charles Dickens for his universal stories and for his timeless characters. His use of storytelling to illuminate great societal wrongs was always so inspiring. John Irving wrote that Dickens was “unafraid of sentimentality—of anger, of passion, of emotionally and psychologically revealing himself.” I really like that in an author.
AW: I understand you admire Annie Dillard’s work. When did you first discover her work and have you ever had a chance to meet her? How has her fiction influenced your own writing?
KK: I first discovered her when I read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek over twenty years ago. I remember being in awe of her elegant, lean observations of nature and thinking, “if only I could write like that!” I keep her books, including The Writing Life, and For the Time Being, in the nightstand next to my bed and read them over and over again. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to meet her, but if I had the chance, I’d leap at it.
AW: In the novel, Martha punishes her five children with a spoon they’ve dubbed the Iron Bessie. Is this a fictionalized account of such punishment?
KK: Iron Bessie is a figment of my imagination. But I do have my grandmother’s cherry wood mixing spoon, given to me by my mother. Blessedly, the only thing my grandmother ever whipped with the spoon was heavy cream.
AW: Is there anything you wanted to include in your novel but couldn’t do it?
KK: Originally, the novel was written in two parts, the first part being The Heretic’s Daughter. Fortunately, the second part has been re-worked and will be published now as a prequel—about the life of Martha’s husband Thomas; a man who family legend and local Massachusetts’ lore said lived to 109, was over 7 feet tall and was one of the executioners of King Charles I of England.
AW: If someone today accused you of being a witch – what would you say?
KK: Thank you!
AW: Tell me about the accolades your book has received?
KK: The book is now being published in over a dozen countries and won the David Langum award for historical fiction last year. The reviews have been mostly wonderful, although I try pretty hard to not focus too much on the reviews, but rather on the positive reactions of the readers who love historical fiction
AW: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
KK: Only that my grandmother used to say, “Sweetie, there are no such things as witches. Merely ferocious women.”
A native of Toledo, OH and a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz has been a professional journalist since her teenage years and is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, and a freelance writer for CRAVINGS South Florida in Aventura, as well as Around Wellington Magazine and Lighthouse Point Magazine. An avid photographer, her images have appeared in numerous Ohio publications, as well as in Miami Living, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was originally read at First Stage in Los Angeles and in the same city produced at the Lone Star Ensemble. It was then produced at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and then taken to an Off-Broadway playhouse by its producers Adam and Carrie Simpson. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feel free to contact her at: meschwartz1@hotmail.com.
February, 2010 – Cardiovascular Fitness
Health & Fitness
Component II – Cardiovascular Fitness
by Cheryl Alker
In our November issue of Around Wellington, we discussed the five components of physical fitness and gave you some great advice on the benefits and how to achieve flexibility. This month we are dissecting the intricacies of cardiovascular fitness.
First of all, what is it? Well, the definition of cardiovascular or cardiorespiratory fitness is the efficiency of the heart, lungs and vascular system in delivering oxygen to the working muscle tissues so that prolonged physical work can be maintained. A person’s ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles is affected by many physiological parameters, including heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output and maximal oxygen consumption.
Simply put, it means that when you start to walk, run, cycle or swim, how efficient are your lungs at taking in oxygen? Delivering it to the heart (via your blood)? And then pumping it around the body to the working muscles?
Efficient distribution of oxygen is vital to the length of time you can continue your cardio workout. Lack of oxygen leads to fatigue and muscle soreness.
How do you know if you are working at a level where you can maintain that vital supply of oxygen?
A simple calculation will give you your answer:
· Take your age.
· Subtract this amount from 220 (the approximate amount our heart beats in one minute at birth).
· Take 50% and 85% of this figure.
This is your training zone; and for efficient fat burning cardiovascular training, you should keep your heart rate between these two figures. Towards the lower (50% – 65%) if you are beginning your training and fairly new to exercise and moving towards the higher (70% – 85%) as you body starts to adapt to your training program.
For example, if you are 40 years of age:
220 – 40 = 180
50% of 180 = 90
85% of 180 = 153
Your training zone is, therefore, between 90 and 153 beats per minute.
If you are using a piece of gym equipment for your cardiovascular training, you can easily monitor your heart rate by placing your thumb on the pad provided. If not, investing in a heart rate monitor that you strap to your chest whilst exercising will keep you on track; of course, you can do it the old-fashioned way. Take your own pulse at the wrist, arm or neck over a six-second period and add a zero or over a ten-second period and multiply by six.
How often should you train? Guidelines indicate between three to five times per week. If possible, vary your cardiovascular training. Working continually on the same piece of equipment or only running, cycling or swimming can seriously increase your risk of an overuse injury.
How long should your session last? Individuals with lower fitness levels should aim to maintain their heart rate within their target heart rate zone for a minimum of 20-30 minutes. This can increase to as much as 45-60 minutes as fitness levels increase.
Beyond the 45-60 minute mark there are diminished returns. For all that extra effort, the associated benefits are minimal.
This also applies to many athletes. Beyond a certain point they run the risk of overtraining and injury. There are exceptions; however, typically the ultra-long-distance endurance athletes.
When will I see results? In terms of the duration of the program as a whole, research suggests a minimum of six weeks is required to see noticeable improvement and as much as a year or more before a peak in fitness is reached.
So there you have it, everything you need to know to ensure a safe and effective fat-burning cardiovascular program. Now all that’s left is for you to JUST DO IT!
Cheryl Alker specializes in flexibility training, core strength and postural alignment, working with a select clientele across Palm Beach County. Her company, Stretch Results International, certifies health professionals in her results-based stretching program, educates consumers through public speaking and offers private or class consultations to clients who wish to lose their muscular pain and gain flexibility to achieve full and active lifestyles. For more information, please call Cheryl at (561) 889-3738 or visit www.stretchresults.com.
February, 2010 – Florida’s Strawberry Festival
Travel with Terri
Celebrate a 75 year tradition – Florida’s Strawberry Festival
By Terri Farris
As the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, strawberries are part of the everyday fabric of Plant City, Florida – and the biggest event in this community each year is none other than the Florida Strawberry Festival! This celebration of the strawberry harvest began 75 years ago when the Plant City Lions Club decided to organize the first festival. Since that date, the Florida Strawberry Festival has grown from a community event to an annual destination for thousands.
Growing up in Plant City in the 1970’s I have wonderful memories of the Strawberry Festival Parade held on the Monday of each festival. I marched in this parade many times with my junior high and high school bands. All the schools close for this event as well as most businesses. Some other memories I have of the festival are lining up for a serving of the strawberry shortcake made by the local Catholic Church and sampling the delicious strawberry pies made by the Plant City High School Band students and boosters. In fact, we used to volunteer to “stem” strawberries in the days prior to the festival just to get out of class – of course we had red fingertips for the next week – but it was worth it!
Although the Florida Strawberry Festival was originally organized to celebrate the strawberry harvest, it has much more to offer than food. There are numerous competitions including a Baby Parade where little ones are dressed up and showcased on decorated “mini” floats. For young women, there is a beauty contest where local beauties compete for the coveted title of Florida Strawberry Queen. The queen and her court represent the community at festival events and throughout the year.
There are some unique competitions as well for the livestock such as the “Best in Show” for prized steers. And what festival would be complete without a Lamb Jumping Contest and Racing Pigs? You do not want to miss these little porkers snorting their way to the finish line!
The Neighborhood Village at the Strawberry Festival is the place to find award-winning cakes, pies, cake decorating demonstrations, beautiful quilts and other crafts including scrapbooking. There are numerous exhibits throughout the festival grounds to provide something for everyone to enjoy.
No festival would be complete without carnival rides and booths and the Florida Strawberry Festival provides plenty of those on the Midway. You can win your sweetheart a teddy bear and then take her on the Ferris wheel for a kiss. You can also “lose your strawberries” on a topsy turvy thrill ride or take the little ones on the Merry-Go-Round.
The Florida Strawberry Festival always draws an amazing line-up of entertainers for the nightly shows – no, I am not referring to the racing pigs! Performers for prior years have included country music greats Vince Gill, Tobi Keith and Lee Ann Womack. The line-up for 2010 is no exception offering headliner entertainment by Sarah Evans, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Roy Clark, Patty Loveless, REO Speedwagon and comedian Bill Engwall to name a few. Debbie Reynolds will be on hand on Tuesday evening to entertain for the designated “Red Hat Ladies” day.
In addition to the designated Red Hat Ladies day, the Florida Strawberry Festival has designated a special day honoring our country’s servicemen, firemen and police officers – “American Heroes Day”. Other special days include Kids’ Day, Senior Days and a Moonlight Madness special for late night carnival rides.
This year’s festival will be held March 4th through March 14th. Advance tickets are available online beginning February 4th. For more information on special events or to purchase advanced tickets visit their website: www.flstrawberryfestival.com
Sometimes when you return to events from your past they seem smaller – less significant. That was not the case for me when I revisited the Florida Strawberry Festival. This 75-year-old festival is more than a celebration of the harvest – it is a celebration of community – a strawberry pie sized slice of Americana!
Terri is a freelance writer with regular columns on travel, chocolate and bar reviews. She is busy each month visiting new places to bring unique travel destinations and events to you. Yes, it is a sacrifice – but she is willing to do that for her readers! You can see more of Terri’s writing at www.examiner.com where she is the National Chocolate Examiner and at www.barzz.net. You can contact Terri at tfarris60@hotmail.com.
February, 2010 – Battlestar Galactica’s The Plan and Caprica
The Space Room
Everything Sci-Fi & a Little Astronomy
Battlestar Galactica’s The Plan and Caprica
A Beginning and an End
by Anna Sanclement
Most Battlestar Galactica (BSG) fans were left saddened last year as the show came to an end, a not very stellar one. However, a little glimmer shone for many as word came of one more BSG movie titled “The Plan”. Additional hope arrived in the form of a new series that was set to begin early this year with the name of “Caprica”, the beloved city that was ceremoniously bombed out of existence at the beginning of the BSG series.
Caprica promised to deliver many answers regarding the beginning of the end of the 12 Colonies and humanity, which was portrayed on the BSG series. On the other hand, The Plan was to give another angle as to how things went down as seen from the side of the Cylons (the man-like machines that humans built, whom they entered a war with when they destroyed most of human civilization).
So, this month, we will dissect both of these and I will give my two cents on both.
The Plan – What it Delivered
This last BSG movie was highly anticipated by fans and promised to divulge some aspects of the mysteries that the series had raised throughout its run. However, to my personal belief, I didn’t feel The Plan was a strong movie at all.
It felt like it was half made up from regurgitated material and another half from a bunch of new Cylon footage that did not really have much of an effect. It did not possess the shocking new truths that it should’ve delivered.
It was nice to see the beloved characters once more, but even they seemed washed out as their scenes were repetitions of what had already been seen. The Plan seemed to center mostly on the Cylons–granted that was the premise of the movie. But the ‘plan’ was not much of a surprise at all. It was not what should have been expected from the creators of a great series such as BSG.
Caprica – What Will it Bring?
This new BSG spin-off goes back to where it all began for the Cylons, about 50 years before “the fall” of the 12 colonies. The series will unfold how it all started regarding the Cylon’s belief in one God and their need to be treated as individuals.
The pilot episode, which was released on DVD last May, was quite good and very promising. The actors were proficient and it was nice to see the tie-ins to BSG in the form of Caprica City, and more personally, with William Adama as an eleven-year-old boy.
The first episode did more than enough to leave us intrigued with what will come next. It was full of suspense and teasers of what the Cylons are. Many story arcs were started that show potential for becoming interesting; the two main families have quite a lot of additional issues on top of the main ones regarding their killed daughters. Caprica is set to be a good show and one that should be on any sci-fi fan’s watch list for sure.
So, in conclusion, the ending of BSG with the Plan was less than stellar and quite a shame. Meanwhile, the “beginning” of the BSG realm looks like it has a lot of good in the making. Caprica should a good new show that hopefully will end in a better direction than its BSG predecessor did.
Sky events this month, February of 2010:
The Last Quarter Moon happens on Friday the 5th, and then the New Moon occurs on Saturday the 13th. The Last Quarter Moon will be on Sunday the 21st with the Full Moon occurring on Sunday the 28th.
February brings a great opportunity to spot the asteroid Vesta. It should be visible to the naked eye from dark locations and with binoculars it will be easy to see from the suburbs and more lighted areas.
The asteroid reaches opposition on Thursday the18th when it will be at magnitude 6.1. Vesta can be found by looking towards the constellation Leo the Lion, which can be found looking towards the northern sky. Leo is also about 6 degrees east-northeast of the bright star Regulus.
Orion, Sirius and the Pleiades, are now seen high in the sky at around 9:00 pm in most locations of the northern hemisphere. Opportunities to spy Orion’s nebula continue to be available nightly, with just a small telescope or even binoculars. Just one viewing of this great sight is worth it if you can manage it.
Mars is now quite apparent in its bright reddish –1.2 magnitude. Look for it in the eastern horizon as it rises at twilight. It is high in the eastern sky at around 8:00 – 9:00 pm. Mars reached opposition on January the 29th, so it still appears quite large in the sky and will continue to do so for some time.
Saturn rises at around 10:00 pm and is at its highest in the sky at about 3:00 to 4:00 am. With a telescope you should be able to see its rings tilted at 5 degrees from edge-on to Earth. Jupiter is now low in the southwestern sky at twilight and sets at around 7:00 pm.
Look on up and smile!
For more sky events log on to: www.astronomy.com and http://space.about.com/od/computerresources/tp/2009MaySkyGuide.htm
You can read other articles and tips by Anna on these websites:
http://www.helium.com/users/484623
http://www.examiner.com/x-6503-Ft-Lauderdale-Science-News-Examiner
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/354312/anna_sanclement.html
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/annasanclement
Anna Sanclement writes from home and has recently started to write articles for various Internet sites. She has also finished a novel and has written many stories and a movie script, just for fun.
February, 2010 – Adam and Carrie Simpson at Lynn University
PROFESSORS ADAM AND CARRIE SIMPSON
Bringing the Best in Drama to Lynn University
By Marla E. Schwartz
“Innovative, energetic, kind, influential, intelligent” and the word “brilliant” also comes to mind when describing the husband and wife team of Adam and Carrie Simpson, assistant professors in the Lynn University’s Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn College of International Communication Drama Program based in Boca Raton, FL. Adam also happens to be the Chair of the Drama Program.
Adam walks the-walk as a drama teacher, as his students know they have a bonified actor on their hands. Not that working in the “fame” track is his aspiration, but South Florida does have opportunities and his talent has enabled him to enlarge his sphere as a professional actor. For example, he was a featured actor on a segment of America’s Most Wanted and last February appeared in an episode of Burn Notice that films in Miami. He and Carrie feel it’s important to not only teach their students about the field of acting, but to work in the industry, as well.
These roles models have done something more important than dare I say running just another drama department in this country, as their unique vision has helped to shape Lynn’s Drama Program into a one-of-a-kind experience merely by their experiential style of teaching.
“We believe you learn by doing, not by talking about doing,” Adam said.
A year ago they began a new curriculum within the department that they hope will take place every three years by taking their students to perform Off-Broadway in New York City. The process begins by putting out a call for script submissions and then choosing the scripts they feel will be a nice fit for their students. In fact, some of the scripts presented in Boca were changed up a bit, and this allowed Adam and Carrie to not only direct their students, but perform with them, as well. Audience members thoroughly enjoyed themselves at both productions.
Adam was born in Evansville, Indiana and raised in this area since he was a little boy, and Carrie was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA, attended the University of Pittsburgh and then attended Florida Atlantic University’s graduate school.
“And the rest is fate,” Adam said.
“We met at FAU, I was in graduate school and he was an undergrad. That’s Adam’s favorite part about the story, doing productions together,” Carrie laughed. “We became best friends and we were together a lot and then – well, we didn’t necessarily have a formal first date, because we were on set and always together.”
“In fact, and we were just on a cruise recently and where some couples were contestants on the shipboard version of THE DATING GAME,” she explained. “There were three couples on stage. One couple had been married 57-years, another couple had dated for years before getting married and another couple that was together 20-years. They were asked to recall their first date was and every single couple got it right. And we sat there and we were laughing because neither of us could figure out what was our exact first date. We can figure out significant moments, but it wasn’t necessarily when the first date happened. I mean, the couple that had been married 57-years remembered where they went, what they wore, what they ate, and even how much they spent.”
There’s no doubt that this loving couple has a good thing going. Hmmm. Since it’s near Valentine’s Day, do you think they believe in soul mates? Do they believe that they are each other’s soul mates?
“Yes, of course,” Carrie said.
“Absolutely,” is Adam’s response.
But so much for that lovely-dovey thing they got going on, they’re busy college professors!
The first weekend in February they will host Lynn’s third annual 24-Hour Theatre Project, where students, write, produce, direct and perform original plays in one 24-hour period. This year local playwrights were invited to participate in this successful event.
Basically on Friday, February 5, the actors, directors and playwrights will meet. Adam and Carrie will provide a selection of titles that nobody will have seen (except for them) ahead of time and then original plays will be created based on these titles. A pow-wow takes place, the playwright writes the script. The next morning everyone gets back together and the actors and directors have the entire day to memorize and rehearse the scripts. These plays will then be produced when the curtain rises at 7 PM on Saturday, February 6 in the Lynn Student Center Auditorium.
In the field of acting, “you cannot only bring half of your energy or half of your life to your work. It doesn’t work. You won’t work again if you do that,” Adam explained. “The 24-hour theater project helps the students learn how this is accomplished. It teaches them to be motivated, to try really, really hard, and to think on their feet, to be forcefully creative. It’s a tough business that requires you to go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat.”
“It’s free … just come by and have some fun,” Adam said. “Each play will be about ten minutes tops, no more – and it can’t be more then ten-minutes because there’s no way anybody could remember all those lines. The number of plays range anywhere between six and nine plays.”
If you haven’t been to Lynn before – the directions are easy:
Interstate 95 (from the North)
- Exit I-95 on Yamato Road.
- Turn right (West) on Yamato Road.
- Turn left (South) on Military Trail.
- Campus is on right after first traffic light.
Interstate 95 (from the South)
- Exit I-95 on Palmetto Park Road.
- Turn left (West) on Palmetto Park Road.
- Turn right (North) on Military Trail.
- Campus is on the left, approximately 2-1/2 miles.
Florida Turnpike
- Exit Turnpike on Glades Road, Boca Raton exit.
- Turn left (East) on Glades Road
- Turn left (North) on Butts Road.
- Turn left (North) on Military Trail.
- Campus is on left after second traffic light.
“The 24-Hour Theatre Project is an event that institutions across the country do, places such as schools, professional theatre companies, community theaters do it. The Naked Stage, down in Miami does it,” Adam explained. “And Carrie has been doing it since she was an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh – it’s something that has been going on for a long time across the country and essentially it’s one day where we create brand new theatre and present it to the community. It’ll be a collection of shorts. It’s always a blast and has about 70 people involved, including, actors, playwrights, directors, crew members, it’s a load of fun and a great time to come out and celebrate the creativity of the people in the Lynn community.”
It was a fun experience as a college student and it’s something different, you’re not in rehearsals for a long time, you get to meet a lot of people, and just work under the gun in a slightly stressful but fun environment,” Carrie pointed out. “It’s very creative and exciting so when I got down here and I said to Adam, we should do it. And then one year we finally did. The students look forward to doing it again the next year, some want to come back and direct, and then they can’t decide what’s more fun to be the actor or the director, because they kinda like both ends. This year we may invite students who have already graduated and live in the area to come back and participate in it this year.”
Adam and Carrie have created something very special for the Lynn Community and have been at it five years now and they show no signs ever wanting their dreams jobs to end. They’re always busy guiding their students into the next project at hand.
“Right now we’re working on creating short films with the students. There are three groups of students and they’ve been making short films based on the scripts they wrote in the fall,” Carrie explained. “These movies premiered on Wednesday, January 20. It was the first time for many of them to be involved in making films and it has been fun. They were out on location shooting and attended a premiere gala event where all the students got dressed up. We rolled out the red carpet and had fake paparazzi, so they felt like movie stars. Hopefully, at some point these films will be posted online.”
And there’s no breather.
“After that, we’re continuing our Play Reading Series that’s run out of Jan McArt’s office, where we produce four plays in this series each year, mostly by local playwrights. Mark Della Ventura, who is also writing for the 24-Hour Theatre Project, has his play Is There a Chance slotted to be read next in the series, on February 3 at 7:30 PM,” Adam said.
The next play in the series, Marriage Counselor, by David Sirois will be read on March 10, 2010. The readings take place in the Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall and the tickets are $10 each, benefiting the university drama program. Tickets for groups of 20 or more are $7 each. Jan McArt’s Theatre Arts Guild members are free, but must make reservations in advance. To purchase tickets, call the theatre box office at 561-237-9000.
“Then we have a student directed production that we’re going to produce that students are submitting for approval right now and that’ll take place in mid-March,” Adam pointed out. “And then we’re doing a play called ‘Project Nuremberg’ which is a new project that we’re writing right now, basically – many months ago, we discovered in our library we have the original transcripts from the Nuremberg Trials. The University got together with a whole bunch of different organizations; local Temples, Rabbis, and we decided to put on a big function based on these transcripts. There are lots of different aspects to it. And our participation involvement in the presentation is to create a play based on the trials. We begin production on it the first week of February and the show will have a private premiere and then it’ll open on Wednesday, April 21 – 24th.”
The semester ends the first week of May. ‘Project Nuremberg’ will end one week before final exams and then after the final exams the kids go home. But the funny thing is – the students in Lynn’s Drama Program, they don’t want to go home, they really want to stay. No wonder … look who is leading them into their professional lives – Adam and Carrie Simpson. Any student would be lucky to have them as mentors. And any parent, grateful to them for their mentorship.
Ah-hah. Wait just a moment. “We do teach acting classes in the summer,” Adam said. “But we don’t have any productions.”
In fact, Adam and Carrie begin planning their agenda for the following year in March. They always have something clever up their sleeves. Just you wait and see. “Right now we’re waiting for more details to come out about the new black box theatre and then we’ll start planning our season around that bit of information.”
As always, look for more unique programming from this admirable couple!
For more information, go to: www.lynn.edu.
=================
A native of Toledo, OH and a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz has been a professional journalist since her teenage years and is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, and a freelance writer for CRAVINGS South Florida in Aventura, as well as Around Wellington Magazine, Lighthouse Point Magazine, and Pandora. An avid photographer, her images have appeared in numerous Ohio publications, as well as in Miami Living, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was originally read at First Stage in Los Angeles and in the same city produced at the Lone Star Ensemble. It was then produced at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and then taken to an Off-Broadway playhouse by its producers Adam and Carrie Simpson. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feel free to contact her at: meschwartz1@hotmail.com.
February, 2010 – The Future’s Greatest Challenge
Teen Talk
The Future’s Greatest Challenge
By Evan Baumel
When the Cold War ended in 1991, many Americans were optimistic about the future. No foreign country was capable of challenging the economic, social, and political supremacy of the United States. However, as soon as the “Iron Curtain” had fallen, another cold war had begun, this time within America itself. Eventually, a “culture war” erupted that spread throughout the nation. Debate over even the smallest of issues, such as the effects of television on children, sparked strong passions in liberal and conservative corners. Even today, there is a lack of mutual understanding on both sides of the spectrum.
I have noticed that, over the past two decades, the Democratic and Republican parties have embraced the far-left and far-right ideologies, respectively. To me, this is the greatest threat to the foundations that have supported this great country. A clear example of this would be the health care debate during the summer of 2009. Rather than focus on the merits or faults of the legislation being considered, several right-wing Republican groups and prominent figures immediately dismissed the initiative as “socialism.” The Democratic base was not helping itself either. At one Democratic meeting, the organization tried to vote on a resolution urging President Obama to continue to support the “public option”. Almost immediately, far-left hecklers disrupted the meeting, favoring a more radical “single payer” system, which would only allow the government to run health care (legitimizing the far-right’s argument). The meeting became so chaotic that the session had to be dismissed.
I view political extremism as a threat because I know that pragmatic individuals founded this country through compromise. The founding fathers (and mothers) who created this government based it on a few common principles. They agreed on the grounds that this country would be a democratic republic, where the leaders are chosen and take orders from the people. Basic rights such as freedom of speech and religion were not to be infringed. The press would not be censored, affirming Thomas Jefferson’s quote that “when choosing between a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I would rather choose the latter.”
Even a few decades ago, the divisions between the parties were not as prevalent. In Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, he recalls the first meeting he had with the longtime Senator Robert Byrd. Mr. Byrd remembers that when he first came to the Capitol, it was not uncommon for Democrats and Republicans to discuss the issues together. As president, Barack Obama tried to reach out to the Republicans, but the Republicans did not cooperate (the Democrats did the same with George W. Bush).
I have found that the greatest American leaders, such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, were usually political moderates. When they needed to solve a problem, they would hear from both sides before making a decision. If anyone wishes to truly solve the nation’s ailments, he or she needs to ignore the partisan bickering and instead listen to every side of the debate.
As the future generation, we must make it our mission to cooperate with people who hold different views from ours. So far, I have seen great progress. At Wellington High School, the Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs often hold joint meetings for non-partisan speakers. They see it as an effort to reach across the aisle and share ideas that could lead to a better future. It is my hope that the leaders of the next generation refuse to play the same politics as usual and work together to build a better future for our country.
Evan Baumel is a senior at Wellington High School. He’s involved in Debate, National Honor Society, Key Club, politics and writes for the school newspaper.