Friday, May 18, 2012
Patch welcomes letters to the editor.
This letter was sent by autism specialist Rob Bernstein, a Greenburgh resident: To the Editor: There is a discussion over whether or not Ferncliff Manor should build a residential school for the developmentally disabled at the vacant WestHELP property. One point that is understated is the potential educational value it would have, being situated on the Westchester Community College (WCC) campus in Valhalla. Students at WCC (and perhaps elsewhere) interested in special education would have the opportunity to engage with the developmentally disabled population. I know from first-hand experience that have first hand experience that children on the severe end of the autism spectrum can significantly improve. Learning how to reach this …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The author emphasizes the power of the apology.
I confess. As a child, I was bullied on a fairly regular basis—sometimes physically, but usually a verbal attack—because I was always the “new kid.” My dad was a salesman and we relocated to where the work was. It wasn’t unusual for us to move on a yearly, sometimes bi-yearly, basis. Clearly, I was an easy target. But thanks to my family, and a few loyal friends, I survived pretty well. Personally, I try to use my life experiences as character builders, but I must admit that if I had the choice I would have skipped more than a few of them. They were quite painful, emotionally if not always physically, and I’d be just as happy if they’d never happened. So when my son came home with stories of being bullied, it really hit home. And if you've…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Here we go again: the real issue at the center of any debate over 'modern motherhood' is exploitation.
You don’t want to look at it, but you can’t look away. God forbid your children see it, what will happen when they view such a corruptible, sensational image?! Oh my, it’s a breast! With a child old enough to walk, talk and ask for food attached to it. A child doing what children are meant to do. Getting attention. That’s right, the biggest—perhaps only—winners in this cover story on breastfeeding and attachment parenting are Time magazine’s publicity, marketing and circulation departments. That’s what the cover image was designed to do: Get attention. And it has gotten lots of attention. Blogs, news websites, network news shows...you name it, everyone has weighed in on the 'controversial' articles and accompanying photos. It's been almost…
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The days of interns being office gophers are a thing of the past. Employers need to be aware of the rules for interns.
Need someone to do your filing, sort your mail, fetch your coffee and other grunt work? An unpaid intern is not the answer. Many may remember summer intern experiences where they had hoped to learn about business and a particular industry but instead spent their time being the office errand boy or girl. Woe to the company that tries that now. New federal guidelines for internships were released in 2010 in response to the uptick in the number of unpaid internships over the last few years. The concern was that some employers were bringing in unpaid labor to help them through tough economic times. One of the issues is having unpaid interns perform tasks that displace paid workers. For example, if an intern performs work that the firm would…
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A child's report card makes me evaluate my own existence.
My oldest son’s report card came in the mail the other day. He is 13 (going on 10) and in his final months of Middle School. His grades were good for the most part, with his traditional spattering of A’s and B’s, but way down at the bottom of his progress report was a brand new letter of the alphabet to add to his transcript–a “D." When pressed about the mark he did a familiar song and dance, and ended up telling me that he just didn’t take the subject too seriously and even worse, didn’t feel like making much of an effort during the semester. Granted it would have been nice to have received a “heads up” from the teacher before his grades were etched in stone, but my wife and I chose to use this experience as an opportunity to convey the …
40.99427
-73.77573
Scarsdale Middle School
134 Mamaroneck Rd, Scarsdale, NY
/articles/stay-at-home-dad-everything-counts
54026
/locations/6977723
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Life Lessons From The Honey Bee
“What life lessons have you learned from the honey bee?” Before visiting an evening course on backyard beekeeping, I would have had no idea how to answer that question. It was posed by DJ Haverkamp of Bedford Bee Service, and after spending a couple hours with him and some bees, the answers came easily. As I peered gingerly into the open hive, I felt a knot in my stomach. Since my childhood, I have associated bees with anxiety and fear. Once, when I was about 12, I raked up a ground hive of yellowjackets and got stung ten times. A few years earlier, just as my family was leaving for vacation, I plopped myself into the backseat and sat directly on a bee. I spent the next few hours on a bumpy ride with a painful bottom. As an adult who …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Well, technically, they've bought property one town over from mine. But now that they'll be living nearby, let's hope everyone in the region will realize those celebs are just like us.
Stop the presses! Didya hear? Hollywood A-listers Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are moving to a town near you! I heard they were spotted house hunting and window shopping in New Canaan. My sister’s friend spotted them buying ice cream in Ridgefield! My manicurist’s fourth cousin once removed saw Blake coming out of the public restroom at a Starbucks in Bedford. Okay, that last one is stretching it a bit, and you can tell I made it up. Technically there isn’t even a Starbucks in Bedford, although that is where the two lovely Lively lovebirds actually did reportedly purchase a $2 million property together. In my cynical midlife years, it’s easy for me to be sarcastic. Not only do I know how much more important real life– and real news–is, …
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Ain't Misbehaving, Part Four.
Designer dog breeds are nothing new: Puggles, Pomapoos and every imaginable Doodle you can think of. Recently however, I’ve begun to notice a new breed of dog owner. Their complaints are typical—their dog or puppy is nipping, jumping, soiling, running through the fence line—but their expectation of me as their “trainer” is not. When I lay out how I work with them, how we work together and I help them understand, translate and modify their dog’s reaction or behavior, there is a pause. “But I want you to come to my house and train my dog.” When I explain that I cannot resolve behavior problems without their participation, that the dog is not an appliance to be fixed, the conversation usually ends there. I worry about these dogs and …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Peter finds anything medical very scary.
Peter is not the best at describing what hurts him or has him not feeling well. Part of it is his level of ability to describe feelings and part of it is his desire to avoid medical personnel whenever possible. When Peter was little, if he walked around the house saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” we would begin looking for blood. Most of the time, we would find the source and battle with him to help clean the wound, put on some medicine and bandage it. The battle would continue to keep the cut covered too, since Peter does not like sticky and bandages are sticky. With that kind of background, you can imagine how much I stress about big procedures. Due to a few symptoms I can only partially piece together—some headaches, a leg that Peter hits …
Terra Rustica, a Briarcliff Manor breakfast place with lunch and dinner potential.
The more restaurant breakfast reviews I do, the more I realize how many restaurants are open only for lunch and dinner. When venturing out to a new area, I search first for places to eat. Example: diners, cafes and restaurants. Then the list gets dwindled down by who actually serves breakfast. I am happy to visit anyplace tiny and cozy or large and intimidating. The most important factors for me, besides the food, are service from my waiter/waitress and the surrounding feelings of comfort. When walking into Terra Rustica, it didn’t have the look of a typical breakfast place because it isn’t. But this did not make the atmosphere any less enjoyable. Sitting at a table by the window, Mela commented on the lounge look with, “First time …
Taryn Grimes-Herbert
10:34 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
BG7, Absolutely. more ›