Grinches

Tree honoring dead boys stolen from school
Blue spruce tree was planted in memory of two brothers who died in fire

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer Last updated: 1:23 p.m., Wednesday, December 3, 2008
TROY -- Someone cut down and stole a 9-foot-tall blue spruce tree from Public School 14 planted in memory of two young brothers who died in a fire at their mother's home in Pittstown eight years ago. "It's part of school. I was heartbroken,'' said first-grade teacher Beth Behan, who discovered the freshly cut stump outside her classroom on Wednesday morning.
Behan knew the fire victims: 7-year-old David Trudell and his brother, Jacob, 6.
"I had David in my class," Behan recalled. "He was a sweet little boy.''
Her students were dismayed by the destruction of the memorial tree, which they observed daily, studying the birds and squirrels it attracted.
Behan said the class had planned to put seed bells in the tree to feed the birds.
Principal Karen Cloutier said the school at 1700 Tibbits Ave. would raise funds to replace the tree and install a plaque to honor the two Trudell brothers.
City police are investigating the crime.

Two Brothers

I wrote this after the boys died. We planted and dedicated two trees, one slightly bigger than the other, not long after one was cut down as a fraternity prank. The police followed the footprints in the snow. I'm not sure if I wrote this before or after the first one was cut down, but I think I wrote it while I was in grad school (I left for school a month after they were killed) because it has comments from a teacher on it, so I must have submitted it for something. I also have an oil-crayon (cray-pod) sketch of a two trees in front of a school. Never said I was an artist.

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For David and Jake:

Two brother evergreen trees stood together one fall afternoon.

The smaller one looked up at the bigger one and asked, “Why are you bigger than me?”

The taller tree replied, “I am taller so I can always watch over you. After all, I am your big brother.”



The next day the sun rose and the smaller tree looked around. He said, “So many trees have beautiful leaves that change color in the fall. Why do we have these prickly needles?”

His brother patiently answered, “We have needles and not leaves because we are special. We are Evergreens. We are always green, even in winter when all the other trees turn bare. We will always be full of life and color.”



The following afternoon, the small tree heard children laughing and playing. Wishing he could play too, he asked, “Why can’t we laugh and play like other little boys?”

The taller tree smiled and said, “We have a more important job. We must give branches for climbing and shade for sitting in on a hot day. We give needles and cones to make gifts with. We may not run and play, but we are important. We provide a place for children to run to and learn about.”

The littler tree thought about this. He felt the warm sun on his branches and listened to the children who came everyday to visit. It was good to be a tree.

Then he thought of something.

“But what if they cut me down?” he asked sadly.

“Then they will have to cut me down too, for brothers have to stay together. But that will not happen for a hundred years. We still have much growing to do as all brothers do.”

The little tree liked that answer. It was good to be a tree, but it was even better to be a little brother.

Random Haze

So, as usual for October, I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the Red Sox lose in 12 innings. I got to the point where I didn't care who won, I just wanted it to end but I refused to go to bed.

Anyway... as I sit here, taking a break from the massive MONTH-LONG cleaning of my apartment, I was thinking:

One word I can NEVER spell correctly: vacuum - 2 c's? 2 u's?

I HATE Ozzie Guinnen (sp?)

Fall is not the same now that the tree has been trimmed

The Rays took the Devil out of their name and now look at them!

I turned 33 1/2 the other day.

I am getting too old to have a crush.

I am trying to be more organized and follow through on things.

I HATE the Parting Glass now. But I still miss Hair of the Dog.

Fifteen years after high school, I still have the same two best friends. And I love them and I miss them. And even though we all live completely different lives, our history binds us forever.

I wonder if everytime we make a new friend we lose an old one.

I went to a wedding a while back and for the first time ever in my life, I danced with wild abandon. Well, not quite, but I wasn't self-conscious. I was enjoying the moment and every picture of me from that ngith shows a genuine smile. That is rare.

I want to take ballroom dancing lessons.

I guess that's it for now. Must continue the cleaning efforts before the Red Sox game. I hope they clinch tonight. I need sleep! :-)

Sooooo sleepy...

I could sleep for a week but there is so much to do, like work tomorrow, clean like a mad person on Saturday and scrapbook w/ Melissa on Sunday. And I have three DVDs to review. And I thought life would slow down when SPAC ended. Ha!

Adios

It actually is amazing to me how much of my soul is still a Yankee fan.  Despite the Red Sox flag in my office, the Varitek poster over my desk, part of my heart will always belong in Yankee Stadium.

I'll admit, I don't like change.  I spent the first 17 years of my life a Mets fan, untill the day they traded David Cone to Toronto.  By then, I had already acquired a healthy respect for the Yankees and as they added remarkable players in the years that followed (O'Neill, Bernie, Tino, Girardi)  I was 100% a Yankees fan the day my father picked me up from my job as an electronics dept. clerk @ Bradlees and told me they'd signed David Cone.  Nothing could ever make me happier.

I was away at college the first time they went to the play offs in 1995.  I wore my Yankees cap every moment I couldn't be watching the games on TV.  I cried with Cone when he gave up the walk that basically eliminated them. 

But as David Wells pointed out last night and I've never agreed with him more.  His favorite team was 98 if I remember correctly.  They were a team of 25 guys who went to dinner and hung out and enjoyed being together.  It shows in what they were able to accomplish.  But the key is THEY WERE A TEAM.  Not 25 prima donnas.  They worked hard, they respected their manager and each other.

I'm sure fans of the Babe or Mantle have never found the same caliber of players to replace their idol.  That's where I am.  I still pledge my allegience to Jeter and Pettite and especially Rivera and Posada who once upon a time drove me insane.  Jorge was affectionately known as dumbass for his inability to remember how to run the bases and his lack off effort when it came to BLOCKING the plate.  Now they are 2 of my all time favorites. 

No matter who the revolving door of a bench held, the core guys remained the same.  It had to be difficult for Tino to replace Mattingly, but seeing as Mattingly played at a time when I loathed the Yanks as a Mets fan, I had no allegience to him.  And as far as Giambi, I was threatened with a beer bottle smashed in my face when I calmly explained that the Yanks had no real need for him.  I still believe it, although Nick Johnson who was supposed to replace Tino didn't appear to live up to the hype.  But then neither did "The Toad," Kevin Brown or Carl Pavano.

I am sure as this season winds down I will have even more insights in the Yankees, the stadium and my strong attatchment to baseball and its players.  but right now, that will have to wait.

 

 "And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out..."
--- "Falling Slowly"

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Hillary & Peter's Wedding

Hillary & Peter's Wedding was a blast. This is Halloran and I in a moment of NOT beating on each other. We are enjoying some delicious Mojitos. Good times!

Yankee Memories

2. Section 4. Fruity Umbrella drinks. Marcus Thames first hit, a homerun off Randy Johnson. Shane Spencer hit a grand slam, right Jen?

3. Being groped by a Baldwin. Still not sure which one.

4. Taking Michael to his only Red Sox game ever @ Yankee Stadium.

5. Clemens 300th win. Welcome back Tino and Girdardi.

6. Holly's bachelorette party.

7. Following Robin Ventura's brother-in-law onto the subway.

8. Yankees vs. Red Sox July 7th 2003, Moose vs. Pedro. Soriano leaves the game, Jeter leaves the game. Enrique Wilson @ SS, Todd Zeile @ 3B, Giambi @ 1B, and Robin Ventura @ 2B. Weirdest infield ever.

Least Favorite Memory

1. Aaron Boone's title clinching homerun off Tim Wakefield in 2003. I was still annoyed they had acquired him and released Robin Ventura, then the idiot goes and tears his ACL in a pickup game of basketball. Which leads the Yankees to sign A-Fraud. Aaron F*ing Boone!

Yankee Memories

1. My first game ever. Old Timers' Day 1983. Against the White Sox. Tom Seaver was supposed to pitch but was a late scratch. My sister left me standing alone in the rear of a McDonalds in the Bronx.

Survived Day 1

179 to go

More Baseball and Broadway...

... a great way to end the summer.

Jen and I attended another Valley Cats game. I think we are just die-hard Vermont Lake Monster fans. But while sitting there, we began discussing Mama Mia! Which has been my obsession all summer... A sing a long version was playing @ 9 so once the Cats lost we headed over.

So much fun! I would have sang along regardless but it was fun to have the words so I didn't have to make as many up!

I am in love with Pierce Brosnan. I was disturbed the first time I saw hime sing but this time I was merely amused.

You know you're from UPSTATE when....

• This just never gets old..... It's like an old friend....
• You've ever been to Larkfest or the Tulip Festival. - Been to both....
• You still call the Times Union Center the Pepsi Arena and possibly "The Knick". - I still call it the Knick.... but NEVER TUC
• You can correctly pronounce the words Kosciuszko, Cohoes, Coeymans, and Kayaderosseras. - Hell yeah!
• You know what The Egg is. - Not that you can see it anymore since they built a stupid hotel in front of it.
• You know what and where Nipper is. - Nipper ROCKS!
• You expect to see nothing but grey between the months of November and May. - there are many shades of gray....
• You remember when Crossgates was only half as big as it is now. Bonus points if you know what store was there before Best Buy. - I remember when it opened.... and there was a movie theatre UPSTAIRS.... and of course... CALDOR. (PS I worked in the one in Latham)
• You've ever rooted for the River Rats. - I used to know the kid who was Rowdy. And Jordy Kinnear was my favorite Rat
• You grew up on Channels 6, 10, and 13. - Ed Dague, need I say more?
• The word "dredge" immediately conjures up thoughts of GE. - just let it go man...
• Spring means potholes. - whoohoo! New shocks!
• You never expect them to pass the budget on time. - There's an actual due date? Who knew?
• You are only mildly irritated by double-parked cars. - Nah, I still get annoyed.
• You know the 3 closest Stewart's shops to your house. - Not just my house, but both of my jobs as well.
• You've ever eaten something from Freihoffer's or Breugers. - yummy chocolate chip cookies... and Breuggars started in TROY! Best bagels ever.
• You know where the governor's house is. - uh, actually, I don't. Pataki refused to live here.
• You've never called I-87 anything other than "The Northway".Okay, maybe you've called it "The Thruway", too. Depends which side of Albany you're from. Is the southbound lane of the Northway, still the Northway when it's heading south?
• You know when there's going to be traffic on the Twin Bridges. - The twin bridges have a real name, after a Polish guy.
• You know that there are two different Route 7s off the Northway. Bonus if you know there used to only be one. - I STILL call it Alternate Route 7.... even though it's no longer an alternate...
• You know what SPAC stands for. - I know more about SPAC than I care to know. The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is my second home.
• You know what SUNY means. - Gotta love the SUNY system.
• You know what a pine barren is and where you can find one. - this one stumps me. What the hell is a pine barren??????
• You know somewhere in the Hudson that's clean. - only in my dreams...
• Poughkeepsie is "downstate". - Hell yeah!
• Arbor Hill and Hamilton Hill are as bad as Camden to you. Doesn't matter where I am going, everytime I get lost I end up in Arbor Hill.
• You know which lake people are talking about when they say "the lake". - Well, duh? Isn't there only one CITY in NY?
• You remember the Cinema 10 in Northway Mall. - I saw Fox & the Hound there... and Disorderlies.... b/c someone's mom wouldn't let us see Dirty Dancing cause it was... get this PG-13!
• You've ever gone up in the Corning Tower. My mom used to work there.
• You know where Buildings 1, 2, 3, and 4 are. - But I never knew when end to start counting from
• You know where the Stockade is. - lovely Schenectady
• You know which city is the Collar City and which is the Electric City. The collar city is better, I mean, we had Uncle Sam!
• You've spent the equivalent of the GDP of Nicaragua trying to win a stuffed animal at the Great Escape. - But do you remember when it was Storytown and Gaslight Village was down the street?
• You think Saratoga is classy. - Isn't it?
• You or someone you know has grandparents in Amsterdam. Ummm... not that I know of.
• Your parents have asked you to consider SUNY Plattsburgh. - Did the college tour there but refused to go to a school in the middle of nowhere!
• If you're from Schenectady then Troy might as well be Mars to you and vice versa. - I am such a Troy kid that I got lost on my way to my job interview. The only thing worth going to in Schenectady is Proctors.
• Milk = Stewart's, Cookies = Freihofer's. End of story.
• You can't give directions to Albany Med to save your life. - Let's hope the ambulance drivers are better at it.
• January Regents Week holds a special place in your heart. - A bonus vacation for the kids, hell for the teachers.
• If there's a chance of a snow day then every radio in your house is tuned to WGY. - Sadly in this age of technology, WGY no longer gives school closings. You have to get out of your nice warm bed and either turn on the TV or the Internet. I miss the days of Don Weeks... Unlce Don, is there any school today?????? And yet our district calendars still say WGY on them.
• You've argued with your parents to take the car out in the middle of a blizzard. - This still occurs annually and I don't live with them.
• You have an ingrained taste for concrete architecture. - maybe a small soft spot.
• You know "The Track" is The August Place To Be. - Correction - it is not the SUMMER place to be since the season is extended from the end of July to the beginning of September.
• You know it's "Awl -buh-nee", not "Al -buh-nee" or, even worse, "All-ben-nee".
• You can think of at least 4 different ways to get to Stuyvesant Plaza from the same starting point. - and in my head they all take 20 minutes.
• You remember when Hannaford was still Shop 'n' Save. - Why, yes I do. I also remember Grand Union and Albany Publiv
• You know that Mason & Sheehan isn't a cheap Champagne. - Didn't they get fired?
• You know what a guy Ken Goewey is. - he was such a guy, he ended up with a Team.
• You know who Nina (of Manchester) and her husband are, and how they sell diamonds for less than 33%. - He sounded like what I'd imagine the voice of God would sound like.
• Everybody likes Jack Byrne. - But I preferred Izzo's in Mechanicville.
• You thought Hoffman's Playland was the bomb as a child. - It still is. Gotta love a place where the attended has to PUSH the roller coaster up the first hill.
• You know that "The Berkshire Spur" isn't a foot ailment. lmao
• You know that "My dad Terry Morris is still number one!" - 1st of all, it's Grandpa now and 2nd, he died.
• You remember when Westgate Plaza used to be THE place to shop. - I highly doubt that. But I do remember when Latham Circle Mall was.
• You know the Times Union is your source. - And the Record is best used for lining litterboxes and wrapping fish.
• If there's even a chance of snow Ichabod Crane will be closed. - Do you know, I once interviewed for a job with them just for that reason????
• Thursday during the summer means Alive at Five and seeing everyone you know from High School. - It's been years since I headed down there.
• You've heard of, or better yet been to, Indian Ladder Farms. - nope, never, but I have been to Five Rivers
• Your parents or your friends parents work for the state... - Both my parents, my sisters, my brother-in-law, my aunt and my uncle. I was the rebel.

Self Esteem

I had a chat with a good friend today about how my views of self-esteem have always been skewed. But tonight I found some in little ways. I chatted up a bartender (FYI knowing baseball comes in handy) and he gave me a drink on him. He was cute too! Then in another bar, I got hit on in the bathroom by a lesbian. Well, not hit on exactly, but she told me I was looking good in green. LOL

It's weird. I was reliving some of my old college days tonight and in many ways I am the same person. But that person was unhappy, suicidal and lost. I am not really any of those things and while I look at my friends who are happily married and whatever, I still would rather be on my own than with the wrong person. I am not as self-destructive as I was back then. But I am not as fearless ever.

Fear controls every aspect of my life.

I am afraid of losing my parents. I am afraid of what others think of me. I am afraid to act on my feelings for someone. But I am afraid of not acting on them and missing out on something.

I am afraid of repeating past mistakes. I am afraid of being stuck in the same place, same job, same rut.

And I know these are things I can change or amend as needed but I AM AFRAID.

I don't know....

Any suggestions?

Other Books Read...

One good thing about SPAC is the reading time... I have read.... Second Helpings by Megan McCaffery, Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot, Liberating Paris by Linda Bloodworth Thomson, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club #6 & 7, Dedicated by the two who wrote The Nanny Diaries. All were enjoyable. Of course I have purchased more books this summer than I've read. Guess I'll have to schedule reading time into my days when I go back to work on Tuesday.

Vacation

I just got home from Cape Cod. I am such a New Englander trapped in the body of an Upstate New Yorker. I love the ocean. The weather beaten houses... the clam chowder... It makes me happy. It was nice to not be working.

A True Yankee

You hear it said that Jeter, Posada, Riveria are TRUE YANKEES, but no one compared to Bobby Murcer.

As long as I can remember, Murcer has been apart of Yankees Baseball. He has always been one of my favorite announcers, with his self-depricating wit. He always seemed a TRUE gentleman. Distinguished in everyway.

It was difficult watching the reactions of the the current Yankees. Mariano and Jorge were definitely affected. Jeter looked like a robot and Joe Girardi was just heartbreaking. The Yankees have lost an amazing spirit.

I was proud to see David Cone say exactly what I said when I heard. Old Timers' Day will never be the same. The best part of the broadcast was Bobby's "hitting coach" and being mic-ed when on the field.

He just always seemed so positive and contented. Someone real. No one has a bad word for him. It's so sad to see him lose the battle he fought so courageously.

My family's thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and everyone whose lives he touched.

Pig Latin is a lost language...

I have had zero time to return emails or phone calls or anything these past 2 weeks. Tomorrow is my last of a three day, twelve hour work marathon. But while I spent 2 hours of my day driving to and from my 2 jobs, I think...

Like does the Harry Tutunjian Bobblehead look like CBS 5 anchor Jerry Gretzinger the way the Jerry Jennings one looks like Steve Capporizo?

Why doesn't anyone use Pig Latin anymore?

How do you make an unassisted triple play???

When a show starts at 8pm, why do you arrive @ 7:45 and get pissed when there's a line buying tickets?? Aparently, there are lots of people just as stupid as you are.

That's all I got for now.... I need sleep to survive tomorrow.

Baseball Book Recommendations

A Pitcher's Story (Innings with David Cone)
The Bad Guys Won (Mets)
The Worst Team Money Could Buy (Mets)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Red Sox) by Stephen King
A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers (Yankees)
Wild Pitch by Mike Lupica
Heat by Mike Lupica
Faithful (Red Sox) by Stephen King and Stuart O'Nan

Broadway and Baseball

I am so enthralled with baseball and broadway right now. Jen & I headed over to Troy for a Tri-City Valley Cats game. It was Jerry Jennings Bobblehead night!!! Whoohoo! It was a great time. I do wonder why I always end up near the people who know NOTHING about baseball. There should be a rule that you have to know something about a sport before they let you in. We had great seats, first row behind home plate, guess they aren't popular but we enjoyed them. It cut down on all the distractions and let us focus on the game. I have a new favorite #44 J.T. Steele - Centerfield. Anyway, the people behind us.... a girl turned to the guy in the middle of the 8th inning w/ the score tied and said, so we'll go into overtime? OVERTIME are you f*ing kidding me? Baseball has extra innings you moron. Even the guys behind us were dumb.

Not that I know EVERYTHING there is to know, but I understand stats, trivia AND rules. I don't need scary people in costumes of the Tooth Fairy, a chicken, a bunny, and a reindeer @ a baseball game. I'm there to watch the game, people watch a little, eat horrible food and relax. The costumed characters are RIDICULOUS!

I have been to A: Tri-City Valley Cats & Oneonta Tigers games, AA: Albany Colonie Yankees games, AAA: Rochester Red Wings games and MLB: Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Red Sox and White Sox games. I go to watch baseball.... and is it my fault if some of the guys are cute?

As I mentioned before, Jen said Broadway make everything better... and she's right. There is nothing like singing show tunes while you're driving around. Maybe we should take a baseball road trip and tour some stadiums.

I am also enjoying David Cone as a YES commentator. Which is making me re-read "A Pitcher's Story" by Roger Angell. Am I too old to write fan mail?

I am keeping good thoughts and prayers for Bobby Murcer. He's one of my favorite all-time Yankees.

Summer Reading List

I have already begun my summer reading... I'll update as I finish books

Finished:
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCaffrey - quick read, realistic teen angst, good story

Reading:
A Pitcher's Story - Roger Angell
The Last Best League

See a theme?