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NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “People” Category

Teapots & Nana – A Mother’s Day Memory

Posted on May 7, 2014

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb (as shared by Deb) “Do you know why I love teapots?” Debbie said a short time after my mother’s passing in December of 2010. “Because Nana and I would sit in the kitchen in the early morning and she would read my future in the tea leaves left inside my tea cup – it was always something wonderful and positive.” My mother had a wealth of folklore knowledge and knowledge about superstitions. Among them was one about tea leaves. If a tea bag broke inside a teapot or cup as it simmered, it was good luck to finish drinking the cup of tea she told us. Then she would turn the cup upside down, slowly twirl it around on its…

Courageous Paralympian Wows “Dancing With The Stars” Audience

Posted on March 19, 2014

Commentary by:Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb Stories about triumph of the human spirit never cease to amaze me. A performance by double amputee Amy Purdy on Monday night’s 2014 season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” wowed the audience, and was courageous. Without prior knowledge that Purdy was dancing on two prosthetic legs, one would not have had a clue from the way she moved and swayed with dancing pro partner Derek Hough during a routine that earned the team a standing ovation and is sure to inspire others with disabilities. Purdy’s willingness to put herself front and center and dance on television in front of millions of viewers was an astounding act of personal strength. It comes on the heels of her winning a bronze…

Shamrock Angel in the House -Thank You Ann

Posted on March 8, 2014

By: Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb I have written here on newsandviewsjb many times about the good works of my friend Ann Walsh. She was one of the original volunteers for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and has been instrumental in raising thousands of dollars for the foundation towards research to fight pediatric cancer. She has been a volunteer at Mary’s Place in Windsor, Connecticut – A Center for Grieving Children, has participated in a program to help youngsters at the local schools learn courtesy and manners, for some eleven years she has coordinated a care package program for the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan called “Send Hometown Windsor to the Troops”, was instrumental too in advancing plans for the Connecticut Trees of Honor Memorial, and…

Turkey Man in the Kitchen – My Progressive Dad Gobbles Ahead of His Time

Posted on November 27, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb Though old-fashioned when it came to boys dating his daughters and granddaughters, I’ve long realized in all other ways my father was progressive. There was never any question, I was college bound. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of a big, red piggy bank college fund. My father often said, “Education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you.” I remember too at around age five, on one of our annual summer sojourns from Connecticut to visit my grandmother ( my dad’s mother) in New Hampshire asking him  –   “Daddy – does Gram like having white hair ?” He laughed at length then said to me -“When we get to the farm –…

Connecticut Man Seeks Swimming Triple Crown 28 Years After Conquering English Channel

Posted on July 16, 2013

Twenty-eight years after swimming the English Channel at age 22, and twenty-four years after circumnavigating the water around Manhattan Island, Marty McMahon, a former president of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce in Connecticut, has his heart set on achieving the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming by swimming the Catalina Channel in Southern California on July 17. And, heart is truly what this swim is all about for McMahon. McMahon, who currently heads the WCC’s tourism committee, is taking on the athletic challenge to raise money and awareness for Autism Services and Resources Ct ASRC (www.ct-asrc.org); McMahon’s son Denis has Asperger  syndrome, which is part of the autism spectrum. According to Open Water Source, the marathon swims in the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming…

Birthday Cakes & Other Pleasant Surprises

Posted on July 2, 2013

Speaking of birthday cakes which I did in my previous post has gotten me thinking about life’s pleasant surprises. Recently, one of mine was a birthday cake homemade by my nephew’s wife Melane when we all went up to the New Hamsphire Maple Weekend in March. Yes – homemade and delicious! It took me completely by surprise. That has prompted a positive stream of consciousness for me as I pondered some other pleasant surprises in my life – a kiss in a silo, an off-key serenade from a boy in college, a handmade beaded necklace from my nieces, a congratulatory note from my sister, a note from my dad on my sixteenth birthday, a watermelon boat my sister-in-law made for a surprise party my family…

Ann Walsh Honored by Windsor, Connecticut Veterans

Posted on November 11, 2011

Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com For nearly six years Ann Walsh’s  irrepressible determination and big heart have been the  driving  force behind Send Hometown Windsor To The Troops, a community service project of WIN-TV.  Thanks to her ongoing efforts Windsor’s sons  and daughters serving in the military in Iraq and  Afghanistan receive care packages on a regular basis, boxes filled with basic necessities,  homemade  cookies, homemade breads, other goodies and cards and letters to remind them they are thought about  and  appreciated. This year Walsh was honored by Windsor’s veterans – chosen as the first person who is not a veteran, to give the keynote speech for the Veterans Day Ceremony held 11/11/11 at town hall. She spoke of the strong sense…