Saturday, December 25, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Toys for Tots
Thanks to everyone who came out and donated to Toys for Tots on Friday at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills. I'm pictured above with Jerry Kristafer (102.9 WDRC-FM) and Second Lieutenant Matthew Blumenthal (son of Senator-Elect Richard Blumenthal).
Upcoming Toys for Tots events include...
- Friday, Dec 3 & Saturday, Dec 4 – Brass Mill Center, Waterbury
- Friday, Dec 10 & Saturday, Dec 11 – Westfarms, Farmington
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Victim to Survivor to Thriver
I was honored to emcee this Thriver event. I was in the presence of so many incredible women. The Thriver Workbook is a new book for women who have been abused and want to reclaim their lives! The author - Susan M. Omilian - is the award-winning originator and facilitator of My Avenging Angel Workshops. My dear friend Cecile Enrico was honored at the event, as a thriver success story. She is the Executive Director of Interval House.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July! I enjoyed a great BBQ at Sharon's house - she's a FOX CT photographer. Sharon had about 40 people over to her house. We ate hot dogs, hamburgers, pork tenderloin, potato salad, mac n' cheese, and desserts galore! And we couldn't have asked for a better day!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Miss Missouri 2010
Congratulations to Erika Hebron, our 2010 Miss Missouri. It was our 40th Anniversary, and I was honored to emcee again this year.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Race for the Cure
Thanks to everyone who came out to Race for the Cure today!
Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the global leader of the breast cancer movement, investing nearly $1.5 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and try to find a cure! Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Memorial Day Remembrances
In honor of those who serve, I’m including a portion of an essay I wrote in college about the life experiences of my grandparents, also known as the “Greatest Generation.” We can all learn so much from this generation.
This is a tribute to my grandfather, just one of many servicemen, who put his life on the line for all of us.
“When I lived in Mississippi, we drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle,” my grandma Weenie said, “and we would leave home in the morning and play all day outside.”
Life in rural Mississippi in the early Twentieth Century had virtually no paved roads, no plumbing, and little electricity. Throughout the United States, many changes during this time were beginning to occur through advances in technology. The turn of the century was one of transition and progress and is considered the first decade of materialism and consumerism. Advances in all these areas remained comparatively slow throughout the early decades, well into the 1930's when the Great Depression stagnated lifestyles. However, the people of Mississippi kept a positive attitude. During this time, my grandma Weenie saw the small town of Durant, Mississippi come together and learn the meaning of sharing. But to others throughout the nation, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the maxims on which they had based their lives – democracy, capitalism, and individualism. My family, especially my grandparents, have experienced many historical events first hand – the Stock Market Crash, Pearl Harbor, WWII – and saw how their surrounding environments changed because of these events, for better or worse.
When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, he feverishly created program after program to give relief, create jobs, and stimulate economic recovery for the U.S. “When he first took office, my father didn’t like him,” explained my grandfather. “We all thought he was too radical trying to implement all these new projects. But as time went by, we realized that these programs were necessary to improve the economy.” The Works Progress Administration (WPA), an ambitious New Deal program, put 8,500,000 jobless to work. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was another work relief program for young men established in March 1933. This program was one of the most successful of the New Deal programs. The New Deal brought jobs and relief to millions of Americans; however, it did not end the depression. The depression ended because of World War II – a war that my grandfather thought he would never have to fight.
During the 1930s, my grandparents attended college together at Delta State. Once my grandfather completed his music degree, he went back to school to enroll in pre-med. courses. Weenie had then graduated and was teaching in Drew. My grandfather said, “I had not been in school a month when I got a letter from ‘Uncle Sam’ telling me to report to Camp Shelby, Mississippi.”
When grandfather got to Camp Shelby, he was inducted into the army and sent to Camp Croft, S.C. to start basic training. Weenie wrote at once that she would come to S.C. to be married to James. My grandfather wrote Weenie telling her that Christmas was only a few weeks away, and he would be getting a leave. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the American naval base in Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, all leaves were canceled. The attacks crippled American fleet in the Pacific and caused entry of the U.S. into World War II.
My grandfather was assigned to an infantry regiment and sent to New York to board troop ships for overseas. He left the Port of Embarkation, New York in January 1942, the first convoy to leave the states after war was declared. During that time, my grandfather was on New Caledonia, a small French Island near Australia. From there, he was in the Guadalcanal and Bougainville, Solomon Islands Campaigns. Grandfather being in and out of tent hospitals with malaria on the Fiji Islands separated these two campaigns. “We had to fight two enemies,” explained grandfather, “one being the tropical diseases and the other being the enemy.”
Two years had gone by, and then my grandfather had to return to Guadalcanal – the same mosquito infested location in which he had contracted malaria. However, this time Guadalcanal had been sprayed with DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). Grandfather was able to stay without any worries of developing the disease again. DDT first tested in the United States in 1942. It saved the lives of countless U.S. soldiers and millions of others across the globe at risk of malaria. In light of its success abroad, when the war ended, DDT was soon widely deployed by public health officials, who banished malaria from the southern United States with its help. “DDT was used everywhere – in the Mississippi Delta, in Water Valley,” my grandfather said. “But I think it was a good thing that the pesticide was banned once we discovered that it was harming the animals.”
As WWII continued, it began to take a toll on the British. One of my grandma’s friends, Evelyn Bohnen, lived in Southampton, England where she was born and raised. “Southampton was very lovely,” explained Mrs. Bohnen, “never as hot as it is in the U.S.” However, Mrs. Bohnen didn’t meet my grandma until she moved to the United States after the war, for she fell in love with an American.
“During WWII, everyone had to work in the armed forces or the factories,” said Mrs. Bohnen. “I started working with ‘Airaid Precautions.’ I went to college for aeronautical engineering for 18 months and took a crash course. Afterward, I was employed as the inspector for the government.” In 1940, Mrs. Bohnen became an inspector for the factories. Women worked in all areas of production ranging from making ammunition to uniforms to airplanes. The hours they worked were long, and some women had to relocate to factory locations.
Dr. Moen Hughes, a Cambridge professor, asked Mrs. Bohnen to become his personal assistant. He was connected with the growth of proctile development and worked for the ministry of supply and development research. “He was almost completely deaf,” explains Mrs. Bohnen. “I guess you could just call me his ‘Girl Friday.’ I took notes for him and listened to his phone calls.”
On August 14, 1940, the Germans attacked Southampton, England. Fortunately, Mrs. Bohnen’s father had taken an area of their home and made an airade shelter with 12-inch thick walls. “I can’t believe my family survived! My church was completely destroyed, and my father’s office was gone,” Mrs. Bohnen said. “We were just lucky to have each other.” Southampton suffered terribly from large-scale air raids during WWII. As a large port city on the south coast, it was an important strategic target for the German air force, Luftwaffe. There were 57 attacks in all, but nerves were frayed by over 1,500 alarms. According to A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution Department) reports over 2,300 bombs were dropped amounting to over 470 tons of high explosives. Over 30,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the city. Nearly 45,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, with most of the city's High Street being hit. There were reports that the glow of Southampton burning could be seen from as far away as Cherbourg on the North coast of France. Nazi publicity declared in propaganda that the city had been left a smoking ruin. “My father was devastated because he lost his only son. My brother was an officer with the Royal Signal Corps, a branch of the British army. He died on August 11, 1942 when a mine was bombed,” explained Mrs. Bohnen. “I will never forget that day.”
During WWII, my grandma Weenie stayed in Drew, Mississippi, and taught second grade. “I could only teach second grade because I couldn’t do third grade arithmetic,” said Weenie, laughing. Sue Whirly, Weenie’s cousin, was a math major and applied for Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in New York during WWII. “Sue was accepted, and she was ecstatic to help build the airplanes during the war,” Weenie said. “But Sue was even more excited about livin’ up in New York City. I think that’s the main reason she applied to Grumman, so she could live in the big apple.”
Back in the United States, when World War II had finally ended in 1945, my grandfather was able to come home. Camp Shelby was where it all started almost four years before. “I was home,” my grandfather said, “and I had long wondered if that day would ever come.” The next day, June 15, 1945, in a little Army chapel in New Orleans, Weenie and James were married.
My uncle, Ed French, has written a book, Crossing the Old Man. It’s a story of appreciation and affirmation of the generation of Americans who grew up during The Great Depression, experienced World War II, and built families and careers afterwards. It is a story told through the eyes and from the memories of a Baby Boomer whose fond reflections of visiting his family in Mississippi are always first met by crossing an old river. It is a story that challenges the reader to look inside himself by looking at the lives of others. It is a story that touches anywhere in the country, but is set in the Deep South. It is a journey met with humor, sorrow and acknowledgment, by crossing an old river – the Old Man. Click here to order Crossing the Old Man.
This is a tribute to my grandfather, just one of many servicemen, who put his life on the line for all of us.
Dr. James French
Feb. 21, 1919 – Jan. 9, 2007
Feb. 21, 1919 – Jan. 9, 2007
“When I lived in Mississippi, we drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle,” my grandma Weenie said, “and we would leave home in the morning and play all day outside.”
Life in rural Mississippi in the early Twentieth Century had virtually no paved roads, no plumbing, and little electricity. Throughout the United States, many changes during this time were beginning to occur through advances in technology. The turn of the century was one of transition and progress and is considered the first decade of materialism and consumerism. Advances in all these areas remained comparatively slow throughout the early decades, well into the 1930's when the Great Depression stagnated lifestyles. However, the people of Mississippi kept a positive attitude. During this time, my grandma Weenie saw the small town of Durant, Mississippi come together and learn the meaning of sharing. But to others throughout the nation, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the maxims on which they had based their lives – democracy, capitalism, and individualism. My family, especially my grandparents, have experienced many historical events first hand – the Stock Market Crash, Pearl Harbor, WWII – and saw how their surrounding environments changed because of these events, for better or worse.
When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, he feverishly created program after program to give relief, create jobs, and stimulate economic recovery for the U.S. “When he first took office, my father didn’t like him,” explained my grandfather. “We all thought he was too radical trying to implement all these new projects. But as time went by, we realized that these programs were necessary to improve the economy.” The Works Progress Administration (WPA), an ambitious New Deal program, put 8,500,000 jobless to work. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was another work relief program for young men established in March 1933. This program was one of the most successful of the New Deal programs. The New Deal brought jobs and relief to millions of Americans; however, it did not end the depression. The depression ended because of World War II – a war that my grandfather thought he would never have to fight.
During the 1930s, my grandparents attended college together at Delta State. Once my grandfather completed his music degree, he went back to school to enroll in pre-med. courses. Weenie had then graduated and was teaching in Drew. My grandfather said, “I had not been in school a month when I got a letter from ‘Uncle Sam’ telling me to report to Camp Shelby, Mississippi.”
When grandfather got to Camp Shelby, he was inducted into the army and sent to Camp Croft, S.C. to start basic training. Weenie wrote at once that she would come to S.C. to be married to James. My grandfather wrote Weenie telling her that Christmas was only a few weeks away, and he would be getting a leave. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the American naval base in Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, all leaves were canceled. The attacks crippled American fleet in the Pacific and caused entry of the U.S. into World War II.
My grandfather was assigned to an infantry regiment and sent to New York to board troop ships for overseas. He left the Port of Embarkation, New York in January 1942, the first convoy to leave the states after war was declared. During that time, my grandfather was on New Caledonia, a small French Island near Australia. From there, he was in the Guadalcanal and Bougainville, Solomon Islands Campaigns. Grandfather being in and out of tent hospitals with malaria on the Fiji Islands separated these two campaigns. “We had to fight two enemies,” explained grandfather, “one being the tropical diseases and the other being the enemy.”
Two years had gone by, and then my grandfather had to return to Guadalcanal – the same mosquito infested location in which he had contracted malaria. However, this time Guadalcanal had been sprayed with DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). Grandfather was able to stay without any worries of developing the disease again. DDT first tested in the United States in 1942. It saved the lives of countless U.S. soldiers and millions of others across the globe at risk of malaria. In light of its success abroad, when the war ended, DDT was soon widely deployed by public health officials, who banished malaria from the southern United States with its help. “DDT was used everywhere – in the Mississippi Delta, in Water Valley,” my grandfather said. “But I think it was a good thing that the pesticide was banned once we discovered that it was harming the animals.”
As WWII continued, it began to take a toll on the British. One of my grandma’s friends, Evelyn Bohnen, lived in Southampton, England where she was born and raised. “Southampton was very lovely,” explained Mrs. Bohnen, “never as hot as it is in the U.S.” However, Mrs. Bohnen didn’t meet my grandma until she moved to the United States after the war, for she fell in love with an American.
“During WWII, everyone had to work in the armed forces or the factories,” said Mrs. Bohnen. “I started working with ‘Airaid Precautions.’ I went to college for aeronautical engineering for 18 months and took a crash course. Afterward, I was employed as the inspector for the government.” In 1940, Mrs. Bohnen became an inspector for the factories. Women worked in all areas of production ranging from making ammunition to uniforms to airplanes. The hours they worked were long, and some women had to relocate to factory locations.
Dr. Moen Hughes, a Cambridge professor, asked Mrs. Bohnen to become his personal assistant. He was connected with the growth of proctile development and worked for the ministry of supply and development research. “He was almost completely deaf,” explains Mrs. Bohnen. “I guess you could just call me his ‘Girl Friday.’ I took notes for him and listened to his phone calls.”
On August 14, 1940, the Germans attacked Southampton, England. Fortunately, Mrs. Bohnen’s father had taken an area of their home and made an airade shelter with 12-inch thick walls. “I can’t believe my family survived! My church was completely destroyed, and my father’s office was gone,” Mrs. Bohnen said. “We were just lucky to have each other.” Southampton suffered terribly from large-scale air raids during WWII. As a large port city on the south coast, it was an important strategic target for the German air force, Luftwaffe. There were 57 attacks in all, but nerves were frayed by over 1,500 alarms. According to A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution Department) reports over 2,300 bombs were dropped amounting to over 470 tons of high explosives. Over 30,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the city. Nearly 45,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, with most of the city's High Street being hit. There were reports that the glow of Southampton burning could be seen from as far away as Cherbourg on the North coast of France. Nazi publicity declared in propaganda that the city had been left a smoking ruin. “My father was devastated because he lost his only son. My brother was an officer with the Royal Signal Corps, a branch of the British army. He died on August 11, 1942 when a mine was bombed,” explained Mrs. Bohnen. “I will never forget that day.”
During WWII, my grandma Weenie stayed in Drew, Mississippi, and taught second grade. “I could only teach second grade because I couldn’t do third grade arithmetic,” said Weenie, laughing. Sue Whirly, Weenie’s cousin, was a math major and applied for Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in New York during WWII. “Sue was accepted, and she was ecstatic to help build the airplanes during the war,” Weenie said. “But Sue was even more excited about livin’ up in New York City. I think that’s the main reason she applied to Grumman, so she could live in the big apple.”
Back in the United States, when World War II had finally ended in 1945, my grandfather was able to come home. Camp Shelby was where it all started almost four years before. “I was home,” my grandfather said, “and I had long wondered if that day would ever come.” The next day, June 15, 1945, in a little Army chapel in New Orleans, Weenie and James were married.
My uncle, Ed French, has written a book, Crossing the Old Man. It’s a story of appreciation and affirmation of the generation of Americans who grew up during The Great Depression, experienced World War II, and built families and careers afterwards. It is a story told through the eyes and from the memories of a Baby Boomer whose fond reflections of visiting his family in Mississippi are always first met by crossing an old river. It is a story that challenges the reader to look inside himself by looking at the lives of others. It is a story that touches anywhere in the country, but is set in the Deep South. It is a journey met with humor, sorrow and acknowledgment, by crossing an old river – the Old Man. Click here to order Crossing the Old Man.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2010 Emmy Awards
(I was a presenter for the night, click part 9)
FOX 61 also won an Emmy for our coverage of the death of our dear friend and colleague, Alice Morrin. This was a bittersweet award, but our former News Director, Bob Rockstroh, gave a phenomenal speech. He even received a standing ovation.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Help flood victims in Tennessee
I emailed my cousin Jill Douglas, married to musician Jerry Douglas, to make sure everyone was okay with all the flooding in Tennessee. I’d like to share an email with you that Jill sent me…
…Devastation is widespread in the Bellevue area; many, many of Olivia's friends [Jill’s daughter] are homeless. Being on the hill, we are fine. We lost a couple of trees, which fell in the TVA right of way. Ashley's home had water flowing through it for approximately 36 hours. On top of that, her beloved fox terrier died this morning. Our neighbor has two trees through her roof, which Grant tarped for her immediately after they fell, and Olivia moved all the furniture for her. Jerry and I were in North Carolina on Saturday and scheduled to travel through Nashville on the way to Memphis for the Beale Street Music festival. The tour bus arrived in Nashville around 8 a.m. Sunday. I awakened to the sound of water rushing against the bus at ear level in my bottom bunk. We were able to get into the parking lot at SoundCheck (rehearsal hall and storage space where Keith Urban – among many others – lost everything, just an hour later) and pick up a trailer which had been packed earlier in the week with Jerry and Alison's things [Jerry plays with Alison Krauss & Union Station]. I am certain if we had arrived 30 minutes later it would have been impossible to get in there. Leaving Soundcheck, we headed for Wal-Mart near our house to meet the other bus, only to learn the parking lot was flooded. So the driver aborted that mission and was going to bring us home, but getting across town was not possible. We had a call saying to forget the Beale St Fest, so at that point we made our way to the airport Marriott, high on a hill. Our entire bus checked-in, followed a couple of hrs later by many, many from the Opryland Hotel, which had to be evacuated. It has been a trying week for our fellow middle Tennesseans. We are all pitching in. The Red Cross found the need for their services to be far less than would be expected, due to the volunteer spirit of neighbor helping neighbor. Clean-up and rebuilding will be a monumental task. Thank goodness the President declared the area a federal disaster.
Thanks for checking in. Sorry to be so late in answering. It has been wild!
Sarah, please do what you can to get our story out and to let it be known that Nashville is cleaning up and we will be ready to welcome visitors soon! The CMA Music Festival WILL go on, as scheduled, next month.
Love you all,
Jill
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN LUNCHEON
I had the honor of speaking at the youth reception before the
The Creating Opportunities Youth Reception, sponsored by the YWCA, welcomed young women from all across the state to participate in the reception prior to the luncheon. I shared a motivational speech to the young women - which focused on journalism as a career and personal insight about the field as a woman. I wanted to motivate the young women to pursue their dreams and actively engage opportunities throughout their lives.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
GPS Tracking Devices for Domestic Violence Offenders
A bill before Connecticut legislators would require convicted stalkers and abusers to wear Global Positioning System monitors to alert law enforcement of their movements.
Other states already employ GPS in their fight against domestic violence.
It's not fool-proof, but is this a good thing? Bad?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
2010 Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade
The crowds were way down at the annual Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade, but the hearty, stalwart souls who turned were determined to come and enjoying every minute. Nor did the inhospitable weather deter the parade itself. The usual array of fife and drum corps, bagpipers, twirlers and Irish dancers were all in attendance, many, though not all, sporting serious rain gear.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
LIVE A HAPPY LIFE
HABITS THAT HELP ME LIVE A HAPPY LIFE
- Begin each day with a prayer.
- Laugh, laugh and then laugh some more!
- Live every day and every hour, with passion and enthusiasm.
- Positive Thinking! It has a million-plus benefits. It gives power to turn the worst situation into victory!
- The habit of giving joyously and generously!
- The habit of spontaneity - thinking of it - doing it - carpe diem - seize the moment!
- The habit of entering every day, every hour, without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat.
- The habit of forgiving - always - everyone - quickly. Do not waste time in un-forgiveness!
- The habit of optimism - seeing the best in people and the best in circumstances, situations, and the best for the future.
- The habit of having an attitude of gratitude. Giving thanks daily.
- Being an encourager. Helping people feel better, stronger - tell them they can accomplish their goals and dreams. Be supportive.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Reid: 'Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive'
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Monday that domestic violence by men has increased due to U.S. joblessness.
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