Friday April 19, 2024 
Family Movie Night
The Greenbush Reformed Church would like to welcome the public to a showing of a family friendly PG movie in our Chilton Hall on Thursday, July 18th. Our hall is located at 14 Hayes Road, East Greenbush. Since it is our inaugural event, we will be providing a picnic style dinner with doors opening at 6pm, followed by the movie showing at 6:30pm. All children must have a supervising adult. We hope to see you there!
‘Just For Kids’ 2019 Free Summer Movie Series
July/August at Cohoes Music Hall, Wednesdays at 1pm on the Big Screen. July 17:Rio, July 24: Pokémon Heroes, August 7: Night at the Museum, August 14: Ice Age: Collision Course, and August 21: The Jungle Book. Admission is Free to all children, parents and chaperones. Parking is Free across from the Music Hall. Doors open at noon with activities Just For Kids with chance to win some cool prizes. Children 12 and under receive a free small popcorn and small bottled water. Tickets may be picked up in advance at the box office 10am-1pm weekdays, day of show or reserved online. Please call 518-953-0630 for more info and group reservations. Cohoes Music Hall at 58 Remsen Street, Cohoes, NY 12047. Check out more movie info at www.thecohoesmusichall.org.
France Magnifique
La Fédération Franco-Américaine du NY is sponsoring a trip to France, featuring the 75th Anniversary of D-Day & Normandy, April 23 – May 7, 2020. Rates include round trip air from New York, air taxes and fees/surcharges, hotel transfers, and 20 meals. Highlights of the trip: Paris, River Seine cruise, Normandy, Omaha Beach, Le Mont St. Michel, Loire Valley, 2-night Chateau stay, winery tour, Lyon, Les Halles de Lyon, Paul Boscuse Market, Avignon, Creme Brûlée Cooking demonstration, Nice, Monaco. Plenty of time to explore on your own. For more information, pricing or a brochure, call Lisa at Plaza Travel at 518-785-3338 or lisa@nullplazatravel.net.
Girl Scout Birdhouses
Girl Scout Troop 1260 built and painted birdhouses and donated them to Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center in Cropseyville NY. Left to right: Josh from Dyken Pond, Gwendolyn Jamison, Isla Multunas, Isabelle Relyea, and Abigail Alberino. The girls wish to thank Anthony Alberino for the lumber and help in building the birdhouses.
SWINGING WITH ICE CREAM
Grandpa picked the boy up from school
Two or three days each week.
Once at Grandpa’s house, the boy would ask,
“Will you push me on the swing?”
Grandpa always said, “Yes!”
But first he made the boy an ice cream cone.
Swinging with his ice cream cone,
The boy would plead, “Tell me a story, Grandpa.”
“Tell me about that road job you worked on…
The one where there were lots of rattlesnakes.”
Grandpa would tell that story…and many more
As the boy listened intently.
This swinging…ice cream…storytelling
Would go on for close to an hour every day.
It was time well spent
By two guys who loved each other dearly.
Every man and boy
Should be so lucky !!
~Llyod Barnhart
West Sand Lake, NY
It Looks to me
When I see a woman wearing spikes
Showing off a look she apparently likes
I wonder what she hopes to gain
Exchanging comfort for certain pain.
As I shuffle around in my flat heels
I can only .imagine the pain that she feels.
I think about what her motive could be
The values that separate her from me.
I often consider that all through the ages
The standard of beauty goes through changes.
Oriental women have bound their feet
For admiration and love, perhaps to compete.
Implants and surgery, hair dyes and tattoos
Can improve our looks and chase the blues.
But even if a woman follows fashion to the letter..
I have to wonder…does she like herself better.
*****. *****. *****
Let me climb down from my judgmental high horse:
I can’t pretend I’m on a different course.
If I could face the world as I entered without make up
I would put on a mask as soon as I wake up.
Ladies and sisters, do whatever it takes
To make life better when each one of us awakes.
If stiletto heels does it for you, who am I to complain
It’s eye shadow that saves me from narcissistic pain.
Sylvia Honig
Wynantskill
The Joys of Country Living
How lucky we are that my pet possum poem inspired Naomi Boel’s delightful story of the precious pet squirrel that dropped happily into her family’s lives. That’s one of the joys of country living.
A sudden wildlife intrusion happened to me ten years ago before I moved to Wynantskill. As I was having breakfast one morning, a large green frog suddenly hopped out from behind the television set and proceeded to hop rapidly past me toward the door. Astonished, I raced after him…or her…caught him after a brief struggle and took him outside where he hopped away without so much as a thank you. I couldn’t figure out how he got into my house. He was too big to squeeze into any openings, but I soon forgot about it.
A week or two later I noticed hundreds of tiny black spots in the huge plastic child’s swimming pool I had filled with water for my dog’s wading pleasures. Puzzled…I soon realized they were tadpole eggs. My green froggy visitor had left her calling card.
I researched tadpole food and hoped it would sustain the hundreds of tiny tadpoles that appeared and grew bigger every day. In desperation, I found a young woman who agreed to scoop out some of them for her pond, but the crowding got worse, possibly harming them. So, I began scooping out dozens at a time and driving them quickly down to the nearby creek and watched as they swam gaily into the clear rushing water.
Soon the hundred or more I had left turned into tiny perfect little green frogs before my eyes. One by one they were able to hop out of the pool and hop away into the nearby wetlands. I missed them all, every perfect little big frog replica.
I try to imagine why this mother frog found or chose me to be the godmother, but I was honored. I suspect that animals instinctively know who will take care of them when they are in need.
Naomi Boel’s baby squirrel had hit the jackpot. My hundreds of baby frogs were almost as lucky. But the big winners were Naomi’s family and me: godparents to a few of nature’s wildlife.
~Sylvia Honig
Wynantskill, NY
Slavery Reparations = Distraction
To the Editor,
Is the reason that Democrats are bringing up the subject of reparations for slavery at this time because they desperately need a distraction from the investigation of their Watergate moment? Was their fake investigation of Donald Trump by Robert Mueller and a host of extremely partisan Democrat lawyers conducted simply as a means of covering up the evidence of their conspiracy to prevent his election?
The covering-up has been continuing during his presidency in the form of an impeachment inquiry by a new group of Democrat conspirators in Congress. Notice that none of the original conspirators in the Obama administration are taking part in the impeachment portion of their cover-up because doing so would be indicative of treason.
The Main Stream Media isn’t reporting what Attorney General William Barr has found so far because they were complicit in this cover-up. They are happy to assist in the distraction.
But there’s plenty of time to deal with this preposterous notion of reparations while Barr is gathering his evidence …so here’s what you need to know.
Slavery existed before our country did. Black people weren’t the only race to be sold as slaves. Powerful black people were the original slave owners who captured and sold their weaker neighbors to America’s southern colonists who needed cheap labor to make their farming profitable.
When we gained our freedom from England and began the formation of our Constitution and federal government, we had to deal with a democratic majority of southern states unwilling to give up any of their power, including the right to own slaves. Democracy threatened the successful ratification of our Constitution if it prohibited slavery from the beginning.
Democracy, the tyranny of majority rule, is what our nation’s founders were cognizant of when they created our republican form of government based on the rule of law, the moral principles established by our Creator. They couldn’t defeat the democratic majority at the time but for the first time in world history, they codified the exclusively republican principle of individual rights that would eventually lead to the end of slavery.
David Crawmer, www.republicamerica.us
David Harris, Town of Schodack SupervisorNadine Fuda, Director of Planning and Zoning Town of Schodack :
I voted for you Mr. Harris because of your opposition to mega-warehouses and your stated commitment for preserving the rural character of Schodack. I have a few questions and a suggestion.
As a resident of Schodack for 15 years. I’ve enjoyed the rural environment here and the friendships I’ve developed with my neighbors. Soon, I will entertain guests from New Orleans, Los Angeles,and London. I encouraged my guests to visit the Schodack Town website, the one that shows flowers in a field, and a waterfall. Well there’s a problem, the town does not say that clearing and destruction of the property for the proposed Amazon warehouse will occur from 6am to 8pm, 6 days a week. I live near the property and I am unable to hold a conversation on my back porch during those times because of the noise. My porch and back yard are unusable now.
First question: Any suggestions about how I can entertain guests for that 14hr period? We’ll be up early, not by our choosing. Spend all day away from my home and return after 8pm. It’s impossible to enjoy breakfast outside or have a backyard barbeque. Closing windows and turning up the TV doesn’t help. I’ve told my guests that you and Ms. Fuda were both ardent supporters for constructing this mega-warehouse and they assured me that you must have a contingency plan for preserving the rural character of Schodack
Second question: where are the songbirds at my bird feeders? Probably the clearing of all those unsightly trees where they lived?
The suggestion: change the town’s website to reflect your real vision for Schodack, “no longer a rural community of 13,000 residents, open for business, residents are collateral damage,”.
Looking forward to your enlightened suggestions about how I can ignore the noise and entertain my guests in my home from 6am and 8pm, 6 days a week during the summer.
Have a safe, peaceful summer.
Robert L. Jansing
6 Star Terr Castleton NY
Letter to the Editor
Mr. Trump’s parade of military might has provoked criticism.
Let’s see how out of line he is:
The first visit of a British Monarch to the US was June 8, 1939 and a military parade was staged by President Roosevelt.
New York City had a WW II Victory parade with the military on January 12, 1946 under President Truman.
Washington had a military parade to celebrate Mr. Truman’s inauguration in 1949.
Eisenhower’s inaugurations on January 21, 1953 and January 21, 1959 featured military parades.
JFK’s inauguration January 20, 1961 had a military parade with tanks and missiles, not unlike the parades of military might common in the Soviet Union.
In 1991 a parade featured tanks, missiles and a jet fly over commemorating Desert Storm.
It seems the majority of military parades seem to have been staged under Democrat presidents according to USA Today. So why is there criticism of a military parade under President Trump? Unless the criticism is exclusively political in nature. It would appear that Mr. Trump is only carrying on established tradition.
It appears that criticism is valid only depending on who is being criticized.
Steve Sevits
Rensselaer County Recovery Helpline
1-833-467-3123
Do you need help with substance use issues? Are you interested in volunteering for the helpline? The Rensselaer County Recovery Helpline offers information, local resources, and referrals for individuals and their families regarding substance use issues. The toll-free line is available 7 days a week from 9am-9pm. Each volunteer chooses shifts of 4 hours at a time to be on-call. When someone calls the number, a volunteer answers on their own smartphone, and can enter information to a database on their own computer, allowing for easy and quick access to resources. The information is sent to one of the 9 leaders, who will then assist the caller. If you or someone you know needs information, resources, or a referral for a substance use problem, call 1-833-467-3123. For more information, or if you are interested in volunteering, contact Renscohelpline@nullgmail.com
Hoffman Cleaning Thanks Veterans
Hoffman Carpet Cleaning is committed to creating a healthy environment for its residential and commercial clients and has now introduced a Forever Veterans program, giving veterans a permanent 10 percent discount on its services as a way to show appreciation to active duty individuals and those who have served in the military.
“Hoffman Carpet Cleaning would like to thank the men and women who have served our country. To show our respect for their service, we are honored to announce our 10 percent military discount to all veterans and active duty members. We truly cannot express our deep gratitude for their service and this is one way to assist these individuals and families,” said owner John Wojtusik, in explaining the new program.
For more than 20 years, Hoffman Cleaning has been dedicated to creating a healthy living and working environment for families. Services include floor cleaning and care, fine rug cleaning and repair, upholstery cleaning, cleaning fabric drapes, mattresses, stone surfaces, tile and grout, as well as cleaning of automobiles, boats and recreational vehicles. Fabric protectants, allergy treatment services and pet odor and stain removal are some of Hoffman’s specialty services.
John Wojtusik is a knowledgeable resource for answers about cleaning methods, recommendations and advice, and allergy treatment in homes, offices and cars. He may be reached at 518-451-9410 or at hoffmancarpetcleaning.com