STACY'S AMERICAN DREAM

American Dream Looks at the Bullying Nightmare

Last night we attended the premiere of "Courage to Care," an anti-bullying movie which will be used as tool in middle school classrooms across the state. Our guest speaker was Miss New Hamsphire who talked about being brutally assaulted in her public high school, ending up with severe fractures and injuries. She said she had to go to a private school "so that I could live to graduate from high school." In the audience were the middle school children from throughout the state, who volunteered to act in the movie, some of whom have been bullied themselves. Miss New Hampshire's talk really resonated because she is an obviously charming, smart and beautiful young lady. We forget that bullies target those they envy as well as those the perceived as weak and vulnerable. Do something that discourages bullying today, whether it's sharing your own stories with a young person, offering to volunteer in anti-bullying program, or just talking to your child about being bullied or about bullying someone else.

Happy New Year

No, it's not January 1, 2012. It's, in fact, 5772. That's right. It's Rosh Hashanah. - Jewish New Year -from from sundown on Sept. 28 to nightfall on Sept. 30. This a whole different new year than your secular bash with champagne, noise makers and a date you'll regret having the day after. It's about looking within ourselves and back at the past year, the missteps we made and a plan for how to resolve those mistakes - resolutions if you will. Think spiritual wake-up call with the metaphor of the shofar - or ram's horn which is blown throughout the service - to bring the message home. Check out the shofar flash mob in Chicago. So shana tovah to all.

My personal good-bye to 10 years work. The American Dream can finally rest in peace..

My work covering Elizabeth Kovalcin over the last 10 years after her husband was killed when his plane became the first to hit the World Trade Center has come to an end, but my friendship with Elizabeth and her family will never be over. I'm no fan of memorials, pomp and/or circumstance, but the installment in Hudson, NH - my town - where David Kovalcin lived with his family - is stellar and even more remarkable given the fact that just three weeks before there was nothing in that spot except an American flag. Let's do what Elizabeth asked. Let's not look at her children or the others who lost someone that day with pity any more. "We're happy," she said. "We are 10 years in the future." To read my last article on the subject, hit this link.Ten years later

New class. New day.

Looking forward to our new blogging class at the NL School of Communication. If you already blog, good for you. If not, it's a piece of cake.

Feet

I've always been a big lover of synecdoche. No, not the city in upstate New York. A figure of speech which uses a part to represent a whole. No one was better at it than F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the original authors of the American dream in my opinion. Take a look at this quote from "The Great Gatsby" as example of synecdoche at its best.

"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself."

Perhaps it is my love of this literary device which prompts me to take photos of feet on my family vacations. Looking back over my vacation photos I always see one photo from each trip that shows feet - those of my son and his friends, my husband's even the dog's paws. I guess for me those feet, submerged in pond water or shining with sand, say more about fun and adventure than posed "say cheese" smiles or rosy sunsets. This one was taken in Owl's Head, Maine last year.

surviving

Sometimes the American Dream is as simple as surviving. As a writer once said, "a hero is someone who gets out of bed in the morning." For someone going through cancer treatment that is profoundly true. Tomorrow, Friday, the 23rd, at Alvirne High School, in Hudson, NH join me and other survivors at the Relay for Life. We walk in a circle, cry and eat with each other. It's free it's for us. You can register starting at 5 p.m. It's a profound experience.

A teen's American Dream comes true.

So my son is a huge Darren Shan (of Cirque du Freak fame) and he made an appearance at the Boston Public Library today. The man is an excellent writer, but even more, he is a gifted reader and amazingly generous with his time for his fans. His apperance was free to those attending. He promised and delivered on the promise to sign every book someone brought with them - and by the way, he not only signed his signature, but also added quotes and comments. My son brought 24 of his treasured tomes which he schlepped in a backpack throughout Boston. As authors and reporters, my husband and I have both done a lot of readings, but this guy is the gold standard for public appearances. He was warm, genuine and animated beyond compare. We hope he does his own recorded books. No one else should read these aloud but him. We loved his message that teens - and adults for that matter - shouldn't just read one genre, or they might miss important allusions and references in books. His, for example, are influenced by no less an eclectic crew as Twain, King, and Dickens to name a few. And did we mention his great English accent with Irish overtones? The next time you can see Darren Shan read, don't miss him. Here's a photos of him with my son.