I have two GPS stories to share.  First the letters stand for global positioning system, just in case you’ve been living outside this planet and have never heard of a gps.  The government actually has a website at www.gps.gov that explains all about what it is and how it works.  In five languages!  Too lazy to look?  Listen for an OnStar commercial.  They come on pretty often.  Now you know what I’m talking about.  Okay, story number one.  Judge for yourself.  If you live in New Jersey, you may get to vote for yourself.  An Assemblyman from Hudson County, according to TheNewspaper.Com website wants to “…make it a crime…with a fine of $100…to touch a screen of a satellite navigation device in a moving vehicle.”  Manual operation is also included in his proposition.  He wants that to be associated with cellphone use while driving in the big bad no-no’s.  Depending on the kind of car you’re driving, the eyes never have to leave the road and the push of a button can change the voice and direction with a temporary stop on a pre-planned trip.  I wonder if he’s driving a fancy new car with two voices who tell him about his trip’s directions and tell him what some of you reallllly think of his proposal.  Or maybe it’s just  a  few of you.  It ought to be interesting.  There’s no vote yet.  You’ve got time to “drive home” your opinion of his proposal to L. Harvey Smith, d. Hudson County.

GPS Story Number Two.  My Sister, Vivian and her family were returning to Tennessee this past weekend from Georgia.  They had travelled there through Birmingham instead of Atlanta because their gps directed them that particular route.  And “shonuff, as they say down South, it was a shorter distance when they first arrived in Georgia.  So when they set out to return to the Music City, to their surprise, the gps charted a path straight through Atlanta, not Birmingham.  No matter whose local address they tried to put in as a final destination, their path was routed through Georgia,  not Alabama.  It took longer.  But they made it safely.  And that’s always the main concern.  But the question remain…until the next day.  My neice heard over the television a report that a tornado had touched down in the path that they would have taken, had the gps sent them the way they were trying to take.  The reverse path to the way they travelled to Georgia.  I would call that a capital- GPS, God’s Positioning System taking over the manmade kind.  From now on when I turn on my gps, I’m really sending up a prayer that it’s controlled as a GPS.

You’ve seen it.  In real life.  Perhaps in your own home.  On tv.  Reality shows like the Gastineau Girls.  Dramatic series like the Gilmore Girls.  I think they are still worth watching in re-runs speeding through that thing that they do.  Ask any mom and her female offspring and you’ll find they have one.  By now she’s shaking her head back and forth up and down or to the right and left.  Whether you get along or not, is not important.  It’s the fact that there is a relationship that ’s so unique. 

     My daughter and I were recorded recently as proof that we have our thing which I denied until I saw us on screen.  Yep!  We’ve got it.  There’s no denying it.  But somehow I was convinced, it’ must be something recent.   You know, a recent generation thing.  Then I ran across my “Senior Memories” book.  Senior as in my Senior High School book, reallllllllly back in the day.  That’s where I discovered, the mother-daughter thing, must have been around a long time.  For on a page in my book,  were the bold headlines,  ” THE INFLUENTIALS, …people who helped you become  the  person you are…”  Guess who was on my page.  That’s right.  My Mom.  Here’s what I wrote at age 17. 

   The person who influenced my life most and helped me and understood me when no one else would, could or did was my Mom.   My Mother has helped me most not only in high school, but from my earliest beginnings.  When friends failed she was my best friend; yet, when that motherly touch was needed, she was always there.  She shaped my basic ideals.  I only wish that I’ll be as understanding, thoughtful, trusting and sensitive to others’ wants and needs as she.  She has devoted her life to helping and serving others.  I only hope my life can be spent as well making her as proud of me as I am of her.  Thanks Mom!

    I guess even then, there was a special something between us.  My Mom passed away last week.  That thing we had changed over the years.  But at the center of it all was always, love.  It’s the same way with my daughter, today.  It’s a Mother-Daughter thing.

Okay summer is here.  TV ads are poppin’ up for great sumnmer getaways.  E-mail is swamped with messages from former vacation spots with requests for a revisit.  I glance outside for a sign.  You know the one.  Heat making the window too hot to touch.  Sun shining so brightly you wake up before the alarm from the bright morning sky.   You know, summer signs.  Kids screaming often and early outside as they play, ecstatic their classroom days are done for awhile.  The sound of camp buses pulling up early and often around the neighborhood.  Even on the mornings of early morning walks, the smell of breakfast cooking (when I walk near a diner) .  I’m supposed to be seeing, hearing and feeling those sights, sounds and experiences of the season by now.  WHERE ARE THEY?  There’s only one more week in June.  I’m about to panic.  Summer is short enough.  There’s nearly no time for shorts!  Granted I need more time to fit into a “nice” pair of shorts.  But I’ve faced it.  That boat has sailed with the skinny people and I don’t even care anymore.  I’m ready to wear clothes made for the heat.  So where is the heat?!  I was in Virginia over the weekend and got to experience sun and heat and the feeling of OMG I can’t breathe when I walked outside of an air conditioned airport to the outside parking lot.  It was wonderful.  Summer.  The way it was meant to be.  The way it was meant to be felt.  Against your face.  Burning.  Almost annoying.  The kind that makes you shed the jacket you had on, on the flight as if ants were crawling up your arms.  It was hot with a capital “H”.  No rain.  Just heat.  I realize there are those among us who live here and hate the heat of the summer.  To them I say,  leave us,  until the fall.  We will miss you.  But we don’t want to hear your complaints about the heat and the sun.  We summer lovers have  less than three months to enjoy our favorite time of the year.  Let us enjoy the shortest season to us that seems to be even shorter this year.  Please,  leave us alone as we proceed in our quest, looking for sunshine.

Today I thought I would share some things that my Momma taught me along the way.  Call it, Momma’s laundry list: Do’s and Don’ts to Grow On and Never Forget.  First off, it’s okay to celebrate Mom, even on Father’s Day weekend, because in some households, Mom is it!  Mom and Dad, too.  (You know what I mean, not biologically speaking, but you know   Always wash your hands.  That’s important for kids and grown-ups too.  It cuts down on illnesses like swine flu.  Did you know Mom’s are also doctors?  Get enough rest. It keeps you from getting sick, getting angry and getting in accidents.  (Remembering that one could have cut down on a lot of trips to therapy, right?)  Read.  Don’t depend on the internet for all your reading material.  The sources are not always reliable, i.e. Wikipedia.  Read a book.  Write.  Keeping a journal is therapeutic, especially if it’s a thank-you-journal.  It’s hard to complain and be thankful at the same time.  That brings me to the next one—don’t forget to say, “Thank you”.  Goes a long ways.  And use the word, “Please”, too.  Remember when it worked when you were three?  It works on grown-ups of any age, honest.  Keep important things first and know the difference.  (You have to narrow this one down for yourself.) My Mom reminded me to pray every day.  And last but not least: Don’t forget this list.  Twelve step meetings often end with take what you need and leave the rest.  I advise you to do the same with this list.   I will never forget my Mother as I pray for her especially right now and thank her for giving me life, and this list, to share with each of you.

For 76 years now Monroe College has been graduating students and this year it took three ceremonies to confer degrees upon all of them.  More that three thousand graduates!  I got to address them!  On what you may ask?  “I Believe In Miracles” was my central theme.  Personal evidence: Making it from Columbus, Georgia and a television station in the 100+ television market to the number one tv market,  beating back challenges of discrimination all along the way.  Evidence: Covering Ku Klux Klan rallies in the South and the Pope in Rome; Presidential inaugurations in Washington and 9-11 here at home.  I believe  in miracles and I believe that prayer is still important and so is washing your hands and saying please and thank-you.  But most of all I believe in Monroe College and its graduates who are taught from the beginning the importance of  meeting fellow students from around the world.  Experiencing different cultures.  That is such a crucial part of education to me.  Experiencing life as seen through the lives of others.  Sharing.  Caring.  About others who are different from you.  Other cultures.  Others’ lives.   More than 16,000 people attended all three graduations that day. I am so blessed to have been apart of one. And to have seen first hand, global education at work. Congrats Class of 2009!  And thanks to College President, Stephen J. Jerome and Executive Vice President Marc Jerome who educated me about Monroe College.

Today I was driving to work with grey cloudy skies waiting to squeeze out raindrops only to be interrupted by a splash of sunshine.  Out of nowhere.  What a pleasant surprise.  And so unexpected!  And I thought.  That’s just how life is.  Just as you expect the rain to come and get all grey and down and gloomy with nothing much to look forward to, boom!   Change!  Just what you weren’t looking to happen, happens!   And what you had all planned out  for:  a valley complete with slumps and moodiness and a bit of  doldrums dumped in is suddenly swapped.  Instead there’s a mountain with a shimmer of light peeping across the peek.  You know there’s a climb to make it, but  it beats this valley!  Compare it to the saddest day you can remember.  And then be reminded you’ve had the happiest day you can remember too.  You’ve had laughs that made you bend over and nearly have to…well, you know.  And you’ve also cried for so long you thought you didn’t have another tear inside.  That’s all life.  Ups and downs.  Happy days and sad ones too.  Awful times.  Good times.  Valleys and mountains.  Part of  today, you may be down in the dumps but you will see that mountaintop and the light it will bring.  The glow of something wonderful can come in your life and be just a climb away.  It may not be easy.  Patience seldom is.  But remember, this is just the valley.  The temporary valley.  The mountaintop will soon be seen.

Our kids need comfort.  They need to know sitting for a little league picture doesn’t have to result in a bullet lodged in their head.  They need to know that a parent  isn’t going to come into a classroom with a gun and frighten everyone.  They need to know that nurses holding signs outside of a hospital doesn’t mean that if they get sick, there won’t be anyone inside to care for them.  Our kids need comfort.  Our kids need us.  They need us to stop.  They need us to not run around so much that they have to wonder if we will be there to protect them when they need us the most.  Yes we may have to work to provide “stuff”, even basic “stuff” like a roof over their heads and electricity.  But let us not forget the most important part—basic comfort.  There’s nothing like the security of a parent or guardian who provides the comfort of a home.  A real home.  One free of chaos.  There’s nothing like knowing at the end of a day, you know there will be a meal to eat, stories to share, people who listen, a lap to lean on, a time together.  Now that’s comfort.  If you never had it yourself, you may say…I don’t know how.  Well guess what?  Now’s the perfect time to start giving what you wish you had been given.  For giving comfort to your own kids may be the best lesson in learning how to give love.  And believe me, you will get love in return.  You will get comfort too.

Thank you, New Jersey 
What an absolutely fabulous day it was on Sunday at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.

This is called stealing.  Yes.  It’s the thank you I want to write but the graphics from the Alliance for Lupus Research are just better than mine and they got their pictures ready first   Besides I didn’t want another day to go by after you saw last night’s newscast of the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus report, without saying, “Thank you”.  So I called to ask permission to use parts of the thank-you page to say the same thing and get accurate statistics on just how good you did in donations and support for such a significant cause.

Not only was it a great day, but we had a fantastic turnout of an estimated 2,000 people representing 112 teams all walking for a cure for lupus! 

Incredible Fundraising!
Preliminary counts indicate that we have raised more than $250,000, a quarter of a million dollars or enough to fund on researcher for a year, any way you say it, IT’S A LOT OF MONEY. That’s not the final count because money is still flowing in.  We are diligently working on processing and posting all the money that was turned in. Money collected on Sunday will be posted to the ALR Walk website as soon as possible.  If you were unable to make it to the ALR Walk and have donations to turn in (or if you have some late donations) please write your walker ID number on each check, fill out the pledge form and mail your donations to:

Alliance for Lupus Research
NNJ Walk
28 West 44th Street, Suite 501
                                                                                                                         New York, NY 10036

Thanks To You!

Thanks to all of our volunteers who worked so hard to make the day run so smoothly not to mention the 2009 Planning Committee who dedicated hours of their time in to making the event a huge success. We would like to especially thank our 2009 ALR Walk Corporate Chairman, Joe Trunfio, President and CEO of Atlantic Health for his leadership.  I was lucky enough to serve as this year’s Celebrity Chairman and got to emcee the opening ceremony.   Thanks to 2009 Honorary Co-Chairs, New York Jets Head Coach, Rex Ryan and General Manager, Mike Tannenbaum for their support.  Bravo to Kerry Neinstedt for so beautifully singing the National Anthem and to Caribbeat for entertaining our walkers as they returned from the walk.  And to Kelly Fund for Lupus Volunteers, Ronni Shapiro, Elizabeth McKnight, Norma Walker, Kristin Ritter of Newscorp, Russ Salzberg of My9 and his family, special guests from Elizabeth New Jersey and many many more!

Kudos to our sponsors Atlantic Health, The New York Daily News, Hess, Saint Barnabas Health Care System, New York Jets, Chubb, Novartis, My 9, Riker, Danzing, Scherer, Hyland and Perritti, DataPipe, Verizon, and Consultants in Autoimmune Research.

Three cheers to our wonderful team captains for inspiring and motivating their friends, family and co-workers to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for lupus research.

Thank you! Gracias! Merci!  In any language, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication, commitment and VERY hard work!  And thanks ALR for letting me heist your page and some of your words for continuing a worthy cause!

I am a stutterer.  I confess.  I thought it was time.  When I have told people I am shy, they always laugh and say, “Sure”.  They never believe me.  I guess that’s because they never understand.  They don’t know the history.  They don’t know what it was like as a child to try and say words that wouldn’t come out, watch people stare, or laugh, or try and help (as if they could somehow reach in your mouth and pull out the words for me) .  Instead I usually went into the world of I’ll shut up and go somewhere and be by myself (self-imposed isolation and anxiety) or the other extreme, people please into someone liking me.  But I digress.  The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has been around for 83 years, according to its website.  I certainly didn’t know about it.  Wish I did.  Could have saved me a lot of frustration.  But I now offer it up to you if you have a child suffering through stuttering or stammering.  It can last a lifetime.  But it doesn’t have to.    There are famous stutterers you know?  20-20’s John Stossel, Singer Carly Simon, Tiger Woods, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, B.B. King, to name a few.  The Stuttering Foundation Website lists a whole bunch more, including Vice President Joe Biden.  Who knew?!     Stutteriing always made me feel I was different.  It made social situations awkward, always filled with anxiety, for fear of losing control with my speech.  I thought if I could talk fast enough, I wouldn’t make a mistake.  A southerner with a drawl trying to speak fast–it was a mess!  I wanted to be treated like everyone else, to fit in.  I wanted people to give me the time to say what I needed to say.  Isn’t that really what we all want.  Just the time to say what we need to say?  And someone to take the time to listen?  Just look what we can grow into, if only we get the chance.  Thanks for taking the time to listen (or read) my confession.

Okay.  Take my temp.  I caught it.  No.  Not the swine flu.  Twitter fever.  I wouldn’t even tell anyone at first.  It was kind of embarrassing.  Afterall I was the one who said, why would you want to do THAT!  Isn’t that the ultimate millineum-age “me, me, me” tool?  And Lord knows they don’t need another reason to focus on themselves (bad Brenda!)  And isn’t it just another a legal way of stalking?  You name it, I had the excuse for NOT doing it.  Then it happened.  Like blogging.  I kind of “had” to do it.  Work “kind of” requested participation.  Nowadays requests are gentle.  No demands.  There are those who do.  And those who do not work here anymore.  Just kidding (insert  nervous ha, ha, ha).  Anyway.  The temp is taken.  I will survive.  And it’s not as serious as I thought.  Like anything else, it is what you make of it.  And I have decided to make it an educational tool.  For now.  Yesterday, I talked about the primary elections in New Jersey, poll openings and closings and what my business comings and goings in preparation for bringing you the lead story in last night’s newscast.  Hopefully that held some interest to you.  And of course this weekend, when I’m walking in the Walk for a Cure, it should be loads of  fun when my team, The Kelly Fund for Lupus,  will all be tweeting and telling everyone about the day’s events.  Okay.  The fever is up.  I’m liking it.  And who knows?  Considering how long it took me to get on once I decided to open an account, apparently a gazillion of others like it too.  Twitter fever.  It’s survival and can be downright fun!