GIVING THANKS
Time with teen daughter
“During this incredibly difficult year, I am grateful for all the extra time I have been able to spend with my 15-year-old daughter. We have always been very close, but our relationship has deepened in ways I never could have imagined.
She has been all-remote since March, one of very few students in her school to do so. She is staying home to protect me because I am immune-compromised. I know what a huge sacrifice this has been, but she’s never complained. Instead, we have both found joy in all our new routines: attending “parking lot” Mass every Sunday, having lunch outside every week (until very recently) at Bistro V and watching “our shows” on Netflix — something we had never done before. We even share a home office/classroom now
We have had deep conversations about her dreams for the future. Her newfound maturity has served as a reminder that the time we have with our children before they go out in the world is brief. In 2020, the days are long, but the months have been short. I am thankful that this year, my daughter and I have been there for each other every single day
Happy Thanksgiving!
Diane Clehane, Greenwich
Turkey on a beach
It was Thanksgiving Day in 1940. We had recently arrived home from England during World War II. We really were not aware of the meaning of Thanksgiving, so off we went to walk on the beach in Coney Island. My father mentioned during our walk that he had heard of people in America eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
We walked past a delicatessen and Dad decided to go in and bought us turkey sandwiches. We sat on a dune and thought Americans had a great idea eating turkey!
Now, 80 years later, I plan to eat a turkey sandwich on a beach; not Coney Island this time, but in Connecticut. It will bring back happy memories of our first Thanksgiving. Our family has much to be grateful for. America has been good to us and one of my proudest days was becoming a U.S. citizen.
Ann Martin DiLeone, Norwalk
Supermarkets
I am thankful for the tremendous efforts our local food stores have made to stock vital supplies for shoppers. Those friendly cashiers who ring up our purchases make the experience less stressful for those of us venturing out of our seclusion. Those who donate food to their local food pantries in this pandemic, and those pantry volunteers, are all heroes in their own way. Blessings to all of you as we celebrate giving thanks in a new way.
Mary Thomas, Newtown
Medical professionals
I’m thankful for the medical professionals on the front lines. Answering the call of duty, using their talents for good, to save life, to ensure that one life breathed better because of them. God bless America.
Brendan John Micik, Greenwich
‘Much more good than bad’
I have thought a lot about what I am thankful for this year.
In this year of 2020 there seems to have been so much tragedy, despair and hatred in our world. Many have died and many have suffered isolation and loneliness. Many have lost a loved one and that has left a great void in their life. Many have let differences turn into hatred and violence instead of compromise and understanding.
I have stopped watching much news as it seems to stress only our differences and problems. Yes, they exist, but if you really look at our world you can see there is still much more good than bad.
There are far more people reaching out to love and help their communities than there are those smashing and looting them.
There are far more police officers saving lives and keeping communities safe than there are those taking lives.
There are far more people surviving COVID than there are who die from it.
We are blessed to have so many caregivers treating those that are sick.
We are blessed to have so many dedicated teachers helping our children continue to learn.
We are blessed to have so many that protect and serve our country and our communities.
We are blessed to have so many everyday ordinary people that each day reach out to one another and try to help.
I have at times this year given in to despair and hopelessness while facing it all. It is very overwhelming, but I was reminded that as long as we are alive and can put one foot in front of the other, we can move forward.
So I am thankful for my family and my friends.
I am thankful for all those that serve, sometimes at their own peril, to make our lives better.
I am thankful there is so much more that’s good in the world than there is evil, even if we don’t always see it.
I am thankful for the beautiful blue sky, gentle rain, soft wind and glistening snow.
I am thankful for a baby’s smile, a child’s laugh, a puppy’s wagging tail and a kitten’s meow.
I am thankful that I wake up each day and get to share my thoughts with all of you.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends, and always remember I am Thankful for You!
Elizabeth (Betty) McOsker is program director of Stamford’s Over 60 Club Inc.
An act of kindness
Sometimes when life is at its worst an act of kindness comes your way.
State Rep. Stephen Meskers provided that for the PierceButler family. My husband is currently in hospice depending every day on nursing care. His helper could not get her car registered until the end of January. I tried everything but reaching the Department of Motor Vehicles is impossible.
We have lived in Cos Cob for a short time but lived in Riverside for almost 50 years. This is the first time I called Town Hall for a favor. Now I feel so grateful to be in a town where the problem was solved the very next day thanks to Stephen for making this happen. First Selectman Fred Camillo called and said Stephen was the one that could get it done. She is now able to come every day to help him.
Linda Butler, Cos Cob
‘An amazing’ mom
Just a prelude to my mom’s letter to the editor below about what she is thankful for. I want to share with you that she is 93 years old and never tires of submitting letters to the editor. She is truly an amazing woman and I am thankful for her. She had a heart attack this year and has successfully recovered by God’s grace and with the help of wonderful doctors, nurses, the selfless home care of my dear sister and the support of our family and friends. Her love of the Lord is what keeps her vibrant, passionate and alive. She never tires of wanting to share her faith and the peace and hope it brings. It has been a true anchor for us all, especially during the year we have had. 2020 will be one for the books. I am thankful for my mom and grateful to God that He blessed me to be her daughter. Without further ado, hers is her letter to the editor.
Ruth Swift, Norwalk
God and country
I am grateful for family. I am grateful for my neighbors and my home. I am grateful for my wonderful country and the privilege of being able to vote the way I want. I love
New England and the change of seasons. I am grateful for all the people who run for office. I could never do it, I’m sure. But most of all, I am grateful for Christ, my Lord and Saviour.
Joan Swift, Norwalk
Never more thankful
“Thankful.”
A simple word. We use it all the time, yet, I dare say, the degree of thankfulness varies greatly. How many times have we said we’re thankful for good weather on a wedding or other special day? Or that we’re thankful that the gifts we mailed arrived on time? Without resorting to hyperbole, I don’t know that I have ever been more thankful than I am today (no, I’ve not hit my head recently.)
For 20 years, I have publicly expressed my thanks to our community many times. For 35 years, I have spent the Thanksgiving weekend at a theater. For 61 years, my holiday traditions have been pretty much the same. Guess you could say I’m a creature of habit, so living through the past eight months has been anything but easy for me. Yet, I’m still thankful.
I am thankful to the 100 artists who performed in our 23 outdoor cabaret events. I’m thankful for the approximately 1,350 patrons who sat outside on the lawn for those shows ... especially, on one very chilly Saturday night! The dozens of volunteers who helped make these events possible, and who also worked on several “spring cleaning” projects, are the heart of Curtain Call, and I am very thankful to them. I’m also thankful to Paul Grillo, executive director of the Stamford Golf Authority and his staff, for their help and support. Ari Thanos, our newest neighbor as owner of The Royal Green and The Stillery restaurants (and his staff, too) have been incredible partners supporting our events and raising funds for us ... thank you.
Have I mentioned Giving Day? Fairfield County’s Giving Day is powered by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF) and is responsible, in part, to our having been able to stay afloat these past eight months. Funds raised just before the shutdown were instrumental in helping us pay the bills when there was little or no money coming in. I’m so thankful to Juanita James and her team at FCCF for keeping this program going strong. (Mark your calendars: 2/25/21 — don’t worry, I’ll remind you.)
“But Lou, the theaters will have been dark for nearly 300 days by the time your next show opens in January, how can you be thankful,” you may ask. It’s easy — we have thousands of supporters. In addition to those mentioned, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, led by Elizabeth Shapiro, has been at the forefront of finding help for struggling arts organizations across the state. To our state legislators who made the recent Arts Grant program possible: THANK YOU! The team at the State Labor Department, with antiquated systems until recently, has been incredibly helpful and understanding while navigating our needs in this difficult time. Whenever I feel that I am so busy and don’t know where to turn, I think of them, processing more unemployment claims in the month of April this year, than in the total of 2019 (44,075 vs 40,448). That’s like telling Noah you were upset about the scattered showers predicted for your sweet 16 party. (Full disclosure, I’m the proud son of a 30-year veteran of the Connecticut Labor Department.)
To Stamford Mayor David Martin, our other current local legislators and dozens before them — all who have seen the value in supporting local theater — I am most thankful. Since 1972, Stamford residents have enjoyed the incredible facilities at Sterling Farms, and since 1992, Curtain Call has been proud to manage those facilities for the city. More than 400,000 people have come through our doors since I started here in 2000 ... just don’t ask me to name them all.
Today, sitting in the Dressing Room Theatre that has been dark since March 13, it is the memory of the great performances and amazing artists and patrons that have filled our theater spaces that keep me going. We are blessed to have such incredible support from throughout the community. Corporations, small businesses, private foundations and individuals do their part in making sure live theater at Sterling Farms continues. I am thankful for the most incredible staff and board of directors who have helped me hold things together in this truly strange time. I am thankful that my loved ones and I are healthy.
Do I have COVID Fatigue? You bet. Our income is down $500,000 since March ... I’m exhausted, but I fight the fatigue with knowing that our community wants us — needs us — and I’ll do everything I can to be sure that the little barn theater operation that began in 1972 will be here for many, many years to come.
I’ve said this many times before, but I love William Shakespeare’s way of expressing gratitude: “I can no other answer make but thanks, And thanks; and ever thanks” (“Twelfth Night”).
On behalf of our staff, board of directors and community of artists, thank you so much for your support. I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, a joyous holiday season, and a New Year of prosperity, happiness, and especially, good health.
Lou Ursone is executive director of Curtain Call theater company in Stamford.
Family ... and golf
I’m grateful for a great family and many wonderful, caring friends. I was fortunate to have an amazing retirement party one week before COVID-19 ended large gatherings.
I’m thankful that I’ve had eight months of enjoying the game of golf. Thankful that my hometown of Stratford has a leadership team that has dealt thoughtfully and proactively with the challenges of this pandemic. I’m very grateful for good health despite the aches and pains of aging. I’m so thankful to be involved with an outstanding group of volunteers working to open the Stratford Veterans Museum.
Especially I’m grateful for an incredible life partner who gives so much of her love, time and knowledge to her students, clients, strangers, and family.
Bill O’Brien, Stratford
Delivery people
It’s probably trite, but I’m extremely thankful for delivery people of every kind, for bringing things to my doorstep so I can stay home. And for the people at the grocery store, and the Feed Barn, for staying open, with masks and distancing, so I can still go out now and then to feed our pets, and buy milk and produce and frozen foods that wouldn’t fare so well if ordered online.
And everyone remembers to be thankful for doctors and nurses, but we should also remember the hospital cleaning staff, who make far less money, and they go to work and clean up yark and poop and other things we prefer not to think about, which are potentially dangerous and always unpleasant.
Many times during this pandemic I have stopped to think how extremely grateful I am that I was already retired, with a reasonably secure pension and pretty good health insurance, when the whole thing started, and that I haven’t had to worry about losing my job, or having to work in crowded places, or getting sick and not being able to pay for treatment. I know I’m one of the fortunate ones.
Roberta Moran, Kent
America
I have much to be thankful for during this holiday season, but overall I am thankful for being born in America, a country of opportunities. I feel there is no other country that gives more people, more chances to “turn lemons into lemonade.”
I look at what has happened in my lifetime, and what living in America has enabled me to do. I grew up poor in the inner cities but able to get an education, work hard and end up retiring comfortably. My mother was born in Belgium and saw the Germans take over her country when she was a little girl. She immigrated to the United States and told me becoming a U.S. citizen was one of the greatest days of her life.
I was drafted into the military in the 1960s and destined to go to Vietnam. I felt I may have been dealt some lemons. But the experience instilled in me a great sense of pride, how courageously Americans performed under the worst of conditions, bonding together, and driven by their patriotism under fire. Why I stand proudly when our national anthem is played.
Now in retirement, I am amazed how many opportunities our country affords us to volunteer and help bring about change for the betterment in other people’s lives.
America allows so many hopes and dreams to become realities; Where people are given second and third chances to turn their lives around; And, we are in a country guided by one of the greatest documents ever written: the U.S. Constitution.
“Thank you, America.”
Al E. Smith, Brookfield