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Glen Ridge Life & Times Newspaper

11 Sycamore Drive, Storrs, CT 06268

The Glen Ridge Life & Times Newspaper

Staff Writers Contributors

Bev Korba, editor Chuck Boster

Linda Vaillancourt, co-editor Keith James

Alice Kolega Cynara Stites

Geri James Chris Boucher

Kim James

FALL

ISSUE

2015

26TH

EDITION

Thought for the day: Women and cats will do as they please.

And men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

Robert Heinlein

Glen Ridge Cooperative

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We’d like to wish more of our neighbors & friends “Happy Birthday,” but you need to contact the

office with your birthdate. Hope to hear from you; don’t be shy, only dates - no years!

Say “Happy Birthday” to your neighbors!

OCTOBER

1ST Bev Korba

5TH Henry Millman

NOVEMBER

11TH Hazel Rubins

DECEMBER

10TH Abbas Ramezani

12TH Eileen Stock

24TH Homa Ramezani

Happy Birthda

y Quotes

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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

Dear Readers of THE GLEN RIDGE LIFE & TIMES,

Have you heard the music? Have you tasted the food? Have you

heard the laughter? It comes from all the wonderful events planned

for Glen Ridge members. Who is responsible, you ask? Well, there is

among us, a spunky group of women who get together every month to

plot the next reason to get people out of their safe havens and into the

social world that awaits them. They volunteer their time and endless

energy in an effort to make Glen Ridge an active, fun filled community.

One example of this is the weekly coffee hours hosted by members who

gladly set up the community room, put on the coffee pot and provide

tasty treats that they often bake themselves. The coffee hour tradition

has been going on for so long that we could forget the reason it has re-

mained such a success.

The welcome mat is always out for members, their families and friends.

The Hospitality Committee members are all women but men are strongly

encouraged to join the group. Mike Beschler and Chuck Boster are hon-

orary members (probably unaware of that fact) because whenever we

need an extra hand they magically appear.

And talk about creative ideas! Each member has their forte. It may be

food, music, décor or advertising but attending a meeting is fun and

exciting. When you attend your next event be aware that it just didn’t

happen out of the blue. Some very special people want you to feel special

too.

Bev Korba & Linda Vaillancourt

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OH MY GOD!! THE KIDS ARE COMING

By Bev Korba

Has your role in the family changed since the “age thing”” happened? Well,

mine has. Somewhere along the way I lost my position as Commander in Chief. I have

been relegated to the rank of PFC without a hearing or a court-martial. My unsolicited

advice no longer carries the weight it once did. Could it be that my voice has lost that

authoritative tone? I have a sneaking suspicion that family news is watered down and

I am only given information that is deemed “good for me” After all, we don’t want

Mom to have a stroke or a heart attack.

I am reminded each time I pass a mirror, that I have run out of options. Time is

getting short for accomplishing all the goals I thought I had all the time in the world to

complete. I can’t tell you how many times my age has been brought up in a conversa-

tion. Not just by family members, but friends as well. When I was 40 no one men-

tioned my age. It went unnoticed and unchallenged. Now at the ripe old age of 81, it

has been important that people point it out to me. I sometimes feel like I have a neon

sign on my back with 81 in big red letters. Do they bring it up because I look bad or

good? I really don’t want to ask that question. Is it because people are amazed that I

have lived this long? Should I apologize for taking up a space that could be better uti-

lized by someone younger and more productive to society? I don’t think so!! I have lots

more to do in this crazy world. I am not giving up the opportunity to give out unsolic-

ited advice to someone who could definitely use it. I intend to leave this world with a

bad case of laryngitis.

My children’s intentions are well meaning. They are helpful and considerate. But,

they look at me in a different way. I am subjected to “soft interventions” without prior

notice. My response is to sit through them quietly and promise that I will indeed mend

my ways. I once called that “tough love” so they really inherited that tactic from me.

What was I thinking? Never considered that it would someday backfire and be used

against me. That is another thing I have noticed in my adult children . They all have

traits, good and bad, that they received from my husband and me when they were

growing up. So, when one of them does or says something I don’t like I often have to

remember where it came from. It’s all about me. ( well, not really,) but women often

Continued next page >

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OH MY GOD, Cont.

take the lion’s share of blame even when their child is all grown up and making his/

her own adult decisions. Most mothers I know feel that when something goes wrong

in a child’s life it can usually be traced back to their early teachings. I don’t know if fa-

thers feel the guilt as much as mothers do and take the blame accordingly. I seriously

doubt it, judging from the fathers I have known.

I have a friend who has a “stand-by” body man ready to do any work on her car

that is needed before her kids hit town. He repairs dents and dings and in her case

has replaced a few bumpers. She will attest to the fact that none of these mishaps

were her fault but she knows darn well that if her car wasn’t in tip-top shape the

question of yanking her license would be on the agenda at the next family gathering.

I was invited to an intervention involving a dear older friend. We all knew her

driving days were coming to an end when she drove in with pieces of shrubbery pro-

truding from the side of her car and the side view mirror hanging by a thread. I sat

and held her hand while a loved one told her she could no longer safely drive and her

keys would be confiscated. She took this news with her usual aplomb and sad de-

murely just listening to the unwelcome words knowing they would forever change her

life. I don’t know if I could have been so brave but my day could come and I am cer-

tain my daughters will have no trouble making that decision for me. I hope I am

“with it” enough to realize they are doing it out of love and concern for me, but who

knows? I may be mad as hell and have a few extra sets of keys stashed away.

Another area in your home that you should police very carefully is your refriger-

ator and food pantry. It doesn’t look good to have outdated food in either place that

should have been thrown away some months ago. You want to appear quite capable

of taking care of yourself. When my girls look in the fridge for a soda I always say to

myself, “did I throw out that cottage cheese?” If they come away looking content, I

know I am still on top of my game. Always remember, you are still the parent here.

But don’t let it go to your head. We all need help sometimes. It just increases with

time. Smile and the family will smile with you. Cry, and you could end up with a new

address. So, chin up and always do a “walk through” before a visit from your kids. Oh,

and throw away the empty wine bottles.

Good luck and stay well

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PAVILLION DEDICATION PARTY

AUGUST 26, 2015

MUSIC BY BRUCE JOHN

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MORE EXTRAVAGANZA PARTY PICS

CAYLINA & SOLEIL

KEN CHUCK

MARIE MARGARET

SOLEIL

CAROLE CYNARA

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Keith James is Bev Korba's nephew. He accepted her invitation to write for Life & Times to provide us with tips that will ensure our personal safety and protect us from scam artists.

Facebook “Farcing”

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has recently warned consumers of an online scam called “farcing” that targets social media users. The scam is simple to employ and simple to avoid. Here is how it works. The online perpetrator sends out a phony profile and picture as a “friend re-quest” in hopes that you accept. You notice that you already have several friends in common with this person (as they fell for the scam) and so you accept the invitation. Now this person has access to your personal profile and can begin learning more about you and mining your information.

At the very least the perpetrator will attempt to use your information to commit Identity Theft, and then have access to your credit and financial accounts. More dangerous than affecting your finan-cial life, they may use your profile to know when you are away and commit a burglary. Just think for a minute of all the personal information about yourself online and think about that information in the hands of a stranger.

So, how do we protect ourselves while still enjoying the networking advantages of using social media?

Update the privacy settings on your social media account to ensure only your friends can see your profile.

Do an audit on your Facebook friend list. Do you know all the names?

Remember the old advice we got as kids? “Don’t talk to strangers.” It still applies. If you don’t know a person requesting to be your friend, don’t accept.

Limit the personal information on your profile.

Use a “complex” password and don’t let it be the same password you use on your other 50 ac-counts. Change your password periodically.

Use the same caution with Twitter, Linkedin, and other forms of social media. As the social media business continues to grow, so does the opportunity for the criminal element. Enjoy using Social Media, but keep your guard up and employ common sense. Keith James, CPP, PSP, PCI

Keith James is the founder and President of James Security Associates, LLC. He has over 25 years of ex-

perience in the private security industry with an extensive background in the areas of security management,

personal safety, and emergency preparedness.

Keith holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Western New England Uni-

versity. He is Board Certified by ASIS International as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), a Physical

Security Professional (PSP), and a Professional Certified Investigator (PCI).

For more information on Keith James, go to: www.keithjamesonline.com

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ANOTHER GREAT BOOK REVIEW FROM ALICE

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

By Nadia Hashimi

This is a fictional story of two women who lived in Afghanistan, one

in the present and one a hundred years ago. There was a custom called

bacha posh which allowed young girls to act like boys until they were of

marriageable age. They could dress like boys, go out into the streets, shop

and go to school. Two girls adopted this custom, one in present day Kabul

and her great aunt a century earlier.

Rahima was the oldest in a family of girls. She used this custom to go to

school and to shop for her family, but when she was old enough she was

forced into a marriage where she lost all this freedom. Shebiba, her great-

aunt, was disfigured as a child when she was scaled by hot oil and then or-

phaned when an epidemic took her family. Living alone she began to dress

like a man, eventually becoming a guard at the king’s harem in Kabul.

The is an interesting look at the lives of Afghan women, separated by

generations but virtually unchanged over the centuries.

AND NOW—ONE OF ALICE’S FAMOUS CRYPTOGRAMS !!

WHOB AMCNDPHB’E AQLM CE FDM XCBEF FH NH

AMKF FDQF HX Q XRHZMB WHO OEMG FH YAHZ

QAG ZDH ZQE FDM JMBEHA WHO SOEF LMF

GHA’F QEY ZM.C XHBNMF.

Answer on page 16

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16 INSPIRING QUOTES

ABOUT AGING

“I had to wait 110 years to become famous. I wanted to enjoy it as long as pos-

sible.” Jeanne Louise Calment (1875-1997)

“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want

to live to be a hundred.” Woody Allen (1935-)

“Too many people when they get old, think that they have to live by the calen-

dar.” John Glenn (19321-) the oldest person to board a U.S. Space Shuttle at

age 77

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” Satchel Paige

(1906-19820

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face

you have at fifty.” Coco Chanel (1903-1971) The fashion icon.

“ Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later

have to find time for illness.” Edward Stanley (91826-1893) A British states-

man.

“I have reached an age when, if someone tells me to wear socks, I don’t have

to.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“ Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed.” George Bernard Shaw (1856

-1950)

Continue next page >

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16 QUOTES, cont.

“ By the time you’re eighty years old you’ve learned everything. You only

have to remember it.”

George Burns (1896-1996)

“The wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves

behind.”

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

“ He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age,

but to him who is of an opposite disposition, youth and age are equally a bur-

den. “

Plato (427-346 B.C.)

“At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care

what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us

at all.”

Ann Landers (1918-2002)

“Old age hath yet his honor and his toil”

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

“Because I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me.”

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.”

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”

Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

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Upcoming Events …..

GLEN RIDGE COMMUNITY

COFFEE SOCIALS are on Wednesdays each week in the community room. They alternate between mornings and afternoons. Mornings at 10a.m. and afternoons at 3p.m. Check your calendar for exact days.

MOVIES ARE SHOWN EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT @ 4:30 p.m. A list of each months movies are distributed at the beginning of the month and announced on our web site.

COMMUNITY DINNER THIS MONTH will be KFC, Thursday, October 15th @ 5:30p.m. $7.00 a person. Hospitality will provide the beverages & dessert.

The NEXT BOOK CLUB is Thursday, October 22nd. They meet at 10:45 a.m. To find out the current book the group is reading, call the office or Carol Phillips. . All are welcome! The next WOMEN’S GROUP will meet in the community room on Thursday, October 22nd@ 5:30p.m. Come join us! Bring a light supper.

MEN’S NIGHT is now on the 4th Tuesday of each month. The next event will be on Tuesday, October 27th @ 6:00 p.m.

SCRABBLE GROUP now meets here in the community room every

Tuesday afternoon@3P.M. Come join the fun!

ATTENTION ALL BOCCE PLAYERS! Come down to the court every Saturday morning @ 11am before the weather gets to cold to play.

HAPPY HOUR IS EVERY SATURDAY ON THE PATIO @ 5 p.m. B.Y.O.B. and munchies to share. Weather permitting.

Note the date & times have changed on some events

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“The Gypsy Bridge Band”

Comes to Glen Ridge

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Our own Chris Boucher is a member of this exciting 5 piece band! The Gypsy Bridge Band plays an assortment of popular hits with an acoustic twist.

www.gypsybridgeband.com

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Lots of Food, Drinks &

Great Fun!

They Played Music for Hours!

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All Decked-Out!

Joking

Around!

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Family

Came!

ANSWER TO ALICE’S CRYPTOGRAM ON PAGE 9

Your neighbor’s name is the first to go.

Next that of a flower you used to know.

And who was that person you just met?

Don’t ask me. I forget.

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And there are more...And there are more...And there are more...

Dancing!

Children having a fun

time!

Lots of

Laughs!

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Water conservation alerts – what do they mean?

We are currently experiencing a rain shortfall, low levels of groundwater, low flows in streams and rivers, and a Level 1 water conservation alert from UConn, which supplies water to Glen Ridge. Can we count on having enough water?

In normal circumstances, ground water levels and river flows tend to be the lowest in the late summer and early fall. This coincides with a huge increase in demand for water by the influx of thousands of UConn students to Storrs for the fall semester. Historically, UConn has always had enough water for the students living on-campus and for off-campus users (like Glen Ridge).

UConn gets its water from two sources: The wellfields adjoining the Willimantic River (UConn’s major water source) and the wellfields adjoining the Fenton River (UConn’s sec-ondary water source). When UConn pumped the Fenton River dry for a week in 2005, local activists publicized pictures of the dry Fenton riverbed and raised questions about UConn’s ability to manage its water supply without damaging the environment. As a result, the De-partment of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protec-tion (DEEP), stepped in and imposed some mandates on UConn when the Fenton River flow gets low.

One mandate is that UConn must stop pumping water from the Fenton River wellfields when the river’s flow rate drops to a certain lower level. When that happens, UConn is re-quired to issue water conservation alerts to all of its on- and off-campus water users. Stage 1 alerts, the lowest level of alerts, were issued in July 2010, July 2012, August 2014, and late July 2015. (This Stage 1 water conservation alert is still in effect as of October 3rd.)

A Stage 1 alert calls for voluntary water conservation measures that we should always be routinely doing, anyway: take shorter showers, select the appropriate water level or load size when using a washing machine, use water only as needed (i.e., don’t let the faucet run unnecessarily) when washing dishes, shaving and brushing teeth, do not wash sidewalks and vehicles, and re-use water for watering house plants or a garden. (To Glen Ridge’s cred-it, we never water the grass or hose down the sidewalks.)

Since the water conservation alerts were instituted, the most serious drought conditions oc-curred in 2010. In 2010, a Stage 1 water conservation alert was issued in July, a Stage II wa-ter conservation alert was issued in August, and an unprecedented Stage III Drought Advi-sory alert was issued on September 13 and lifted on October 25. A Stage III alert includes mandatory measures such as not washing vehicles, such as UConn’s buses, and limiting lawn water hours for UConn’s playing fields.

None of these alerts indicate that UConn doesn’t have enough water for its users. The vol-untary and mandatory conservation measures are designed to stretch the water supply as long as possible before Mother Nature sends us enough rain, and nobody can know for sure how long that will take. Water conservation should be a routine way of life.

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Water Sources in Mansfield

The town of Mansfield has no municipal water system, so most Mansfield residents rely on private wells or community wells for their water. Parts of southern Mansfield near the Willimantic line get water from Willimantic’s municipal water system – Willimantic Water Works. This includes the East Brook Mall, Freedom Green condominiums, and some residences. The Willimantic Water Works is a real water company so it is subject to state regulation of its water rates and the way the water is managed.

Glen Ridge gets its water from the University of Connecticut, which has its own water system. Other off-campus users of UConn water include residences on some roads adjacent to UConn, Courtyard condominiums, the Storrs Mansfield Post Office, the Storrs Center, E.O. Smith High School, Mansfield Community Center and the Mansfield Municipal Building. UConn also supplies water to these buildings along Maple Road: Wright’s Way, Mansfield Senior Center, Juniper Hill and Mansfield Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

UConn water is not a real water company. Because it is a state university, UConn is not subject to regulation as a water company. This means that when UConn raises the water rates for off-campus users, the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) does not require UConn to give no-tice to its off-campus water customers, to hold public hearings or to obtain approval from PURA like it does when real water companies propose to raise water rates. The UConn Board of Trustees just votes to raise the rates and that is that. That is why Glen Ridge had to pay an unexpected, one-time $50,000 bill from UConn for maintenance/repair of the UConn water system infrastructure this summer.

After UConn pumped the Fenton River dry in 2005, the state DEEP and the DPH required UConn to conduct an assessment of the water supply. That assessment helped UConn determine how much more water would be needed for future expansion of the University, including the proposed technology park, and expected off-campus development, such as a Masonicare assisted living facil-ity on Maple Road.

As a result of this assessment, UConn looked for an additional water source. The Connecticut Wa-ter Company (CWC) was chosen to pipe water from the Shenipsit Reservoir in Tolland to Storrs. The significant increase in the amount of water is expected to meet the needs of an expanding uni-versity as well as current and foreseeable future off-campus water users.

CWC began this project this summer by installing water pipes along Route 195 between Four Cor-ners and the UConn campus. CWC also installed water pipes along Route 44 from Four Corners west to the new extension of North Hillside Road (“the road to nowhere”), where UConn plans to build a technology park, and further west to Jensen’s Mobile Home Park and a connection with UConn’s water system. CWC will also extend the water line that serves the Mansfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center southward along Maple Road to the site of a proposed Assisted Living or Continuing Care community (independent apartments and assisted living) that MasoniCare in-tends to build on Maple Road.

This is good news for Glen Ridge. All of UConn’s off-campus water users, including Glen Ridge, will become customers of the Connecticut Water Company probably in 2016. CWC has promised to allow current off-campus users of UConn’s water to keep the same, below-market water rates we’ve been paying to UConn. Also, because CWC is a real water company, it is subject to regula-tion by the Public Utility & Regulatory Authority (PURA), so there will be no unexpected and un-contestable water rate increases or any unexpected, mysterious bills for infrastructure improve-ments like the $50,000 bill Glen Ridge had to pay to UConn this summer.

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Dear Jesus and Nakita,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter today. I looked out of the living room win-

dow on Saturday and saw the “Estate Sale” sign. Even the help (I have a woman for all the

heavy work) looked sad and down trodden. At first I thought it was just a rumor that you

and the two people who live with you are moving to New Orleans. I was aware that you

spent most of your winters there and I never blamed you for escaping our harsh New Eng-

land weather. However there are some of my feline friends that view this as a weakness on

your part. Why would anyone choose to sit by the Mississippi watching the beautiful ships

pass by when they could be in a cozy living room in New England waiting for the snow plow

to remove a few feet of snow? Was this your idea to begin with or did the “live ins” talk you

into it. I realize they own the car but couldn’t you have put your paws down and refuse to

relocate?

Oh well, I will have to accept this life style change and wish you well. I

liked living across the street from you. I feel there is strength in numbers

and we definitely have a good foothold in our small neighborhood, so losing

two very important friends is a big loss for all the Glen Ridge felines. As you

know, there are several feline members of the Glen Ridge community that

choose to remain anonymous and although they live in the shadows I will make sure the

news of your departure gets to them ASAP. I hope your living arrangements in the “Big

Easy” will be similar to what you are accustomed to. Moving away is difficult enough so I

sincerely hope you don’t have to lower your standard of living in the process.

I will want to know all about your new digs as soon as you are able to get the word out.

Do the “live ins” have a computer? I hope so because we can Skype each other. I have so

many questions. Will your diet be mainly Cajun cooking? Will you have to dress in funny

looking costumes and walk in all the parades? Will you like living on the seventh floor?

Does it have a view? I hope you have given this decision a great deal of thought before you

packed up the Element. Good luck in your new home and always

remember we will save a place for you at Glen Ridge in case you

get homesick.

Orevwa,

Phoebe