By barbara Morris
These are busy times. Now that summer has arrived, there is not only a lot of indoor meetings and other activities, the greet outdoors beckon as well.
The hot weather preceding Rosedale’s Health and Community Fair prompted the purchase of several of the attractive do-it-yourself assembly shelters featured in many garden sections of department stores. Each one comes in a multitude of pieces; some, luckily, are clearly marked. The directions were consulted, and the lengths of pipe separated accordingly. As the top pipes and side pipes were fitted together on the ground, it looked like the project was going to be, as we were told, easy to assemble and take apart.
The trouble came when we tried to stand the legs up so that the top could be attached. We found out quickly just how easily the pieces would disassemble. This was not to be a one-person job – even without the wind that had started to whip around the parking lot at Evangelical Lutheran Church of Christ on June 23.
The arrival of Arthur and Loretta Panebianco gave Fred Kress and me the courage and assistance we needed to continue. We had been a little frustrated before that since we could see the folks from North Fork Bank quickly and efficiently already setting up their table under their already assembled shelter.
As soon as the roof was affixed, we realized our completed masterpiece stood too exposed to the wind. Thomas Daniels of the Jamaica Past Office arrived just in time to assist in moving it close to the building where Jim English end the rest of us tried to tie it down. A few raindrops interrupted the schedule to assemble the No. 2 tent because we had to, instead, pile all the boxes of educational material out of the leather under tent No. 1. That having been accomplished, the clouds foiled away for a while and everything proceeded in as orderly a fashion as possible.
At that point, something very interesting happened. I turned toward the gate and saw our very nice UPS friend, David Crystal, coming in with his brother, Sean, and several of their friends. They were not coming just as onlookers. They had been invited by the folks from North Fork Bank to bring their inflatable “Step-n-Slide.” This yellow and red, friendly and soft “monster toy” fascinated and tempted all of us, but there were so many young folks anxious to climb up and slide down, and we were content to watch. Besides that, it has a 150-pound capacity which most of our older food-lovers exceeded. It was the hit of the day. There was, gratefully, a lot of groups anxious to participate.
Det. Glen Kotowski and other officers from the 105th Precinct were there, and as soon as 1-year old Kirsten O'Reilly met Det. Kotowski, she stretched out her arms and put them around his neck as her mom, Boreen, stood nearby. Though Kirsten was reluctant to leave her new-found friend (and his shiny badge), her dad, Peter, had her playpen and toys ready to lure her back
Millie Bzecke represented the Lions Club and, we understand, did well for them selling soda next to the Rosedale Cards & Gifts table. Next in line was REMAX, Boy Scouts of America Troop 556, with their own tent and colorful exhibit. Judy Rivers and Judy Charrington, representing the city Commission on Human Rights, found a nice, shady spot under a tree, while the folks from Elderplan chose to be spotlighted in the sun, as did representatives from Drs. 4 Kids and folks getting signatures for political candidates of their choice.
Our two DJs, Marie and Ron, stayed well under the shade of that first tent, until one great big gust of wind lifted it up so high that all those easy-to-asssemble parts went in all directions.
Ernestine Ward from the Department of Parks and Recreation held down the fort for our “Parks 2001” campaign, which we hope EVERYONE will want to join. Our parks are vital to our area and are not getting the needed funding.
David Nader was there, ready and willing to enlist members in the new Rosedale Rescue Unit, while the medical teams, supplied through the efforts of the Linden Seventh Day Adventist Church, did their work in the basement of Christ Lutheran Church. It was a busy day and we are happy for the number of people who challenged the elements to come out.
We hope everyone had a good time, and got some useful information
