By Barbara Morris
The ebb and flow of summer activities will remain in memory for a long time to come. Some were fun, some were tragic, and some were in between. The weather, of course, played an important part.
The week we had the most intense heat some of our wonderful friends and neighbors lost loved ones, for which we send our sympathy. My own sister, who has been ailing for some time, took a very bad turn and had to be hospitalized. She kept hoping she could make herself feel better at home, or I could, but that just wasn't happening. Past crimes necessitated locked windows, but there would not have been much relief from outside air even if they could have been opened.
A call to 911 brought two wonderful members of the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service (Tony and Ernest) to our door. They picked her up with such expertise that it looked almost easy, which I’m sure it was not. The important thing was they were gentle, encouraging and willing to listen to her complaints about salaries being earned by baseball players in the Major League.
As I recall, we arrived in the hospital emergency room about 11:30 a.m. and by about 4 p.m., no one had seen any food and the patients like my sister whose appetites were not ailing, started inquiring about the possibility of getting something to eat. We were assured food would be on its way soon. It arrived about 6 p.m.
Just as my sister was about to bite into that first tidbit of chicken, one of the nurses came in, grabbed her tray away and said “sorry, you have to go for tests now.” We then made a poor compromise. We saved the tray and food until she came back from tests and was assigned a room at about 8:30 p.m.
Cold food or not, a hungry person will eat whatever is available. This has already had a little positive reaction. She has been telling her roommate what a great cook I am! Believe me, I’ll be more than willing to cook whatever she wants when she comes home … and may it be soon!
During the previous week, I had to miss National Night Out Against Crime at Belmont Park. I was sorry I couldn’t have joined our friends from the 105th Precinct, Nassau County’s 5th Precinct, and several other law enforcement agencies, because all reports indicated it was a spectacular event that had it all — music, food, crime prevention expertise, prizes, educational material, exhibits, a playground and a parrot, a snake, an iguana, a tortoise, and interesting wildlife supplied by Petland.
The only thing that could have been improved was the weather. It was just too hot for everyone. The night of the 105th Precinct’s Open House, the weather was perfect There was a pleasant breeze and the temperature had dropped enough that I noticed a few people slipping on jackets as the sun drifted away. Our chefs did themselves proud, as always, and we are glad that Deputy Inspector Glen E. Kotowski, commanding officer of the 105th Precinct, Community Council President Sheila Pecoraro and the Community Council executive board hosted this interesting evening together.
Besides having a pleasant visit with those folks, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, Chief Thomas Lawless supplied McGruff, Mounted, Highway 3 Emergency Service, K-9 Unit and the Command Post Vehicle. There were also representatives and displays from various units to bring us all up-to-date on what’s happening. We all say thank you, not only for the successful social events, but for all the wonderful work being done every day, all year long.
There was one other weather-related event that I feel compelled to mention On one of those steamy days, I had to rush to the store to try to beat a promised “dangerous thunderstorm.” I had already heard cracks of thunder and seen flashes of lightning. Rushing on my way, I noticed a group or five or six youngsters splashing around in a lawn pool. I asked them to hurry out of the pool.
There were wails of “no,” of course, so I knocked at the door for someone who could make sure they got out. Later I took an educational booklet by Consolidated Edison about electricity that we gave out at last year’s National Night Out Against Crime. We hope everyone makes use of all the vital, available information and stays safer.
