By Dee Richard
While we did not have a number of the usual hot, blistering days, we were deluged with torrents of rain. I do not remember a summer with that much rain. As a friend once commented, if we had beautiful, bright sunny days that never exceeded 70 degrees, we would then complain about how monotonous it is. I'd like to try some of that monotony for a while instead of all this rain. How about you?This summer hasn't been that bad, event-wise. In fact, it's been rather lively. Usually events in July and August are practically nonexistent, but this year things have been moving along nicely.The Thunderbird Pow-wow at the Queens County Farm Museum did get a break, weather-wise, on July 24 and July 25, after having to cancel Friday's performances due to the torrential downpours. If you have never attended a pow-wow you should check it out at least once. It is quite impressive and the children love it. The dancing, singing, contests, crafts and American Indian food are all treats for the young at heart.Some of the Indian traditions are more than 1,000 years old. They have a huge bonfire on Saturday night and everyone in the audience is invited to join the dancers and dance around the fire in a circle. It's lots of fun and definitely something different, a most enjoyable evening.The man who emcees the event every year said he has to laugh when he hears people complain about how we are being inundated with immigrants, both legal and otherwise. He said his people had been here for more than 25,000 years when we arrived. He told me to think about it the next time a non-American Indian claims to have discovered America. He said that that person should think about who was here waiting on the shore to welcome him or her. It wasn't the Immigration and Naturalization Service; it was conspicuous by its absence. As far as the Indians are concerned, this country is rightfully theirs and we are all immigrants to them. The man has a point.July 25 was both happy and sad. It was sad because we attended the wake of Judge William Glover at the Frederick's Funeral Home in Flushing. The judge and his wife, Kay, were on vacation in Scotland when he suddenly had a heart attack and died. No one wants to die, but unfortunately it is inevitable and it does seem a better way to go suddenly while doing something you enjoy rather than being in a hospital suffering unbearable pain while being hooked up to all sorts of machines. Judge Clabby said, “Bill Glover had just undergone a complete physical required to be re-certified as a judge. He passed the physical with flying colors.” You just never know.Events such as this should inspire us to be kind and loving to all those close to us and treat them with kindness and love each day as if it were their or your last day, as it very well could be. Rest in peace, judge, we will miss you, as you were an exceptionally fine and decent man Ñ a member of a breed that hardly seems to exist anymore.The happy part of Sunday was the barbecue fund-raiser at the Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy. The event was held in a building adjacent to the Coast Guard station overlooking the bay.The recipient of the fund-raiser was the Fisher House Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. This is one of the many regional facilities run by the Fisher House throughout the world for the benefit of members of the armed forces and their families. In fact, the Fisher Houses are to military families what the Ronald McDonald Houses are to children's hospitals.The Fisher House, however, is best known for helping to bring the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum to New York Harbor. If you have never visited the Intrepid, it is a must-see at least once. It is a permanent exhibit of this great fighting ship reflecting our modern, past and present military history.The barbecue was John Farrell's idea. John's daughter Maureen spent some time in the Landstuhl Fisher House in Germany, and John was impressed with the services provided to his daughter and to himself when he traveled to Germany to visit her. John is a longtime Douglaston resident.Barbara Leonardi of Northshore Towers was the 2004 chairperson for the Fisher House fund-raiser. It was a beautiful sunny day at the academy, an ideal location right on the water. The food was great and the entertainment was provided by three very charming young women from the USO of the Metropolitan Unit, backed up by a military dance band. It was a very pleasant respite after so much rain during the rest of the week.The Queens Theatre in the Park held its first night reception and performance of its annual Latino Cultural Festival. July 28, the first night of the festival, was the night the dancers from Colombia performed, and what a performance it was. The audience was practically dancing in the aisles. A different country will perform every night until Aug. 8. Call the box office for more details and ticket availability.After the star-studded performance there was an outdoor reception on the terrace in front of the theater. The attendees were provided with food and drinks along with music to dance to from a live Latin band. It was one of the nicer Queens evening events. Have you noticed how Queens is coming into its own with all the diversified forms of entertainment and culture it provides? Kudos to the theater's executive director, Jeff Rosenstock, and his staff for bringing us another sterling performance.An interesting sidebar was that most of the local politicians were in Boston at the Democratic National Convention and no one seemed to have noticed their absence. Hmmm!That's it for now. Remember to check the photos on the Focus on Queens page and call me at 718-767-6484, fax me at 718-746-0066 or e-mail me at deerrichard@aol.com.Till next week,Dee
