By Dee Richard
By the time you read this it will be Jan. 6, 2005. All the excitement, the shopping, the parties, the mailing of packages and cards, the charitable donations, the long-distance phone calls and e-mails, the exchanging of gifts, and even the baking of cookies will be over.The last party we covered was the TimesLedger holiday party at the Douglaston Manor. It was a lovely party with the usual good food and good drinks shared with good friends. Of all the TimesLedger parties we have gone to, this one hosted by Holly and Steve Blank was the nicest by far. Thank you, boss, for a great party. It was such a nice way to end the year.One of the great things about this job is the fact that you never know from one day to the next where you are going to go, who you are going to meet, and what new experience you will have that you never encountered before. It's sort of a fun, continuous education.A case in point was our invitation to a recording studio one Saturday. The USO Troupe of Metropolitan New York was recording a CD to be sent to our service people in Iraq. The theme of the CD is “Love From Home.” It consists of medleys of Christmas songs interspersed with lots of military favorites. The host of the show was the incomparable Joe Franklin, formerly of TV's “Down Memory Lane Show.” Joe now has a show on Bloomberg Radio. The hostess was Betty Carroll, who has a talk show on a Long Island radio station.A number of people were invited to call in during the show to extend Christmas messages to the troops. Some of the callers were Maj. Gen. Richard Colt, commander of the 77th Regional Readiness Command at Fort Totten, Vice Admiral Joseph Stewart of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Dave Winters of the Fisher Houses based on the USS Intrepid, Queens Assemblyman and New York City Labor Council Chairman Brian McLaughlin, and actor Steve Baldwin. The generous young man that let us use his studio was Steve Garrin. A friend of Chet Marcus mass-produced the CDs. His company is called Play-It Productions.We all worked on the project for a solid four hours. It was fascinating to watch it all come together, especially on such short notice.On a recent Sunday, Jewell Davis, the art director for the TimesLedger Newspapers, and her husband Ted celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Woodlands, a charming non-commercial looking catering facility in Woodbury. It was a lovely party for family, friends and some of the TimesLedger team that work with Jewell. Congratulations, we hope the next 40 years are just as happy.After all the festivities and rushing around has wound down, it sort of feels a little like a letdown. But be of good cheer. It's time to give some thought and make some plans as to what you would like to accomplish in 2005.Fortunately, since the New Year holiday happened on a long weekend it gave lots of time for some introspective thinking. Needless to say, this is the time to make our New Year resolutions. Nanny (my grandmother) always used to say most people's problems had simple solutions. All the psychological babble, the passing of endless new rules and regulations, the creation of numerous how-to-do books, the organization of numerous committees to effect change, all, she felt, were a waste of time and totally unnecessary. Her solution? Good manners. Sounds rather simple, you say. Aren't most truths quite simple when stripped down to their bare essence?First of all, well-mannered people are polite, kind, caring, and considerate of the rights and feelings of others. They do not rush to the head of the line and cut in in front of everyone else who has been patiently waiting their turn. They do not zoom through red lights and stop signs. They do not lie, cheat or steal to get what they want.Guess old Nanny knew what she was talking about. Good manners would surely seem to be a solution to most of people's problems. If everyone made an effort, the results would be a more pleasant relationship with your neighbors and all those you come into contact with.So here's your first New Year's resolution – to wit, the practice of good manners.That's it for this week. Send us your voice mail to 718-767-6484, your faxes to 718-746-0066 or if you prefer e-mail to deerrichard@aol.com.Don't forget to check the photos on the Focus on Queens page.Have a Happy New Year.Till next week,Dee
