48 minute read
to provide any evidence or docu
Question for pols: Is LIRR only for the rich?
Memo: To Nassau County Elected Offi cials
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A recent New York Times Sunday editorial, “Is This Railroad for the Rich?” insinuated that the LIRR is maintained and operated to cater to wealthy commuters from gated communities like Garden City. And I’m curious what all of you make of it. But fi rst, a little background.
My guess is the editorial was a reaction to criticism of The Times editorial writer Mara Gay’s comments about her “ghastly” Memorial Day experience on the island.
“I was on Long Island [Memorial Day] weekend and visiting a really dear friend, and I was really disturbed,” she said. “I saw, you know, dozens and dozens of pickup trucks with expletives against Joe Biden on the backs of them, Trump fl ags, and in some cases dozens of American fl ags, which, you know, is also just disturbing because essentially the message was clear. It was: This is my country; this is not your country. I own this.”
The message is essentially clear? I think not. To infer that displaying a U.S. fl ag, particularly on a national holiday is racist, is by its very nature an absurd comment.
I have displayed a fl ag on a 14foot pole since my family moved into our home 20 years ago. Our fl ag, waiving on our front lawn, has nothing to do with Trump or deep-seated racism. It is an expression of pride in being Americans.
And since Mara Gay’s remarks went viral on the internet, I have noticed that more of my neighbors, of all races and creeds, have been hoisting fl ags.
The Times editorial of June 27, 2021, took Mara Gay’s comments one step further. It accused the state and the MTA of “squandering its investment in the expansion of the commuter rail” to cater to owners of single-family homes in exclusive neighborhoods like Garden City.
The editorial’s implication is clear: single-family zoning laws are a relic of Long Island’s racist past and should be abolished to permit the construction of multi-family housing, particularly around railroad stations.
Several observations: First, the LIRR does not cater solely to the rich. In fact, the vast majority of commuters are working-class folks, such as fi rst responders, civil servants, construction workers, clerical workers, etc.
This has been particularly true throughout the pandemic. Many white-collar employees, to this day, have been working from their homes, not commuting.
Second, ownership of singlefamily homes, particularly on Long Island, was encouraged and codifi ed, not by racists, but by New Deal Progressives who authored the GI Bill of Rights that included FHA/VA home loans with no down payments.
In the name of “regional planning,” Federal Housing Administration social engineers designed requirements on lot size, house width and distance from adjacent homes that forced banks to lend on suburban single-family homes instead of older city 16-foot row houses.
I doubt if Mara Gay and her confreres on The Times editorial board are familiar with this history, hence their calls, in the name of social justice, for the state of New York to override local zoning laws to force the building of apartment buildings.
The Times argues, “The city’s suburbs, especially in underdeveloped Nassau County, need to build more too.” It goes on to insist that Albany override local zoning laws and “make it legal to build multifamily housing on land near transit stations currently occupied by single-family housing.”
“Democracy,” The Times concludes, “is no defense for the behavior of these local governments. There are no citizens of Garden City; its residents are New Yorkers.” Nassau Elected Offi cials:
Do you agree with The Times’ claim that people who pay local taxes are not citizens of their municipalities and should have no say in governing policies?
Do you agree that our democratically elected local government offi cials are unfi t to make decisions regarding zoning laws?
Do you agree that the MTA is squandering money to improve and expand the LIRR?
Do you agree that the LIRR is a mode of transportation exclusively for the “rich”?
Do you agree with The Times’ demand that the state override local zoning laws and impose the construction of apartment buildings?
Do you agree that single-family homes should be demolished to provide space for multi-family housing?
As a Nassau County taxpayer and a citizen of the Town of Hempstead, I would like to learn your views on the issues raised by The Times before casting my vote this fall.
I look forward to hearing your responses.
GEORGE J. MARLIN
On The Right
A LOOK ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
When what you have is a failure to communicate
Mother Goose was leading a workshop series for all of the creatures of Fairy Tale Land. “What’s the most important part of any relationship?” she quizzed her audience.
“Communication!” they all shouted out.
“That’s right. And when you fail to communicate, that’s when things go wrong! Now it’s time to break into small groups for the diff erent workshops. Professor Wolf, you can take your group to the fi rst conference room down the hall.”
As the creatures in Wolf’s group entered the room, they saw the workshop title on the white board at the front: “How to talk so Little Pigs will Listen; Listen so Little Pigs will talk.”
“First things fi rst,” said Professor Wolf.
“Taking attendance?” asked one little pig.
“No need for that,” he said with a curious smile on his face. “No, the fi rst thing to do is correct the name of this seminar.” He picked up an eraser and swiped at the board. “We can forget about the second half of that,” he growled. “Who cares what Little Pigs have to say? All I care about is eating them — I mean, pretending I care about their problems until they trust me enough to come out of their houses!”
Several conference attendees suddenly stood up and rushed from the room. It was probably just a coincidence that they all happened to be pigs.
They decided to audit the second workshop: “How to Win Friends and Infl uence Gingerbread Men.”
“Of course, listening is a key component in any friendship,” that leader was saying. “But if you want to infl uence a Gingerbread Man, what else must you do?”
A Gingerbread Man raised his hand. “Um, turn on the oven?”
“Yes, make sure your appliances are working,” replied the speaker.
“Well, what about when you’re out for the day, and you come home, and nobody tells you that an appliance has exploded while you were gone?” Hansel and Gretel’s witch’s voice was shaking with anger. “Like, for example, the oven? And your partner has cleaned up the mess so there’s no way to know, but they didn’t bother to get the darned thing fi xed? And they don’t even tell you until company’s coming and the stove won’t turn on? ‘Um, honey, I forget to mention it, but there was a teensy weensy little explosion yesterday, and maybe we’d better order pizza tonight instead of whatever you were making?’ How are you supposed to live with someone like that?”
“Yes, I’d like the answer to that one, too,” said the Giant. “It’s all very well to be famous for saying ‘Fee-fi -fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,’ but it’s just plain embarrassing when you come around and it turns out all the Englishmen moved away weeks ago…and no one saw fi t to tell you. People say, ‘It’s such a chore, telling you things,’ but I ask you, who wakes up and says, ‘Gee, I wonder if any Englishmen have moved away? I’d better call around and ask’?”
“Or if any appliances secretly blew up?”
“Or if the mine decided to close down between Christmas and New Year’s, but none of the Seven Dwarves bothered to tell you? Not even Doc?” said Snow White, her voice almost a sob. “I could have planned a sweet vacation to Disney World, and instead we had to stay home and scrub out our chimneys!”
The third workshop was led by the three Billy Goats Gruff . “The theme of today’s workshop,” said the fi rst, “is this: ‘Trolls are from Mars, Witches are from Venus!’ ”
“What does that even mean?” demanded one witch. “Are you saying I’m from Venus? Because I’m not, and I’ll eat the goat that says so!”
“That’s hardly necessary, ma’am,” bleated the second Goat. “In fact, all it means is that … um, well, I’m not sure what it means.”
“Then why are you in charge of this workshop?” demanded a troll in the audience. “We trolls are sick and tired of all the bad press we get at these things!”
“It’s a metaphor,” said the third Billy Goat Gruff . “It’s just a metaphor for how hard it is for diff erent people … um, species … um, beings … to communicate. As I think we’ve just proven. Now I think it’s a good time to break for lunch. Trolls, if you’ll exit by the back door, and witches by the front, then we Goats will eat all the notes from today’s lecture and, um, see you around some time. Bah-ah-ah-ah-bye!”
JUDY EPSTEIN
A Look on the Lighter Side
THE BACK ROAD Letter to Curran re the first tesponders bill
Dear County Executive Curran,
I call on you to reject the First Responders bill, despite its 12-6 passage by the Nassau County Legislature.
If you will indulge me for a few moments, I ask you to suspend disbelief and imagine that you have already signed this bill into law and, God forbid, an incident identical to the George Floyd murder then occurs in Nassau County.
Imagine that the players are all the same, except for the fact that they reside in and patrol the streets of Nassau County rather than Minneapolis, Minn.
Would the NCPD initiate civil litigation against 33-year-old Donald Williams for menacing?
Williams, a security guard and martial artist, called the police and told them that he was witnessing a murder by police. He identifi ed a police offi cer using a “blood choke” to cut off George Floyd’s airway. He said he watched Mr. Floyd’s life “fade away, like a fi sh in a bag.”
He was heard in the video of Floyd’s arrest calling the offi cers “punks” and “murderers.” Would they charge Mr. Williams with menacing? They could under the First Responders bill.
Would the NCPD initiate civil litigation against 61-yearold Charles McMillian for harassment?
McMillian was the fi rst witness on the scene after police struggled to get Mr. Floyd into their squad car. McMillian, initially encouraged Floyd to cooperate. He later confronted Offi cer Derek Chauvin after Floyd was taken away in an ambulance, telling him: “Today I gotta look at you as a maggot.”
Would Offi cer Chauvin or his fellow offi cers charge Mr. McMillian with harassment? They could under the First Responders bill.
Would the NCPD initiate civil litigation against 27-year-old Genevieve Hansen for harassment?
Hansen, an EMT, said, “I was concerned to see a handcuff ed man who was not moving with offi cers with their whole body weight on his back . . .”
She pleaded, repeatedly, with the police to let her help Mr. Floyd, who was pinned to the ground with a knee on his neck. Her off er was rejected. Would Ms. Hansen be charged with harassment for her repeated overtures? She could under the First Responders bill.
Would the NCPD initiate civil litigation against 17-year-old Darnella Frazier for harassment? Ms. Frazier who fi lmed the murder on her cell phone said, “It’s been nights I stay up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.”
Would the off ending police offi cers, in an eff ort to deter anyone from fi lming in the future, charge Ms. Frazier for harassment? They could under the First Responders bill.
The First Responders bill could be used as a sword to deter peaceful dissent and repress First Amendment rights of civilians, even in situations where they bear witness and assertively object to excessive force.
Under the First Responders bill, the NCPD could take steps to litigate against civilians even when it is not warranted, as a pretext for intimidating the broader public into silence when outrage is justifi ed.
If you sign this into law, Ms. Curran, you will be complicit in placing a perpetual veil of threat over every civilian interaction with the police in Nassau County.
This law, if passed, will further empower police and decrease accountability even beyond your recent rejection of the creation of a civilian complaint review board. Police offi cers are already protected under New York State Penal Law and under Nassau County Administrative Law.
Passage of this law will be a giant shameful leap backward for Nassau County that will discourage righteous civilian dissent and will embolden any police offi cer who is inclined to abuse the considerable power already at their disposal.
Do the right thing and don’t lift your pen to sign this bill into law.
ANDREW MALEKOFF
The Back Road
EARTH MATTERS Climate change poses invisible threat to health
This has been a summer of unprecedented and extreme climate events around the world. Living here on Long Island, we have not suff ered from devastating fl oods, fi res or droughts, but even so, our rain events have been unusual and we’re only a few months into this year’s hurricane season.
Most people living in areas where these extreme events occurred had plans in place like moving to higher ground, evacuating to safer locations, avoiding breathing smoke by staying indoors and complying with emergency water use regulations. But what do we do when the risks are invisible and hard to accurately predict?
Some of us are very aware of the invisible threats to our health from environmental and climate-driven events. Asthmatics and people with other respiratory illnesses keep careful track of ground-level ozone readings. Ground-level ozone is created when chemicals from vehicles, power plants and factories mix with sunlight. Always worse on hot days, it can be seen from a distance as the yellow-brownish haze hanging over cities and areas with heavy industry or traffi c. Asthmatics can suff er a worsening of their condition or even require hospitalization when ground-level ozone reaches dangerous levels. Climate changedriven heat and wind pattern changes will aff ect air-pollutant levels and ground-level ozone.
Particulate matter – microscopic particles made up of dirt, dust, smoke, soot, metals, chemicals and liquid droplets – can also cause breathing problems. The smaller they are, the deeper they can get into your lungs, aff ecting both the lungs and heart. These fi ner particles (2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller), are emitted from forests fi res and other polluting gases from the sources mentioned above.
High heat and humidity, not unusual for Long Island summers, has seemed a little more oppressive this year, and scientists around the world are raising the red fl ag on this combination of climate conditions called “wetbulb temperature.” It is, literally, the reading from a thermometer when the bulb is covered in a wet cloth. By wrapping a piece of wet cloth around the end of the thermometer you can see how much evaporation can decrease the temperature.
When the wet-bulb temperature reaches 95° F, human’s survivability limit, evaporation of sweat can no longer cool our bodies down to regulate our internal temperature. According to Colin Raymond, a postdoctoral scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “When wet-bulb temperatures are extremely high, there is so much moisture in the air that sweating becomes ineffective at removing the body’s excess heat. At some point, perhaps after six or more hours, this will lead to organ failure and death in the absence of access to artifi cial cooling.”
A study published in Science Advances last year found that some places on Earth are already experiencing heat and humidity conditions that humans cannot withstand, even people who are in excellent heath, despite adequate shade and water, relaxing and wearing appropriate light clothing. Those with pre-existing conditions, including heart and lung disease, the elderly and those performing strenuous exercise or engaging in physical labor outdoors would be at extremely high risk, even at lower wet-bulb temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Wet-bulb temperature was even mentioned as a possible risk factor during the Olympic marathon events. That was a fi rst!
Today, around 30 percent of the world’s population is exposed to these serious temperature and humidity conditions for at least 20 days each year. It is predicted that will increase to nearly half by 2100, even with drastic reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.
Air conditioning is critical when wet-bulb temperatures get high, and even energy companies are talking about the potential higher demands on their electric grids. Power outages during these crisis events could be a matter of life and death. The 2003 European heat wave caused over 50,000 deaths at wet-bulb temperatures near 79° F. In Chicago’s 1995 heat wave that reached a wet-bulb temperature of 85° F, 700 people died, even though air conditioning was more accessible.
Wet-bulb temperatures will soon be part of our weather forecasts and none too soon, according to experts. Just as temperatures around the globe are increasing, so is the amount of moisture in the air.
“I believe that humid heat is the most underestimated direct, local risk of climate change,” said Radley Horton, a Columbia University professor and team leader of NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program. “As with sea level rise and coastal fl ooding, we are already locked into large increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme humid heat events, and the risk is much larger than most people appreciate.”
Educating the public about these real threats of climate change will hopefully encourage more eff orts to end our use of fossil fuels and engage in cooperative global eff orts to restore our planet for our children.
PATTI WOOD
Earth Matters
Cuomo resignation final act in Greek tragedy
Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as New York state governor is the fi nal act in what is truly a Greek tragedy, whose character fl aws have been the undoing of a superior leader.
But I fi nd the bum’s rush to remove Cuomo troubling.
Articles listed the prominent Democrats (President Biden, who himself was accused of sexual harassment to derail his candidacy; state Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs, Assembly Leader Heastie and Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins among them) calling for him to resign or be immediately impeached.
But it is interesting that every article included a comment about Cuomo’s pugnacious even bullying style, is vindictive to those who cross him, lost support of his political allies, and refl ected on his strong-arm tactics to accomplish his objectives.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine another governor accomplishing what Cuomo has in the 10 years he has been governor, and how he demonstrated in an era of extreme partisanship, paralysis and dysfunction, that government could actually work for its people – which is why this whole thing is such a Greek tragedy.
Infrastructure. Public transit. A clean green economy. Women’s reproductive rights. Marriage Equality. Immigrant rights. Civil rights. Voter access. Downtown revitalization. Economic development. Criminal justice reform. Gun control. Health care. $15 minimum wage. Balanced budgets delivered on time. Prosecuting hate crimes.
And yes, laws against sexual harassment — the ultimate in this Greek tragedy, especially when you consider his eff ort to place more women in executive positions than any other administration.
And most signifi cantly, if anyone can think back that far, he did in fact invent procedures to defend our state against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo characterized his achievements as proving to cynics that government could work and,
KAREN RUBIN
View Point
while proclaiming innocence of the worst accusations, said, “Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing state government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that.
The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing. Therefore that’s what I will do. Because I work for you, and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you.”
But I am disturbed by the process – the very fact that yes, an investigation was done, but I don’t believe Cuomo was given his due process to defend himself or challenge his accusers.
But most of all, I am disturbed that the consequences do not fi t the allegations. Of the 11 accusations, three could be considered serious enough for criminal prosecution. One of these is now referred to Albany and the sheriff there says it would amount to a misdemeanor.
Forgive me for seething over the fact that while Gov. Cuomo is being forced to resign and Governor Gavin Newsom of California is fi ghting off recall, Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida are committing malfeasance, abusing their power and actively endangering their residents, school children even, with their COVID-19 orders. Matt Gaetz, accused of sex traffi cking, is still in Congress, and Trump, accused of rape and sexual molestation by two dozen women faces no consequence. Whataboutism? You bet.
I am disturbed by the pile-on by politicians who see it politically advantageous in this hour of Times Up to side unequivocally with #MeToo. As Attorney General Leticia James said over and over, “I believe the women.”
A pendulum has swung. “Women should be believed,” has replaced “Women should be disbelieved, attacked, vilifi ed” if they dare charge sexual harassment. But the pendulum can swing back again.
“This hasn’t been and not going to be a fair process,” Cuomo’s lawyer Rita Glavin stated, after spending an hour dismantling the allegations. “I think women should be believed and should be treated fairly. I also believe that men should be believed and treated fairly. Everybody should have a chance to respond and everybody should be scrutinized for what they say by facts, evidence. That hasn’t happened here. Our country has a rule of law. I believe in the rule of law. Not mob mentality. And not media mentality.” Continued on Page 31
OUT OF LEFT FIELD Out of Left Field: Epistolary joys (Part I)
Did you receive any mail today? Was it handwritten with a script address on the envelope? Perhaps it is not surprising that a movie had the title: “You’ve Got Mail.”
In our high-tech age of computers, of cell phones, email and texts, fewer people receive personal mail, especially younger people.
The signifi cance of handwritten correspondence, however, precedes the establishment of all postal systems. In studying preRevolutionary America, I saw that letters were often carried to destinations (even traversing oceans) by private individuals who agreed to get them to the designated person.
This kind of correspondence was extended for decades and fostered epistolary joys as well as other bonds.
I was particularly struck by the epistolary skills of Benjamin Franklin. He often exchanged letters with folks he had never met. Franklin sought to exchange views on science and also build bonds of respect.
Two exceptional historians, Edmund Morgan and Walter Isaacson, describe Franklin’s skills in cultivating long-range epistolary bonds. Not only did this activity advance scientifi c thinking, but it established friendships, which Franklin expanded on his many trips to Europe.
Even before learning about Franklin’s endeavors, I was provided striking epistolary examples by one of the most extraordinary students ever to attend Hofstra, Patti Ann Alleva. She did her honors project with me on the relationship of John and Abigail Adams.
Because John was in Europe as a diplomat for the new nation (sometimes for several years), he and Abigail developed a remarkable exchange of letters.
Patti went through the original letters and revealed striking perspectives from these epistolary exchanges. Her 1975 honors essay was so outstanding that she became one of the very few undergraduates ever to make a presentation at the annual meeting of The American Historical Association in Atlanta, Ga.
Patti’s family and I accompanied her for this special occasion. Before turning to the substance of her analyses, I want to mention the attention Patti generated right down to 2021 – what a tribute to her creative work on slighted epistolary joys.
When she returned from At-
MICHAEL D’INNOCENZO
Out of Left Field
lanta, star Newsday reporter Stan Isaacs asked if he could interview her (of course, the 1975 project was during the Revolutionary bicentennial). Stan Isaacs was surely one of the most acclaimed journalists in Long Island history. He said he would like to interview Patti alone without me present.
As a teenager, Patti was understandably nervous, but after the interview she made a comment that will resonate for anyone who knew Stan.
She said: “He’s a modern-day journalistic Columbo,” refl ecting the actor Peter Falk’s gentle indirectness in speaking, as well as his acclaimed clothing –especially his raincoat! (Stan’s was a duplicate).
Patti felt she was treated gently. I then made use of her honors essay every time I taught my course about the Revolution.
Patti’s discussion contained such keen insights that it was also cited in 2021 by an international group of scholars, “The Zoomers,” who were studying civic virtues and relationships as they emerged from the Revolution, with an understandable focus on John and Abigail Adams The group cited Patti’s study.
As my draft of this column proceeded, I recognized that I would need to give several of the dramatic (often unknown stories) of epistolary joys in a second segment of my column (it was too hard to resist the launching of this project without consideration of Patti’s creativity; she recently retired as one of the most distinguished law professors in the nation).
For those achievements, and for her exemplary life, I recommended that Hofstra award her an honorary degree. Although Patti rarely comes East from North Dakota, we do sustain a delightful epistolary friendship.
In my next column, you can look forward to epistolary joys involving some of the most acclaimed Americans. Jeff erson was a great letter writer, sustaining a correspondence for more than 30 years with Maria Cosway (he met her in France after his wife died). Many of his letters are passionate, including “Debate Between My heart and My Head” – worth waiting for if you never read it.
Jeff erson also had close epistolary ties with his best friend, James Madison, much of that chronicled in Adrienne Koch’s book, “The great Collaboration.” Most folks have heard of the decade-long correspondence with John Adams after the hostility of the 1800 election).
Given column space word limits, I now conclude with two views from Patti about John and Abigail Adams: while men often regarded a spouse as unequal, John and Abigail always addressed each other as “Dear Friend.”
Deeply as she missed John, Abigail gave the perspicacious view to him: “My pen is freer than my tongue, and so I have been able to write things I could not say.” In column two We will explore how the epistolary exchanges fostered personal changes and social growth for both Abigail and John, as well as how epistolary joys festooned many other lives.
OUR TOWN There’s a cure for the yips for athletes
When Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast, had the yips in vaulting, many athletes could sympathize. The yips are a familiar plague in sports. Tennis players suddenly can’t get a serve over the net. Catchers mysteriously lose their ability to release the ball back to the pitcher. A talented golfer can no longer make an easy chip from 10 yards off the green or in the case of Ernie Els, can no longer make a one-foot putt.
The yips is referred to as a neurological disorder and often referred to as focal dystonia. Current wisdom provides a variety of ineff ective and short-lived solutions to this problem, including medication, rest, a change of equipment or a swing change of some kind.
And God forbid anyone label it for what it is. The simple truth is that the yips are a sign of a long buildup of suppressed anxiety that can no longer be held down and fi nally explodes into view at the worst of all times. It is often expressed during the phase of athletic movement that requires an easy relaxed and casual attitude. A pitcher is just warming up and gets the yips by throwing the ball into the dirt. A catcher suddenly can no longer make an easy throw back to the pitcher which is what happened to Mackey Sasser and ended his career.
Chuck Knoblauch lost his career as a Golden Glove second basement for the Yankees because all of a sudden he could not get the ball to fi rst base. A golfer can no longer take the club back and keeps starting and stopping, as with Kevin Na of the PGA. Many NFL place kickers, NBA foul shooters, fi gure skaters and gymnasts have experienced the yips. The yips do not discriminate based upon sport, age, race or gender. It is an equal opportunity unemployer.
And as in all anxiety disorders like phobias, obsessive compulsions or panic states, the cure is to be found in the roots of the problem. As in most illnesses such as the common cold, a sore throat or the fl u, the yips are multi-determined. You do not get a cold because you were exposed to a germ. You must also be run down, underfed, lacking in sleep for a few days, overly stressed and mildly depressed and viola! Your defenses are so weak that they can no longer hold back the disease.
Athletes who are prone to the yips are those with obsessive compulsive personalities. These are the athletes who are brighter than normal, perfectionistic, exceptionally hard on themselves, overly scrupulous, overworked and detail-oriented. These type of personalities are predisposed to a slow developing process though it seems that the yips arrive quickly. Like skin cancer, which emerges from skin damage done 20 years earlier, the yips have their roots in earlier experiences. Let me walk you through a typical case study.
This is a case of a teenage girl I once treated from California who was a national level softball catcher and was being recruited to many Division I colleges. Her problem was that she kept hesitating as she was about to throw the ball back to the pitcher. Like Mackey Sasser of the Mets, she started to tap her glove fi ve times with the ball as a magical way to get her to release the ball back. Of course, this method had questionable eff ectiveness in that it delayed the game and produced shame and embarrassment in her.
Through her analysis, her problems were eventually traced back to a serious loss from her past. Her mother passed away from cancer when the athlete was 10 years old and during that process of watching her mother slowly die she developed a compulsive ritual of tapping her fi ngers eight times on the side of a chair before she got up. This ritual subsided a few months after the funeral, but it was a sign that her defenses had been shattered by the traumatic loss.
And fi ve years later when she was faced with escalating competitive pressure, her defenses broke down once again. But the compulsion now took the form of a hesitation to throw rather than a hesitation to stand up from a chair. And just as before when she developed a magical compulsive ritual in order to stand up, now she developed a magical ritual to tap her glove eight times before she could threw it back to the pitcher.
Although the process of cure is straightforward, almost no sport psychologist seems to want to spend the time to explore these past dynamics. Instead, they all make ill-advised mad rushes to “fi x” the problem by teaching some form of deep breathing, selftalk, meditation, hypnosis mumbo-jumbo combined with prayer and a tranquilizer. Good luck with that. When you start giving elite athletes drugs to fi x problems, you are most certainly adding to their problems rather than curing them.
The actual cure for the yips is something we have known since the time Freud wrote back in 1896. The yips are a sign of unresolved anxiety that has been repressed and has come home to roost. To cure this anxiety, one must take the time to explore the traumas from their past so that they can fi nally be resolved. It’s as simple as one, two, three yet in our speed-crazed rush to fi x things fast we have lost sight of this.
Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have reminded us that athletes are human beings, too. And as humans they, are exactly like you iiand me in that they too have suffered traumas from the past that has caused self-doubt, fear, hesitation and exaggerated anxiety to set in. These traumas will often tenaciously return to us and remind us that, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein monster, they must be faced and addressed or they will most surely burn down the house. In other words, go fi nd yourself someone who listens more than talks. Someone who hears rather than tells. Someone who will give you the time to talk it all out. In other words, go fi nd yourself a psychoanalyst.
Hall of Fame golfer Gary Player once said that at least 75% of all golfers have had the putting yips on sometime.
DR. TOM FERRARO
Our Town
READERS WRITE Help save our kids. Wear a mask
Before the COVID.19 pandemic began, did you ever wonderwhy cancer patients in hospitals were given masks to wear by staff ? Simple reason: To prevent cancer patients from getting infections from others while these most vulnerable undergo immunecompromising cancer treatments. Having battled cancer fi ve times, I can testify to this.
Well, now, we have a situation in which a changing virus is looking to ravage general humanity and feed upon us all by constantly changing its ability to infect faster, to infect more virulently, and to infect with increasing resistance.
Those familiar with what we teachers of biology call the Scientifi c Method (I taught secondary biology for many years) realize that as viruses evolve new approaches and new revisions to battling them must be employed.
The CDC keeps revising its recommendations as to how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as NEW knowledge emerges that informs doctors/scientists as to HOW this new, dangerous virus is evolving and behaving…not in an attempt to “control” the population with a political bent as some news channels would have you believe falsely.
For instance, recent months have given us the new knowledge that the hairs in our nostrils can harbor a high variant viral load (extreme amounts of this virus) even if we are fully vaccinated.
Knowing this means that, even if we are fully vaccinated, we can spread the virus to others who are not vaccinated and/ or ineligible for vaccination at present…namely, to our children between the ages of birth through age 12…all those vulnerable little ones who can catch the virus from even vaccinated adults (newly discovered knowledge).
It is no longer true that children appear immune to COVID.19. At least 400 children in the United States have died from COVID.19since the pandemic began and children are not supposed to die.
Next time you have to choose whether to put on a mask or not think about those whom you might infect if you don’t wear a mask: your children, your grandchildren, your elderly grandparents, etc.
Next time you have to choose whether to put on a mask or not, think about yourself and why cancer patients are given masks in hospitals: to protect themselves from others.
Whether you choose to wear a mask to protect your own life or to protect the lives of the innocents who are most vulnerable at present, especially our children, please choose to wear a mask to give our little ones a fi ghting chance at surviving this pandemic.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters should be typed or neatly handwritten, and those longer than 750 words may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters must include the writer’s name and phone number for verification. Anonymously sent letters will not be printed. Letters must be received by Monday noon to appear in the next week’s paper. All letters become the property of Blank Slate Media LLC and may be republished in any format. Letters can be e-mailed to news@theislandnow.com or mailed to Blank Slate Media, 22 Planting Field Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577. Kathy Rittel East Williston
Sharks circling Cuomo’s political carcass
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo enters the twilight of his political career, he has three options. Resign and hope in coming years he can rehabilitate his image and career. Two, continue to fi ght the inevitable future impeachment by the state Legislature. Three, if still clinging to offi ce, run in the June 2022 Democratic primary for a fourth term.
Most of his former friends, be they other public offi ce holders, party leaders, major campaign contributors or union supporters, have abandoned ship. A campaign war chest of $16 million will not buy him another term. Cuomo fatigue has taken root. While he decides what to do, he will have less time to deal with other ongoing issues facing New Yorkers.
Should Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul become governor, she will be preoccupied with winning the June 2022 Democratic Party primary to run for a full four-year term. Being attached at the political hip to Cuomo, may adversely impact her ability to win any cooperation from the state Legislature.
The political sharks have already begun circling the political carcass of Cuomo. Many are now considering their own run for Governor.
Honoring Pride
The spread of morning and of spring, so defi nite and bright, resurrected beyond the rain. The world comes about in the miracle of light shining prodigal. This knowledge is inherited and merited, complete with knowing. To claim the details of birthright there is all to gain.
All light runs through the whole with our hand resting on this dedicated page. You’ll fi nd comfort here. The love that spreads humanity in the world has everything to do with you and me, and what we make of it.
I conclude. I conclude. I believe. I believe. I do, without pause. Do we not admire rainbows as they open, catching the sun, reaching through us?
There never was a single habit of light. Love was always the prism becoming alive— the stars we are born under, the light from within catches all the sunlight, the world launches into day and it is spring.
Stephen Cipot Garden City Park
NY PRIDE RUN & MARCH PHOTO © DA PING LUO HTTPS://WWW.DAPINGLUOPHOTOGRAPHY.COM/
Biden is no Superman
It has become necessary for me to respond to Alvin Goldberg’s comments about my letter that appeared in the Williston Times last week.
He begins by criticizing my discussion of history and slavery in my initial paragraphs and apparently does not realize that it was in response to comments in your Viewpoint column of two weeks ago that stated that Critical Race Theory is being attacked because it teaches history and its critics do not want the history of this country to be taught. On the contrary, parents want true history to be taught.
I, therefore, gave a synopsis of what I learned in school about our racial history, both good andbad. Everything I stated was 100 percent correct and can be verifi ed by Mr. Goldberg by opening a book or going on the internet. He then calls Mark Levin, whom I quoted, an extreme rightest which is a complete and utter falsehood. He is a constitutional lawyer and an expert on constitutional law. Not right law, not left law, law. His book “American Marxism” just sold over 600,000 copies intwo weeks. That is the road we are now traveling on, the road to Marxism. Wake up, Goldberg.
His letters always start out the same. He lists all of the opinions and facts that I have written about and then disputes none of them and accuses me of discussing them because I am trying to divert the reader’s focus from the main problems of the day. It never enters his mind that I am responding to an article written by one of your columnists and her subject matter.
He then berates me , personally, by intimating that I would fail in a debate with the author of the column I was addressing. I would say that he switches the focus about my comments to another subject because he is unable to challenge my statements with intelligent debate of his own.
So let’s discuss the three problems that I was” ignoring.”
First, there is the Covid-19 pandemic, which I have addressed in previous letters. “Biden, A president who will watch our backs” is the title of his article. Oh really? Biden who said he did not trust Trump when it came to vaccines and said the American people should not either. (Sept 16 Speech in Delaware) Kamala Harris, the vice president, who said she would not take a vaccine that Trump produced unless the CDC vouched for its reliability. Misinformation for the past 18 months from experts and you wonder why there is a problem. Biden, not allowing people to come here unless they have been vaccinated but he called Trump Xenophobic when he closed the borders.
Biden, who blamed Trump for all the deaths last year. How many on your plate now, Joe? Biden., opening the border to over a million people, so far, sending them all over America, the Covid-19 rate is up 900 percent in the illegal alien population. 1,500 migrants were positive for Covid-19 in the last seven days, requiring new camps to be built in McAllen, Texas, to house the hordes of sick people.
Alejandro Mayorkas, head of Homeland Security ,is lying to the American people and telling them that the borders are closed. Biden is preaching about masks and vaccinations, and possible shutdowns while he lets thousands in here who are sick with the virus. He really has our back, doesn’t he?
Jan. 6 should never have happened, but it is no insurrection. No one has been charged with insurrection. You do not destroy democracy with no army, no guns and wearing helmets with horns on top. It was a riot and much needs to be revealed like why are there videos of Capitol Police letting people walk right in? What did House speaker Nancy Pelosi know and why are they hiding hours of video from the public?
For your information a bomb exploded in a Capitol bathroom on March 1, 1971, Puerto Rican Nationalists fi red on the House of Representatives from the Women’s Gallery, wounding fi ve on March 1, 1954, and in 1983 Far Left extremists bombed a Senate Chamber on Nov. 7. The one person shot in this riot was Ashley Babbitt, by whom and why?
I watched riots all last summer and this was nothing compared to the damage and death done by BLM and Antifa. Democracy was never in danger, that whole statement is ludicrous. This does not compare to Pearl Harbor or 9/11, those comparisons were idiotic.
Voter Suppression, the biggest bunch of tripe to ever be pushed out there by the left. Restoring rules from before the pandemic, voter ID wanted by blacks and whites, more days to vote and ways than ever before, Jim Crow, my foot. Nothing but propaganda and the act of cheating will be much more diffi cult, but I am sure that someone will do their best to try.
When I was younger, voting happened on one day, you got that, one day. You cannot remove all safety measures put in place and then expect people to trust the results. Do your homework, many states have stricter rules than those that changed theirs. Don’t make me do it for you.
Goldberg says that Biden is as close to Superman as we can get. Superman could talk without cue cards, Superman knew where he was, Superman did not lie, Superman wanted to save America and not destroy it, Superman would have gone after criminalseven if they were relatives. Heaven help us and send us a real Superman to save our part of the Planet.
Gayle Palmer Williston Park Letters Continued on Page 28
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Continued from Page 12
OK, county attorney’s offi ce vs. former district attorney or current attorney general. Who would you pick? And we are sure the county will never again obtain outside counsel for any legal matters.
Surprise, surprise. Curran vetoed the bill on Tuesday after receiving an opinion from James’ offi ce, acknowledging the “genuine concern” of community members “that the law would intimidate free citizens from engaging in peaceful demonstrations without fear of retaliation.”
Rick Sawyer, James’ special counsel for hate crimes, told Curran in a letter that the bill “presents constitutional questions serious enough to guarantee multiple court challenges to its validity.”
In other words, the county would need to waste taxpayer money in an eff ort to violate the public’s constitutional rights to free speech and public assembly.
If that is not enough, consider the rights of fi rst responders vs. the rights of regular citizens.
The county legislation would allow fi rst responders to fi le taxpayer-funded lawsuits against protesters at a time when victims of excessive force cannot seek damages against fi rst responders because of the doctrine of qualifi ed immunity.
This doctrine, which has drawn criticism across the political spectrum, basically protects police from all civil suits – including for murder.
New York City became the fi rst major city to ban qualifi ed immunity for police in April, following in the footsteps of Colorado and New Mexico. Connecticut and Massachusetts have imposed more modest limits.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association admitted last week that getting rid of qualifi ed immunity will encourage police to obey the law.
We haven’t heard of Nassau considering similar reforms, which is not surprising.
Nassau County was one of three of the 50 largest police forces in the country that did not widely equip their offi cers with body cameras before police agreed to wear them under a new contract.
And even then the county had to agree to pay Nassau’s already well-paid police $3,000 a year to wear what is now considered standard gear.
But for Nassau that was a step forward. We are thankful that Curran scuttled the fi rst responder bill to avoid taking two or three steps back.
We only hope the Legislature will stop pandering to police and not try to override the veto.
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Seniors – Time to Venture Out Safely into the World!
What is a silent stroke?
The brain is a complex organ responsible for controlling many different bodily functions. When working at optimal capacity, the brain is a wonder to behold. When illness or trauma affects the brain, various parts of the body may not work as they should. One of the more devastating things that can affect the brain is stroke. Stroke describes a sudden stoppage of blood from reaching the brain. Harvard Medical School states that if a large number of brain cells are starved of blood supply, they can die. With their demise, a person’s memory and ability to speak and move can be compromised. While many strokes come on suddenly, certain factors may indicate a person is at risk. Such factors may include prior heart attacks, genetics, high blood pressure, smoking, or a prior stroke. However, in a particular type of stroke — a “silent stroke” — symptoms are far more subtle and diffi cult to spot. Silent cerebral infarction, often referred to as “SCI” or “silent stroke,” is a brain injury likely caused by a blood clot interrupting blood fl ow to the brain, offers the American Stroke Association. Silent strokes increase risk for other strokes and can be a sign of progressive brain damage. A silent stroke is typically only noticed as a side component of an MRI of the brain. Many times patients do not recall having a stroke and never felt any symptoms. Silent strokes should not be mistaken for mini-strokes. Mini-stroke is a brief but discrete and memorable event, with symptoms appearing for a few minutes or a few hours. According to a study on silent stroke titled “Functional and Cognitive Consequences of Silent Stroke Discovered Using Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging in an Elderly Population” and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, silent strokes are quite common and can have serious consequences. Researchers have found that silent stroke is associated with impairments in tests of cognitive function rather than movement-oriented performance tests like rising from a chair. Almost 50 percent of studied silent strokes affected frontal circuit components of the brain, such as the frontal cortex, basal ganglia and thalamus. Lesions in these brain structures compromised executive functions and were related to vascular dementia. Another study showed associations between silent stroke and visual fi eld defi cits, weakness in walking on heels, history of memory loss, migraines, and lower scores in cognitive function tests. The “silent” part of a silent stroke also refers to the areas of the brain that the stroke affects. Experts at Harvard Medical School explain that, during a silent stroke, an interruption in blood fl ow destroys areas of cells in a part of the brain that is “silent,” meaning that it doesn’t control any vital functions. Researchers say that, over time, the damage from silent strokes can accumulate, leading to more and more problems with memory. Collectively, silent strokes become silent no longer. There are certain ways to reduce the risk of any type of stroke. These include: • managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels • quitting smoking • reducing the risk of diabetes and effectively treat the condition if it is present • losing weight to prevent obesity • exercising and avoid a sedentary lifestyle • taking a low-dose aspirin or a drug that prevents blood clots. Silent strokes largely go unrecognized but can lead to signifi cant brain injury. Getting the facts can help men and women reduce their risk for silent stroke.
Home security tips for seniors
Seniors are often targeted by criminals. Though many criminals target seniors from afar via telephone or internet scams, criminals seek to enter seniors' homes. The Bureau of Justice Statistics offers that, between 2003 and 2013, the ratio of property crime to violent crime was higher for the elderly and persons between the ages of 50 and 64 than it was for younger persons between the ages of 25 and 49. Home security is important for people of all ages, but especially so for seniors and aging individuals living alone. By following certain safety tips and developing a home security plan, seniors can feel safer at home. · Lock windows and doors. It may seem like common sense, but failure to repeatedly lock windows and doors can, and often does, give burglars easy entry into the home. · Think about a smart doorbell. Technology now enables doorbells to provide a video feed to a person's smartphone or tablet over WiFi. This allows residents to see who is at the door and speak to this person without having to open the door. Some products like Ring® will even register motion activity and record short videos from outside of the house. · Don't share or leave keys. Avoid leaving keys under a mat or in a fl ower pot. Others may be watching your actions and gain access to your home while you are away. · Ask for ID. When service people or other individuals come to the door, verify their credentials by asking to see some identifi cation. · Get a home security system. The best protection against burglars is a home security alarm, states HomeSecurityResource.org. Such an alarm often deters burglars from breaking in. · Install a lockable mailbox. Locked mailboxes restrict access to sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, sent in the mail. Make sure retirement checks or other payments are deposited directly into bank accounts instead of having them sent by check. · Use home automation. Home automation, or a "smart home," can be utilized to turn on lights, set the thermostat, lock doors, and much more. · Adopt a dog. Dogs can be an asset to seniors. Dogs provide companionship and can bark or alert seniors if someone is around or inside of the home.
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Signs and symptoms of dementia
Dementia is a global issue that affects people’s daily lives in myriad ways. According to the World Health Organization, dementia is a syndrome marked by deterioration in memory, thinking and behavior. That deterioration affects dementia patients’ ability to perform everyday activities, potentially robbing them of their independence.
The WHO reports that approximately 50 million people across the globe have dementia and there are nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year. Though the hallmarks of dementia, such as memory loss, might be the same, the WHO notes that dementia affects each person differently. That’s due to certain factors, including a patient’s personality prior to becoming ill. Though people will experience dementia differently, the signs and symptoms of the disease are typically categorized as being in one of three stages: early stage, middle stage and late stage. Early stage Signs and symptoms that mark the early stage of dementia are often chalked up as side effects of aging. But the WHO notes that dementia is not a normal part of aging, so its signs and symptoms, even if they are not yet severe or signifi cant, should not be written off as a byproduct of growing old. Common symptoms in the early stage of dementia include forgetfulness, losing track of the time and becoming lost in familiar places.
Middle stage Life becomes more diffi cult during the middle stage of dementia, when signs and symptoms become more apparent. The forgetfulness present in the early stage now becomes forgetfulness of recent events and people’s names. People in the middle stage also may become lost in their own homes and experience a growing diffi culty with communication. People in this stage may need help caring for themselves, and some experience behavioral changes such as wandering and repeated questioning.
Late stage Memory disturbances are signifi cant in the late stage of dementia, when people are almost entirely dependent on others. People in late stage dementia may have diffi culty recognizing relatives and friends and be unaware of the time and place. Many people in this stage need assistance with self-care and they may have diffi culty walking. Behavioral changes may escalate, and some people in this stage become aggressive, even toward their loved ones.
Dementia affects tens of millions of people across the globe. Though there currently is no cure for dementia, the WHO emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis, which starts with learning the stages of dementia and the hallmarks of each stage.
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