There are things that we experience in our lives that we don’t wish on other people because it’s just hard. And it’s sad and it’s a lot of emotions. One of those things I am talking about is hospice.
We lost a family member this week after a very fast dance with terminal cancer. My father in law. The diagnosis took everyone by surprise. And the thing about hospice is you don’t know is if it is going to be fast or is it going to be slow and you have to prepare for both.
The hospice was done in our home. And to be honest, I am still processing how it felt. It’s hard. Your house takes on an unnatural stillness you’re trying to keep everything calm and peaceful for the person on hospice.
People have said to me things like I’m so brave for doing this and what was the other thing? Oh, that I was doing God’s work for having someone here on hospice. I don’t think I deserve those accolades. Hospice was really emotionally difficult for me, right or wrong. Also right or wrong I was terrified through most of it. It’s super stressful.
You are faced with a person who was once completely full of life, fading away, inch by inch hour by hour minute by minute. Watching it is almost indescribable at times. It’s part of the natural cycle of life, but death doesn’t actually come softly. Death let’s itself be known and steals someone from you even if they have lived a long and good life and you are going to miss them.
I am really not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but hospice is complicated, especially emotionally. And you hate seeing anyone in pain. And that’s the hospice patient and the other family members around you. This is why before I go any further in this post, I want to thank the hospice people we had. They were nothing short of amazing. And that’s every nurse, the social worker, and the people delivering and picking up the hospice equipment. The nurses were Amy and Christie and Ashley. The triage nurses on the phone included. Brandy, Kathy, Charlene, and Christa. Betsy was the social worker. And Beth who set it all up.
Who did we use? AseraCare in Eagleview in Exton. We ended up choosing them just by chance. We had called a couple of different people, including Penn Hospice. Everyone we spoke with was lovely, but it was just the timing which had us land with AseraCare in the end.
Hospice workers and hospice nurses I really believe do God’s work on earth. I am in awe of what they do, and have nothing but mad respect and admiration. These women who helped us, helped make it make sense. This was really hard, and I had so many doubts that I could even do this in my own house, because I was just scared. At first, it’s just like having a long-term houseguest, but then the hospital bed gets delivered and it gets very real, very fast.
And then it’s over. It’s a whirlwind, and when it ends the world gets very still, and then peaceful again. And you start to sleep again. Because having someone on hospice in your house is like almost having a new baby, you don’t really sleep because your ears are always open for sounds. It gives a whole new meaning to sleeping with one eye open. Now we also deal with loss. Loss and the complexity of emotions when you lose someone.
In the middle of all this all going on, you still have regular life all around you. For me as a blogger, people continued to message me all hours and leave comments, continued to ask if I could help on things and I accommodated people as best I could. But when you are trying to do regular every day life combined with something somewhat extraordinary and unusual, like hospice, you sit back and you take stock. Among other things , you are just tired.
I find I am increasingly intolerant with the way people act on social media. Everything is an argument, everything is a challenge, and it flows over into the real world. No one can have a conversation anymore. I realize I’ve talked about this before but it really hit home during this time.
After pondering during this time in my family’s life , I have decided I’m doing a little simplifying. Instead of being worried about the feelings of others, even though I know quite realistically I am not responsible for the feelings of others, I’ve decided it’s time to put myself first. I am just not going to be the whipping girl for those who don’t like my opinion any longer. Whether it’s overt or passive aggressive, I just am done. It’s human nature that you don’t want to disappoint people, but I’ve decided I can’t take that on as a mantle. It’s not my responsibility.
People can either be polite, even if they don’t agree with me, or they can simply not be in my space. This is why there are a few of you this week have found yourself on the outside. I have just decided life is simply tooshort. No one is ever forcing anyone to read Chester County Ramblings or be in a Facebook group I run. I have never expected everyone to agree with everything I write because that’s not humanly possible we’re all individuals. But I’m done with the behavior which I don’t feel is acceptable. You might think it’s fine. It might be fine someplace else, but perhaps not so fine with me. And how I feel actually matters.
So that’s it for me. Our world is a study in life and death. As humans, we don’t have time for BS.
I can’t even with Chester County right now. It’s CRAZY. As in crazy train crazy.
Where to start?
Ok the first thing was the husband or partner of Caln Commissioner Lorraine Tindaro named Michael Bedrick who is all in with Chester County Democrats going to jail for child porn? And when I wrote about it I felt like Lorraine Tindaro was a victim of sorts in all of this because I am fairly certain she’s over 70 and his actions have quite literally blown up her life.
Also to add to that because it IS Caln is this was the same guy cited for some property condition issues wasn’t he?
See? I am not making this up. So he’s in prison, what happens to Lorraine with all of this craziness? I am not advocating for her, don’t know her, but I think she deserves compassion. However, I am also not saying I think she should necessarily stay a commissioner in Caln, either. If I had been hit by the Mack Truck of life like she has been recently, I don’t quite see how she will be able to do her job as a commissioner in Caln but hey, just my opinion.
However, oddly enough, that wasn’t the part of my opinion on this that upset certain folks. It was saying have compassion since her husband or partner’s decisions and choices just blew up her life at a time when most are just wanting to contemplate retirement, etc. And oy vey, some of the comments I got from one person. Yes, I did finally tell that person to STFU before I removed them and all the comments and blocked them. Which is my right and not against the law even on Facebook. Their comments went TOO FAR. They were making people uncomfortable. But then there were the boundary issues of it all where someone gave them my personal email address and after their messaging on Facebook was ignored, and yes they went there. Sigh. Calgon take me away.
Did I tell them to STFU? Yes I did and maybe they did not like that, maybe saying that was not nice but also not illegal. Also no Papal ring to kiss. And if I choose not to engage vis-à-vis what I felt to be an unwanted contact via messenger and just quietly blocked them there, how do they think a creepy AF email to my personal email address which I did not provide them with would be received? Kisses and flowers?
And if we are going all Chesco D for DEMOCRAT when it comes to the Chester County Democrat Committee is it still practicing Democrap behavior this year? Remember the spring primary and their candidategate? Here let’s refresh:
That was a fun post, right? I somehow don’t think Charlotte Valyo thought so. I bet her knickers were in a twist when her email to a local paper got leaked? And then there was the who ridiculousness kerfuffle of oh a blogger published that they must also be corporate espionage types who hack email, right? Except the truth of the matter is the Chester County Democratic Committee much like their GOP counterparts are like a leaky boat. People aren’t happy and others overshare, yes?
So Charoltte, dear dear Charlotte launches a very GOP eve- before- election- trick. It backfired and gave her optics that were deservedly terrible for pulling a bitch trick because at a minimum she and her cronies are TERRIFIED of independent candidates and try to squash then at every turn so everyone runs lockstep behind mommy and her clucking political chickens, right? Well guess what? Her case and her minions known as the filing five seem to have ended this case that was going to do so much?
So Charlotte darling, what’s next? Are you all besties once again with failed judicial candidate State Rep Kristine Howard? Did you investigate her filings then too? Was she squeaky clean? Can I get out the popcorn anytime soon because you KNOW someone will primary her don’t you? And Charlotte, has anyone read the comments under this post:
Charlotte someone remembers you from your days on the board of the Phoenixville Country Club or something? Something to do with an issue described as a “bail out” from Schuylkilll Township? Seems very dirty laundryish but is there anything to the comments left? Part of this one stuck out when they said:
Past is prologue. On either count, strong oversight and judgment doesn’t appear to be a well honed skill.
Now this Phoenixville Country Club thing is not my story to tell. But it sure gives one pause yes?
And from the county level politically ridiculous we move along to Roostergate 2 in Willistown. Now there’s some fun. Hate mail a plenty. Messages, text messages, emails, messages to this blog. One of my favorites was this to the purchased manor born who told me to go back to Delco or something. I am not from Delco, but amusingly the poisonous pen pal was. It was such a bye post menopausal girlmoment. And for those who like to say there is nothing about roosters in Willistown, well there was something and then mysteriously it was not signed even though the prior Roostergate, Roostergate 1 should have made it common sense clucking or something. And Roostergate 1 indicated some judge described rooster rules, but whatever. Just keep getting roosters and siccing people on me for my opinion. Nevermind the poor neighbors, right? Talk to the hand, people. I love chickens, don’t like roosters.
Roostergate I found that umm yeah the rooster was a nuisance ….
noun. nui·sance ˈnüs-ᵊns, ˈnyüs- : something (as an act, object, or practice) that invades or interferes with another’s rights or interests (as the use or enjoyment of property) by being offensive, annoying, dangerous, obstructive, or unhealthful. — attractive nuisance.
Oh and Willistown does actually have a noisy bird thing in their codes and the meeting the other night indicates this issue is not just in one place in Willistown:
So then we move from this bit of crazy train over to West Whiteland a couple of meetings ago:
So that is obviously a dicey neighbor situation. And painting profanities on a fence to upset a neighbor? That’s crazy town no matter how you are provoked.
This apparently was over fence boundaries? But the strife that was between the neighbors made you wonder back on May 10th, where were the police? I mean they keep the peace, right? It’s not always a “civil matter” is it? These people seem to live in between both Uwchlan and West Whiteland so there’s that. Betwixt and between two municipalities.
This was crazy train enough and then last Friday there were rumors of another neighbor on neighbor incident over there and someone got stabbed and was in the hospital? yet NOTHING until media reports yesterday?
AND STABBED? In that neighborhood? I don’t know anyone over there but friends in both townships say it’s a nice regular neighborhood which has the drawback mostly of kind of being in two townships. So then nothing is said by Uwchlan who responded although there is a court docket:
So this is hanging out there and one guy neighbor is in the ICU at a local hospital and the other guy neighbor is in jail? This is not normal this is crazy town and two families are blown up over this and two townships….yet it took until the media started asking questions for Uwchlan Township Police to issue a statement? WHYYYYYY? And I have to ask, could this have been prevented?
There was a fairly large TV news report on NBC 10 yesterday also. Deanna Durante had the story:
Ok so I heard through local chatter that some are giving West Whiteland Supervisor Brian Dunn a hard time…for trying to do his West Whiteland Supervisor job fairly and for being kind to an upset woman at a public meeting in May? That’s what men who are grownups try to do: the right thing. Brian is a stand up guy. If I had to hazard a guess, this whole sequence of events is distressing to everyone. It is profoundly disturbing the way this escalated and there are no winners here. This is big time crazy train time. And listen to the news report on this. This whole neighborhood sounds like they were ALL living through this Hatfields vs. McCoys in Exton even if they weren’t involved. Now two families are kind of destroyed.
No winners here, none at all.
And finally, the ultimate crazy train for the week occurred on Sunday freaking afternoon on a quiet street in West Vincent. Not to be crass, but human freaking BBQ. That’s right, a burning dead body was dumped on Eagle Farm Road.
I have been getting LOTS of messages to the blog’s Facebook page about this. I know nothing more than anyone else. This is as creepy as F. But this is a dumped body. As in dumped and left . And this body was dumped in an area where you wouldn’t necessarily have security cameras abundantly present. So did no one see, or did someone drive by when some kind of vehicle would have had to pull over to dump a body, start a fire?
People. This is a case of if you SAW something, SAY something. Even if you don’t think it is important, you never know. Do I think the public is at risk over there? No my dears, your greatest risk in West Vincent is perpetual dumb ass politics and bad manager choices at least every other manager, right? You have a good police department and they care.
Do I think it would be NICE if the media covered this to get this out there more to the public regionally so this craziness can be case solved? YES. And no I don’t think this was a local person, this was an elsewhere dump. So maybe people who live on either side of the crime scene if you have trail cameras or security cameras start checking your footage for cars etc you don’t recognize or were driving oddly? You never know…
And then there is the AJ Blosenski of it all. I finally got our street cleared of the backlog of missed trash pickups and had a nice chat with two corporate overlord folks at Waste Connections. That was the accomplishment that pleased me yesterday. but now AJ Blosenski and Waste Connections need to do that for everyone.
But as for the rest of it? Swirling humanity and the crazy train stopping too long in Chester County? Enough already. It is freaking exhausting.
Just like the people who seem to think contacting me whenever about whatever and being utterly obnoxious a lot of the time is too much talk to the hand. I don’t suffer fools gladly, so fools, please stay in your lane. Everyone has opinions, I am but one person so why do you care so much?
And then a question I ask sincerely: Why is it wrong to show compassion for people at times?
We have had three pretty awful things happen lately: a stabbing that was the end result of a neighbor dispute that went on for far too long; a local politician’s spouse/partner went to jail for child porn which blew up lives and friendships because of collateral damage; a body BBQ due to a dumped burning murder victim in West Vincent Township in a quiet area with lots of kids.
Look at this local craziness as a microcosm of the larger picture of what is happening in our country. When does it stop? When (for example) do the political parties put down their pitchforks and meet in the middle for the benefit of ALL Americans? When did violence become the answer to everything? When did we stop feeling consistently safe in our own neighborhoods?
There is no simplistic answer to crime. But there is a simplistic answer to the bullshit and crazy behavior we see every day on social media that spills over into the real world and people actually think the behavior is OK? This behavior is NOT O.K. That is your simplistic answer.
People, breathe. Just freaking breathe. Enough stupid human tricks for a while.
I am struck once again by how much people live life on social media. They live too much life on social media. Social media may help keep us all connected, but it’s not the real world.
And while social media keeps us connected, it’s not a justification for bad manners and lack of boundaries. And it’s the lack of boundaries that in part bothers me.
This week I had an extremely unpleasant experience with someone who is an employee of a service provider. They crossed professional boundaries that leaves me disturbed.
When I realized who they were and their comments were even leaving me uncomfortable, I quietly removed them from my page. I was actually trying to do them a favor. Not all employers like controversy. Especially in today’s hyper charged social media world. They started messaging. I quietly blocked that. Then they made the ultimate presumption and started messaging my private messenger rather combatively. That is a boundary that should not be crossed because then it is a professional breach of conduct since they work for a service provider I have a relationship with. I blocked them again but now I am left with a very bad taste in my mouth. They didn’t get that there are things in life that are just not appropriate.
Then we leap to the politics of it all. Should politicians respond to questions? Yes. But sometimes it is all about how you ask. One of the problems with social media is the lack of conversation. It can’t always be whomever gets all of the toys wins. And people seem to forget that all of their issues and things they champion personally, or not necessarily going to be yours. Or that you, as an individual might support them, but not so fervently for lack of a better description and that doesn’t make people bad, it just makes them different and we do have to allow for differences. Isn’t that what we fight for for real?
The lack of boundaries and decorum is something I feel is very much lacking in today’s world. And it has a place.
And in general people think we all should available to them 24/7/365. I am not. I have a life of my own and it’s off of social media. People don’t seem to realize that all of us have things to do and things going on in our lives. And that’s not necessarily bad or hysterically busy things, it’s just our life. And I find a lot, that sadly this isn’t respected by people because they expect you to respond to them immediately. A lot of people also simply don’t want to interact on social media.
It’s a big wide world out there and it really takes place off of Facebook and whichever social media platform you favor.
Go outside. Enjoy the world in real time interact with people face-to-face have an actual conversation. Live life in your own moments. Real moments. Not ones engineered with social media prompts.
Am I Miss Manners? No. But I think we all could use reminders now and again.
Church Farm School is a wonderful institution. And it gives deserving boys a chance at education and opportunity that might not necessarily find them. So it’s not your average silver spoon private school.
Because they are not your average silver spoon private school, they don’t always get the opportunity to do things a lot of high schoolers get to do, like go to prom. Prom is a right of passage and this year for the first time, they have been invited by a sister school to come to prom.
Prom wear is not int he average budget of a lot of these kids so when I saw a message posted on social media I knew I needed to pay it forward, because while there are tons of organizations to help girls get dressed for prom, they don’t exist for boys. Here’s the message:
Hi Malvern! Please delete if this is not permitted.
I work for Church Farm School, which is an all boys’ Boarding School grades 9-12 in Exton, PA. Our boys have pretty much never had a Prom before. This year we are excited to have been invited to our sister school’s Prom. So we have a group of juniors and seniors who are eager for the chance to attend. However, access to formalwear can be difficult for our student body. If anyone has suits or other formalwear that they would consider donating to our Clothes Closet or has coupons to formalwear stores/rentals, we would be so grateful for any assistance.
Chester County, like her neighboring counties used to be a farming seat. Acres and acres of fields as far as the eyes could see. Cows, horses, sheep. The landscape dotted with old barns and farmhouses. Sounds of fields, being plowed, or crops being brought in, and more.
Dairy farms were a big part of Chester County. Now all we have for the most part are memories of the farms that used to exist before development and before developers drove up land prices, making farmers unable to keep their land for future generations, like their fathers and grandfathers before them.
Now, for the most part, the memories we have are of those great dairy farms large and small are old glass milk bottles. I have little pint sized ones on my kitchen windowsill. I use them to root plants and hold flowers.
I really don’t think that government and politicians no matter what political persuasion really value farming anymore. Just like in Pennsylvania I don’t think they value the way we want our communities to look, as opposed to being stampeded and trampled by new development that feels like it arrives every minute of the day.
What once was hangs on in little memories like when you come across the little bottles. Here’s hoping people eventually wake up before all is lost. Yes, we do need some development, like it, or not for us to move forward. But there is simply too much of it. It has become a problem. It is destroying us.
Remember those fresh vegetables you love do not grow on the roof of Whole Foods in Exton, nor do cows and horses and sheep and goats and more graze there.
This morning was a day when I wanted to hand my adulting card back. Another one of the great ladies of my childhood is gone. No, not my mother, one of her friends, a family friend.
So I have some bad news. My mom died this morning. She loved 95 good, healthy years. And if she’s right about the afterlife, she is now with my dad. We have no arrangements about services, but when I know something…we will share the details.
Loss truly is the companion of aging. Shit. Some days you do just want to curse. This morning was one of them.
We can’t escape death, as it is literally part of the cycle of life. But there are those people who touched your life whom you just wish would go on. Or you just think will go on.
This lady was someone I knew from the time I was a little girl. She and her late husband were friends of my parents, neighbors at one time. Yes, another one of those fabulous ladies of my Society Hill childhood. We also went to the same church, Old St. Joseph’s on Willing’s Alley. One of the first things I remembered was being in church with this family. I remember our first holy communion because one of the daughters was in my communion class.
An eminently practical person, but never dull or preachy or stuffy. Always fun to be around and she made you want to be a better person. She loved you for who you were.
I think our parents met when my mother and she would take kids to the park nearby. My mother may have been pregnant with my sister. The park is known today as 3 Bears Park. Maybe it always was because of the bear sculpture we would climb on, but to me it was just the “park” or “Delancey Park.”. It had a sliding board that kept breaking because the sun would dry out whatever it was made of – fiberglass I think. But they had great swings and we the kids would pump higher and higher.
The lady had a wonderful husband. Big and tall with a wide smile and a laugh that made his eyes twinkle. Her daughters were so close in age to my sister and I. The oldest daughter and I were in the same grade. The youngest daughter was maybe a year or so behind us, my sister was the baby of this little girls bunch. There were two older brothers as well.
This morning when I got the news, it kind of felt like the world of today spun into a kaleidoscope of the past. From being a little enough girl that this lady kept a straight face when we kept putting my sister into the youngest daughter’s doll bed in her room. Or patience when the tiny turtle’s living area needed to be cleaned. And laughing her wonderful laugh when they finally figured out when her husband’s pride and joy imported Italian car smelled. (The Alpha had an Italian worker who had dropped a salami sandwich inside the door of the car when it was being assembled. Who knows why the worker did it but it was a great mystery of our childhood for a while trying to figure out why her husband’s car smelled to high heaven.) I also remember day trips in a big old station wagon big enough for kids and moms.
Their house was where I first learned peanut butter and jelly was an actual thing you could eat. That was offered one day when one of the kids she was feeding lunch to along with us didn’t want a tuna fish sandwich. I remember where their dining room table was next to the kitchen, and the walled garden out back. I remember there was no messing with the big brothers, even if they were fun. They seemed so big to little girls at that age.
The family moved a few times over the course of the lady’s husband’s career. Before Philadelphia I want to say they were in the Princeton, NJ area, which to a little girl with no frame of geographical reference seemed a million miles away. After Society Hill they moved to Bethesda, Maryland. I remember the road where they lived was Arrowood Road. And for some reason I remember they lived near two big deal golf clubs for that area, Burning Tree and Congressional. And to get to their house you went on this crazy windy road. The kind where the dips and turns could be felt in the stomachs of little girls – River Road. For me initially visiting there as a then still city kid, it was so magical to be in suburbia with big lawns, backyards and big trees. For a while a raccoon inhabited one of the trees in their back yard. Don’t ask me why I have never forgotten that, but I never have. Probably because the lady’s husband hated that raccoon.
When the family moved away, we would go to Maryland, they would come to visit us. Going to visit this family was the ultimate in fun. The lady always had things lined up for us to do. One year it was the King Tut exhibit at The National Gallery in Washington, DC. I remember waiting in a long, long line to go in. That was I believe around 1976. I also remember the summer my parents house sat the pink stucco house that no longer exists on Cheswold Lane in Haverford and the lady and the daughters came for a longer visit. That was one of my favorite summers and they were part of it. That was a couple of years before we moved to the Main Line but my parents were contemplating moving to suburbia.
The lady was incredibly bright. I seem to remember that she went to a 7 sisters school, and when my family moved to Haverford, an adult neighbor’s sister had been her roommate in college.
This lady was a tremendous cook. Kind of Julia Child-like meets Galloping Gourmet, truthfully. (And yes I am dating myself because many won’t remember the Galloping Gourmet.) A few years ago I got a hold of her Florentine cookies recipe from when we were kids. I also remember one New Year’s Eve when she and her husband and the girls were up at our house, she decided to make a chocolate roll to take as a dessert. Only our springer spaniel Abigail jumped up and ate a section of the sponge cake cooling on the stove. I remember cursing, yelling, and a quick recovery and she made the remains of the cake into a decadent trifle.
We often spent Thanksgiving with them, and they with us. I loved being in her kitchen at Thanksgiving. She would put us all to work, but I think in part, this is why I know how to make Thanksgiving dinner today. I remember one Thanksgiving they came with us to my aunt and uncle’s home in Chestnut Hill for an awkward family dinner gather of part of my father’s clan. The dining room was dark and cold. But it was much more fun with our friends with us. One Thanksgiving when they were with us, my parents made a reservation at The Greenhouse in Radnor. You all know it today as 333 Belrose. When you did Thanksgiving there, it was an entire dinner, including your own small turkey and tons of leftovers to take home, but no clean up.
I remember being at their house in Maryland when the news broke on 3 Mile Island. I was in the kitchen with the lady, one of the brothers had the TV on in the family room.
The family moved from Bethesda to Summit, NJ and then in a way they were closer. Either way, Bethesda or Summit, as I got older I was only an Amtrak ride away to visit them.
I loved their house in Summit, NJ. And Summit was just a nice town. I have more memories of the lady again in the kitchen which had a lot of natural light, and a garden you could see from the kitchen. These were the days before gargantuan kitchens in houses, and I loved the kitchens of my childhood which is probably why I don’t mind my smaller kitchen of today. Except I remember the kitchen in Summit, NJ had stools you could sit at.
Today as I have processed this loss, I will admit there have been a lot of tears, And memories popping into my head randomly and out of order. But this was one of the families of my childhood that we stayed so connected to. I remember the lady and her husband going to a black tie in Washington DC with my parents to some dinner to honor Jacques Cousteau. I remember one spooky neighbor of theirs in Bethesda when they had a cocktail party that everyone thought was with the CIA whether that was realistic or not.
But one of the things I remember most about this lady is she never treated you like a kid even when you were a child. She spoke to you, she saw you. And she never judged. She might not always tell you what you wanted to hear because she was straightforward and plain spoken. With four kids of her own and all of the kids in and out of the house, she could be like a very affectionate drill sergeant. I don’t remember her yelling per se, but I do remember her with a stern raised voice when something was going on that she wanted to stop, or if there was something we should be doing. But even when I was a child, I just liked to talk to her. I feel so lucky that I had these adults who were interesting and loving in my life growing up.
Since she and her husband had retired to a warmer climate, the visits turned into phone calls, letters, Christmas cards. And one last text message early into the new year this year. She was a New Year’s baby essentially. I saved the message to remind me to call her soon, and then life went on and today my world paused to take in a loss combined with being so lucky to have known such an awesome woman.
Fly with the angels, we know your memory will indeed be an eternal blessing. Selfishly, I will say my world got a little smaller today.
I do not even know where to go with this. So just throwing it all out there.
Does “Advaite” really mean “CRAZY”?
I will say this ALL ties to the Advaite kerfuffle. Don’t remember Advaite? The case of the missing COVID antibodies tests? The company based out of Malvern (East Whiteland Township)?
I am astounded at the layers upon layers to this whole thing around Advaite and the county, and many politicians as well?
Regular media, this ball is in your court. Don’t you think this needs a whopping dose of SUNSHINE?
Now there is the new layer of a former Chester county lawyer filing suit? And didn’t this all start with a Right to Know over Advaite?
Now this Advaite case is ongoing – just run the dockets. And also a couple of interesting emails out of the Right to Know makes you wonder about a county commissioner too?
So then the Daily Local had a gift on Valentine’s Day about a new court case:
By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN | mrellahan@dailylocal.com | PUBLISHED: February 14, 2023 at 1:04 p.m. | UPDATED: February 14, 2023 at 1:54 p.m.
PHILEDELPHIA — A former “star” in the Chester County Solicitor’s Office claims that he was retaliated against by his immediate supervisor in the office — who is now a sitting Common Pleas Court judge — for complaining about being the target of racial bias by an private attorney he encountered while on county business.
Juan P. Sanchez, in a lawsuit charging violations of his federal civil rights and the state’s anti-discrimination law that was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, said that Judge Nicole Forzato, who was county solicitor at the time he worked in that office in 2020 and 2021, illegally fired him after he said he wanted to take a stand regarding his interaction with the unnamed attorney, who he believed had treated him unprofessionally because of his race. Sanchez is Hispanic, of Puerto Rican descent.
But this all seems so curious, so here is the Federal docket and filings to date as follows:
Wake up media, you have stories unfolding requiring immediate attention. The same can be said for residents in two Chester County school districts and on Delaware County school district.
I actually have mixed emotions at this juncture about charter schools. When our son was in school, it was a God send due to bullying issues that were not being dealt with in public school as well as the fact we had serious issues when he was in an elementary school that was supposed to be one of the best and in some cases, there were NO books for subjects like history. We sent him to Renaissance Academy Charter School in Phoenixville. There were ups and downs as is the case with any school, but it was a good experience, and they placed a high percentage of kids in great schools. IT still is an academic alternative that I think is serving 20 or 21 school districts at this point.
But now I am starting to look at charter schools with different eyes. Because of the new kids coming to the table in 2023. Specifically in WCASD (West Chester Area School District) and RTSD (Radnor Township School District). And the one for RTSD will also involve TESD (Tredyffrin Easttown School District.)
I will start with WCASD because that is where a charter school that is kind of coming on a stealth basis. Valley Forge Classical Academy Charter School. They say they have non-profit status, only it’s a little hard to find anything, not even a website announcing who they are, their board of directors, etc. They do have a Facebook page and please note how they get their jollies, making it quite clear what they are about:
First up? A fundraiser has been established on Give Send GO:
Would you like to be part of a success story? Valley Forge Classical Academy Charter School in Exton, PA will be just that! We will provide a traditional classical liberal education for each and every child.
The liberal arts in particular and liberal education in general are the surest, most time-tested way to direct students toward a life that is truly free. Our rigorous K-12 curriculum is content-rich, balanced, and strong, with an emphasis upon the four core disciplines of math, science, literature, and history, and attention to music, art, physical education, and foreign languages. In addition, we believe that by training students in the moral, intellectual, and civic virtues we are equipping them to live well-ordered lives as human beings and as citizens.
Your donation will provide funds to ensure a successful application and start-up of our LICENSED HILLSDALE COLLEGE K12 school in the Exton, PA area. ALL DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE START UP COSTS OF THE SCHOOL. Attorney’s fees, administrative and marketing costs, website design, office rental, postage and other miscellaneous fees will be covered. All board members are VOLUNTEERS. We will open a K-8 program in the Fall of 2024 and add a grade level each year until we have our first graduating class, the Class of 2028.
For more information on the Hillsdale College K12 program, click on this link:
And now there is an open house on Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at 21 Hagerty Blvd in West Chester where all the Stepford Wives for Totalitarianism gather for meetings sometimes:
Come and meet members of the board and learn about a classical education. Valley Forge Classical Academy Charter School is slated to open in the Fall of 2024 for K-8 students. Each year we will add one year of our high school program and graduate our first class in 2030!
Seems lot o’ stuff happens at 21 Hagerty Blvd in West Chester in as far as certain political based gatherings? So this would be a charter school in WCASD BUT will it meet the requirements of public schools? This school tried before didn’t they? Or is this another proposed school with some of the same players?
Does West Whiteland know about this since they seem as if they are looking at property in West Whiteland? Get out the #popcorn because the Stepford Mommies for Totalitarianism will want this school and like their behavior in school districts will want the taxpayers paying for this too. I will say honestly, that the lady running the fundraiser? Has a lot of charter school experience, so she is sharp.
Now back to Radnor Township School District. And people in Tredyffrin Easttown School District need to pay attention because this is a charter school being proposed at Valley Forge Military Academy and College’s campus, which straddles a couple of municipalities and counties, doesn’t it? And who exactly recruited this school to Valley Forge’s campus? Was it in fact Valley Forge Military School and College which as we know got rejected on their own application prior to this one?
I first bought you the odd tale of Radnor and Pennsylvania Military Charter School at Valley Forge on December 15th, 2022:
Then the Philadelphia had a whopper of an article on Christmas Eve. My late father always said big news sneaks in on weekends and holidays and not enough people pay attention.
SO….has Tredyffrin Easttown School District (TESD) scheduled their hearing yet? Here is the entirety of the January 17th Radnor School Board Meeting:
Here are 3 smaller videos which pulls out some crucial public comment:
This all gives me pause. Essentially, I have to ask if these people wanting to start charter schools which all supposedly have Pennsylvania non profits but will really be run by entities in other states should even be allowed to open charter schools in Pennsylvania?
And of course, then you have to wonder how they will deal with what public schools are required to have and do have as far as the many complicated issues facing public schools? And will they be fair and equal and non discriminatory in all areas including sexual and gender identity? And why should people have to watch their tax dollars get siphoned off for schools started by people who have so many issues with public schools that haven’t been upheld by the courts over the past few years? Gender/sexual identity, books they don’t like, masking, vaccines, etc.? Why are taxpayers supposed to pay for their peculiarities?
Truly if you have time, watch and listen to the recent Radnor meeting. And remember that is not just a concern to residents in the Radnor Township School District service area in Radnor Township Delaware County but also in Tredyffrin Easttown School District in Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships in Chester County. Interesting things include a website possibly intimating approval – https://www.military.academy/valley-forge when they are far, far from it. They do not seem to have a business plan but they have plans for a course of study called ethical hacking. And as this hearing goes on , the charter presenters seem to become well, combative and uneasy.
With both of these proposed charter schools there seem to be many troubling questions, sadly. Here’s hoping the media steps up and really digs in.
Again, in conclusion, I am not against charter schools in the least. But these two give me pause. Also is there really a need for their brand of charter?
Sorry folks, it has been a busy day. Received official word from East Whiteland regarding the data center of it all. After that I will share the article that prompted this:
In response to recent articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Local News, where the Township was asked to provide comments and a status update regarding recent data center proposals, below is a statement from East Whiteland Township:
To date, no land development application has been received by the Township and there have been no revisions to the previously approved Zoning Hearing Board application to permit the data center usage at the properties located along the south side of Swedesford Road near the border with West Whiteland Township.
Also, it is important to note to our residents and businesses that the Board of Supervisors of East Whiteland Township has no interest in entertaining a proposal for a hydrogen power plant within our Township. We are aware of the zoning activities in our neighboring Township and will continue to monitor the situation.
Scott Lambert, Chair of East Whiteland Township Supervisors
So to West Whiteland Supervisor Raj Kumbhardare, is a bit of a puzzle here. Supervisor Raj should have more to say more than his evasiveness in The Daily Local News about carts and horse, right? Supervisor Raj as a day job is in database administration so is there anything in this for him? Not being mean but does he care about all of his constituency equally? After all this issue is bigger than computer and database type professionals being excited that the data center is coming, right? And then there is the wondering if he really understands the zoning and how zoning doesn’t exist in a little bubble or vacuum and these changes could potentially have far-reaching changes for the township he is supposed to serve equally to his best efforts so??? I am not saying he’s not a good guy I am asking reasonable questions. I am also wondering how is feeling about carts and horse right now??
And my favorite angry lame duck supervisor is mums the word on this? Why? Rather odd considering….she’s always so pithy, yes?
Anyway, East Whiteland is not being shy about how they seem to be feeling, do they?
Also do not forget this hopeful piece from September, 2022:
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
—Lao Tzu
In 2014 I started keeping a gratitude jar. I had read about it and it’s a simple concept: It’s a mason jar full of things you’re grateful for. There’s no hard or fast rule as to how often you put a little piece of paper in your jar, it’s just when you think about it.
It’s mindfulness I suppose.
What are you grateful for?
Thankful for?
Maybe changing your life for the better can indeed be as simple as starting with a deliberate change in outlook? Glass half empty? Are you sure? It might be half full on the way to overflowing. The gratitude jar is a private reminder to you.
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The gratitude jar isn’t or shouldn’t be a prop so people can visit your home and say “Oh what a good person they are!”, it’s something for you. If you let it , what you write will teach you about yourself, others, your world. And it will help you to open up to the goodness that is possible. Learn how to cherish what is right there.
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.
~Benjamin Franklin
Sometimes when a bunch of negative things happen all in a row, it’s hard to stay positive. I find it hard to stay positive because I do not think by my very nature I am naturally positive. I have to work at it. It may sound silly, but I think my gratitude jar has helped.
I really feel positive for me has been learned behavior, and it’s something I have to relearn and reaffirm again and again. Hopefully, someday it will be second nature to me.
I am sure that some are reading this post and wondering if I am the same person who ripped a politician a new one in another post today. Yes I am. Speaking my truth takes many forms.
Having a gratitude jar is a simple reminder that life is not all bad or all difficult. Having a gratitude jar helps you focus on the things that are wonderful in your life. Even every day little things are wonderful.
Having a gratitude jar helps us reaffirm the many positives in our life. Life can be hard. I am not trying to be Pollyanna and say everything is always wonderful with fuzzy caterpillars that turn into magical butterflies. I am more of a realist than that.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
~ Thornton Wilder
Sometimes I look through what I put in my gratitude jar. My gratitude is pretty consistent.
Feeling grateful as a powerful emotion. Ours is a time where as hard as it is we also have to be grateful. Grateful that we are alive. Coronavirus and COVID-19 separated so many people from their friends and families the past few years. So have social issues and politics.
Life has been hard for so many the past few years. Often unnecessarily so. Sometimes human beings by their very nature make things more difficult than they have to be.
So now starts year 9 for my gratitude jar. I have all of my slips of paper. I am not re-reading everything and I am not emptying my jar like some people do.
Will 2023 be the year people try on a little more gratitude and mindfulness? Time will tell.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed, To turn, turn will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come ’round right. ~ Joseph Brackett 1848
