Spike's Ride raised $15K for Sandy Hook. / Car Show in Falls Village CT funds Fire Dept PLUS More to Come!

Spike’s Ride supports Sandy Hook community --letter to the  Lakeville Journal in CT

Spike’s Ride for Sandy Hook (find them on Facebook) will be held Saturday, May 3, 2014 at Lime Rock Park and is a special way to show support for the community of Sandy Hook as well as our own hometowns. When we take a day to acknowledge others (and realize time is not just about money but about LIFE) “magic happens.”

I’ve experienced this in many ways both through difficult and joyous times. I was able to go to a vigil in New Milford shortly after TANSH (Tragedy and transition at Newtown Sandy Hook). Standing with hundreds of people I did not know but felt connected to along with a friend who provided a ride and also wanted to share in the gathering was moving. 

I spoke with a few people afterwards in a more personal way and have shared with hundreds of people the loss of our teen son Kaelan Palmer Paton on June 16, 2009, when he was trying to save a third friend from the Housatonic River.

The miracle that he saved two and a rescuer got to the third is something many could appreciate along with other close calls they know of,  including those we each have had (and likely will continue to have as we live life fully).

Five years after our son’s memorial service, which was filled with wonderful supportive people (and is on YouTube for people to take time to reflect on and help others through challenges as well), our lives have gone on in meaningful ways.

Find a way to mark June with family and friends.The more people connect with local and wider groups, the more the sense of shared journeys can take root. 

The talk on climate change at Salisbury School by the author of “The Sixth Extinction” will make it clear that the “IF” in life is critical for US-All to consider collectively, particularly as the oceans lose much vitality by 2050. We’re on the clock, but we’re on it together. Let’s make the friends and partnerships happen on all levels such as I offer on www.livfully.drupalgardens.com by sharing our dreams, insights and care with others (and even ourselves) while we have the time and life energy to do so. 

Catherine Palmer Paton,Falls Village

PS  About 5K have read the post on Spike's Ride also on this blog..so the connections are being made far and wide. Add your comments there or here about upcoming events you'd like to share or one's you've been to! 

The Falls Village Car Show on July 13th, 2014 raises funds for the Falls Village CT Fire Dept with a wonderful sense of style and commaraderie. An amazing array of classic cars, in terrific colors and polished with care, lined both sides of Main Street and wrapped around the corner to Jacob's Garage which has hosted the annual event for about five years, celebrating their 50 years in business..congratulations Denny, Judy and their David and their family over the decades.Car shows and their talented participants really get the show on the road when it comes to doing something to get people to come out of their nooks and crannies into the limelight.

Vehicles with style, personality and power grace the events with their rightfully proud owners sitting closeby to point out the details and answer questions. I learned about a huge convertible ( yes, I thiink it was a '59 Ford, and I have to get the deets again..which is for sale for $28K). The beauty was owned by a woman for many years who was on the small-side, but that clearly didn't limit the size of her dream car. My favorite picked on a whim was the light blue convertible Jaguar which sat oh so sweetly next to a deep green work of art of a Jag. Great synergy..and while I strolled up the Main St display I met a lot of nice folks tending to their cars and causes.

Three raffles--Newtown Lions', Kent Library, and St. Anthony's are offering tix for a used car raffle. The first 2 are for $10 each-- an older Mustang and a modern sports car. They'll sell between 3-6K tix. Then St. Anthony's is $50 for one of 999 tix, and I forget the car, but I think it's a modern one. I enjoyed a half-hour visit with friends at the FV Congregational Church during their coffee hour after their 10 am Sunday service which truly captures the heartfelt care of our small communities up this way. They'd love visitors or folks who would like to get more involved, even to help keep their valiant helpful efforts going. The Falls Village Fire Dept and Ladies' Auxillary tirelessly serves the community in critical ways and manages to have a ball, annually in the fall and/or for New Year's as do other Fire and Ambulance Depts in the area where volunteers give endless hours for training and support of people in need and care of equipment. Such exemplary efforts add up to priceless gifts to the community. I met someone who shared that sometimes, in one town or another, some give for decades and can be ousted by a political move--informally or moreso-- with little gratitude for the work well done.

Let US-All try to oversee our collective communities so that misjudgments and misguidance would not go without clear resistance and stop-gap measures. Too often people get burned out from a lack of support or appreciation.

Even at places such as a recreational ski area, longterm members can be ousted for no valid reason and not given a way to remedy small conflicts. That is not the kind of legacy that bodes well for other patrons of a business or service. Such problems have and likely will continue to crop up even at hospitals with patrons being barred from a place for all but a medical need.

There are many ways people are ostracized as in not being invited to join a club (including 'nice, well-to-do' outreaches such as Woman's Clubs, Library Boards, Rotary or even the Lion's). Not to single any one group. faith, medical or social facet out, but anyone can start to read 'between the lines' which too often does feel like walking between lions and not feeling welcome or understood. No one has the job of discussing who or what criteria comprises whose on the 'In group' and whose in the "out group'. Too often people in decision-making roles make programs and direct funds to benefit themselves.

To Reverse or Balance this dynamic, the disempowered, under-represented people have to make policies and programs that benefit themselves. They may need some help in organizing and getting going, since they may not have those skills polished, but that's no reason people who see the deficits couldn't chime in and offer to help people network.

That is what I am doing in these posts for the most part, trying to fill in the gaps not only for information but of compassion and networking. Thanks for letting that idea sink in next time you are cruising through a car show on your own, having arrived in your own car or with a sense of appreciation that we are always creating community on some level when we brave going out in public, meeting someone (often a quick question or comment about the day or car at hand can get a conversation going.)

I found out from one fellow who flagged me over that my niece from California is in the area and off to Yugoslavia where her spouse will be playing hockey. While I did not recognize him initially, I realized who he was when he told me his name and I caught up on not only his health after a few heart attacks but that his 90-year-old mom who I haven't met yet is doing well and lives nearby.

I learned that tuition at St. Anthony's School in Winsted CT is a few thousand a year and they might work with people to make it affordable especially if there is more than one child from the same family. I told a few folks about this being the 5th year since our son Kaelan's passing, and one woman said her brother died at in 1972 at age 16 on a bus without seatbelts when it flipped on it's side.

The very strange point too is that her brother had just switched seats with a boy who ended up surviving.  A few of us spoke about the many dangers of being young especially when driving but also with motorcycles. Many have shared with me in the past about the long list of 'close-calls' and crazy things they did as youth.

One story from a nice friend who raises money for good causes now was about him being on the hood of someone's car, just for fun, thinking he'd have a quick ride. Lo and behold, his 'friend' goes on the highway at high speeds and to further challenge my friend who was hanging on for dear life, his 'friend' turned on the windshield wipers! I hope I'm not giving anyone a crazy idea..and on a lighter note, the Sharon Fire Dept celebrated its 100th anniversary with a great parade in town, music, food and fun at the school.

When it was firetruck ride time, again no seatbelts which while a nostalgic bit of fun (which yours trule partook of many times as a kid late at night at our historic Falls Village Carnivals) likely is not the best way to promote safety..particularly when a dad took his preemie newborn for a ride (in the open air passenger seat.)

So can we please say kids should be about 3 if not 7 when going on such rides if they really are going to still happen at all? For the record, there's been a moose on the loose in the North Canaan area, so around here, one never knows what to expect going down the road. Even cars going into or out of drveways likely could aim to 'take a second look' and keep their speeds to 5 mph lest children or adults 'running to get one more thing' or 'to see Mom or Dad' come too close.

Even pulling out  of a driveway with poor sight lines or busy traffic can be hazardous. Walk around the car and take a deep breath, consider what one may be forgetting or needing to let someone know before leaving. Tell young children if one is leaving and make sure they are being watched.

Of course now we are hearing more about NOT leaving kids or pets or others in a car alone if it's hot (the elderly may have trouble getting out if they are not thinking clearly as may someone else who is not feeling well, asleep, etc.) Too many stories of people leaving others in 'iffy' situations with too much heat or storms or cold creating a concern.

Mostly, people do pretty well, but sometimes in large groups such as at the Bridgewater Fair in CT at the end of August, many thousands of people have not gotten out of the rain and indoors even when it was lightning when I was there in recent years. Sometimes police do not really feel it's their job along with organizers to assist people in directing that they get indoors not just under a pavillion which does not really offer protection from lightning, especially at a beach or open field where it may the the highest structure.

Not driving when whether is bad makes sense overall, and waiting even on the side of the road rather than pushing to get to one's destination likely would be a safer option to avoid falling branches, downed wires or other hazards. Many storms do crop up rather suddenly and when there's thunder there is a chance of getting struck by lightning. Dannion Brinkley has written books of his experiences which had some surreal and inspiring outcomes, but none worth going through what he did in terms of being hit while on the telephone, so there's another reminder.

 Feel free to add a comment about a car show, crazy story, a remembrance, or a tip for safety on this posting .and 'til the next event and beyond, stay safe and stay smart!

A big hug too from us small town folks and US-All to the teen with the last name STAY who stayed cool and calm literally under fire from her unbalanced uncle who claimed the lives of family while she played dead after being grazed by a bullet he fired at her home in Texas after he drove from California seeking to find out where his ex-wife (victim) was living.

The family would not tell him, but no saying he would not have ended their lives even if they had. Maybe we can accept that while this man had a long violent history, even against his own mother, many people--mostly men--seem to have a short-circuit kind of thinking that make innocent people the 'reason' they kill others.

People not doing what they want, not saying  they agree, not giving in...so to what extent is there a lesson here for everyone to appreciate no one is a robot and that forcing someone to go along with something or living in the land of ultamatums (or old tomatoes) is not ideal even though our legal system and even our educational and faith systems seem to be bulit on internal pressures to comply lest one is marked a Failure or Excluded.

Treat others as you really are ready to be treated..and 'don't dish it out if you can't take it' are helpful mottos one can use to doublecheck one's motives and 'stinkin' thinkin' should revenge or violation, exclusion or neglect seem like viable options for one's survival.

Thinking of the soul, the spiritual tally, and not merely the physical is important at www.thewordfoundation.org and many other outreaches such as www.drsha.com makes clear. The positive ideas shared can help one stay in tune not like keeping an engine going at top notch operating levels or a musician or singer's ability which requires dedication note by note, song by song.

I have enjoyed a handful of uplifting concerts at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville which would be an asset to any budding musician's repetoire of performances to attend. Kudos to their stellar faculty and students and guests who present polished events throughout the year. 

Musicals such as Les Mis could spur national conversations about justice and decency and help each person realize we are each 'playing a part in a production which largely centers around our own charachter yet never only ours. We are each part of groups and learn from all of the interactions and experiences we see or read about. Taking time to choose words and actions carefully is the privilege we each have as the author of our own play not only story.

Blame and erratic decisions really do not bode well for the most part, so hopefully we can journey on with a sense of fair play and forgiveness (both giving and receiving it so keep the universal flow of growth and wisdom strong whether ithat would benefit generations or even ourselves if we live many lifetimes...)

Maybe we could have 'camp alternatives' to school where succeeding means 'showing up and getting along with others' with more active learning and credit given for being a team player and helper (not so much emphaiss on competition).

Well that's food for thought and as we see the immigration challenges mounting on the border, we likely can find ways to embrace the children who represent not only a large aspect of our collective future for youth but also as waves of future climate change refugees--of which 150 million are anticipated worldwide over the next few decades to move inland as the oceans rise.

The days of small town living likely are numbered ,as more people 'choose' to live in cities which is the case with more doing so each decade,Ciao for now and think TEAM as we journey through JULY (Joyfully Undertstanding and Living for You, Yours and Us-All) into the second half of 2014!