Sachem Alumni BBQ

Sachem alumni BBQ on Sept 15Th 2021. 

The cost is $30. pp. Everything but beer and wine is included. Classes of 59 through 70. No children or grandchildren. Contact Nancy Bishop Farrell, at nbear775@yahoo.com

Ethnic Discrimination In My Generation

Ben Vitale

The latest increase in demonstrating and rioting has created the impression that we are in a centuries old syndrome of abuse and discrimination against the black community. My wife and I looked at each other and said… that is not what we experienced!

In 1955 I was a teenager who lived in Boro Park Brooklyn. My wife lived in Bay Ridge Brooklyn… We cannot remember any animosity toward the Black population… In fact, we distinctly recall just the opposite!

My generation who were born after WW2 had a very positive association with the black community through entertainers and musicians that we admired! The black entertainers and musicians were my role models! There are probably a few of you out there that are running for your high blood pressure medicine! LOL! My crowd of about 40 teenagers loved and respected black entertainers such as the platters, the Coasters, the Del Vikings, the Drifters, and the Flamingos, Chuck Barry, Louie Armstrong,  and Earl Garner. Every night we gathered on the street corner and made a feeble attempt to imitate the singing groups that we admired. Our positive association with black entertainers inspired lifelong changes to our development as we became adults! My wife studied opera singing, and I studied trumpet and guitar. Obviously, I did not have enough talent to compete with the black singing groups, but it was fun trying!

As an adult I worked directly with what I will now call the multinational community in Patchogue NY. I promised the M community that I would not publish names and details of the Multinational community members for fear of retribution by some crazy person. The bottom .0001% of any population does consist of criminals! As an adult I worked with the Multinational Community toward the same goal… that is to make it safe to walk our streets! We worked together as family!

I actually feel that what I have written so far is representative of my generation. As you may have already surmised… I will not allow anyone to rewrite the book of my life, when they never experienced it! For those of you that got heartburn because of what I have written… I will be glad to supply you with a few antacid tablets! LOL!

Pro and contrary views please make comments to this post. 

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White Privilege Didn't Work For Me!

Ben Vitale

I attended some of the best schools and experienced something that you wouldn’t expect! It is often said that people with white privilege have access to the best schools… That’s true, but along with the good comes the terrible! Better schools guaranteed better education… not at all true! There are other factors that usurp your skin color!

I am intentionally being ambiguous and not providing the names of the schools that I attended! I do not want to cause them to have problems.

I attended the best Jr high school and high schools, but my experience was less than favorable! Racial discrimination is not the only thing that will cause an academic experience to be a nightmare! When I attended Jr high school it was stylish to wear a black motorcycle jacket, even though I was too young to drive a motorcycle. I am white but the school administrators did not see that… they saw the black motorcycle jacket that I wore to school! Before I even took my first class, I was assigned a seat in a class room with all of the school misfits… the bullies, and criminals! I spent three years watching the criminal element threaten and distract the teacher. I was personally threatened by the bullies constantly! The principal handled this situation by penalizing the victim and giving a free pass to the bully! If the principal dared expel the bully, he would become the victim! For three years I just watched the criminal element throw spit balls at the teacher! I learned absolutely nothing!

In my first three years of high school I attended a school that was considered the best of the best! The problem at that school is that it catered to the student that were on track to attend Yale or Harvard! To be a member of that club you wore a white bulky knit crew neck sweater. The sweater identified you as a future scholar! I wore my black motorcycle jacket, and you can guess how well I fit in with the college bound! LOL! Once again, I found myself in classes with undesirable students! Again, I did not learn a thing in my first three years of high school! The point that I am trying to make is that it was not my white skin color that got me into trouble but the color of my black leather jacket! The school branded and treated me like a hoodlum, because I flaunted my black motorcycle jacket, instead of a white bulky knit crew neck sweater!

White privilege is usurped by wearing the wrong uniform!

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History Repeats Itself in Education and Employment

Schools Must Prepare Their Students for College and Employment in the Trades 

Ben Vitale

In the 50s I benefited from certain trade related courses that were given while in junior high school. In the early 50s school courses such as wood shop, metal shop, and cooking for men were commonplace! The knowledge that I gained through taking the metal shop course in junior high school helped me to succeed at my first significant job, after I graduated! In junior high school, we were not allowed to actually operate the dangerous machinery, but we were taught how to operate machine equipment in great detail.

My first job in electronics also required me to operate machine shop equipment! Although I had never actually operated machine shop equipment, I was able to answer questions, and perform operations on this equipment immediately, without hesitation, because I was totally familiar with the operation of a metal lathe, drill press, and metal shear. I operated each piece of machine shop equipment without any problems, because of my total understanding of how each piece of machinery operated.

Trade related shop courses slowly disappeared from the school curriculum of most schools. For decades we were without trade-oriented classes. Most schools operated under the premise that all of the students will be going to college. This turned out to be a bad decision. 

 Unfortunately, employers started to include a four-year degree requirement on jobs that actually did not require a degree to perform. The underlying problem to the degree requirement, was that the material covered in college did not match the actual job requirements of most trade type jobs.

The fire dragon of underemployment scorched my behind quite by accident! One day while solving some electronic design problems on my computer, my actions were coincidentally seen by an Electrician that was doing major renovations to my house!  The electrician knew exactly what I was doing… I was amazed! I asked the electrician how he knew what I was doing and he said that he knew what I was doing on my computer, because he has a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. My electrician couldn’t get a job in engineering so he settled for a job as an electrician, which coincidentally paid more money! Wow! Underemployment that worked out for the better! LOL!

Unfortunately, the material covered to attain a Bachelors degree does not usually coincide with the requirements for employment in many companies. Company management is currently making agreements with academia to train student to predefined criteria, so that they can qualify for employment at their particular company. This specific training concept is only in its infancy… Presently many companies such as such as Google and Apple are accepting applicant for employment on the basis of what a person can actually do, not on what the degree implies that you can do. Although I got my first job without a college degree, I never thought that I would see hiring practices revert back to the way they were in 1960. 

May I suggest looking over the courses offered in BOCES and adult education. In my case I received fantastic training in electronic technology via adult education. It seemed that a Navy electronics instructor retired and was bored to death sitting home, so he put together a two-semester electronic technology curriculum, for Adult Education… the same material that he presented in the Navy! Needless to say, this Adult Ed course is what pushed me into my first job! I did not need a Bachelor's degree!

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The Juvenile Golf PGA 

Ben Vitale

Today I visited a Golf course here on Long Island. I am being intentionally ambiguous so that I protect the reputation of the golf course, and the identity of the children that this article is written about.

My wife and I went to a golf course on long island and were seated near the putting practice green. A five-year-old boy was getting a golf lesson at the putting green. The show that ensued was amazing! LOL! The five-year-old boy’s sister who is three years old wanted to get in on the putting action. The five-year-old boy saw that his sister wanted to play golf so he gave his putting iron to his three-year-old sister, and continued his lesson using a driver. The young boy did indeed succeed in getting a few birdies, using a driver instead of a putter! Five years old … his golf playing was a lot better than mine! LOL!

The young three-year-old was so enchanting that about twenty-five people were watching her bring new meaning to the sport of golf! LOL! Every time she managed to get her golf ball into the cup, the people applauded, just like they would if at a sanction PGA game. Even I applauded… that child was amazing! The crowd applauded when the child got a double bogie, by pushing the golf ball into the cup with the bottom of the putter! LOL! The crowd of spectators stood-up when the three-year-old got a birdie by using the back surface of the putter. Now the crowd went wild when this child got an eagle using a technique that to this day is unknown to golf. From a distance of thirty-five feet, the child dropped her putter on the ground, picked up the golf ball, walked over to the cup and dropped her golf ball into the cup! The crowd was in tears! LOL!

The PGA allows amateur golfers to play with the pros at major golf tournaments. Opinion: I believe that this three-year-old amateur golfer should be invited to play with the professionals at the next US Open. I’m sure that this wonderful child golfer will steal the hearts of all those people that will attend the next US Open! LOL!

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Obituary: Joann Brandi
Ben Vitale

With great sadness I must report the passing of one of the founding members of the Maple Avenue Neighborhood Watch, in Patchogue Village… Joann Brandi! If you enjoy the quality of life that you currently have here in Patchogue Village, you can thank Joann for that! Twenty-five years ago, Patchogue Village was not a desirable place to live! Joann and her Neighborhood Watch, tirelessly worked with the police department, village officials, and the Patchogue Village public safety department to identify undesirable activity… and It worked! Our village is now a wonderful place to live!

The following obituary was sent to me, by the Brandi family, for publication in Joann’s home town; Patchogue NY.

On November 1, All Saint’s Day, Joann Stella Brandi, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, dearest friend to many, and a living saint to those who knew and loved her, was called home to God at age 71.

Born and raised Joann C. Stella in the Village of Bellport, she graduated from Bellport High School in 1965 with honors, while receiving the home economic award for the top student in the field. Her love for cooking, baking and making her own clothes as a young girl was carried on throughout her life as a mother and grandmother. She attended Suffolk County Community College and received a degree in Secretarial Science, which landed her a job as a secretary to Brookhaven Supervisor Charles Barraud.

After several years, she returned to college to earn her Master's Degree in Elementary Education at Adelphi University. Receiving an offer to teach in the Sachem school district at the elementary level, she declined when she discovered she would be expecting her first child in January of the following year. The principal told her she could work until January and then stop to have her first child. Her reply was that it was not in the best interest of the children to get attached to a teacher and then have her leave them at mid-year, so she declined the offer. That was her way, always thinking of others over herself.

She raised three children, Justine, Joseph and Jeffrey before turning back to the workforce. Another teaching offer was also declined, this time to stay home to take care of her ailing parents. Finally, she accepted a position to teach preschool at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel only because she would be off on Fridays, allowing her to run her parents to various doctor appointments. Again, always putting others first. She went on to teach at Mt. Carmel for over 20 years.

Her love for her children was unquestionable, and her greatest enjoyment was to be with her ten grandchildren who gave her unconditional love. Growing up without a grandmother was something she always missed, so she wanted to make sure her ten grandchildren would not be deprived of the opportunity. On each child’s birthday, she would design a poster-sized birthday card which took her days to hand craft. Pictures, drawings and stickers of their favorite characters and hobbies were featured, along with a picture album containing over 100 photos she had taken throughout the year, as well as a hand-written story expressing her deep love and affection. 

She made every holiday the most love-filled, special and memorable events. Easter saw huge baskets filled with goodies, toys and clothing along with a 300 egg hunt and the making of her special Easter bread. Christmas was her favorite, as Santa would visit her house with ten huge bags of toys that she shopped for throughout the season.

As a member and past chairperson of the Village of Patchogue Architectural Review Board for over 17 years, she was very proud and dedicated to serve her village with her artistic talents and creative vision. She was responsible for many suggestions on the various signs and building exteriors that exist throughout the village today. A member of the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary, Columbiettes, she was instrumental in numerous fundraisers and charitable events, raising countless funds for worthy causes. She also served as an election inspector for the Suffolk County Board of Elections for the past 40 years.

A strong religious woman who attended mass everyday, she found her greatest joys from the little things in life. Never without her trademark radiant smile and the most positive attitude, her aim was to always please others over herself. Her faith was her strength, and her family was her life. The most beautiful and unique woman who made everyone she came into contact with feel special and loved.

The woman they called “Nanny” will be greatly missed.

 Also published in Patchogue Patch :   https://patch.com/new-york/patchogue/obituary-joann-brandi 

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Block Party On Northridge Street Patchogue

Ben Vitale

Our thanks to Vicki Fleming, for planning the first annual Northridge Street Block Party. Vicki personally delivered letters to every house on Northridge Street, on three separate occasions, suggesting that we have a block party. A committee was formed and an organizational meeting was held.

One of our neighbors whose name is Joe Wood, set up his drums on the front lawn, and allowed the children to play “a real set of drums.” We all know that children love to play, “a real set of drums!” 

Children we're everywhere! LOL! The group applied for a permit to have this party, because the road had to be closed. The village of Patchogue provided wooden barricades and Northridge Street was closed from 12 noon to 8 PM. On Saturday Sept. 22, 2018.

Everyone brought food items to a central location at Victoria Antoine’s house.  Every resident contributed money to pay for the DJ. The committee selected the “All Island Disk Jockey” to preside over this event. I was impressed with their ability to deal with the children. They provided holla hoops, and instructed them as to how to play many games.

Two young children were driving a toy electric Jeep vehicle. Opinion:  I was totally amazed… they were actually driving their electric vehicle, as if it were a Drivers Ed class! I couldn't believe that these children drove their mini Jeep vehicle better than 99 percent of the drivers I encounter on the Long Island Expressway! LOL! Opinion:  A few more children were driving their toy electric scooters, They too were driving with the skill of an adult! The children were free to do what they wanted to do, because the road was closed to traffic at both ends. No cars!

Another neighbor provided a Cotton Candy machine. Now what child could say no to Cotton Candy.

One of our neighbors Dennis provided a bounce house for the children… they just loved to play in it!

I consider myself to be more critical than “Alex Ehente, the coffee bean inspector.” Vicki and the committee did a world class job! As a very critical outside observer i would give Vicki and the committee a ten!

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118^TH US OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Ben Vitale
(Photo Credit Ben Vitale)

I attended the US OPEN, and would like to share a few of my observations with you. I smiled when I saw Phil Mickelson, intentionally violate the rules of Golf, by hitting a moving ball to make it stay on the green. It was obvious that he was disgusted with the condition of course. From a spectators standpoint…  I was dismayed to see the golf balls roll off of the green and just keep rolling for 100 feet. If the USGA likes challenging golf courses, they should have the next US open on Mount Everest! But the services of Sherpas would be needed, instead of caddies! LOL! Everyone would be forced to carry a bag of coca leaves, for altitude sickness! LOL!

   

I couldn’t think of a better person to make a political statement about the condition of the golf course than Phil Mickelson. The USGA dared not disqualify him for his actions… I would be the first one to display my displeasure! You don’t mess with everybody’s friend Phil Mickelson! LOL!

My party of four purchased tickets to the Trophy Tent! It is a good idea to purchase tickets to one of the specialty tents, just to have a place to get out of the sun, relax, and watch the monitors in an air conditioned environment. The USGA placed volunteers at many locations to help those attending have a positive experience. I was very impresses with a volunteer who serviced the trophy tent.  A volunteer worker whose name is Michelle Burt, helped my party of four, feel like royalty!

I attended the competition with my wife and two sons… we all agree that the event was spectacular! It is worth attending at any cost!

The logistics of this event was outstanding! Special Long Island Rail Road trains were used to shuttle thousands of people from Penn Station, and Eastern Long island, to this event. Complimentary parking was provided at Francis S. Gabreski Airport. 90 deluxe fully equipped deluxe motor coaches, from four states, were used to shuttle the many guests to the event location in Southampton, NY. The Police did a great job at directing traffic. The US OPEN staff did a great job at opening and closing walking paths across the Fairways.

I would rate this event as five star handicapped friendly. A Mobility Scooter Tent was located in Fan Central, for fans with disabilities, compliments of the USGA and Pride Mobility. Actually anyone who could not normally walk three to four miles might consider using a scooter. They had many scooters that were available.

The only thing that was missing was temporary street signs, showing the locations of the various venues. Otherwise the event was fantastic, and I will be attending the next US OPEN when it returns to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, Long Island, New York.. 

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How To Fix Our Senate And Congress
Ben Vitale

It is obvious that nothing can be accomplished in our Senate and Congress! May I suggest sending 25 crates of tea to the British, with a letter of apology! The Republicans can then move into the House of Commons and the House of Lords! LOL! All female representatives must wear hats, and all male reps must wear wigs! LOL!

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Women And Wilderness Survival: Could You Survive?

Ben Vitale

It appears that society seems to favor the male population when it comes to survival training. Young boys are encouraged to join the Boy Scouts in order to learn skills that society believes all males should learn. One of those skills is survival training.

Recently a friend of mine’s daughter was convinced by her girl friend to go hiking in the mountains. The proposed hike was supposed to be an afternoon hike that only lasted a few hours. The females were planning on being home by three PM. The actual names of the hikers are irrelevant… I am being intentionally ambiguous, to protect the identity of the young ladies.

Many hours passed by and the young ladies were not able to find the trail that would have brought them back home. The sun set and it was getting cold! They did not have extra clothes or survival reflective blankets. They soon learned that it is not easy to start a fire with materials that are available in the woods. They were not able to start a fire.

Their situation soon became critical, and they began to shiver from the cold! Hypothermia was now a real possibility and threat!  Fortunately the young ladies saw a camp fire in the distance and walked up to that location. A family was comping there and was able to help the females with the supplies they needed. The girls spent the night next to the camp fire. The females arrived safely at home the next day.

The girls brought three items with them, a pocket knife, matches and a compass. That was all they had. This article is not intended to be a survival guide… one must consult a survival expert in order to learn that skill. A camper should carry about 30 survival items in order to have a reasonable chance at survival.

I cannot understand why survival skills are taught primarily to males and not to females. I met a woman who is a Girl Scout leader. We started to talk about survival skills in the girl scouts, and I soon was advised that survival skills were not taught to females in the Girl Scouts. I can’t understand the rationale behind this… a female can get lost in the woods just as easily as a male can! The women told me that she wanted to provide survival training to the girl scouts, but was prohibited from doing so. The reason… Insurance! I was very surprised when the Girl Scout leader told me that many girls want to join the Boy Scouts because of the survival training.

I personally believe that all females should be versed at survival skills just as most men are! I see this as a casual shortcoming of our society. Females are often stereotyped as being delicate! Women are not delicate and are absolutely capable of learning these survival skills!  

Please follow the link below, after you finish reading this article. The link presents some of the survival equipment that is usually carried when in the woods. I also carry one additional item… a pocked map GPS with plenty of spare batteries! Do yourself a big favor and talk to a person who is versed in survival skills! Could you survive?

https://www.wildernesscollege.com/survival-gear-list.html

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