Vocational Trinity

Jerry DeVito - We Remember 9/11

Jerry DeVito, age 66

Place killed:

World

Trade

Center

. Resident of

New York

,

N.Y.

(

USA

)

He looks like he could be my father - he's everyone's father. He looks like someone I know personally, or through people I love and care about. I remember him.

Here is what has been said about him by people who were blessed to know him in person (from www.legacy.com):

'You Could Count on Him'

Among the potential dangers of hanging out with Jerry DeVito were that you would laugh a lot and find yourself blown away by his mastery of sports trivia. And one other thing: you might have gotten fat.

Mr. DeVito, 66, loved to take care of people around him, especially when it came to making sure that they were fed. He was the personal driver for David Alger, the chief executive of Fred Alger Management. When not behind the wheel, Mr. DeVito spent his days at the firm, spending time with traders and looking out for the welfare of interns, particularly making sure they knew there was leftover food from a conference or luncheon.

"He even used the interoffice mail system to send doughnuts to our New Jersey site," said Christopher W. Cheever, a former summer intern.

A native of the Bronx and a great baseball player in his younger days, Mr. DeVito was a die-hard Yankees fan, who used to joke with the Alger brothers that they should buy the Bronx Bombers and make him the team's general manager. A father of two, he planned to retire this year, though he would have missed being in the mix. "He just liked being around people," said his daughter, Robyn Goldstein. "No matter what age you were, young or old, you could count on him."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 19, 2001.

I never knew.

I never knew that when I was in the school's chapel at 9:30am for about 45 minutes, that a first plane, and then a second plane, hit Jerry's workplace.

I never knew a personal face to the tragedy I watched unfold on TV with my students.

I never knew as I walked through the school building spreading the word and looking for news that Jerry could not get out.

I never knew as I sat in shock at the people jumping and the towers falling that I would be introduced to a personal story, someone's brother, dad, son, uncle, everything.

I never knew as word came of more plans, more terror, that a family's reality was being absorbed by the focus of a nation and the world.

I never knew that as I began to heal, and adapt to a new normal, that every anniversary would reopen wounds for Jerry's family.

I never knew how unified 9/11 would make our nation, and how divided we became afterwards.

I never knew that I was missing out every 9/11 by never really remembering one person; one incredibly warm, funny, caring, outgoing, man who could be everyone's father or friend.

I know now.

I remember. We remember.

God Bless Jerry DeVito. God Bless America.

Thanks Jerry......

Five Years, Eight Years :)

If my Typepad timer works correctly, this post should appear on Matt's and my 5th wedding anniversary :) :) June 2.

I would love to write this AMAZING post, about my AMAZING husband, but this anniversary finds me exhausted from moving and preparing for a garage sale this Fri and Saturday, as well as under the weather. Darn sinus infections!!!

So, this anniversary, a very special milestone anniversary, comes in a "down to earth" fashion. Simply put, there is no time for fuss, flowers, presents, or a getaway. Basically this anniversary will find us tonight  sleeping side by side, maybe  cuddling a bit - but sacked out tired, with our incredible daughter in one room, and our niece in another. A full and happy house. And really, the no fuss is totally us. We just exist together pretty damn well. We are partners, we are happy, we are blessed. It just works, and it's been working for a total of 8 years.

So, in honor of a post I should really write, I'm off to bed (haha!) but have attached a link to what I wrote on this day a year ago, dedicated to Matt then - and of course now, more than EVER.

Matt, thank you. I LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!

More posts this week than in a month of Sundays!

Sorry they are so random, like yesterday evening's "HOUSE" post below is, but here is an update (cut and pasted from an e-mail) on more of my student pranks at school.

LOL!!! These days so make me LAUGH!!!

Someone got to the front of the school and sent a Pirate (skull/crossbones) flag up the flagpole (but we caught the kid….hello – it is broad daylight!)

And now we’ve now had about a million crickets released in the cafeteria (ok….we eat there…YUCKY!! Cricket Pizza anyone?) and I have to go do hallway watch – the seniors just left for their BBQ, but there is a rumor (not sure how confirmed) they will storm the halls and I’ve be assigned to guard a door – lol.

Good Golly J 

Have a GREAT day everyone!!

HOUSE

Holy, Holy Heck.....did anyone watch House tonight (on Fox - Episode name "Forever")? Ok, I was like crying and on the edge of my couch. I have little words for what I watched. Heartbreaking....

It's been a while since the writing and acting on a TV show and its storyline affected me. Wow. It was almost too real.

Click Here for House Website

You Know Monday won't be the same when...

as a high school teacher you get the following e-mail before your 4th period free period:

---

From: Pat

Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 9:41 AM
To:

Subject: Urgent! From Mr. S

Mr. S has asked specifically for teachers who have 4^th and/or 5^th period(s) free or lunch to please come to the cafeteria during that time.  Rumor has it that there is a ‘food fight’ or some other destructive prank planned for one or both of these lunches.  Please do not discuss this with your students. 

As a precaution, if you will please make your presence known around the lunch tables, up and down the aisles, and out on the breezeway and plaza - perhaps even sitting among the students, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Mr. S considers this a very serious matter and is requesting your cooperation and assistance.

Pat

Administrative Assistant

ps@

_______________________________________________

So, did I have to wear my freshly laundered linen pants and green shirt today? LOL

I'll keep you posted. We've already have "Every Senior Bring your Bike, Scooter, or Rollerskates to school and roll all over campus to Class Prank Day" and "Drop a Watermelon from the roof of the Breezeway into the Plaza Prank" and I like that better than food fights and live animals!

AHH!!! Summer! Where are You??!!!

My Life in Pictures

Well - I've been hit with a head cold, am tired, and the long post I was working on froze up on me and is now gone, so I'm going to post some blurbs on my last couple of weeks with some pictures.

Life has been a little overwhelming lately, but it is normal with this time of year. I'm counting down 4 more weeks. Otherwise life is good (and would be swell if the headcold would LEAVE)

So, without further adieu: My week!!!

• The following pics record my fun time last week at work. Every year a few of us bonded co-workers get together to jam. We're just a bunch of adults who think they can play or sing (haha! Actually, I think we're pretty darn good), and pick some classics and popular tunes to perform for the kids during lunch periods. We've become known as the "Teacher Jam" and we do everything from country to hard rock/heavy metal. We love getting together cause none of us ever have time to really play or sing for fun - so this is a blast for us, and the kids can enjoy laughing at us and sing/dance along. Below are pics of me playing my electric violin on some country fiddle tunes, Dave Matthews, etc and singing and the whole group having a blast in front of our students! You'll notice some of them are dressed interestingly....it was also Literary Day and they picked a character or author of a book to dress up as. It was really a lot of fun!

• My next exciting venture was the daily upkeep of my little vegetable garden. As you can tell from the pictures, it is growing. This weekend I did more weeding, and planted a new tomato plant, as well as cilantro, thyme, and parley herb seeds. My garden is my anti-depressant. I spend almost every evening doing something for it. I never knew how addicting it could be!! Rach is helping me too, and even helped me pick out 2 garden knomes (sp?) for the garden. LOL I have knomes??! I'm one of those crazy garden people? LOL. We named the two little men as "Santa" and "Clause" because she calls them both Santa Clause lol! Watch out Travelocity!!! They are the tiny white specks in the pictures lol. Rachael and I also planted herbs in tiny pots for the kitchen...they were for those "grow your own garden kits." She enjoyed it. I also discovered that roses grow in our front yard. How lovely!!!

• On Sunday, I wanted to really practice my cooking skills, and I went and downloaded Nino's Beef Vegetable Soup from her blog. It is SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! Now, I had to make a few changes. Matt can not have corn, nd I also discovered the can of tomatoes I had was not diced but crushed, but I used them anyway and it made a GREAT broth. It was delicious! It was so easy, quick, and just fun. Thanks Nino!!! Matt really liked it, and also made a potato for himself and I used chives from my garden for his potato! I was so excited to use something I grew! As you can tell from the pic, Matt had a lot of chives lol.

• Ok, this got longer than I planned, or need to stay awake for :) So I'll leave you on a happy high of my weekend. We visited a little fair that was visiting the local mall parking lot. They had lots of little rides we could take Rachael on for the first time. Here is a candid  - I love it. It perfectly captures the "up" feelings I've been experiencing lately amid the chaos and stress at work I've been having some days. I've also had some lessons taught to me lately to never take life for granted and to pray for each other and our families.  Life is so full, whether  you are sharing music, gardening, cooking, or riding a bumble bee. So, no matter what ups and downs you've been facing, may a simple moment bring you peace and a smile and my family is always praying for you. Much, much LOVE to you!

The Best Part of Spring Break?

This.

   

I'll scream it from the rooftops....I loved being with my little girl 24/7. Of course I LOVED the extra time in the evenings with DH too (and love the fact that tonight we are having our "Disney Date Night" which is having our girl put to bed and then we watch a cute movie all to
ourselves and then cuddle the evening away afterwards, maybe even some very neglected bonding....) but really - I've felt so pulled in so many directions that to just have some unrivaled time with my precious daughter, who is growing WAY too FAST, is just delicious!

I haven't seen a booth that takes pics like this in forever! While all three of us were at the mall this afternoon I saw this  machine and jumped in with Rachael for some fun. This scanned
version is a little blurry - but I still love it! Rachael loved watching the screen as you can see, and wondering where the voice was coming from. Also, she chose the "theme" of the pic - I was going with the Easter one, and she moved the button herself - I didn't even know what she clicked on till DH got the pics out, and how perfect is it LOL!!!!! She's MY angel!

This week has been so fun - trips to the library, trips to see my niece and sister (and take pics),  planting a vegetable garden, the start of swingset construction, family time, time with Rach's Godparents and our dear friends, time with my husband, and just time as a family. It's long overdue. Tomorrow we look forward to another special day - Palm Sunday. It's a triumphant day for many reasons, as well as one of preparation - and it is so special to share that with Rachael and see the joy in her face as she waves her own palm fronds. I just can't wait to have her and DH together tomorrow morning for that and join in prayer and Glory.

I'll have lots of pics to share and stories when I'm not being called downstairs to begin our DDN :) Gotta love Disney and Date night together in your own home :)

Before I head downstairs, I'll leave with one more pic from our week :) Gosh, I'm just so happy tonight...

 

Ok - must be off to share some much desired time with my wonderful and awesome blessing, Matt :) God  Bless and Much, MUCH love!!!!!

Don't tip your cab driver with your digital camera!

Well, I'm back. Well, I hope I'm back. My new goal IS to be back now that I have spring break to get organized and catch up/get ahead on things.

First off - how are my peeps???!!!! Are you all ok?  I've had to sacrifice a lot of blogging time, so I've missed reading you, and posting.  I've still been thinking of you.

Let's see?  what's been going on? Well, I know I've been promising you some funny stories and pics, but guess what  - I can only share the stories - as I decided (or, at least, I think I did....) to leave my camera in the cab I was in 2 weekends ago. Since I've been so busy, I've a been neglecting to upload the few pics I've taken the past few months - so I've lost them. The camera has since been replaced (thanks ebay!) and though I still hold out hopes that my mind misplaced where I actually LEFT the camera...I think it is gone, and really did become a tip for the most expensive (and memorable) cab ride in history!

So - here are the stories, just insert your own mental pics!

* After Holly and Cara's visit (and for the story - where I was, in typical fashion - a not so good entertainer in my own unique way lol - Gosh I need more practice.  I'm always too busy and our friends are all so "whatever casual - we never ever entertain, we just hang out!" lol - this sets up the story BTW), my birthday came and went. I got this lovely package in the mail that took me a while to figure out who it was from. I actually had to open it and see the contents. Well, it was a set of wonderful wine glasses!!! I was so overjoyed, as I lost the big ones I did have in the move, and had nothing to serve wine in when Cara and Holly and their families were here - NOTHING. (Let's see, I also had no opener, forgot to actually go out and get wine, so I had to use some random wine, etc. For a girl who loves to drink....I never have it in the house) So this gift was PERFECT!!! I just need a wine opener now...J/K!!!! Anyways, it was from HOLLY!!! :) I took a pic of me drinking wine in one of my glasses, but alas, it is gone. I do have all my glasses out on my wine rack Holly, and I LOVE my glasses. I know I never properly thanked you - but I love you and they are great!!! You are such a knowing and thoughtful friend.

Now - you are thinking, "good gosh - where have you been"? You never post anymore! Well - it was in all the posts below...I've been swamped. I thought I had been holding everything together ok though, even in survivor mode, but I finally cracked lol. The other pics I had for you were to show what I did....what I did on my way to CHURCH of all places, by myself.

I decided as I backed out of the garage that I did NOT need to open the door, so I hit it. Thank God I stopped before I went all the way through it, but I broke all the glass in the door and split it. I was SOOOOO EMBARASSED!!!!!!!!! Hello?? Was I drinking too much from Holly's wine glasses? LOL Silly me. Thank God our house has two single doors, so we only had to replace one small door, and it was not expensive, so I had plenty of money left over to replace the camera I lost - HA!  I'm not a scatterbrained fool!!! Not me! No embarassing stories here!!

So, those are my biggest stories, and some cab driver has the pics to prove that I have a lot of wine glasses, and I drive through doors!!! I'm the picture of a Desperate Housewife!!!!

Let's see, lately: I have been blessed to have had a visit with Cara (sorry, no pictures DRAT! Well, I may have one somewhere lol), whom I love dearly and God has just blessed me with, and also catching up on the phone with many of you...Holly, Sandi....and have been thinking of Sue (CONGRATS!!). Holly - Have B-day to beautiful A and I love you!!! I miss you guys!! I miss all of you. I hope to use this week to harass you, evil laugh!!

So far this week I've done planting (I sliced my toe though today!! I'm waiting for lockjaw to come...when was that tetnus shot again???? :P``` OUCH!!), enjoyed the yard, hosted my niece for the weekend, and enjoyed my family. I feel such a peace, and its been a while since I felt it, or allowed the time to feel that. Lent is such an important time to really reflect on things, especially in a time of sacrifice and renewal. I feel like such a blessed a woman, and like I was telling my good pal Liah - I feel rich. We're all richer than we think we are. I am blessed in so many ways I can't count them and my cup runneth over. 

I do have some pics to share this week. I'll try to get them up. Also, I want to steal from Nino and send out a request for a Q and A. Please send me questions and hopefully I can get a springboard into a good post again. I've hit a dry spell since I've been neglecting writing for me for so many months....I need some passion!!! I can always save questions for different posts too, but would love some fodder!!

Oh - and before I forget, we got Rachael a swing set. Between my wonderful parents, and a big April sale at toys R us, we got a fun one I think. Now the fun part is to build it...attach the swing Cara gave us somehow, and get it all to be stable and work!  I'm really excited - I love swinging and she does too!! Plus, part of me is like "Am I really giving my CHILD a swingset?" Wow...time flies.....

Well, need to go make dinner.  Off to enjoy the evening weather....

Gratitude

Thank you to all the below comments, e-mails, calls, and posts. I'm overwhelmed. I love you.

Thanking you, here online, my personal cheerleading squad the last almost 2 years of work, has felt inadequate. I am SO grateful....I love you all. THANK YOU!!!! You have been there to keep it real, remind me why I needed to do this, and help me deal with stress. It makes this completion so much sweeter.

Of course, I cannot leave out my family. MP stated it better than I ever could on Kelly's blog (THANK YOU MP!!!!!!!). Spousal support is everything. He is my ROCK!!! He's been my prayer partner. Matt has done the grocery shopping, laundry, diaper changing, primary parenting in many cases, emotional support, and technical support - he's help format many project or paper.  He put off taking the rest of his MCSE tests (just a few left) because both of us studying was too hard, especially his new job requirements. How do I thank him for that?? He's been my rock and my everything, and I'll walk for him on June 24th. Now I can help him, take back my my duties, and let him study!

Rachael - her smiles get (and got) me through every day. Every day her hugs, "kiss kiss" kisses, and smiles lightened my guilt feelings I had at times that my hectic schedule was more harmful to her that hopefully it was.  I can't wait to just enjoy every minute now, and grad school helped me never take for granted the time we have with our children.

But, I'm also in gratitude to an unnamed population in any messages of late - my students. Fundamentally, this has been for them as much as me or anyone. They are the most affected by my decisions in the classroom. Many of my students knew from talking to me I finished Thursday, so I came in Friday to my classes, and former students, congratulating me all day. I was so touched. One class even stood up when I walked in the room and clapped and hollared (I about had a heart attack for so many reasons lol, especially since they came together to do this). They prepared a party for me too, and the sign one of the boys made for my cake was just so funny. The pictures below say it all (though my last name and their faces have been blurred to protect the innocent lol)

And of course, my wonderful students!

(Of course, in true teacher fashion - they're still working as they enjoy the party lol)

Days like this make all the hard work worth it!!! I'm so glad I could learn some skills for them. I'm really blessed to have some special kids in ALL my classes. All my classes are FANTASTIC and they've come so far, so I can't wait to see where they go! They can do anything they set their mind to!

So, I'm so GRATEFUL to my family, students, and friends - you. You are all part of my family. God has blessed me with strength - and that strength came from all those mentioned above.

THANK YOU!!!! I love you!!!!

God Bless you this weekend!!!

P.S. More pics and stories to come.....and yes - those embarrassing ones I promised!

Stunned to say...

That tonight, I completed my Master's Degree. I'm finished with classes. Grades will come in about a week from now, but coursework is finished.

I feel stunned, I felt a ton of emotions as class ended - wanting to laugh, cry - but just smiling - know the feeling? It's hard to express...but mixed with a ton of relief and pride.

I made it! ACK!! Really??? No way!!! OMG!!!! YEAH!!!!

Thanks for being so encouraging - I could NOT have done it without you....really....OMG! I love you all!!!! If only everyone was so blessed with a support system of REAL friends. Thanks for being there at my lowest and being so patient with me when I've been crazy, or vented...I don't deserve it!!!

I can't wait to get back to you all, and be a friend again!!! You all are amazing!!!

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!