By

Andrew DeMarco

Today, April 22^nd is Earth Day an annual event established in 1970. About six years ago I wrote a Rosy Glow regarding Earth Day where I compared predictions made back in 1970 to the actual environment in 2013. Most of the predictions made in 1970 were supposed to come true in about 15 to 20 years and as of 2013 many if not most of them had not come to fruition. Even now, six years later they still haven’t.  Below is a link to that original Rosy Glow:

https://bobsrosyglow.com/2013/05/20/rosy-glow-earth-day/

This issue has never disappeared but has come to the front again with the Green New Deal where some believe that we only have 12 years to turn things around and have immediately gone into panic mode. Having heard this before even from a former Vice President, I have become somewhat skeptical of the urgency.

I am not a climate change denier. I believe the climate has changed and will continually change as Mother Nature continues doing her thing. If you think about it she is in possession of some of the greatest weapons of mass destruction. Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanos and tsunamis to name a few and none of which we have control over. She even gave us the Permian Period which even before man roamed the earth, Mother Nature chose to drive 90% of all life on earth to extinction.

Yes, we can continue to do our part to maintain a healthy environment and we have and must remain on this path. Since the first Earth Day and the establishment of the EPA our air and water have gotten cleaner. We have made great strides in renewable energy sources, increased fuel efficiency, cut emissions and yes even that pesky ozone hole which we used to hear so much about has gotten better. But make no mistake, Mother Nature is still in control and her time frames are much longer than ours.

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/ozone-hole-shows-we-avoided-planetary-disaster-before-pbs-documentary

A very funny pseudo-climatologist who is the inspiration for this Rosy Glow once said that before we can take care of our environment and mother earth, we need to learn how to take care of one another. We probably have more to fear for our survival from the weapons of mass destruction that man has created than those of Mother Nature. Once we learn how to take care of one another, we can do a better job in taking care of this Pale Blue Dot which we occupy and that will give me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that…Rosy Glow

To hear from that pseudo-climatologist and learn more, follow the link below. Be advised that some may find his opinions and language out of touch and a bit harsh and disturbing.

https://youtu.be/7W33HRc1A6c

 

By

Bob LaTorre

 

I thought I would reach back about 35 years and post one of Cousin Bob’s original Rosy Glow columns. Even over time I am sure you all can relate to it. Enjoy!

 

I suppose that sooner or later I must learn to accept the fact that, to complain is within the realm of human nature. A look back at life indicates that given any special circumstances, people will complain.

Take food for example. If food is institutionalized, all will complain. I can clearly remember this happening: at summer camp, in high school, in college and in the military. I have in fact never been in any group environment where people did not complain about the quality of food.

The same goes for landlords: the person to whom we pay rent is a villain simply because he is the person to whom we pay rent. It makes no difference what kind of person the property is, we will complain simply because they are the landlord.

The weather is another whipping boy. People will complain about the weather. No matter what the season, conversations will invariably start with a complaint about it being too hot, too cold, too dry too humid and when all else fails, we complain about it being too much of the same.

This propensity to complain is surely one factor in our current basic satisfaction with the state of the world. We as Americans are the best fed, best housed, best dressed, best entertained most secure people in the world. Yet to read the newspaper, look at the television, or listen to radio talk shows, one must conclude that we live the worst existence of the planet.

Picture if you will, some other world creature that was able to tune in on just the audio portion of all our broadcasts. Our ET, listening from his home in outer space hearing only broadcasts from the USA would probably feel compelled to launch a rescue mission to this distant planet to save us from ourselves.

It may be that it is just our complaint mode at work or it could be that combined with our overwhelming sense of guilt about all that we have which prompts us to be so critical of our current state of being. But in any case we do complain.

We find fault with our food, our air, our water, our cars, our standard of living, and just about everything else in our world.

 

 

 

Meanwhile we remain the envy of the world. There are a few if any nations on earth where there are not people who wish to come here and live, Not everyone in every country but some people in all countries. In some instances people have died in their attempts to get to this country. Stop any immigrant you know and ask if they would want to return to their native land? Ninety-nine percent will say no.

Yet we continue to complain and worry, What is more, those of us who do not complain are ridiculed. People who have made a lot of money and seem to be enjoying their wealth are held up to scorn. They are depicted as greedy. In fact the past ten years which have increased our standard of living dramatically, are now referred to as the greed years.

I will admit that I had some meals in college, and in the Navy. There have been landlords I hated, there may even be a few things I would like to see changed right now, BUT I do not know of a time in history, of a place on earth where I would rather be than where I am right now.

I have had a bigger income and a smaller one and like everyone else I would like more money, but day in and day out I still awake each morning and face life with a great deal of gratitude and satisfaction.

Most days I even find myself filled with, you guessed it a ……Rosy Glow.

 

By

Andrew DeMarco

 

In the past, I have written about my “niece” Michele “Belle” Koclanes who is now the head Woman’s Basketball Coach at Dartmouth College. In her 16^th year of coaching, 6 years as head coach, Belle has always espoused the values of family and leadership to all the young women that have passed through her program which have all been exceptional people. The same is true for her coaching staff over her 6 years as head coach that spirit of family and leadership runs throughout the program. It is because of these two values that I am sure anyone who goes through the Dartmouth Women’s Basketball (DWB) program will be successful.

Her success in these two areas with her team could not be more apparent than a few weekends ago when DWB swept through New York defeating both Cornell and Columbia Universities. This was the first time DWB had achieved this feat in 12 years before Belle even arrived at Dartmouth.  Trailing most of the game against Columbia, it was the team leaders (DWB does not call them captains) two seniors Cy Lippold and Isalys “Ice” Quinones who led the way with Ice hitting two free throws with 4 seconds left that won the game. It was a total team effort with everyone contributing even those who did not get into the game and it was an example of the family spirit. At the end of the game, during the celebration, one player exhibited that other value called leadership.

Fittingly, it was one of the team leaders Cy Lippold. Cy has endured a lot this season. Her father, Wayne, unexpectedly passed away just 3 days after the end of last season and he was a fixture at all her games. To say that this has been an emotional season for her is probably an understatement. Cy was originally from the Bronx and with this probably being her last game in New York her whole family and it seemed like almost everyone from her old neighborhood, her extended family, was at the game. To say that they were boisterous would be another understatement since they frequently drowned out most of the Columbia fans.

John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more do more and become more, you are a leader.” The one aspect of this quote that I feel Mr. Adams missed was that to be a leader you must also be selfless. This selflessness was shown by Cy at the end of the game. During the celebration, after the game with all the players hugging one another and just reveling in their hard-fought victory, Cy’s personal cheering section started chanting her name. Cy stepped away and with a wave acknowledged the chant from the crowd as they continued to chant her name. It was then that Cy, all 5 foot 2 inches of her exhibited the selflessness of a leader. She looked up at her cheering section and shook a disapproving finger at them while saying, “No, no, no!”.  She then tugged at her jersey and pointed to the word Dartmouth while telling the crowd it wasn’t her it was the team. Her crowd immediately started chanting “Dartmouth, Dartmouth!”

During a weekend filled with team achievements, she had the ability to show her leadership qualities which was further backed up by Cy being invited to attend the “So You Want to Be A Coach” program by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WCBA). The program will take place at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

I was thinking that here is a young woman that has been playing all season under some trying circumstances and has shown that she can handle the pressure and still step up and lead. Coach Belle you have done well with Cy, but I would have to say that your job was probably made much easier by the efforts of Cy’s parents. So, Jennifer Lippold listen to me and listen good as I know Wayne will hear this too and this is coming from one Bronxite to another, “Youse guys dun good.”  I have no doubt that whatever Cy does in the future she will be a success and that is due to the foundation that you and Wayne (and her extended family all those crazy neighbors) provided for her and knowing this gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that….Rosy Glow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By

Andrew DeMarco

 

 

February is Black History Month and during this month we will celebrate the accomplishments of famous African Americans. We will hear stories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, George Washington Carver, the Tuskegee Airmen and a host of others whose accomplishments cannot be denied. But I am sure few of us will hear about Dovey Johnson Roundtree who according to the co-author of her memoir Katie McCabe said, “For all her perseverance and all her prowess she remained by temperament, choice and political circumstance, comparatively unknown.” Well I would like to tell you a bit about her because she is more than deserving of having her story told.

I first learned of Ms. Roundtree just about a year ago when I happened to come across her obituary in the New York Times. The first thing that attracted me to her was that she lived to the tender age of 104 and once I read the obituary, I realized that this was an extraordinary woman. Ms. Roundtree was born in Charlotte N.C. on April 17, 1914 a time when Jim Crow was prevalent and she experienced all the ugliness and horrors that one might expect a black person to endure at that time. But she was undeterred and became a Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks before they made their impressions in the Civil Rights movement.

After attending Spelman College in Atlanta and not having the money for medical school she taught for three years. In 1941, living in Washington, D.C. she became an inaugural member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and in 1942 became the first woman of any color to be commissioned an Army Officer. She was a leader of black and white women at a time when the Army was still segregated and would be until 1948 when President Truman desegregated the armed forces. But this was just her jumping off point. In 1947 she entered Howard University Law School and in 1950 earned her law degree.

In 1952, working as a lawyer in Washington she took on the case of Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company. This landmark decision helped secure a ban on racial segregation in interstate bus travel and happened three years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Although overturned, this led to a better known Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which desegregated schools. The Interstate Commerce Commission later adopted regulations banning segregation on interstate travel all of which was the result of Ms. Roundtree’s efforts in the Sarah Keys case.

But Ms. Roundtree was far from done with her firsts. Having become disillusioned with the law she again returned to Howard University and entered their divinity school and the next year was the first woman ordained in the A.M.E. Church. She then continued to preach and eventually also practiced law again and in 1970 founded the law firm Roundtree, Knox, Hunter & Parker which endures today.

After reading this obituary I realized what an incredible life this woman had and I also realized that I was not reading about a black woman or a white one but rather a remarkable human being, one who’s accomplishments should serve as a role model for everyone. I also realized that this woman was under the radar and that hopefully she will get her due. Finally, it reinforced in me that the only thing that holds us back in this country is ourselves. This story is proof that in this country more than any other, anyone can buck the odds if they have the will and desire to do so and reach their dreams. Knowing this gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob Would call that…Rosy Glow.

 

If anyone is interested, to learn even more about Ms. Roundtree  a link to her obituary in the New York Times is listed below. Also, her memoir is called “Justice Older than the Law.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/obituaries/dovey-johnson-roundtree-dead.html

 

By

Andrew DeMarco

 

Hi Luke,

Before I begin, I want you to know there is a children’s book that was popular when I was your age called “Nobody Listens to Andrew” by Elizabeth Guilfoile.  I am beginning to think that everyone in the family and most of my friends have read it which is why no one listens to me. So, before your parents get their hands on a copy and you read it, I am going to have my say and you will listen to Andrew.

Luke, please allow me a moment to tell those who don’t know you a little bit about you and your operation. To all our readers Luke is my Cousin Marian Hester’s six-year-old grandson and his parents are Emily and Jason Reaves of Tuscumbia, Alabama. At the age of about a year and a half, Luke underwent a heart transplant. Prior to the transplant, he survived on an artificial heart for several months until a donor heart was available and sadly it was another child.

It is hard to believe that at the end of this month it will be 5 years since you had your operation and you must know how happy we all are that you are doing so well. I know during those 5 years it has been a roller coaster ride filled with all the ups and downs that one would experience after such an operation but according to all reports you have been a real trooper and a hero to us all. I know many people would ask why would God put a child through such an ordeal? The answer seems to be that only He knows that a child in all their innocence can endure without complaint all the things which you have gone through.

I want you to know that you have brought together many people and have been an inspiration to all who have met you and to even those who haven’t but do know your story. I saw the effect you had on people when I finally met you a little over a year ago at Cousin Richard and Anne’s Anniversary Party in Olean. You were a perfect gentleman and greeted everyone you met with a big hug and a smile which just melted them all.

I am sure even at your young age that you realize what incredible parents you have and that with their love and guidance you will continue to become a better person. In time, you will also realize that you have one incredible family and a great number of incredible friends. You will come to know how the family is always there for you but also how they really come together in a time of crises and that unity enables us to weather any storm. Your Great-Great Uncle Sal brought the family together on more than one occasion. (Ask grandma and she will tell you the many stories.)

So Luke, let me wish you a very Happy Re-birth Day and may you have many more. Promise me one thing, when you read the book “Nobody Listens to Andrew” you substitute your Grandma Marian’s name for Andrew. If you do this for me and your continued growth will give me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that…Rosy Glow.

 

Yours Truly,

Cousin Andrew

 

P.S. The picture above was taken this year on game day of the National Championship Game, Alabama vs. Clemson. Unfortunately, the Tide did not roll, but I heard that Luke’s loyalty never wavered.