Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg I had five uncles who served in World War II, one of whom is buried in France and another who received the Bronze Star. One of my husband’s cousins also served and helped liberate Dachau, and I have a brother and nephew who served—both during the Vietnam War. In considering “What does…
Tag: This I have learned
Features, September 2019
This I Have Learned…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Have you had any conversations with a teenager lately? Is it even possible to do so, what with all of the electronic devices that take center stage in their lives? It’s amazing how these young, wordless youth get along in life, for their lives are so…preoccupied. Over the millennium there has…
Features, August 2019
This I Have Learned…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Why would you want to do anything but rescue a pet? (Paul Shaffer, multi-instrumentalist) It seems that every other household in SaddleBrooke has a beloved pet. This might be an underestimation, as the only way to really know how many pet owners live here is to audit everyone’s homes! But, one thing…
Features, July 2019
This I have learned
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Over 50 years ago the iconic group, The Beach Boys, released a song called Wouldn’t It Be Nice? The tune was about a would-be boyfriend thinking, out loud, of how he would be in nirvana if he and his girlfriend could be together . . . forever. Sigh! It was the 60’s…
Features, June 2019
This I have learned…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Coming to the apex of SaddleBrooke Boulevard after making the last curve on the road into SaddleBrooke, I could feel my face break into a smile but it wasn’t concerning the beautiful and breathtaking panoramic view of hundreds of homes in the valley below. It was seeing the voluminous cloud formations…
Features, May 2019
This I have learned…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Goodbye, Fred, I thought to myself when I recently heard about Fred’s untimely passing. It had been decades since I had seen Fred; actually, I believe it was at our high school graduation that I last saw him. And yet, I’m not sure that I really saw him. He was just…
Features, March 2019
This I have learned
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Have you noticed lately that just about everyone who has a communication device is looking (rather, staring) at it? I am not referring to Millennials or to those who are coming behind them; I am referring to the retirees who live in this community. Would you ever imagine, back in 1970,…
Features, February 2019
This I have learned
Mary Jo Bellner Swartberg Ah… time for a “long winter’s rest” after a hectic December. But post-holiday clean-up is a necessity and weekly chores are on-going. And so it was while I was throwing in (as my mother used to say) our laundry, one day when I was dead tired and overwhelmed by seeing all…
Features, January 2019
This I have learned
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg And, now, it’s time to set our sights toward this new year, the 19th year of the 21st Century! And, speaking of centuries… A few months ago, I was typing something at my computer and I inadvertently typed 2319, not 2019! I sat at my computer and said to myself how…
Features, December 2018
This I have learned
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg It goes without saying that December is probably the most hectic and frenetic month of the year. Over-extended, over-stressed and over-stimulated, we sometimes find that when the last day of the month arrives, ergo – New Year’s Eve, we have become inured to all of the emotions that come with “the…