So I Am Preparing for a Wedding

7. January 2012 by pat desmond.

My daughter, June, will marry next summer.

I like the man she’s marrying. Her two children like him too.

So all the world is right.

This week we shopped for her wedding gown. She will make a beautiful bride - and the wedding will be designed to fit her hopes and dreams.

I married once myself - but I didn’t have the chance to design my dream wedding. It was fun anyway. But it was really my mother’s design. She didn’t have a big wedding herself since she and my father decided to marry right after he was drafted during World War II.

My daughter has been planning this wedding for more than a year now. It will be lovely. I wish I could post a photo of June trying on The Dress - but the future groom as internet access and we don’t want him glimpsing the dress before the big day.

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Hollywood One, Wall Street Many Billion

11. December 2011 by pat desmond.

This weekend I saw “Tower Heist” with my son.

It surprised me that Hollywood was months ahead of the Occupy Movement in calling out Wall Street.

It defined a class war worth the battle.

Hard to believe this film actually was conceived in 2005 and shot a year ago. Who knew how popular it would be to trash stockbrokers in 2005?

I enjoyed the political humor.

Loved the initiative on the part of the service workers .

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Celebrating Milton

1. October 2011 by pat desmond.

It’s nearly time for Celebrate Milton!

The event began 18 years ago as a celebration of the community - its spirit - its diversity.

George Welles, former pastor of the Church of Our Saviour, and I will both receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from the organization.

It humbles me to prepare for this honor.

In 1997 I won a community builder award which proudly hangs on my office wall at the Milton Times.

The paper was young back then and I was much younger than I am today.

My daughter, June, had nominated me and I was thrilled to know she wasn’t upset about the long hours she was working to help the paper grow. 1997 was a good year for my whole family. My son graduated from Milton High. My daughter had her first child, Hayley Bradford. And I joined a small group of Milton people called community builders.

I was living on Willoughby Road that year and I spent most of my days and nights connecting with people in the community.

Building a weekly newspaper is all about helping the community find its voice.

The town of Milton has a strong and vibrant voice.

I continue to enjoy being part of the community. And I am grateful for all the community provides.

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Postal Issues Delay Delivery

29. July 2011 by pat desmond.

If you have the Milton Times home delivered in Milton, you already know it arrived Friday, July 29, instead of Thursday.

We began getting calls from subscribers early in the afternoon of the 28th. One after another asked whether there was a problem with his or her subscription. After a number of these calls, I phoned across the street  to the post office, asking for Amy Carter, manager of the Milton office.

Although I couldn’t reach her, I discovered that no one would get the paper that day because the entire delivery had been sent to visit Boston.

Personally I think this is part of a scheme to encourage newspapers to find alternate methods of delivery and decrease the mail volume to a greater degree.

In case you haven’t received a piece of mangled mail lately, let me tell you: It’s on the way.

The post office has spent millions (or billions) of dollars on new machines - called FSS machines - that are supposed to sort the mail.

The Milton Times has been delivered on Thursdays to mailboxes in Milton for the past 15 years. When we began 16 years ago, the newspaper was mailed with a bulk imprint.

But within a few months we began the process of qualifying for a periodical permit (it was called second class back in those days.) We kept documentation of every dollar received for a subscription and filed all the forms.

The reason we worked to meet the mailing requirements is that periodicals are supposed to be treated with priority and delivered quickly.Those were the days my friend, I hoped they would never end.Back in the early days of the Times existence, my son (who was in high school) would pick up the copies of the newspaper several hours after we went to press. Then he and I and anyone else I could rope into the work crew would label the mail copies and sort into bags by carrier route.

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Phone Book Process

9. July 2011 by pat desmond.

Nearly two years ago, the Milton Times began working to produce the first ever Milton Phone Book.Now this is not to say no one else had ever produced a Milton phone book. About 10 years ago there was a very popular book called Manning’s Little Blue Book that concentrated on Milton and was delivered townwide.But then people said smart phones and internet sites were capturing all the young people.Anyway, while you can find front page news from the Milton Times online at www.miltontimes.com, the print paper has much more information. We are in the process of developing our own APP to deliver mobile content for a small subscription price.Most print phone books disappeared, reduced their reach or just targeted upper income neighborhoods.We felt there was a need. What we didn’t realize as we embarked upon the project was the length of time it would take to produce a Milton phone book that succeeded financially. So the book we began marketing for 2010 became the 2011 book by default.Since that book was delivered to the townspeople, we have been working on the 2012 Milton Phone Book.The 2012 book goes to press this fall and we expect it will be delivered just after the beginning of the new year. We are already gathering information for the project. Anyone who wants to change the listing found in the 2011 book should email Nadine Leary, our advertising coordinator, at ads@miltontimes.com.Most of the information found in the 2011 book can be found online at www.miltonphonebook.com.That will all be replaced with the 2012 information sometime in the fall.What I like best about the 2011 book is the cover - the front cover shows Ken Lodge and the Baron Hugo Band performing at the gazebo in front of town hall. It was a photo taken at one of the last concerts Ken performed as part of the summer band concert series.Ken, who graduated from Milton High School in 1937, recently moved to Florida. It’s a loss for the town.This summer we are looking for a photo to exemplify Milton on the 2012 cover. We haven’t found the right picture yet but there is still some time.

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Back from the National Board

6. June 2011 by pat desmond.

The office did just fine without  my help last week - the paper came out on time and, for the most part, there is not much I would have changed if I’d been in Milton.

I might have given Christina Ferrera a little more credit. She was chosen to deliver an address at Fontbonne’s graduation not just for her academic achievement but for her character, spirituality and contribution to the community.

A community paper needs to explain what is right in the town and we agree with Christina who quoted Mahatma Gandhi in her address: “Be the change you want to see in this world.”

While I was in Newport, RI, with the rest of the National Newspaper Association board of directors, I learned a few good ideas.

One idea is a column written by Mary Fisher in Arkansas - a column on community history that I’m thinking about adding to our regular table of contents.

The time I spend with the NNA board helps me focus on how the newspaper industry is changing across the country.

All of the other directors are coping with the need to deliver the news their communities have come to count on while coping with budgets that reflect a troubled economy.

Because NNA markets to community newspapers, these industry leaders have solutions that work in Milton.

So I came back from Newport, having toured the grass courts of the Tennis Hall of Fame and ridden a small craft into the choppy waves of Newport Harbor and so much more so that I could take photos at the All Night Party for the MHS Class of 2011.

The All Night Party is one of my favorite photo ops of any year.

You can find the photos I captured on the Milton Times web site. There’s a link to photos. I will place the new pictures as our featured gallery as soon as I crop the pictures to eliminate stray party goers who wandered into my frames.

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Coping with Cancer Changes Body, Mind & Spirit

29. April 2011 by pat desmond.

It was hard to hear the simple words, “It’s invasive ductile carcinoma.”

The hard part was it wouldn’t sink in.

The words gave me a headache. My mind fuzzed up and pain settled in the back of my neck.

But still the words didn’t really move through my brain and arrive at a place that made sense.

I was sure they (two radiologists, an anonymous pathologist and other medical people) were wrong. I didn’t feel sick. There was no lump to be felt. I stopped eating red meat a few years ago. I almost always buy organic foods.

Still that night I let my children know I was facing cancer and then I began doing research.

 I know people who are surviving cancer – some are women who have been handed a breast cancer diagnosis. I asked for help and was amazed at the generosity of those who have walked this path before me.

One month after my diagnosis, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy at Faulkner Hospital. It took me a month to put my life in order, to plan for my care after the hospital and make sure there was a plan to handle my work. My surgeon would have been ready to operate two weeks after the diagnosis.

Most of my friends wanted to analyze my decision to have both breasts removed.

I wasn’t open to altering my decision. I made the decision while I was reading the first book a friend gave me on breast cancer. The book made it clear radiation would not be needed after a mastectomy.

When I met my surgeon she explained that with family history, she could accept my decision. She did ask me to think it over, at least overnight.

Two days later I called the surgeon’s scheduler and we created a plan.

Did I mention I have an inordinate fear of pain?

The day of surgery I finally realized my life was changing forever.

My time at Faulkner Hospital was a blur, thanks to the drugs. But what I remember is waking up in recovery where my surgeon told me the lymph nodes were clear. I think she said something about more detailed pathology reports. I know I closed my eyes so she wouldn’t see I was crying.

I remember it didn’t hurt as much as I expected. I know I didn’t feel much right then. Just relief.

My stay at Faulkner Hospital was brief but, thanks to excellent medical staff, caring nurses and the fact that everyone gets a private room, my path to healing was as smooth as fresh washed sheets.

My children agreed to take turns staying with me for two weeks after the operation. I felt as if it was the first time I’d ever been helpless.

People have helped me in the past. So many times friends have come forward with gifts I didn’t expect or deserve.

This time the cards, the flowers, the food, the gifts and prayers were beyond my wildest dreams. I have yet to write the thank you notes.

For two weeks after the surgery there were four plastic drains coming from my chest to little plastic pouches. It hurt to look at them. Lymphatic  fluid and blood dripped from the drains into the containers.

While the drains were attached, I wore a special mastectomy garment designed by Peg Federoff of spririted-sisters.com.

I don’t know how people manage without the garment with the pockets on the inside.

I don’t know how people manage without the blankets of love.

It’s been more than two months since my surgery. I’m thinner than I used to be.

I’m also changing my way of life.

Conventional surgery was a success for me. But I realize now how many people around me have been touched by cancer.

I have my own medical oncologist now. He’s prescribed a drug – an estrogen blocker – that I will be taking for the next five years. I am very fortunate. There will be no chemotherapy or radiation – just this little white pill that I find comforting.

Still I know that there is a 1.5% chance my cancer will return.

I am doing what I can, eating organically, resting more, enjoying my family and friends, living each day to the fullest.

I try to find the blessing delivered by my cancer.  It certainly seemed like a wake-up call.

And now I can say I am truly awake, living in the moment.

 

 

 

 

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Mary Jo Riley - Sportswoman Extraordinaire

27. March 2011 by pat desmond.

Once a year, Archbishop Williams High School inducts athletes into its Hall of Fame.

Mary Jo Riley, Class of ‘64, was one of those honored in the ceremony March 26 at the Lantana.

Mary Jo, who lives in Milton, was the only woman in the list of eight honored this year.

Another member of the Class of ‘64 was also honored. Donald May, a track star and National Honor Society member, moved to Alaska after graduate school. He returned to Massachusetts for the awards dinner.

Several dozen members of the Class of ‘64 were on hand to cheer for their two classmates.

She was a pioneer in women’s sports in the days before the government mandated equal spending on sports for female athletes. She was on the first women’s basketball team at AWH. She was co-captain in ‘63 and ‘64.

“During the 1964  season, Mary Jo led the AWH women’s basketball team to an impressive 10-3 record, placing second in the Girls’ Class A Catholic League and receiving a slot in the Girls’ Canton Invitational Tourney.

“According to her teammates, Mary Jo was the ston the strength on the court who kept the team focused while enjoying the love of the game,” the program said.

True to form, she mentioned every member of the team she played with as she accepted the award. She was also on the sailing team at AWH and at Maryville College of the Sacred Heart she continued sailing, serving as captain of the sailing team.

She earned her master’s in public administration from Suffolk University in 1976.

She continues to be a role model of sportspersonship and integrity.

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So Many Issues …

24. March 2011 by pat desmond.

Our paper doesn’t rely on Saturday delivery but we serve readers beyond the town limits and Saturday delivery matters to many of those out-of-towners. Like many business, we also rely on the mail to deliver our cash flow.

Are we looking at better ideas? We’d have to be crazy not to …

Anyway, the latest news from the PRC, as relayed by NNA director Tonda Rush, is that if Saturday mail is eliminated, the Postal Service should permit newspapers to use the mailbox for Saturday delivery. The PRC’s opinion on 5-day mail delivery, takes a skeptical look at many of the Postal Service’s assumptions about the impact of the proposed change. While it does not firmly recommend for or against 5-day mail, the PRC advises the Postal Service and Congress that USPS has over-estimated how much money it would save, under-estimated how much business it would lose and failed to sufficiently analyze the impact on rural, remote and non-contiguous areas (like Alaska and Hawaii) if Saturday delivery is eliminated. 

National Newspaper Association President Elizabeth K. Parker, co-publisher of Recorder Community Newspapers, Inc., Stirling, N.J., said the Commission’s analysis would enlighten lawmakers.

“We have said all along that ending Saturday mail would hurt mail-dependent rural areas and slow down other mail service at a very critical time in our economy,” Parker said.

“Apart from the impact on our newspapers — which would be substantial —taking this route to fix the Postal Service’s financial woes sets the nation’s universal mail service on a course fraught with danger for all postal customers. The Commissioners agree with us that more analysis is needed, and we appreciate the time and attention it gave to this serious concern.”

NNA Postal Committee Chairman Max Heath, who presented critical testimony to the PRC on the impact upon community newspapers, said the Commission had taken notice that forcing newspapers out of the mail could hurt local readers and also create a backlash effect against USPS by costing it more business.

“If we can’t get Saturday mail delivery and have to create our own delivery forces to reach our readers, we wind up pulling our mail out of a system that needs our business. If that happens, we create a new competitive delivery force, and that isn’t good for USPS. It isn’t great for newspapers either, in a high fuel-cost environment and at a time when our investment needs to be in covering the news in ever-changing products, not in creating new delivery teams. I’m pleased that the Commission took notice of our viewpoint,” he said. “

The best thing about the Commission’s opinion is the attention it gave to the importance of local newspapers in informing local communities.”

Heath also said that the Commission noted that newspapers are presently permitted to use the mailbox on rural routes for Sunday delivery and that he had recommended if Congress does eliminate Saturday mail, that exception should be extended to Saturdays. The Commission accepted his recommendation.

The opinion is not the final word on 5-day mail. Congress currently requires 6-day and rural delivery at the 1983 level. But that requirement is up for renewal each year with postal appropriations legislation.  USPS has said it intends to continue to push for repeal of the law so it can gain permission to set delivery levels on its own.

The USPS campaign for 5-day mail, however, will now have to respond to the Commission’s reservations about potential financial gain to the Service if Saturdays are eliminated.  The Commission’s findings included:   
  A difference in the net annual savings in eliminating Saturdays. USPS claims $3.1 billion. The Commission says the savings would be $1.7 billion;

The full savings would not be achieved until the third year after implementation;

USPS would lose $.6 billion in net revenue; USPS says it would be $.2 billion;

About 25 percent of First-Class and Priority Mail would be delayed by two days;

The Postal Service did not evaluate the impact on customers who reside or conduct business in rural, remote or non-contiguous areas.

National Newspaper Association, based in Falls Church, VA, and Columbia, MO, is a 125-year old association representing community newspapers.  Most its 2,200 members use the mail for distribution to readers.

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Back to Work Doesn’t Mean Full Time

14. March 2011 by pat desmond.

Last week I visited the office several times.

I changed the message on my phone. I wrote a batch of checks.

None of the work I did was fun - all of it was necessary.

Actually the weekend was more stressful - but it was joyful. I have so many people around me who are helping me cope with my recovery.

It will be months before I manage to thank everyone who is helping me.

I haven’t even asked about the special projects that were underway before my operation.

But now I need to look at how we are doing in preparing the new APP for smartphones and Ipads. And I need to check in on whether the advertising for the next year’s Milton telephone book is arriving on schedule.

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