The Grammar Sheriffs Are Coming!

If you think you have a keen eye for grammar, well fuhgetaboutit. Two men, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson from Somerville, MA, and both Dartmouth ’02s (yay!), will out “find a typo” you any day, any time, anywhere. Literally. Jeff and Ben seek to do for America's public signage what spell-check software has done for interoffice e-mail: smarten it up and make it easier on the eye. Their weapons: Wite-Out, markers, ink pens, tape and nerves of steel. See “On the road looking for typos: Grammar-conscious pals set signs straight” (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/29/on_the_road_looking_for_typos/). How are they doing this? By schlepping in a ’97 Nissan Sentra across the country of course. Jane Connolly, Jeff’s girlfriend, is managing the team’s Web site (jeffdeck.com/teal), which traces their path and where Jeff and Ben are blogging (http://www.jeffdeck.com/teal/blog/). TEAL stands for typo eradication advancement league.
According to the article, the idea came to Jeff while he was in the shower. At that moment, he said, he thought about how irritated he'd become at the profusion of grammatically challenged signs. Here a "they're," there a "their," everywhere a "there" but where it ought to be.

My point…Although I might not go to this length to reform the world of its grammatical flaws, I have been known to offer solicited and unsolicited corrections to just about anything that crosses my desk, home and work. I have toned it down a bit, but I feel people should not live in the dark about proper spelling and grammar. Jeff and Ben, you go guys! Maybe we have the next “Strunk & White” in the making.

Friends

I was thinking about how we have different categories of friends. At any time, one friend may become more important in our lives. And that can change at any time and for any length of time. We have friends at work with whom we communicate, gossip, and maybe socialize. I love my colleagues at Schwartz Communications (http://www.schwartz-pr.com/).






After 12 years here, I have met many fascinating, smart and interesting people. I have made a lot of friends. I don’t socialize much outside of Schwartz with my “work friends,” although I do not discourage that in the least. Then there are neighbor friends. We have lived in Ashland for nine years and are fortunate to have a number of friendly neighbors. The people who live across the street have two boys, so that works for my son. But we don’t go out with them. Our next door neighbors are also wonderful people. Ari plays with their son, but we don’t seem to socialize with them outside of neighborhood events, such as sledding or standing at the busstop. Then, we have friends through our children. But for the most part, the parents speak during drop-off. Sometimes we stay and talk.

We have a number of friends through our synagogue, Temple Israel of Natick.




One could say that everyone at the Temple is our friend, but we do not get together socially with all of them. Another category is our long-time friends – those whom we have known since childhood, through school, as a couple. Many of these friends aren’t on the primary radar anymore for such reasons as location and schedules, and the fact that other friends are more prominent in our lives now. But we stay in touch through holiday cards, email, phone and letters (yes, the thing you use with a stamp and put in the mailbox) when we can. I might also mention those friends who aren’t friends anymore. They simply dropped from your radar. Is there anyone in that category with whom you’d like to connect?

So, what is the point? Friends are important. The saying goes: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.” Not sure about the silver and gold, but I like the beginning. It is hard to stay in touch with all of your friends all of the time.

But isn’t it great to hear from someone out of the blue? Why don’t you call a friend you haven’t seen or heard from in a while. He/she might move to a new category.

Ch-ch-ch-anges

When you’re a kid, you want so badly to grow up. Every birthday is so special. You even count the half birthdays. When I tell someone my son’s age, I must put the quarter year in to be precise. That much closer to 6… 7. My daughter, Abby, couldn’t wait until she turned 10, as we had made a deal that at the age of 10, she could get her ears pierced. I am also amazed when the kids start to read. That opens a whole new world. First, they can learn more. However, it also means that Brad and I cannot spell words when we don’t want the kids to understand. I have heard some parents speak another language – even Pig Latin – for that very reason. Or we simply cannot talk about surprises in front of them anymore. But I digress.

In the 12 + years I have been married, and the 10 years I have been a mother, I too have changed – in good ways of course. Brad has changed, also for the better. Everyone in the family is a moving target, and with that we all need to learn how to adapt to each other’s growth and development. Some changes happen slowly enough, that we adapt automatically. Or perhaps my cycle of life matures at the same time as the kids’ cycles. Other changes might happen more quickly, and we need to quickly adjust our cycle to keep up.

One example that comes to mind is Abby. She has clearly stated that she is a pre-teen. We know she is getting smarter and more self-sufficient. That’s superficial stuff. Sure, she can be moody. That gets more into psychology. But the biggest change, and perhaps one of the most exciting, is her need to learn about herself as a girl turning into a woman. She asks us questions. We read books together. We talk. She shares her feelings with me and Brad. It makes us happy that she feels she can trust us as her parents and as people with the answers. So instead of perhaps dreading the changes, we celebrate them. And, by the way, Brad and I are changing with her.

My point? As a child grows, she can also grow out of… toys, books, phases. But G-d willing, she will never grow out of us.

It's Spring! Celebrate!

Every year, despite the weather, the calendar turns to March 20. But I don’t have to look at a calendar. I can tell it’s spring in a few other ways. The first is that my kids’ clothes get too small. My son will happily wear pants until they come up to his knees. My daughter is a different story. The minute an article of clothing feels the slightest bit tight, it goes to the pile for Big Brother Big Sister (http://www.bbbsa.org/) or a friend’s little girl. Sometimes I do have to nudge her along to get rid of some favorite shirts that come up to her belly. The next thing that comes out of her mouth is, “We gotta go shopping.” That’s ok by me if it means they are growing and healthy. In fact, they each went up a shoe size and a clothing size since the beginning of the school year. Hoorah!

The other event that happens at the beginning of spring is baseball spring training. We are Red Sox fans (http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos). My kids love David Ortiz, or as we fondly call him in Beantown, Big Pappie. It is hard to believe we are back into the baseball swing, so to speak. We are all healed from the end of the Patriot’s season and are fortunately still involved with the new and improved Celtics. The Bruins. Well, I don’t know about hockey so much.

And another big event that happens in the spring is gardening. I heard the most interesting and wonderful story on NPR. Go to www.npr.org/talkingplants and then down to the March 22 story titled, “Tips from an Amazon Gardener.” (See photo at left).

It is about the knowledge and practice of raising plants by a woman named Dona Raimunda, who lives in the Amazon. Some might call her eccentric. I call her fascinating. Take a few moments and learn some interesting facts about raising plants. In my experience of growing a veggie garden, I have found that less is more. Don’t crowd plants. Manure is cool.

No point, but I wish you a Happy Spring!

Long live Mister Rogers

I realize I already blogged today, but I couldn’t help sending this as well…

If you were fortunate enough to enjoy the Mister Rogers era as I did, you might take a moment to remember that wonderful man. Today would be his 80th birthday. He would walk down the little steps while singing “Won’t you be my neighbor?” He would remove his jacket and put on the cardigan, remove his shoes and put on sneakers, and get comfy in his home. He fed his fish. He accepted his mail from “Speedy Delivery,” he cooked with the chef that always said, “shh, shh.” He welcomed the trolley that would take us all to the Neighborhood of Make Believe, where there were puppets: King Friday XIII, Queen Sara Saturday and Prince Tuesday, X the Owl, Daniel Tiger Henrietta Pussycat, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, as well as real people who interacted with the puppets. It was relaxing and simple, which I argue was a good thing. It was a time to just feel good about oneself and learn about sharing, patience, cooperation, persistence, self-control. Now, of course, children can go online to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on http://pbskids.org/rogers/ to play games and hear songs. It’s not the same. There is also a section for parents and teachers to serve as ambassadors to his wonderful philosophies and messages. It’s not the same, although a good second place.

My point? Mister Rogers, you were one in a million. Thank you for being you. You are special. Happy birthday.

Have a good day, but bad days have their place

Sports can teach you lessons for other aspects of your life. They can teach you how to win and lose graciously. They can teach you how to think quickly. Studies have shown the split second decisions a tennis player must make when the ball zooms toward her. Should I go down the line, crosscourt, lob, run to the net, hit a drop shot… the options are numerous. But those options are nothing without the actions of your opponent. The funny thing is a good tennis player doesn’t think much during each point. She has already thought about scenarios prior to the match – during the hours and hours of practice – or prior to an actual point. Then, she develops a kind of mind and body muscle memory that will take her through a point. If you are winning, stick with the strategy. If you are losing, time to go with plan B, a plan which you had already worked out by the way. A tennis player, like any athlete, has good days and bad days. Some days, every ball you hit is a winner. On other days, you might as well have stayed home. Accepting the good and the bad is part of the game of sport and part of the game of life. You practice. You study. You put your hours in. Some days you have a golden touch with a pitch or blast out a press release with ease. On others, you couldn’t sell ice to an Eskimo; the technology is mumbo jumbo. The trick is to listen to yourself. Sure, get frustrated. Don’t discount your feelings. But then settle down and figure out plan B. And if you'd like more information about playing tennis, let me know or go to http://www.usta.com/home/default.sps.

My point? Bad days can help you appreciate the good days. And I hope you have a good day.

Making a Life Better

I recently learned that two of my friends, Amy and Marilyn, helped make a life better in a big way. For eight weeks, Amy and her family hosted a 16 year-old girl and her mother from the Dominican Republic, while the girl was having heart surgery at Children’s Hospital. This was a huge undertaking on many levels. First, Amy and her family didn’t speak one word of Spanish, and their guests didn’t speak one word of English. But, as Amy said, “we communicated through hugs, laughter and the help of a Spanish-English dictionary.” Additionally, nearly every day, Amy drove from Natick to Boston to be with the patient and her mother. She did their laundry, made sure they were properly fed and added the support they needed in this world so foreign to them. Scene to Framingham High School, where Marilyn, a Spanish teacher, found a tremendous opportunity to teach her class the power of charity and giving, while they practiced their language skills. Marilyn’s classes wrote letters and cards to the girl, describing life as a teen in the U.S. and offering support during this difficult time. The students even raised $120 dollars to buy the girl and her mother a Target gift card, as these people came in January with very few belongings. I could certainly go on and on about the value of helping others. My family and I do a good deal of volunteering at our synagogue and town. This story truly illustrates the intensity and energy of giving, not only for the recipient, but also for the donor. There are endless ways to volunteer your time to help those less fortunate. From Big Brother Big Sister to local charities or fund raisers in your city, you can offer as little or as much time as you are able. For example, I recently learned that the National Down Syndrome Congress will hold its annual convention this year at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston from July 11 – 13. The Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress has been tasked with finding 300 volunteers. There are a number of opportunities. If you are interested, you can zip a note to msdc@mdsc.org or call 800-644-mdsc. Another great organization is Relay for Life by the American Cancer Society(http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/).

My point? Whatever you do, I promise the rewards come back to you many times over. And enjoy.

Welcome

Hello. My name is Davida Dinerman. And this is the first entry for my first blog. Many blogs wax eloquent, or not so eloquent, about news of the day, politics, celebrities, technology, health… you name it. There’s a blog for it. Some are meant to post their own news and are truly informative. So, what’s the difference between a blog and an ordinary article you might read in, say, a newspaper or magazine (yes, those archaic things still do exist)? Not much really, except timing to the market. It allows someone to let his/her thoughts out ... well, quickly. Our lives have reached an insanely fast speed. Mine is no better. With a full-time job, a husband (and a fabulous one at that), two young and active children (also fabulous), more family, numerous volunteer activities at the kids’ schools, our synagogue, my college alumni class, tennis team... you get the picture, even the thought of writing a blog seemed like an enormous undertaking that would make the rest of my to-do list crumble from the weight. On the other hand, as I write this, I am actually feeling relaxed. Maybe it’s cathartic. Maybe it’s because it’s a Saturday, and my family is occupied at the moment and not asking me to do something or be somewhere, or a client isn’t calling me to draft a press release or write a PR plan. Maybe a blog will let me write my thoughts unconditionally. Call it a public diary. I will not relate every little thing I do or say. But you will likely find a funny story, a suggestion, a tidbit of information and/or a thought for the day. Could writing a blog actually be good for me? Would you benefit from reading it? All of that remains to be seen. But I might end this entry with one thought…. Oops. Gotta go. My son needs help with his GameCube. You'll have to wait until the next one for a real point.