We recently held a very successful Graduation
ceremony for the Student Ambassadors at Don Fernando’s, with Congressman
Maloney and Assemblyman Skartados giving out Certificates of Merit to the children. And, as a special surprise, the Congressman
gave Coach Kennedy a Congressional Proclamation, thanking him for his decades
of service to the youth of the Newburgh school district and the Sport of
Rowing. As Coach was giving his
impromptu but very moving acceptance speech, I couldn’t help but think of the
things that are really important to Coach Kennedy. Those who have been around him long enough,
especially his rowers, know what is in his Top 5. Of course, his family, his rowers, and his
students come first. But a close second
is – Garbage.
“What is the
most important thing to me down here?”
Coach will ask the kids on any given night at the Boathouse. Newbies will shout out things like: “proper form!”, or “Medals” or “Winning’! But I will exchange a look with an old timer
like Coach Cunningham or longtime rower Cappy and we will have a silent laugh
together. Nope. Try again.
“Garbage!” Coach Kennedy will answer. You see, we don’t have a carting or
sanitation service at the Newburgh Rowing Club, nor does the City remove the
garbage, even though we are located at a City of Newburgh park. The Newburgh Rowing Club puts out all of its
own garbage cans, which are mostly used by rowers but also used by the general
public. The coaches, rowers, and parents
all go around with big black garbage bags and remove all the garbage. And guess where it goes? In the back of Coach Kennedy’s pickup truck,
so he can drive around with it and take it to the public dump early Saturday
mornings. Yes, he may have coached his
team to a State Championship, he may have brought back Gold from the Empire
State Games, and he may have received a Congressional Proclamation, but half
the time what’s on Coach Kennedy’s mind is the “Garbage Situation,” as he calls
it. This is why the sport of rowing is
so different from all other sports and the Newburgh Rowing Club is so different
from all other rowing clubs. We
completely and 100% maintain our Boathouse, our park, and our equipment
ourselves.
No one is
immune from Garbage Duties, including Mrs. Lo.
If you are down there for practice, and it’s garbage time, you better
have a big black trash bag and you better be picking up garbage. So it was one very hot summer day in 2012,
when I saw some of the kids picking up garbage after practice and I said, “Here
give me that, you go get the boats in,” and I took the garbage bag to empty the
metal cans. As I made my way further
from the docks, I couldn’t hear the kids yelling at me, “NOOOOOO, Mrs. Lo, don’t
empty that one, never empty that one, that’s where the fishermen put their
garbage!”
Of course, as I merrily went about my
way, I proceeded to get the garbage all over me. One thing I discovered: you really cannot smell your own stink.
When I came
over to watch the kids do their cheer, they all parted like the Red Sea,
holding their noses, saying, “What the heck is that horrible smell?” I looked around, I couldn’t place it. “I think it’s you, Mrs. Lo,” said one of the
rowers. “You stink.” And there it was. All day long, I was a well respected lawyer,
going to court, being all big timey and what not. I meet people who are oafraid to look me in
the eye, who are not able to pipe up and tell me what’s really on their
mind. But not the rowers. They will not hesitate to tell you how it
is. I was a stinker.
“Mrs. Lo,
did you touch the Untouchable Garbage that only I am supposed to touch,” said
Coach Kennedy. I guess I did.
The kids in
the Crew Mom mobile were all too polite to say anything but they all put their
windows down on the way home. “Hey,
guys, want to stop for ice cream on the way home?” As if on cue, they all said,
“Nooooo, gotta get home, Mrs. Lo.” They
claimed they couldn’t wait to get home and start their homework. It was a Friday.
But if I
ever want to know the real deal, all I have to do is ask my son, Michael, now
age 10.
“Mommy, You
Stink!” Michael said, after running to greet me at the door and then stopping
about 3 feet away. “What did you do?”
“She emptied
the Untouchable Garbage,” said Christian, chuckling. Apparently, there were fish guts that had
been there for a week, in the summer sun, among other things. The bag had broken so the garbage got all
over me, including my hair. No amount of
showering could remove the smell.
My husband fell asleep with a
surgical mask over his face. Christian
used rubber gloves to throw my clothes in the laundry, and even when they come
out he suggested we burn them. And
Michael lived with a Febreeze spray can next to him. He sprayed the air every time I walked by. And reminded me that I still stunk.
People talk about having humbling
experiences. Try walking around Newburgh
smelling like garbage. On the one hand, I
had the whole line to myself at Price Chopper.
On the other hand, the kind-hearted checkout person asked me if I needed
a place to sleep. Yes, I smelled like a
homeless person.
Eventually, the smell went away but I
have always had a special understanding of Coach Kennedy’s obsession with the
garbage. They say (the Powers That Be)
that if they have to move our Boathouse for the Port of Newburgh, we will get a
bigger, better Boathouse. Actually, we
will get two. I have no idea who’s
paying for all of this, our Boathouse is worth a Million Dollars, if it had to
be recreated. When I went to the
planning meeting, I was acting as Big Coach’s Emissary, since he couldn’t be
there. They asked if the NRC had any
other conditions. I didn’t have to make
a phone call, I already knew what it would be.
“The Garbage,” I said. “What about it?” the Powers That Be, asked. “Someone is going to have to pay to have the
garbage removed, Coach Kennedy has been the garbage man for 10 years now.”
When I reported back to Big Coach, he
was duly impressed. “I guess you really
do know how I think, Mrs. Lo.” I
certainly do. I learned the hard way.
Have a great day everyone and as
always remember to Count Your Blessings!
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