“IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, DEAR!”  - this is what my mother exclaimed, when I picked up the phone recently.  “Your father’s hearing has been restored!”  My father’s hearing, or lack thereof, has always been at the forefront of our lives.  He has always had diminished hearing because of his time in the U.S. Navy, during the Vietnam War, from “shooting the cannons.”  When I saw quite young, I somehow got the Navy and the Circus mixed up.  This is because in the cartoons, people were always getting shot out of a circus cannon and I somehow came to  believe that this is what had caused my father to be partially deaf in one ear.

My father has always been hard of hearing in his right ear.  My mother became hard of hearing, sometime in my twenties, in her left ear.  This I discovered when I was home for the holidays one year.  I was upstate from my lawyer job in NYC.  I sat in what has came to be known as the “No Man’s Land,” that is, right in between my parents’ respective hearing-challenged ears.  I chattered on for about 20 minutes about how I had just won my jury trial, all the investigation I had done, how the family had come up and hugged me and put me on their shoulders until the court officers made them put me down, what a triumphant moment it had been.  That’s when my father turned to me and said, “Did you say something?”  Right at the same moment. my mother said, “Isn’t the River pretty today?”  I was momentarily stunned into silence.  “So neither one of you heard my story?” I said.

“What story?”  they both said at the same time.  And that is another winsome trait of my parents.  They often will talk to you at the exact same time.  They are not trying to talk over each other, they just don’t hear the other person.  And so I began the process of regularly checking during storytelling to see if they could hear me.  Making consistent eye contact became something else I mentally added to my Art of Storytelling toolbox.  Because if you think I enjoy telling a story in blog format, you have no idea how much I enjoy telling a story to a live audience.  It’s an occupational hazard, I guess.

But recently my father’s hearing had been getting much worse, and I thought maybe this is it, he’s finally going deaf.   I begged him to go see an ENT but he refused.  Because he felt deafness was his fate.

So I will have to tell the story of the U.S.S. Thresher, a nuclear powered Naval attack submarine.  My father and several other sailors who had joined the US Navy in the Philippines, signed up to serve on submarine duty.  There was extra pay involved, and this is what attracted my dad.  Lolo was turned down, because you needed perfect hearing and, thanks to the cannons, he no longer had perfect hearing.  His buddies did make it and they all went on to serve on the USS Thresher.  In May of 1963, the USS Thresher imploded at sea, taking the lives of all 129 men on board, most of them sailors.   How is it, that one small thing like failing a hearing test means that Lolo was able to go on and live his life, to marry and have two children, one of whom is writing this Blog?  It’s yet another chapter in the book that was my childhood, which would be titled something like, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and If You Had gone through What We Went Through, It’s All Small Stuff.

My father has always felt that, since he would otherwise have been on board the USS Thresher, his “bad hearing” saved his life.  And therefore, he has never wanted a hearing aid or to improve his hearing, somehow the whole hard of hearing thing has been a blessing for him.  And so going to see an ENT was out of the question.

     But, as we all know, the tag-teaming of a nagging wife and a nagging adult daughter is a force to be reckoned with.  And therefore, my father gave in and went to see an ENT recently.  Who cleaned Lolo's ears out and, lo and behold, he has been restored to the same hearing he has always had.   Hence, the phone call from my Mom.

“So the Christmas miracle is that the ENT took the wax out of dad’s ears?” I queried.

“No, dear,” said my mom, “the Christmas miracle is that your father listened to me, and to you, and wanted to get better.  So he could hear Michael sing at the Christmas concert.”

Lolo has never forgotten the men of the USS Thresher, and neither have I.  There is a link at the end of the Blog for more information, as well as a listing of the names of the men on board who made the ultimate sacrifice.

And so I have given you one more reason to Count Your Blessings.  DO have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Joyous Kwanzaa, everyone.  DO remember to Count your Blessings; appreciate each other and our loved ones in all their flawed glory.  Don’t worry about burning the turkey or getting all the right presents, just be thankful the Good Lord has seen fit to give you another Christmas -- and remember the reason for the season <3 Mrs. Lo.  For more of the Mrs. Lo Blog, visit www.LoBiondo.org.  For more info on the USS Thresher, go to:  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/k19/disasters_detail2.html

Photo:  Lolo, Lola, and Family, Christmas 2013

Note:  Last year, 2013, was the 50th Anniversary of the loss of the USS Thresher.  Take a moment to look at the names of those who lost their lives, and say a prayer for them:
Personnel Who Perished in the Loss of Thresher on 10 April 1963
Ship's Company
Arsenault, Tilmon J., ENCA (SS)-P2, USN.
Babcock, Ronald C., LTJG, USN.
Bain, Ronald E., EN2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Bell, John E., MMI-P2, USN.
Bobbitt, Edgar S., EM2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Boster, Gerald C., EM3 (SS)-P1, USN.
Bracey, George (n), 5D3 (SS), USN.
Brann, Richard P., EN2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Carkoski, Richard 3., EN2 (SS), USN.
Carmody, Patrick W., 5K2, USN.
Cayey, Steven G., TM2 (SS), USN.
Christiansen, Edward (n), SN (SS), USN.
Claussen, Larry W., EM2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Clements, Thomas E., ETR3 (SS), USN.
Collier, Merrill F., LT, USN.
Cummings, Francis M., SOS2 (SS), USN.
Dabruzzi, Samuel J., ETN2 (SS), USN.
Davison, Clyde E., III, ETR3-P1, USN.
Day, Donald C., EN3 (SS), USN.
Denny, Roy O., Jr., EM1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Di Nola, Michael 3., LCDR, USN.
DiBella, Peter J., SN, USN.
Dundas, Don R., ETN2 (SS), USN.
Dyer, Troy E., ET1 (SS)-P1, USN.
Forni, Ellwood H., SOCA (SS)-P1, USN.
Foti, Raymond P., ET1 (SS), USN.
Freeman, Larry W., FTM2 (SS), USN.
Fusco, Gregory J., EM2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Gallant, Andrew J., Jr., HMC (SS), USN.
Garcia, Napoleon T., SD1 (SS), USN.
Garner, John E., YNSN (SS), USN.
Garner, Pat M., LCDR, USN.
Gaynor, Robert W., EN2 (SS), USN.
Gosnell, Robert H., SA (SS), USNR.
Grafton, John G., LTJG, USN.
Graham, William E., SOC (SS)-Pl, USN.
Gunter, Aaron J., QM1 (SS), USN.
Hall, Richard C., ETR2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Harvey, John W., LCDR, USN. (Commanding Officer of Thresher)
Hayes, Norman T., EM1-P1, USN.
Heiser, Laird G., MM1-P2, USN.
Helsius, Marvin T., MM2, USN.
Henry, James J., Jr., LTJG, USN.
Hewitt, Leonard H., EMCA (SS), USN.
Hoague Joseph H., TM2 (SS), USN.
Hodge, James P., EM2, USN.
Hudson. John F., EN2 (SS), USN.
Inglis, John P., FN, USNR.
Johnson Edward A., ENCA (SS), USN.
Johnson, Richard L., RMSA, USN.
Johnson, Robert E., TMC (SS)-P1, USN.
Johnson, Thomas B., ET1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Johnson. Brawner G., FTG1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Jones, Richard W., EM2 (SS), USN.
Kaluza, Edmund J., Jr., SOS2 (SS)-P1, USN.
Kantz, Thomas C., ETR2 (SS), USN.
Kearney, Robert D., MM3, USN.
Keiler, Ronald D., IC2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Kiesecker, George J., MM2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Klier, Billy M., EN1 (SS) P2, USN.
Kroner, George R., CS3, USN.
Lanouette, Norman G., QM1 (SS), USN.
Lavoie, Wayne W., YN1 (SS), USN.
Lyman, John S., Jr., LCDR, USN.
Mabry, Templeman N., Jr., EN2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Malinski, Frank J., LTJG, USN.
Mann, Richard H., Jr., IC2 (SS), USN.
Marullo, Julius F., Jr., QM1 (SS), USN.
McClelland, Douglas R., EM2 (SS), USN.
McCord, Donald J., MM1 (SS)-P2 USN.
McDonough, Karl P., TM3 (SS), USN.
Middleton, Sidney L., MM1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Muise, Ronald A., CS2, USN.
Musselwliite, James A., ETN2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Nault, Donald E., CS1 (SS), USN.
Noonis, Walter J., RMC (SS), USN.
Norris, John D., ET1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Oetting. Chesley C., EM2-P2, USN.
Parsons, Guy C., Jr., LTJG, USN.
Pennington, Roscoe C., EMCA (SS)-P2, USN.
Peters, James G., EMCS-P2. USN.
Phillippi. James F., SOS2 (SS), USN.
Philput. Dan A., EN2 (SS)-P2, USN.
Podwell, Richard (n), MM2-P2, USN.
Regan, John S., MM1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Ritchie, James P., RM2, USN.
Robison, Pervis (n), Jr., SN, USN.
Rountree, Glenn A., QM2 (SS), USN.
Rushetski, Anthony A., ETN2, USN.
Schiewe, James M., EM1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Shafer, Benjamin N., EMCM (SS)-P2, USN.
Shafer, John D., EMCS (SS)-P2, USN.
Shimko, Joseph T., MM1-P2, USN.
Shotwell, Burnett M., ETRSN, USN.
Sinnett. Alan D., FTG2 (SS),USN.
Smarz, John (n), Jr., LT, USN.
Smith, William H., Jr., BT1-P2, USN.
Snider, James L., MM1, USN.
Solomon, Ronald H., EM1-P2, USN.
Steinel, Robert E., SO1 (SS)-P1, USN.
Van Pelt, Rodger E., IC1 (SS)-P2, USN.
Walski, Joseph A., RMl (55)-P1, USN.
Wasel, David A., RMSN, USN.
Wiggins, Charles L., FTG1-P2, USN.
Wiley, John J., LTJG, USN.
Wise, Donald E., MMCA (SS)-P2, USN.
Wolfe, Ronald E., QMSN (SS),USN.
Zweifel, Jay H., EM2-P1, USN.
Personnel Other Than Ship's Company
Abrams, Fred P., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Allen, Philip H., LCDR, USN, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Beal, Daniel W., Jr., Civilian Employee, Combat Systems Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Biederman, Robert D., LT, USN, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Billings, John H., LCDR, USN, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Charron, Robert E., Civilian Employee, Design Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Corcoran, Kenneth R., Contractor's Representative, Sperry Corp.
Critchley, Kenneth J., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Currier, Paul C., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Des Jardins, Richard R., Civilian Employee, Combat Systems Division, Portsmouth Naval
Dineen, George J., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Fisher, Richard K., Civilian Employee, Design Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Guerette, Paul A., Civilian Employee, Design Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Jaquay, Maurice F., Contractor's Representative, Raytheon Corp.
Keuster, Donald W.,  Naval Ordnance Laboratory
Krag, Robert L., LCDR, USN, Staff, Deputy Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Moreau, Henry C., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Palmer, Franklin J., Civilian Employee, Production Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Prescott, Robert D., Civilian Employee, Design Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Shipyard.
Stadtmuller, Donald T., Contractor's Representative, Sperry Corp.
Whitten, Laurence E., Civilian Employee, Combat Systems Division, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

OPEN LETTER TO #NEWBURGH #CITYCOUNCIL and #NECSD SCHOOL DISTRICT FROM MRS. Lo

On the subject of funding Body Cameras for the Police.  There is something that kills more minority kids than lack of body cameras for police, that the City of Newburgh needs to pay attention to.  It is so serious that the Centers for Disease Control has declared it an EPIDEMIC.  You know, like Tuberculosis.  Volunteers try year after year to GIVE a cure to the City of Newburgh.  And the City of Newburgh ends up shutting down this cure every year for lack of funding.  I'm talking about Drowning.  70% of African American children cannot swim.  60% of Latino children cannot swim.  40% of Caucasian children cannot swim.  10 people drown each day in the U.S.  Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of childhood unintentional death for kids under the age of 14. By Age 12, minority kids are up to 80% more likely to drown than their non-minority counterparts. Coach Kennedy and Mrs. Lo, and the volunteers of America Rows and Swims Newburgh (and our predecessor, the Student Ambassador program of the Newburgh Rowing Club), have given FREE Water Confidence and Learn to Swim Clinics at the City of Newburgh Pool every Summer for the past 3 years.  (Or have tried to, last Summer, the new Recreation Director gave Coach Kennedy such ##$$ for trying to return the program to the Pool.  Fortunately, Coach and I are very persistent and the Mayor and key City Council people rallied behind it to make it happen again).  Every year, we teach over 100 City of Newburgh kids to swim, for free, with a budget of $0.  It's all volunteer work.  And we bring our own battered supplies (flippers, kickboards, PFD's) and helpers.  And what happens?  The program gets shut down every year at the beginning of AUGUST because the City of Newburgh runs out of money to keep the City Pool open. America Rows and Swims Newburgh just became a local partner in the USA Swimming Foundation's Make a Splash Initiative, which is a huge accomplishment and puts us into a national network, run by the national governing body of the sport of swimming in America.  Make a Splash is committed to making sure that every child in America knows how to swim and formal swim lessons are the key.  Hey, Newburgh, want to Save Lives?  Find the funding to keep the City of Newburgh Pool open past August 1st.  We will continue to teach kids to swim for free but we can't do it without a pool.  Currently we teach weekly free lessons at the Union Avenue Y, where we pay reduced rent but we do pay rent.  It would be great to use a pool actually located in the City of Newburgh, and we have a formal request out to use the NFA Pool and the City of Newburgh Pool.  The Newburgh School District should also provide free swim lessons.  This is something Coaches Stepakoff and Kennedy have been advocating for, for years.  Coach Kennedy used to run an aquatic program at the NFA Pool where they taught free swim lessons to everyone, but that program was shut down.  Both Coach Kennedy and Coach Stepakoff, former swim coaches, and certified WSI's (Water Safety Instructors) have volunteered to teach free swimming lessons at the NFA Pool.  In the meantime, we will keep fundraising and I will keep writing grants to do by volunteer work what the City should really be doing on its own.  If the City isn't going to provide free swim lessons, the least they can do is make finding funding to keep the City Pool open a priority so volunteers from America Rows and Swims Newburgh can come in and teach swimming, to try and prevent needless deaths. Juliana LoBiondo ("Mrs. Lo"), Director, America Rows and Swims Newburgh JULIANA LoBIONDO LoBiondo Law Offices 275 North Street Newburgh, NY  12550 Tel. (845) 569-7600 Fax (845) 569-7601 www.lobiondolaw.com - Have you read the latest Mrs. Lo Blog?  www.LoBiondo.org - Are you following our Community Investments and Volunteer efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+?  Get all the links at www.LoBiondoLaw.com - Check out our popular Community Facebook page, at www.Facebook.com/LoBiondoLaw - Have you seen Mrs. Lo in the Community News this week?  Visit the News Homepage of either www.LoBiondolaw.com orwww.LoBiondo.org

MRS. LO'S REVIEW OF 2 ALICES COFFEE LOUNGE IN NEWBURGH

This is the Newburgh location, in the Safe Harbors space at 117 Broadway. This is a review with a touch of humour, of course. 

Michael and I stopped in last night after we went to my Tailor who is at the Safe Harbors space at 115 Broadway. I ordered tea, soup, and biscotti, which were all delicious. I treated Joyce, my tailor, to coffee and biscotti; she said the French roast was delicious. Michael. my 10-year-old ordered the special Zebra hot cocoa, which is a mix of chocolate and white cocoa. I was looking forward to taking photos of the food and the cafe and posting a little review for your guys. I noticed the barrista girl getting a paper cup, which would not look good on facebook. "What's the paper cup for?" I aksed. "Oh, we don't trust children to have hot cocoa in our breakable ceramic cups. They could drop them and hurt themselves." (And then we would get sued was the subtext). We got into a discussion about child fine motor development, when dexterity develops, and whether this is a "policy" or something she came up with. The hot cocoa wasn't cheap and part of the deal was getting it in the beautiful ceramic cup with the design on top. I explained that Michael had great dexterity. He can play trumpet, he could spear a pea with a fork when he was 10 months old. That he is on the rowing team and can carry his own kayak. That he is 10 but he can balance a single crew shell, which most people cannot do. By now, I had gathered quite an audience of interested parties and it was no longer about the Zebra Hot cocoa, it was about the rights of 10-year-olds everywhere to get their hot cocoa in a ceramic cup. "What's a crew shell?" said one audience member, I mean, patron, who was listening intently. I have a ton of photos in a brag book but the most handily available was my key chain, which is a photo of Michael and me (YES, that is proper grammar, look it up!) in a crew shell. He is at stroke. "Wow, you clean up nice," said the patron. "Don't look at me," I said. "My point is my son can balance a 250-lb. crew shell, I think he can carry hot cocoa across the room." At which point, the barrista gave up. She gave him the ceramic cup and I put a big tip in the jar. Michael then proceeded to carry the completely full giant zebra hot cocoa across the room without spilling an drop. Whereupon, a few people clapped and he said to me, and I quote, "Mommy, can we ever just go somewhere and not turn it into a civil rights demonstration?" Back to the Review: steep prices for the City of Newburgh but worth it in MHO, great coffee, great tea, great baked goods, delicious soup. Edgy, industrial, early-Soho, Noho kind of atmosphere, which I loved. They will need to invest some time training their staff. Two suggestions to the owners: lose the 90's rock music and put on Jazz; and Dutchess Community College offers courses in Employee Development, Customer Relations and National Worker Readiness: Being the Best of the Best, which I would HIGHLY recommend for your employees. Other than that, Welcome to Newburgh!  Mrs. Lo

“THE CHRISTMAS DOG” - By SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER Orion

Hey, party people, it’s Me again, Orion, the only 4-legged member of the LoBiondo Family!  I am so psyched about Christmas, who’s with me??!!  Well, I’m half lab so I’m pretty much in a constant state of excitement but that’s because Life is a big bowl of tennis balls just waiting to get thrown!  So we have a lot of great traditions here at LoBiondoFork, most of which I am pretty much an integral part of.

            First, it becomes extra important that I clear the perimeter of our home on a DAILY basis.  I have made peace with Bob, the Mailman.  But what it up with these Brown trucks coming to the house every other day??!!  I don’t know these people in brown uniforms carrying packages.   They don’t give me treats like Bob does.  I’m pretty sure they are in cahoots with my mortal enemies, the squirrels.  So yeah, of course I am going to bark my head off at these package carriers, they need to know who’s in charge on this Street (Me, I am in charge not those rodents stuffing acorns in their cheeks)!

            Another important tradition is helping my family cut down the perfect Christmas tree, which will be happening tomorrow.  We go out to a special Christmas tree farm and Dad lets me off the leash so I can pick the perfect tree.  Of course, the place is crawling with Enemy Squirrels so it’s a bit hard to focus.  But once I chase off all the squirrels, we get to sawing.  OK, I don’t actually use the saw, I don’t have opposable thumbs – but my Dad and Brother do.   I stand there and give them REALLY supportive looks and bark for encouragement.  Then I will pee on a nearby tree to show manly solidarity.  It really helps them, there is no way this whole tree thing could go down without me.

            Another important tradition is standing in the middle of the kitchen while my mom is making the turkey.  It’s important that I stand right in the middle so she doesn’t forget about me.  And when she’s getting that delicious turkey out, that smells sooooo good, I never take my eyes off of it.  It takes hours of patience but finally I will get rewarded with a nice turkey bone.  Sure, it would be great to chew on it but that would just be wrong,  I immediately take that sucker outside and bury it in the garden.  So I can dig it up the next week and bring it inside all nice and fresh from the dirt.  Mom loves it when I bring the dirty turkey bone in, the way she shouts my name is like music to my ears, “Orion please tell me you didn’t drag that filthy bone across my Oriental rug, nooooooooo!”

            Mostly, I love to curl up on my giant dog bed while my Dad plays Christmas carols on the piano and my mom and Little Bro Michael sing along.  Little Bro has a beautiful singing voice, he was the STAR of his Christmas pageant!  Sure, Mom says he was in the chorus and the En-Som-Bull, whatever that means, but I’m sure he was large and in charge.  My Big Bro, Christian, is too cool to sing along anymore, but he’s not too cool to snuggle up with me in the dog bed (Shhhhh don’t tell anyone!)

            Sure, Mom gets a little cuckoo at Christmas time with all of her work and volunteer work and holiday stuff.  But every night we snuggle up together on the couch and watch Christmas stuff.  (College Football is considered Christmas stuff, right?)  Snuggling with my family is always the best.  But Christmas snuggling, that’s just the Super Best!

            Happy Holidays, Everyone!  And Mom says to remember to Count Your Blessings!  Signing off, Orion LoBiondo

            www.LoBiondo.org // www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com

Live from Jacksonville: Mrs. Lo's Blog from the USRowing Convention!

On Friday, I attended the America Rows Forum at the USRowing convention in Jacksonville, Florida. All I can say is: wow!  It was truly a life-changing experience. Here are the top 10 Takeaways that I learned at this national convention (and some on the way to the convention):

10.  When the flight attendant comes on the loudspeaker and says: "do we have a physician, nurse, or EMT on board?", you can take your original flight time and multiply it by four.  Due to an unscheduled landing in Charlotte, North Carolina for a medical emergency, our three hour flight turned into a 12 hour trip, involving three separate planes.  I could've gotten there faster by covered wagon. We did however make a lot of friends on the plane, but that's another blog for another day.  

9.  Electric cars are awesome! Our rental car was a Prius and we got 55 miles to the gallon.  Of course I could never fit all of my Student ambassadors in there, but it's a great car for everyone else.

8.  Jacksonville, Florida is an absolutely beautiful city and if you ever go there, stay at the Hyatt Regency. After they heard about our crazy flight, they upgraded us to a premium River view room (which I was only in for about an hour of waking time but it was still beautiful)

7. Rowing is the most awesome sport in the world! I met so many wonderful program directors, coaches, athletes and speakers, it will take a long time to process all of the wonderful things that happened in Jacksonville.

6.  The sport of adaptive rowing is one of the most amazing things I have ever learned about. Through some incredible grit, determination and talent, the sport of rowing has been opened to a whole new world of athletes -- some have lost a limb or part of a limb; I even met a blind rower.  These are some of the most inspiring sports stories you will ever hear.  Talk about overcoming adversity!

5.  I really enjoy public speaking, in general, and I absolutely love talking about my student ambassadors. In fact, once I get going it's almost impossible to shut me up!

4.  Always carry business cards. If you're very involved with a charity, make up business cards for your volunteer job. Despite all the advances in the Internet and social media, the exchange of paper business cards is still the number one way to connect with people.

3.  It is okay to recognize that someone else is different from you. It is okay to talk about race to someone, if you are coming from a good place.The most important thing is to open up the discussion; if you make a mistake just apologize and start over (The credit for that one goes to Rhonda Marable from USA swimming).

2.  I am not alone. That was a great discovery. Just when I thought I was the only person in America trying to carry-on a student ambassador program, and open the doors of rowing to a culturally diverse part of our population, I realized I was one of many. Meeting other program directors from the America Rows and other inclusion programs was absolutely  thrilling. I made so many great connections and there was so much synergy, I still feel like I'm walking on air.

1.  Everybody loves America Rows and Swims Newburgh!  People want to come to Newburgh and study our program, particularly how we combine swimming and rowing. Newburgh can become known for something other then being the city with the highest per capita violent crime rate in the state of New York.  And I just found out that America Rows and swims Newburgh has been accepted by USA swimming as a local Make a Splash partner! This means that our little program is now the only program in the nation which is an affiliate of these two national NGB's!  To explain: every Olympic sport has its own national governing body. The national governing body of the sport of rowing is USRowing, of which ARSN is an official affiliate. The national governing body of the sport of swimming is USA Swimming, of which we have just become a local affiliate.This opens so many doors, the possibilities are literally endless.

Finally, while we were all done Jacksonville, Florida doing great things, I see from my newsfeed there are some less than great things going on in the country.  All I can say is: BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! Yes, it is that simple.  Stay tuned for lots more good news from America Rows and Swims Newburgh. Have a great day everyone and, as always, remember to count your blessings!  <3 Mrs. Lo (Photo from our room at the Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville Florida)

For more than Mrs. Lo blog go to www.LoBiondo.org