Save the Newburgh DMV!

AN OPEN LETTER TO ANNIE RABBITT FROM MRS. LO:  PLEASE DON’T CLOSE THE NEWBURGH DMV!  For those of you not up to speed, there are currently 3 DMV offices in Orange County:  Port Jervis, Middletown, and Newburgh.  The Goshen DMV closed in 2010.  The DMV Commissioner, Annie Rabbitt has recommended that:  “(w)e should merge the three Departments of Motor Vehicle offices into one location, preferably the Middletown location while discussion of the Government Center continues.”  In other words, create a Mega-DMV for Orange County.

            I have an idea:  why not build the mega-DMV in Newburgh and make that the Central Office?  And just leave the other offices open for now.  The disruption to the City of Newburgh would be a kick in the teeth.  Why should Goshen get the mega DMV, why not Newburgh?  Given the choice, I for one will not be going to Middletown, I will be going to the Beacon DMV, as will many people in this part of the County, and taking our money right out of Orange County and into Dutchess County.

            The problem is that so many people in Newburgh will be disenfranchised by the closing of the DMV here.  Here is how the number of transaction stack up, according to the DMV’s most recent report:

Year	Goshen	Newburgh	Middletown	Port Jervis
2010	414 / day	304 / day	295 / day	100 / day
2011	394 / day *	361 / day	364 / day	101 / day
2012		390 / day	508 / day	120 / day
2013		354 / day	484 / day	117 / day
2014		356/day	506/day	154/day

So, when all four offices were open back in 2010, Goshen did the most transactions (414), followed by Newburgh (304), followed by Middletown (295), then Port Jervis (100).  With the closing of Goshen, transactions in Middletown AND Newburgh increased, as well as Port Jervis. 

            Why is Newburgh being targeted?  Here is what is proposed for the new Middletown Super-Office, which is absolutely something that can be built right here in Newburgh:

“Middletown has ten window stations and with the merge we can keep every window open and operating all day without disruption of service. We presently do not have that capability.  The DMV would do early morning, evening and Saturday hours with staggered work shifts … We could add four windows just for licenses and renewals, two enforcement windows and two dealership windows. An information window and the two permit windows can remain open all day.”

Wow, sounds this new proposed Mega-DMV that is 50 miles away round-trip will be a great way to spend the day (NOT). 

            The people on this end of the county are going to fall into two categories:  those who are not able to afford a 50-mile round trip car ride to Middletown and cannot give up half a day of work, and who will be completely disenfranchised.  And those of us who can afford it but will choose to go to Beacon instead, or do everything possible online.

            Either way, it’s a lose/ lose for Newburgh and this part of the county.  The Newburgh office is always busy, and we do not need to run the DMV like it’s a for-profit business.

            The DMV in Newburgh is vital to our economy and our way of life.  Sure, it a pain to wait on line there but that’s because the office is so busy, why close it?  Where will the employees go?  Are they going to be fired or do they have to go to the Mega-DMV proposed for Middletown? 

            Newburgh is hungry for new businesses and I’m sure the County could get its pick of office buildings.  Or, they could possible expand the current Newburgh DMV, there is a vacant lot next door.  We already have a very active County Office on Ann Street/ Broadway (the old Armory building) with Orange County probation, District Attorney and other offices in there.  We have a robust City Hall building across from the DMV and an active City Courthouse.  We once had a County Court building here.  Why not have the Orange County DMV Mega-Office as well?  I think it’s a great idea, who’s with me? 

            I signed a change.org petition put forth by Assemblyman Skartados, asking that the Commissioner reconsider and NOT close the Newburgh DMV.  I will go one step further, and ask that, instead of building a new Mega-DMV in Goshen, build it in Newburgh!             

            Here is the Petition, please consider signing it, thanks everyone, and have a GREAT day!  <3 Mrs. Lo https://www.change.org/p/orange-county-clerk-annie-rabbit-don-t-close-the-newburgh-dmv?recruiter=76830306&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive (photo from the Team Mom Mobile, driving up Broadway in Newburgh)

            

DO YOU THINK WE CAN OUTROW THE MOTORBOAT?”

People ask me all the time: “How do you find the time to workout?”  And what I tell them is: somebody busier than me is working out right now.  We are all busy.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise, at least 5 times a week, for adults.  I’m at an age where I have to worry about things like heart disease, stroke, cholesterol, all the ((CENSORED)) we didn’t worry about in our party days, I mean, our twenties.  Basically, the older and busier we get, the more we need to make time for our workouts.

            The #1 key to working out is to not workout.  By that I mean, take up an actual sport or physical activity that you love and have fun with, and it will never feel like working out.  Also, if you choose a sport your kids are already doing, you don’t need to worry about childcare/ dropping off or picking up.

            That was how I started rowing.  Basically, four years ago, I was sitting down at the Boathouse watching my kid coxy a boat of varsity rowers.  Big Coach walked over and said:  “You don’t like like a person who wastes time.  But you are just wasting time watching them row when you could be out there rowing yourself.”  He got me with that one. 

There was an adult rowing club but, at the time, they were way ahead of me, so Big Coach said he would teach me the fundamentals of rowing.  He decided he was going to do such a thorough job of teaching me the mechanics of rowing that he spent weeks teaching me that that pin in the oarlock always points forward.  Really.  Two weeks quizzing me on which way the dang oarlock points. Then he got busy with other stuff and that was the end of my private tutelage.  It was fine, I joined the adults and at this point I’m way ahead of where they were back then.  But there is a method to Big Coach’s teaching.  Today, I forget lots of basic things (although my Rowing BFF has a great knowledge of the fundamentals).  But I have never, ever forgotten which way to point the oarlock.

            Over the years, my rowing has been interrupted by all kinds of things, one rowing crisis or child-centered activity another.  But today, I will not sacrifice my rowing practice for anyone or anything.  Committee meeting?  Take notes.  Board meeting?  Take me off the Board.  Open house?  Who cares.  I will not sacrifice my precious time in the therapeutic double with my rowing BFF, nor does my family want me to.

            Kathe and I love to row.  It’s not easy for either of us to get there by 5 pm, or 5 am, in spandex, but we do it (spandex is necessary so you don’t get your shorts or sweats caught in the sliding seat).   For the first few years, when I was  rowing on and off, it was difficult.  Unless you commit to rowing regularly, you don’t really get the hang of it.  You catch a lot of crabs.  You get frustrated.  But if you row on a regular basis, one day, it finally clicks.  Then, you don’t worry about catching crabs (getting your oar stuck), you concentrate on form (do we exaggerate the Leanback every 5 strokes like Big Coach says, or keep it at a constant 45 degrees, like the Olympic Youtube video says?  What Coach says).

            Rowing up to the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge (4,000 meters roundtrip) used to be a monumental task that required a full on massage afterward.  Now, we go to Plum Point or Cornwall Landing (8,000 and 9,000 meters) reguarly, and only turn around because we run out of time.  If we had unlimited practice time, we would keep going until we ran out of steam.  Sometimes, we chat and chat therapeutically.  Other times, one or both of us has had a hard day and we decide to “shut up and dig in” and row hard for stress relief.

            The most disappointing part of the practice is when we can see the coaches in the motorboat are coming to catch up with us, to tell us to turn around because practice is almost over.

            The other night, we were in the middle of the majestic Hudson River, digging in, the pinks and tangerines of the sunset just starting to make their way into the perfect blue sky, the mountains rising up beyond the River.  We were all business, rowing hard, but enjoying the incredible natural beauty around us.  We were lost in our own world.  Then we heard the motorboat gunning and coming toward us.

            “Do you think we can outrow the motorboat?” I asked Kathe. 

            “Only if they run out of fuel,” she answered, laughing.  “Let’s not make him come all the way up here, let’s just spin it.”  And we turned and headed for home, drinking in the sunset and turning down the burners.  Only to spend another 20 minutes carrying our boat and other boats into the Boathouse, which is plenty good exercise in and of itself.  We felt, as we always do after a good, row, fabulous.

            This Summer, I’m going to be 50 years old.  I had a physical recently.  My body fat percentage and BMI are in the same category as a college athlete.  My blood pressure is low, my cholesterol is down 60 points from last year, I am 10 pounds lighter than I was last year, and my bone density and vitamin D levels are great.  “Keep doing what you’re doing,” said my physician and dear friend of many years.  Which I took to mean, Doctor’s orders:  Keep Rowing.  And doing Zumba.

            So, my dear Readers, I say:  find a physical activity you love, and make the time for it.  Whether it’s running, swimming, hiking, kayaking, or Zumba.  Yes, it takes time.  But so does heart surgery.

            And if you want to try a great day of Family Kayaking, come on down for the Newburgh Rowing Club’s biggest Family Day of the Year:  the Great 5-Mile Paddle and Oars Challenge, Sunday 9/21 at 8 am at the Boathouse.  It’s a challenge, not a race, you don’t have to kayak the full 5-miles.  My rowing BFF and I will be rowing in it, so tell them Mrs. Lo sent you -- and I will look for you on the water!  Have a great day, everyone and, as always, Remember to Count Your Blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo www.LoBiondopage.Blogspot.com (photo of Mrs. Lo and Mrs. Mills in the therapeutic double)

            

What is a Weekend, Anyway?

“I wish I had one more day before the weekend started,” a fellow crew mom said to me.  I knew exactly what she meant.  This weekend, we will be making our Return to Coastweeks in Mystic, CT, one of the our favorite regattas of the year.  But not without a few stops along the way.

            Christian rowed or coxy’d boats in Mystic in 2013, 2012, and 2011.  Our first time going up, there were about a dozen athletes.  Last year, there were 45 athletes, this year I believe we have 52, including the Adult Rowers (you guessed it, that would be me and my Rowing BFF, Kathe).  That’s a really big contingency.  This is the first year I’m going to Mystic and Christian is not in a boat.  He’s on the Freshman Football team for Don Bosco Prep.

            Therefore, the weekend looks like this.  Friday at 4 pm, Kathe and I went to our own Rowing practice.  Then, we generally milled around waiting for our kids to get done loading the trailer with the crew shells we are taking up, meaning we left the Boathouse at 8 pm.   My rowing kids slept over because we have an early start Saturday morning.

            Christian has to be at Don Bosco in NJ at 6:30 am Saturday, and we will leave Newburgh with our rowing kids at 7:30 am to watch his football game in Darien, CT, where we will cheer wildly and I will take photographs (GO IRONMEN!).  Then I will pack the rowers into the Team Mom Mobile and head up to Mystic, CT.  We will meet up with Big Coach and the Newburgh Rowing Club trailer and help unload and rig the boats.  Then dinner and at least one of us (Yep, that would be me) is going to bed super early.  There is a coaches, coxswain and scullers meeting at 7:30 am at the Regatta course Sunday morning.

            First, Kathe and I will race, then my rowing kids.  In the meantime, much bonding will have occurred on the football field, and in and amongst the boats.  We have Student Ambassadors, rowing for us on scholarship, who have never left Newburgh before.  These girls are so excited to be going to Mystic, there are really no words.  I am so happy to know I was a part of making that happen. We will all cheer wildly for each other and then, eventually, after the last boat is loaded, it will be quiet. 

            By the time I get home and start writing my press release for the Regatta, I will be slathering on the Icy Hot, snuggling into my electric blanket and it will be Sunday night.  And there goes the “Weekend”.

            But that’s how it is for so many of us, who are lucky enough to have active families.   A friend of mine who’s an empty nester said to me recently:  “That’s how it is, it’s very loud and very boisterous all the time, and then all of a sudden, it gets very, very  quiet.”  I cannot even imagine that concept right now. 

            Once upon a time, my husband and I enjoyed long, languorous weekends.  We slept late (you know, past 6 am), we enjoyed elaborate brunches involving brioche and espresso, and nights out with friends listening to Jazz, going to the theatre and symphony, dressing up in designer clothes, and enjoying gourmet meals.  And those days will return again someday, God willing, although we will be substantially grayer. 

            Until then, we will continue to enjoy the blessing that is our Loud, Busy, Active, Crazy “Weekend.” Frankly, I wouldn’t want to have it any other way!

Have a great day, everyone, and as always, Remember to Count Your Blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com (photo of Michael and Kierstin at Coastweeks 2013)

You Deserve to be Happy

“YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY, MOM” – today, I will be doing something very different.  My rowing BFF and I will be rowing in a Regatta in Springfield, Mass.  While that is a first, in and of itself, what makes it different is that I will be missing my older son’s football scrimmage for Don Bosco Prep, where he is on the Freshman Football Team.

            I have never missed an athletic or artistic event for either of my children, unless it was to attend the other’s child’s event.  Christian started playing rec soccer when he was 6.  Michael started rowing when he was 8.   I have made it to everything:  soccer, crew, basketball, football, Irish step dancing recitals, band recitals, piano recitals, Drama Club productions, you name it.  And Hubby has made it to most of them as well.

            Originally, Christian had Saturday, September 6^th free.  The originally scheduled game had been canceled.  Then, Big Coach told me and my Rowing BFF he wanted to take us up to a “fun and friendly stakes race” in Springfield, Mass to meet the Programs Director and race in our therapeutic double (that’s what we have nicknamed “our” crew shell).  This was his treat, to pay us back for all the countless hours of volunteer work we had put in.  We decided to take our kids with us, to help out rigging and carrying the crew shells.  Two of my BFF’s kids and one of her rowing kids are all experienced rowers.  You don’t just throw a boat on the back of a trailer and go.  Someone has to get out the tools and derig the boats, get them on the trailer, and strap them down; then when you get to the regatta, you need to lift the boats off, get out the tools, rig the boats and get them to the water.  When it’s all over, guess how you get the boats back on the trailer?  That’s right, you have to de-rig.  Then there’s the oars and keeping track of the gear. It’s nice to have young people to help out what that kind of thing.

            Originally, Christian, the one who started the whole LoBiondo Rowing Craze, was going to use his bye week to come up and help me with my boat.  Then, we got the email that a Scrimmage had been scheduled for this Saturday against Montclair High School.

            ((CENSORED))!, I said to myself.  “Wow, I was really looking forward to that Regatta,” I told Christian.  “Let me call Big Coach and tell him I have to cancel.”

            “You’re not canceling, Mom,” said my older son.  “I won’t let you cancel because of me.  I know you’re really working hard for this and you really want it.  And isn’t that what you’re always telling us?  To set goals then work towards them?”

            Jeez, I thought to myself, I didn’t think they were actually listening to me, I guess they were.

            “It’s all right, son,” I said, “Just the fact that you want me to go to Springfield is enough.”

            “No,” he said.  “It’s not enough.  You do everything for us, and for a lot of other kids.”  See, the thing is, I knew that he understood something most people don’t.

            The Joy of Rowing is ageless.  In those moments where your boat is in unison, moments where you are on the water early enough to watch the sun rise, moments where every muscle in your body is firing to both set and power the boat – in those moments nothing else matters.   When you are on the water, burying your blades, blasting off and pulling your blades through the water – in that perfect stroke, those perfect moments --  there is a feeling of Power, a feeling of Peace, and a feeling of Freedom, all at the same time.  No matter how old you are, all rowers are out there trying to catch that “perfect stroke feeling” again and again.

            I looked at my son and, although he wasn’t articulating it, I knew from the look in his eyes that he understood all this.  He understood it as a competitive athlete; and as a rower himself. 

            “I don’t want you to live through me,” he said simply.  “You deserve to be happy.”

            Think about it, moms and dads.  Our kids want us to be happy.  Isn’t that a kick in the can!  Let’s face it, happy parents are well adjusted parents.  Happy parents are more likely to say:  don’t sweat the small stuff.

            And so I am taking one of my rowing kids, Kelvin, to Springfield with us, to help rig, carry the boat, and just generally provide moral support.  And Anthony, my hubby, will be cheering wildly and taking photos at Christian’s football scrimmage.  And by Saturday night, we will all be sitting around the dinner table, carbing up, sharing our stories from the day, and weaving together the tapestry that is our Family.

            Have a great day, everyone and, as always, remember to Count Your Blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo ~~ GO IRONMEN!   www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com  (Photo of Mrs. Lo and Mrs. Mills in the Therapeutic Double at sunrise, photo by Coach Jackilyn Naparano)

"I CAN'T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TO START!!!" -- By Special Guest Blogger Orion LoBiondo

 Hey, everybody, how was your Summer?  It’s me again, Orion, the only 4-legged member of the LoBiondo Family.  I am sooo excited to go back to school!  Who’s with me, raise your paw!  Don’t get me wrong, I loved having my humans around all summer but I like to be in a routine, and School is my favorite routine!

            We had a super busy summer.  First, we built a new deck in the backyard.  They could never have done it without me though.  You should have seen me!  The way I barked at everybody who came over to work on the deck.  I have never seen so many different people in my backyard!  My mom had every kid who ever had a slice of lasagna working on the deck but, like she said, “it’s time for them to pay back all the lasagna and the car rides!”  We have so much fun on our new deck -- barbecues, dinner outside, family parties, all that good stuff.  Although my mom drives us crazy with the deck furniture.  See, she bought all this really nice outdoor furniture and outdoor pillows and rugs.  But every night she makes my brothers roll up the rugs and put the pillows and the furniture inside.  It drives them crazy but mom is afraid of MILL-DOO.  I don’t know what that is but it sounds disgusting.

            Then my family and I took separate vacations.  I got to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s House.  My grandma takes really good care of me and reads me stories in Spanish.  I feel sorry for my family, since they didn’t get to come with me.  They got stuck going to the beach in MAY-UN, wherever that is.  That’s too bad, I got to have belly rubs and homemade adobo with my grandparents every night, I’m sooooo lucky.

            I was really enjoying sleeping in a little bit after vacation, but then my brother started Football Camp at his high school, Don Bosco Prep in New JOY-SEY, and that was the end of that!  Out the door by 7 am, yes Sirree!  Right after that, my younger brother Michael started rowing camp at the Newburgh Rowing Club.  My little buddy, Harvey (he’s one of the coach’s dogs), he’s always calling me on Paw-Chat and he’s like, “come on down, bro, it’s so much fun here,” but I’m like “nah, bro, it’s not like that.  I have to keep this place safe, dude, you have no idea how many squirrels and chipmunks would INVADE this place if I take my eyes off of it!”  Harvey’s my bud, though.

            After rowing camp, my brother Michael started Theatre Academy at Just Off Broadway, which was so much fun for me because he would come home and sing to me everyday.  Yesterday, he was in a play called “Musicville,” and Mom and Dad said he rocked it, all the kids did!  Yeah, Little Buddy, way to go!  I’m not gonna lie, I’m maybe a little tired of hearing the same songs over and over but a little dude has to practice!

            So now we go back to school next week, yeah, buddy!  I’m doing backflips!  Okay, I cannot actually do a backflip but if I could believe me I would.  I can’t wait to get in the back of the car and guard the backpacks!!!  Wait, what’s that you say, Mom?  I’m only guarding Michael’s backpack?  What about Christian?  He’s going to high school in Ramsey, NJ, you say.  Ok, but doesn’t he need a backpack?  What do you mean he’s taking the train???  By himself???   Yeah, OK, he’s going with other football players but they can’t guard his backpack the way I can!

            OK, so I guess there are some changes I’m gonna have to get used to.  But that’s OK, change is good.  Mom always said we need to be FLEX-A-BULL.  Hey, I’m flex-a-bull but I do like my routine.  School is a routine and routine is good.  Yeah, there’s homework and mom’s gotta make the lunches again but we are going to really good schools and we get to pray in school and play sports so it’s all worth it.  OK, I say “WE” but I mean my brothers.  And at the end of the day, we all snuggle up in the family room and do homework or read.  I snuggle up in my giant bed with them.  I may look comfy but I am ready to POUNCE on an intruder at any moment!

            Listen, I would love to stay and chat but – OH NO YOU DIDN’T!!! – you can’t believe the nerve of this chubby bubby groundhog, he is back and he is eating Mom’s basil!  Gotta go bark my head off, I have an HERB GARDEN TO PROTECT!!!  Have a great day, everybody – and Mom says remember to Count Your Blessings!  Signing off, <3 Orion www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com

            

A LIFE, INTERRUPTED: WHY THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGES MATTER

Yesterday, my longtime friend and mentor, the brilliant attorney, Bill Tendy, died after a long battle with ALS.  He was 60, with two great kids. 

            ALS (“Lou Gehrig’s Disease”), a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, is dreadful.  There is no cure, and those afflicted tend to become more and more paralyzed.  To anyone who thinks the ice bucket challenges are silly, or stupid, or disrespectful, I say:  they are helping to make progress.  To date, they have helped raise over $42 Million for research and raise awareness.  During the same time last year, $2 Million was raised. 

            Back to my friend.  In his prime, Bill was, bar none, one of the greatest trial attorneys who ever lived, no joke.  Yes, he handled many high profile cases and I’m sure if you google his name you’ll find them.  But the reason he was a great trial attorney is because he truly, truly cared about his clients and the outcome;  he loved the law;  he loved trying cases before a jury and took command of the courtroom;  he had a mind like a steel trap;  and he was like a bloodhound, he left no stone unturned.  That, and he had (CENSORED)s of Steel.  Really, he had the nerve to try stuff in court I wouldn’t even dream of and I’m pretty (CENSORED)y as a trial attorney.

            I’m thinking of the Iris Pyne trial.  Iris Pyne was a victim of domestic violence who suffered from Battered Woman’s Syndrome and shot her husband in what Bill asserted was self defense.  It was 1993.  The judge in the first trial refused to let in evidence of Mr. Pyne’s prior assault convictions or the orders of protection Iris had against him.  Basically, Bill knew his client was getting an unfair trial because the judge would not let in the evidence of domestic violence.  Bill employed a strategy that was geared toward what he knew would be an appeal:  he put on no case whatsoever.  He did not mount a defense, did not put on one witness or put in any evidence.  That, my friends, takes cojones, trust me.  Iris was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life, and Bill went to work on the appeal.

            He won the appeal, a grueling task in and of itself, and Iris was granted a new trial.  I don’t remember a lot of the details of the second trial other than that Bill was really, really at the top of his game.  This wasn’t Law and Order or CSI, this was real life, in Ulster County, NY, and you just felt like you were watching the Derek Jeter of the legal profession when Bill took command of the courtroom.  As in, a legend is passing through here.  The jury acquitted Iris Pyne of all counts.  She went on to live a life of relative anonymity.

            After being diagnosed with ALS, Bill decided to spend as much time with his beloved family as he could.

            This past Thursday night, August 22^nd, at my request, Coach Kennedy had the kids at Newburgh Rowing Club practice put on an epic Ice Bucket Challenge.  (I had already donated to ALS the week before).  The plans might have been a little too epic, given the water conditions.  But, in the end, I have a video of a crew of kids lifting up an 8+ crew shell which already weighs over 300 pounds, filled with ice and water, and dumping it on themselves.  Out of a 3-minute video, I cut it down to 10 seconds, and mixed in some still photos and some music.  The rest of the video shows all of the mistakes and the mishaps.  The kids and parents running around like chickens with their heads cut off, laughing, hollering, possibly cussing.  But that’s what Life is, the stuff that happens when you’re busy making other plans.  The highly edited video is great, you just hear the ice falling, and the kids laughing, and the cheering.  I like to think that Bill would have loved it.

            The following morning, Friday, August 23^rd, at 7:30 am, Bill entered the Kingdom of Heaven after a long, long, valiant battle with ALS.  Rest in peace, my dear friend, you battled to the end like the warrior that I knew you to be. 

            Life is a Gift, my friends, choose to embrace it, hug your kids a little tighter, be patient, make a mess, laugh a big belly laugh, and if you’re ever lucky enough to get the chance, dump a 60-foot long crew shell full of ice water on your head!  We are blessed, remember to count your blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com

POST SCRIPT:  to see the video of the Newburgh Rowing Club Ice Bucket Challenge, go to https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=831760350189881&set=vb.212107098821879&type=2&theater

THAT TIME THAT ROBIN WILLIAMS BOUGHT MRS. LO A DRINK

In 1987, I bought a ticket, which I could barely afford, for NYC’s “Comedy Cellar” because I heard that Robin Williams would be at the 9:00 p.m. show.  Back in the day at NYU, those kinds of things happened.  On occasion, Williams, or Eddie Murphy, or maybe Bill Murray, would randomly show up unannounced at the Comedy Cellar and do a show.  (“Wow, that must have been all over YouTube, Mom”) Actually, kids, there was no YouTube, Twitter, IG, or Facebook back then.  In fact, kids, there were no cell phones, and beepers were for surgeons and people who had to make really important “deals” -- we relied on something called word of mouth (that’s where people actually talk to each other without electronics devices).

            It was a great show, but Robin Williams was not there and I had spent $30.00 I could not afford, and that meant I would have to drink cafeteria coffee instead of Deli Coffee for about 2 weeks, ugh!  Even worse, I forgot my student ID at the club.  What a stinker of a night.   Using common sense, I knew I had to grab a male student to walk me back over to the club at midnight to find my ID.  I asked my friend “Pete,” who  was on the NYU Basketball team and the Fencing team, to come with me.  When we got to the club, it was crazy crowded.  “What’s going on?” asked Pete,  ready to grab me and run.  “You’re not going to believe this, man, Robin Williams is on stage!”  Let’s just say that, while being a pretty NYU girl got you behind the velvet rope at most clubs, this wasn’t one of them.  However, being a star basketball player on NYU’s then-championship basketball team, did.  Of course, we had about $10.00 between us, but Williams insisted that no one had to pay for the show.  There was, of course, the issue of the two-drink minimum.  But guess what?  Williams paid for everybody’s drinks too.  So, OK, technically he didn’t buy ME a drink, he paid so the patrons wouldn’t have to have purchase drinks if they didn’t want to. We opted for one beer each (Varsity athletes back then didn’t get hammered the night before practice -- at least my friend didn’t).

            The Comedy Cellar seated, maybe, 100 people back then.  At first, it was terrifying, being so close to someone you loved and admired so much.  And, of course, live shows at comedy clubs are always terrifying if you don’t want to get “picked on,”  but of course, that’s why the comedians do these live shows for 100 when they can pack a stadium --  for the up close and personal audience interaction.  I would love to say that Robin Williams interacted with me and made jokes about me and based the whole show on me.  In fact, he did not.  But he did hone in on my friend “Pete”.  Especially when he got wind of the fact that Pete was an African-American fencer.  Williams went into character, pretending to be an Olympic Fencing Coache who sees an African-American fencer and keeps insisting that this must be a mixup, that this athlete was supposed to be on the basketball or track team.  Honestly, I can’t remember much else beyond that – and the fact that I was half on the floor laughing the whole time.  My friend and I laughed so hard we cried, laughed so hard we thought we would need an oxygen tank.  And then it was over.  And we were stunned.  Did that just happen?

            We went back to the dorms and we actually TOLD our story to people without the benefit of social media and I WROTE about it for the School Newspaper because there was no Blogging back then.  I would love to go back to the NYU Library and find a copy of that article almost 30 years ago.

            I was leaving Zumba Class at Gold’s Gym Monday night when I saw the news of Robin Williams’ death on Facebook and I prayed it was one of those hoax articles.  It was not.  When I got home, Little Michael asked me why I was crying;  why Daddy and I were hugging each other so hard.  (We haven’t had TV news on in our house since 9/11, so Michael never knows what’s going on, and Christian reads the news online). 

“A great man, a great actor, and a man who made a lot of people laugh died today,” I told him.

            “Was he your friend?” said Michael.  “He was not literally my friend,” I answered carefully, “but he lived his life in a way that Daddy and I felt like we knew him.  It feels like we lost a friend.”

            “He was the voice of Genie,” offered Christian to his brother.

            “Genie died??!!” said Michael, his lip quivering. 

“The man who played his voice is gone, yes,” I said.  “But we can watch his movies over and over.  And we can try to remember his Life and find a way to honor all the good that he did.”

            “How do we do that?” asked my sons.  I thought of all the Comic Relief shows that Williams did over the years, to benefit the Homeless. 

            “By doubling how much food we bring to church on Sunday for the Food Pantry, and by choosing a charity for the homeless and supporting it,” I said.

            Last Sunday at Mass, there was a particularly stirring homily.  Father Ed said, “when I get to the gates of Heaven, I have to answer to God directly, when he asks what I have done to help his people.  My parishioners won’t be there to say what a great priest I was;  my priest won’t be there to answer for me; my parents and grandparents won’t be there to talk about me.  When God says to me, ‘What have you don’t to help my flock?”, I  must stand alone and tell Him what I have done to help his people.’  I will tell Him I tried my best and I tried every day.  When you stand before the Lord and he asks you what you have done to help his people, the most downtrodden of society, are you OK with that?  Can you say, ‘Lord, I did my best every day to help your flock?’ Because your car and your house and your bank account will be irrelevant.  You need to be able to say, yes, Lord, I helped your people every day. “

            I would like to think that, yes, I can stand before the Pearly Gates and say, I did my best to help people, including the most downtrodden.  I am OK with that.  And I know in my heart that Robin Williams, when he arrived at the Pearly Gates, after he got done making St. Peter laugh harder than he had in a few thousand years, could stand up straight and proud and say, “Yes, I did my best, everyday, to help the people.  I brought them laughter and joy, I worked hard to raise money for charities and help the homeless.  I was a good husband and father and I tried just as hard as I could for just as long as I could.”  And I like to picture in my mind, St. Peter putting an arm around Robin Williams and welcoming him home, with a little “Nanoo-Nanoo.”

            Rest in Peace, Robin Williams, thanks for making this world a better place  <3 Mrs. Lo