WPIX Pix of the Day

Every night during the 5 PM news, WPIX (a New York City television station) posts their "Patch Pix of the Day." Living in Central New Jersey, and not one to watch TV very often, I was not aware of this honor until my editor emailed me on August 16 to say I was chosen as for this honor. 

WPIX selects a story each day each from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as a photograph, to highlight on their nightly news at approximately 5:45 PM. My picture (above) was selected from the photo gallery I created about the Sustainable Jersey Farm to Table event at Terhune Orchards on August 9.

The full story is: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-farm-to-table-fundraiser-promotes-sustainability#photo-10986285

Between Don and I, we took 550 pictures, which were culled down to 174 for this photo gallery. The shot of the chefs was helped by Mother Nature who provided a beautiful rainbow following a torrential rainstorm. The post-rainstorm weather provided a magical touch to the fundraiser.

Thank you for letting me indulge as my prize for being chosen as the WPIX Pix of the Day is simply bragging rights, and a mention on my resume.

Long time, no write

Whoosh went the past couple of months. Last I wrote it was May 8th and all of a sudden it is almost the 4th of July.

Life has been crazy busy. Lots of fun. Some work. And more fun.

May is always busy in our house. May 15th Don and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. May 17th Ashley turned 10. May automatically turns into celebration month around here.

Ashley celebrated double-digits with lots of sweets -- including my baking the Pillsbury recipe for Scotch Bars for her class, and brownies for sewing. This is more baking than I do most of the rest of the year. 

On her birthday we had a picnic with food from Tiger Noodle in Princeton, and walked down the street to Purple Cow for dessert from our local ice cream parlor. 

From the time Ashley was a baby until she was 8, each month I took a picture of her with "the bear" on this chair. Someday I'll scan the other pictures, but for now this will do.

There were other parties, including a family BBQ. It was a beautiful day, and not just because of the weather.

After May comes June.

We spent a few days up North -- three days in Quebec City and two more in Montreal. I'll write more about that trip in a separate blog entry.

June is the traditional end of the school year. As official class photographer, that meant chaperoning the class trip (to Jenkinson's Aquarium and the beach), taking pictures at the class party, putting together an album of pictures for the teacher, and juggling the odd end of school year calendar.

My freelance work with Patch was slow the first few months of the year. In its place, I started volunteering again in the PDS Lower School Library. That was a lot of fun. Too bad I can't convince them to pay me. They did, however, pay me to play with the Junior Kindergarten kids for a week as a substitute teacher. I smiled the whole week.

I also started serving on the Sustainable Lawrence committee -- think of it as a Roots and Shoots club for grown-ups. At our last meeting (I hate meetings, but these are fun) we discussed how we can join the bandwagon of states banning single-use plastic bags and implement a similar ban in Lawrenceville. The other big topic was what I think of as "Composting for Dummies" -- we have trash pick up solely for food waste, and yard clippings, which will then be turned into bio-fuel. It is a win-win as the fees for picking up food waste are a lot less (about a sixth of the fee) as picking up regular trash. This is a committee I support and feel excited about when I talk to people in town.

This month Patch has asked me to write a bunch of stories, and take a bunch of pictures. I interviewed Girl Scouts about the 100th anniversary of scouting (http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/troops-from-let-lawrence-ewing-trenton-celebrate-the-100th-anniversary-of-girl-scouts), local award-winning "Mustard Man" (http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/local-man-is-the-2012-grand-champion-at-the-world-wide-mustard-competition), and the Miss Amy concert (http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/miss-amy-rocks-kids-in-the-park#photo-10351149). The biggest coup, though, was when I took pictures of Lawrence High School's graduation from the floor of the Sun National Center (http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-2012-lawrence-high-school-graduation#photo-10388619). The school liked it so much they gave me a by-line on the LTPS.org website.

Thanks to a friend from church, I recently received my first non-Patch freelance assignment. I've been asked to write a story for Chamber of Commerce publications in North Jersey. I am hoping this will lead to more work.

Ashley is now home for the summer. She wrapped up a week of Vacation Bible School at the Nassau Presbyterian Church. Next week (4th of July) we'll spend it together. I'm glad the work I do gives me the flexibility to spend time with Ashley as she grows up. Yes, the past two months have gone by in a giant WHOOSH, but so have the past 10 years. They are only little once.

Occupy Wall Street Marches through Lawrenceville

Through writing and photographing for the Lawrenceville Patch I have met a lot of new people and have had some different experiences. I've learned to say "YES!" when asked if I could cover a story and worry about the details later. So when my editor was on vacation and his supervisor asked me if I could take a couple of pictures of the Occupy Wall Street movement as they marched through Lawrenceville on their way to Washington, DC I jumped at the opportunity.


http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/occupy-wall-street-marches-through-lawrenceville


Rather than waiting for the group to find me in Lawrenceville, I asked Don to drop me off en route in Princeton. I walked with them for two and a half hours, covering a distance of about 10 miles. For the most part the group moved. I asked them to stop by the Welcome to Lawrenceville sign so I could get a good picture for the Lawrenceville Patch. They welcomed the stop.


It was at this point -- after walking on pitch black semi-highway with a tiny shoulder in Princeton -- that we gained a police escort. It was also at this point that the group decided to walk across the Route 206 to discuss whether or not to continue to Trenton. Someone shouts MIKE CHECK, everyone echoes MIKE CHECK. Then everything the speaker says is echoed. Yes, it is enough to give one a headache. As I see it:

PROS for going to Trenton:

• Someone from Occupy Trenton moved their bags to Trenton
• Occupy Trenton has hot food and a place for them to sleep
• Occupy Trenton is excited about them coming and has set up a media event for them (Revolutionary War re-enactors to march with them for photo ops)

CONS for going to Trenton:

• They don't have to go just because someone has done all of this for them
• Their feet hurt and they were tired

Granted, the day's schedule called for a 29 mile march (or was it originally 23 and grew to 30?). Original plans (and those posted on their website) called for walking on Route 1. It was changed because someone told them it was illegal to walk on Route 1, or was it changed because Route 27 to Route 206 passed through Rutgers University, Princeton University and Rider University where they might gain some students to join the march. (Several Rutgers students walked for the day, or until their feet gave out. No one from Princeton joined. They didn't pass Rider until 10 or 10:30.) 

Website describing their plans:
http://occupywallst.org/article/occupy-highway-99-march-washington/

The Google Docs directions calling for them to march down Route 1:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2T_A5nCMcMnZTQ2ZGNmYTMtYWFlNy00MDc2LTk5YzItYjY5YzgxMmYwMzc0&hl=en_US&pli=1

They decide to contiue to Trenton.

This was only day 3 of a 14-day march.

Each time they stop for a MIKE CHECK adds to the time it takes to finish that day's marching.

Along for the march is Liz Flock, a blogger with the Washington Post. I actually joined Twitter (JacPillsbury) so I could follow her journey. The next day she twittered that they group spent an hour discussing which route to take that day. They also debated whether or not the faster walkers could split off from the slower ones. Makes me wonder is their goal just to get to Washington, DC by November 23 (when a vote in Congress is set to take place) or is the goal to show a cohesive front. If they just want to get there -- take a bus or drive. If they want a cohesive group, then stick together.
I left them in Lawrenceville after taking a few more pictures of them on Main Street, just after they started arguing with Lawrenceville Prep students and "Occupied' a restaurant that was kind enough to allow the marchers to use their bathroom. Yes, indoor plumbing would slow me down from doing a 2 week march, as well as lack of other ammeneties. 


There are 21 people committed to marching from NYC to DC. The group changes in size as people join the march for anywhere from a few blocks to a few days. Many of the people marching have jobs -- especially those marching for shorter distances. They are peaceful. I found them very welcoming.

I also found them lacking sanity. One marcher told me "I bet this is the most exciting thing to happen to Lawrenceville." Um, really. 40 people walking through town unannounced, under the cloak of darkness is the most "exciting" thing to happen to my town. I'll admit, I couldn't think of anything more exciting (we live in a town where front page news lately has been whether or not to keep the stripes on Bergen Street), but I doubt this registered on anyone's radar.

I also found them tired. Picture how you feel after going non-stop for a few days -- no access to indoor plumbing, meals, or a comfortable spot to sleep. Of course they were cranky. Unfortunately this was only day 3 of a 14 day self-inflicted march.

I wish after 2 1/2 hours I could say I gained an appreciation, or even an understanding about their cause. They seem to be doing this because they can. No real thought or organization is in place. They do not seem appreciative of people helping them (if they did, why debate about continuing to Trenton where people are waiting for you). No one is in charge. I spoke with two different people about when to expect they would be in my area. Of course, I had two wildly different answers. I felt like asking: do you want press coverage or not? They are practicing "horizontal leadership," which takes a long time even with only 40 people in the group.

One person (according to Jason, they are not protestors) told me Occupy Wall Street sprang up as a result of seeing people in Egypt organize themselves for change, so people in NYC thought they could do the same. The big difference is the Egyptians had a goal (oust the president) and those in NYC want "change."

Yesterday my sister, Rebecca, wrote a blog about Occupy Wall Street:
http://ramblingrebka.blogspot.com/2011/11/can-ows-change-anything.html Sounds like they developed a mission statement yesterday. Unfortunately my eyes glazed over reading it.

Yes, change is needed. Yes, this group is making us talk about it. I just don't get it.

Lawrenceville Patch

As many of you know, with Ashley in school full-time, I have been looking for a part time job that would grant me a lot of flexibilty. Ideally, I wanted a position that would allow me to do something I enjoy and can use my brain to do.

Last December my sister, Rebecca, was offered a position as the editor for the Franklin Lakes Patch -- an online newsource dedicated to events happening in one town. As luck would have it, Lawrenceville was about to launch a similar product. She put me in touch with the editor, and I was hired in December to take pictures of all the schools and parks in Lawrenceville -- about 20 different locations.

Lawrenceville.Patch.com went live on December 28. It took a few weeks to figure out how I could fit into the Patch. In the middle of February the editor offered me the opportunity to write two columns a week -- one called Whiz Kids and the other In the Schools. Whiz Kids features a student living in Lawrenceville who is doing something a bit inspirational. Through this column I have met some amazing students.

In the Schools has sort of taken on a life of its own. I cover the smaller good will events that happen in schools, but are never covered by the local media. I have covered school plays, guest speakers, student-led programs -- basically anything and everything happening in our schools.

Following are links to some of my articles. In most cases, I have also taken the pictures thar are linked to the articles. Enjoy!


LMS Play: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/lawrence-middle-school-presents-kilroy-was-here

Dr. Seuss Day: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/viewfinder-lawrence-elementary-schools-celebrate-dr-seuss-birthday-national-read-across-america-week#photo-5120657

St. Baldrick's fundraiser: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/over-100-people-shave-their-heads-for-st-baldricks

Whiz Kids: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/adrian-glass-and-shannon-defillipo-whiz-kids

LIS Student Leadership Program: http://lawrenceville.patch.com/articles/lawrence-intermediate-school-unveils-student-leadership-program-designed-to-help-the-school-become-greener