Epsom Library News
Artists’ Exhibit And Reception
The
Monday Night Quilters currently have their work on display at the
library through January 26.
A
public reception will be held at the library on Saturday, January 5,
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Beginners’ Crocheting And Knitting
Mary
Frambach and Dawn Thulin will offer a series of four classes for
beginners in knitting and crocheting on Wednesdays January 15 and
23, and February 6 and 13. Students will make scarves. Mary will
teach the knitting classes. Knitting needles will be available for
the cost of $2.00, and participants need to bring worsted-weight
yarn. Those joining Dawn in learning to crochet, need to bring an H
hook as well as worsted-weight yarn.
Please
sign up for the classes at the main desk of the library.
Concord Regionals VNA Community Education
On
Thursday, January 17, at 10:30 am the Concord Regional VNA will
present “What Was, What’s Now, What’s Next?” as part of their
community education. Home health helps older adults live
independently for as long as possible by providing a wide range of
services. From chores and housekeeping services to assistance in
the recovery from an accident or injury, learn how Concord Regional
VNA can assist you in transitioning from what was, to what’s now,
and into what’s to come.
Book
Club
The
Book Club will meet on Wednesday, January 16, at 7:00 pm to discuss
David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet. Anyone
wishing to join in the discussion is invited to pick up a copy of
the book at the library.
Reader’s Corner
(We
invite patrons to write a book, movie review or an essay relating
somewhat to a piece of literature. Our guest writer this month is
Mort Glazer.)
When I
was 14 years old, I got fixed up with Sheila Mendlebaum from Revere.
It was my first date, and a blind one at that. The story about
Sheila was that she was “built.” I had a pretty good idea what that
meant, having three older sisters, but I had never experienced
meeting such a girl strictly on my own. We spoke on the phone and
arranged a meeting at her home on Shirley Avenue, near Bell Circle
and the Wonderland Dog Track for the following Friday.
It took
me about an hour and half to get to her home by public
transportation from Somerville. Like most of the blue collar cities
around the eastern or northern outskirts of Boston, Shirley Avenue
was lined on both sides with two-family wooden shingled homes
knitted close together.
It was
a warm spring evening, and there was a noticeable odor of salty,
fetid air from the beach nearby. I rang the bell, and a large,
hirsute man opened the door and glared at me. No “hello” or
anything that suggested he was pleased to see me. He just simply
turned, leaving the door open, and I followed him into the parlor.
He said, “Sit.” There was a large sofa and two over-stuffed chairs.
I sat in one of them. A moment later, Sheila and her father
entered the room.
I got
up and said, “Hello,” my eyes immediately zeroing in on the “built”
part of her anatomy. The rumors were true. However, she was also
quite built in every other respect. (I could hear my fix-up buddies
laughing their heads off.)
Mr.
Mendlebaum said, “I will be leaving for a while, but I’ll be back
soon, (stressing the words “back” and “soon.”) Actually, every word
was fraught with threat accompanied by his menacing glare.
Sheila
and I were alone. She sat on the couch facing me, and we chatted
aimlessly, but I was thinking about how long I would have to stay
there before it was sufficiently polite to get up and get out.
Sheila said, “Why don’t you come over and sit next to me on the
couch?” I answered, “Okay, but I can’t stay very long, just for a
few minutes.” Her huge arm was beckoning me, and I dragged my feet
over and sat as far away as possible from her. I could sense her
sliding over in my direction, as the couch began to tip slightly.
The
next thing I remember is being crushed and having a life-and-death
wrestling match. She had me pinned, but I found a miraculous burst
of strength and threw her off and raced out of the room. I could
hear her screaming, “I hate myself! I hate myself!”
All the
way home on the dreary busses, I felt guilt-stricken, and when I got
there, I spilled the whole story to my sister, especially the “I
hate myself” part and how bad I felt for her. My sister suggested
that I write her a nice letter of apology.
At that
time I was a voracious reader of all the Mickey Spillane books,
featuring Mike Hammer, Private Eye. The lesson drilled into me by my
teachers was to always look up any word in the dictionary that I
didn’t understand. I remembered Hammer’s referring so some woman as
“voluptuous” and had looked it up. So, in my letter to Sheila, I
said that although the evening had ended badly, I still thought that
she was “voluptuous looking,” which word I assumed she would know or
learn and then conclude that, in my opinion, she was alluring in a
rotund sort of way. I guess today the word “Reubenesque” would be
more appropriate.
Two
weeks went by, and I arrived home from school. No sooner was I in
the front door than I was met by my father, who, at 4 feet 11
inches, could seem like ten feet when he was mad. “Come with me,”
he said. There in the parlor, with the white sheets removed from the
couches and chairs, were Mr. Mendlebaum and his daughter, Sheila,
along with my mother who looked especially ticked off.
Mr.
Mendlebaum had my letter in his fist. “Did you write this letter to
my daughter?” (He had his usual ready-to-kill expression on his
face.) I nodded. “How dare you call my daughter that word!” “What
word?” I asked. “Voluptuous,” he shouted. I argued that I was
being complimentary to her! At that point, my mother shoved the
Merriam-Webster dictionary into my hands, with the page turned to
where the definition of voluptuous was found, and I was ordered to
read it aloud in its entirety, including all the secondary meanings.
I guess from her father’s interpretation, I was calling her a tart.
(Hey, I thought, if the shoe fits. . . )
“Now,”
said red-faced Mr. Mendlebaum, “I want you to apologize to my
daughter and promise that you will never use that word again in a
letter.” By this time my mother and father had the same expression
of contempt on their faces as Mr. Mendlebaum. (Sheila, by the way,
was grinning broadly.) “Okay, okay,” I promised.
Everyone got up, and the men shook hands, (leaving my mother’s
sponge cake untouched, not helping her mood any as it seems as
though she was the only one who ever thought it was good.) As the
Mendlebaums were leaving, Sheila turned to me and mouthed the words,
“Call me.”
Epsom Central School Staff And Faculty
Mrs. Marie Rieger, Teacher, 1st Grade
Marie
Rieger is one of three teachers in the 1st grade, and is starting
her 12th year at ECS. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration, a Master’s degree in Education, and is Reading
Recovery Certified. Prior to teaching at ECS, she taught first and
second grade, and reading recovery.
Marie
has served on curriculum committees for Mathematics, English and
Language Arts, and Science, while also working on the Negotiating
Committee. She loves children, finds working with them very
rewarding, and enjoys watching them learn how to read and write.
She uses technology in her classroom on a daily basis, especially
an interactive digital board, and incorporates technology into
lessons to help teach the first grade curriculum. She likes the
closely-knit community of faculty, staff, and administration at ECS,
and particularly appreciates parental involvement.
Marie
always welcomes parents and foster grandparents to the school and to
her classroom. She says that a lot of parents at ECS are involved
with their child’s education but would like to see more parents take
the time at home to start working with their child at a very early
age, reading to them, teaching them the letters, how to count, and
how to write their name to help give their child a basic foundation
prior to coming to kindergarten or first grade.
Marie
worked full-time during the day as a Secretary, Bookkeeper, and
Administrative Assistant to put herself through college. She lives
in Concord with her daughter, who just completed her Master’s
degree. Marie misses watching her daughter play volleyball and
softball in college. In her spare time, she likes to play Scrabble
and Words with Friends, do crossword puzzles, read, and spend time
relaxing at the beach.
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