Be a School Buddy: Bench Plastic Waste

It’s everywhere! Wrapped around dry cleaning, cosseting grocery items, storing food, bearing purchases, surrounding many items and filler for others shipped our way: soft plastic film! Trash containers are full of the stuff. Items like this:

Now you can rid yourself of this nuisance and help the students at Washington Irving School (WI). In each Kendal building, at the garage level, there’s a large container for collecting it all. NO HARD PLASTIC (which includes food containers and soda/water bottles). Note: make sure the plastic film is clean (give it a quick clean, if not).

The Challenge? If the total weight from us and around the Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown communities is at least 1,000 pounds, WI gets a free Buddy Bench. What’s a Buddy Bench? It’s a way for a student to send a signal: I need a friend to play with or talk to. When other kids see someone there, they know that someone needs support. And it works!

WI students, faculty, and parents have already collected 850 pounds of plastic! Let’s give ‘em that extra push past 1,000 pounds! We have until June 30!

Come on! We can do this. Plastic waste is everywhere! What a great way to get rid of it!

It’s the Kendal Way!

Saying "Thank You"

We at Kendal get help of all kinds. Cooking, cleaning, taking out garbage, shoveling the walk, just being there when you need a sympathetic hand when you’re sick.

Because, at Kendal there’s no tipping, two times a year, we ask you to contribute to the Staff Appreciation Fund as our way of saying Thank You to the 200+ staff — those we see and those behind the scenes.

Fundraising ends May 31.

Please write your check:

Minimum: $250/individual; $500/couple.

(Or give more, just to show the gratitude we feel for staff who “keep Kendal running smoothly” 24/7.)

Depends on How You Look at It

Q.  Why does the Milky Way appear as a discrete band of stars arching over the sky?

A.  Because our galaxy is in the form of a disk. Looking along its diameter shows many of its components, while gazing at a right angle to the diameter one sees only a few stars through its thin height. Incidentally, the Milky Way contains about 100 billion stars. Astronomers estimate that the universe contains about 200 billion galaxies. Multiplying these two numbers is humbling, to say the least, and, for me, makes it highly unlikely that there aren’t a few other planets out there with the conditions (including the right temperature range and enough water) to foster life!

Contributed by Norman Sissman

I Never Knew That . . .

We often don’t realize where nursery rhymes, some dating back centuries, came from. Some have evolved over centuries, bringing a whole new version to modern children. Others have remained tried and true since inception.

Rub-a-dub-dub,

Three men in a tub,

And who do you think they be?

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,

And all of them out to sea

Most American children know a heavily revised version of this rhyme with only men in a tub. But you need the original version to understand the origins of this 14th-century phrase:

Hey, rub-a-dub

Ho, rub-a-dub

Three maids in a tub

And who do you think were there?

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker

And all of them going to the fair

According to author Chris Roberts, the “tub” here refers to a bawdy fairground attraction. “Today it would be perhaps a lap-dancing venue,” Roberts said in 2005. “The upper-class, the respectable tradesfolk — the candlestick maker and the butcher and the baker — are ogling, getting an eyeful of some naked young ladies in a tub.”

Art by Hart

Bennett’s all-natural hair replacement never fit right

Creighton felt it was a relationship; Fudd dismissed it as a shared passion for beet puffs

Jonathan was the tallest boy in third grade, and Lily was the shortest girl

Ordway disliked having large trout sleeping in his guitar case

Eve still felt nostalgic for the Garden

Art and photos by Jane Hart

Out and About

Way Out and About

Parisian Grafitti

Photo by Joe Bruno

White Cliffs of Dover

Photo by Gerry Mahoney

The Last Bit of Winter

Upstate New York at the end of March

Photo by Jeff O’Donnell

A Kendal Critique by a Young Writer

Often a writer’s origin story is buried in the distant past. This week we have the privilege of reading a first work — and an illustrated Kendal critique, to boot. Young Sylvia Horowitz — who just happens to be Carol and Philip Monteleoni’s granddaughter — has written a review of Kendal that is a must-read for all here and beyond. Nonno (that’s Grandpa to all you non-Italians) has provided — in honor of her accomplishment — a non-illustrated version.

Meet the Author

And Nonnon’s Homage:

All about Kendal on Hudson

by Sylvia B. Horowitz   [Age 6 and a half, First grade, PS 770, Brooklyn]

Have you heard of Kendal on Hudson? Does one of your family members live there? It is a community for old people. Only old people can live there.

I love Kendal because it has a pool. The pool is not open Sundays. I like the pool because it has a lot of pool toys. For example there are noodles.

I like Kendal because it has a lot of food in the cafeteria. For example my favorite is the hamburger.

Another reason I like it is because it is really fancy. For example they have really cool chandeliers.

And the last reason is there’s a lot of space. I give it ten out of ten stars.

I love Kendal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  When you get old you should live there.

You’re going to love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stick to the Facts . . .

How Was Velcro Invented?

In 1941, during a walk in the Alps, a Swiss engineer named George Mestral wondered why burdock seeds clung to his clothing and to his dog’s fur. Fourteen years later he succeeded in producing a material equivalent of the structure of these seeds and founded a company to produce it. He named it a portmanteau of two French words: velour (velvet) and crochet (hook).

And Further on the Subject

Text contributed by Norman Sissman

I Never Knew That

Nursery rhymes, some dating back centuries, have left a strong mark on many of our childhoods, but we often don’t realize where they came from. Some have evolved over centuries, bringing a whole new version to modern children, while others have remained tried and true since their inception. From women’s prisons and peep shows to wholesome tales of beloved pets, here are the origins of some beloved nursery rhymes.

Hickory dickory dock

The mouse went up the clock

The clock struck one

The mouse went down

Hickory dickory dock

Some believe this counting rhyme was inspired by the astronomical clock at Exeter Cathedral in Devon, England, which was plagued by mice. Around 1600, the presiding bishop directed carpenters to cut a hole in the door to the clock room — or, as the records said at the time, “Paid ye carpenters 8d for cutting ye hole in ye north transept door for ye Bishop’s cat.” The cathedral’s cats got easy access to prey, cutting down the vermin population. Centuries later, the door is still there.

But there’s a reason mice were so common around the clockwork: Animal fat was often used to lubricate clock parts during that time. It’s possible it was just written about a pretty normal thing to be happening on a clock at the time, but that’s not as fun.

To Be Continued . . .

Source: Interestingfacts.com

Contributed by Jane Hart

In and Around Kendal

Day and Night, By Carolyn Reiss

Cherries Galore, by Edward Kasinec

Spring’s Confetti

Photo by Peter Sibley

A Recent Visitor to Robert Fulton

Photo by Carolyn Reiss

Suzanne Sadler notice this friendly visitor to Kendal a couple of times one day. Carolyn Reiss’s Allie was less than welcoming and attempted to chase the opossum away. According to Carolyn, they met nose-to-nose and stared at each other, but Carolyn was able to call off her “fierce beast.” Carolyn did her necessary research and discovered that opossums are unlikely to carry any disease. It will leave on its own, in its usual transient way.

There Are Green Thumbs Among Us

Several years ago, Ursula Hahn went to Trader Joe’s for a bit of shopping. There, she spotted a small phalenopsis orchid and brought it home to Kendal. She and the orchid clearly bonded. The result is a beautiful example of phalenopsis progressus (yes, that is a made-up term by editors of this website), both ethereal and lovely.

Photos by Ursula Hahn

Saying Thank You . . .

Thrilled you don’t have to cook a meal? Or do the dishes? Or clean up afterwards?

Or take out the garbage?

Or shovel the walk?

Grateful for a sympathetic hand when you are sick?

Just by living at Kendal, you get help of all kinds.

The things that make life at Kendal unique are provided by our staff, those you see and those behind the scenes. Unlike a doorman, or super, or handyman, our staff doesn’t get tips.

That’s why residents get together twice a year to show appreciation to all those who work here.

Remember, back before you came to Kendal: the tips you used to give in dribs and drabs — and how it added up! Now, with one check you can show how happy you are to be cared for by a staff of 200.

We request $250 per person or $500 for a couple. More is always appreciated.

That’s about a dollar a smile.

\

When All Else Fails . . .

Good morning! Is this the Hospital front desk? I would like to speak to someone regarding one of your patients. I would like to know his state of health, know if he is better or if his problem has gotten worse.

What is the name of the patient?

His name is John Smith, in room 302.

One moment, please. I will connect you with the nurse in charge.

 After a long wait: Hello, this is Frances, the nurse in charge, what can I do for you? 

I would like to know how the patient John Smith, in room 302, is doing.

One moment. I will try to find the doctor in charge.

After a longer wait: Hello, I am Dr. Jones, the doctor in charge. I’m listening . . .

Hello, Doctor. I would like to know the state of health of patient John Smith, who has been in your hospital for 3 weeks. He’s in room 302.

One moment. I will check the patient’s chart.

After another wait: Hmmm . . . here it is. He ate well today. His blood pressure and pulse are stable. He is responding well to the prescribed medications, and we expect to remove him from the heart monitor tomorrow. If all continues to go well for the next 48 hours, the doctor will sign his discharge for next weekend.

Ahhhhhhh! This is great news. I am overjoyed. Thank you.

By the way you talk, I suppose you are someone very close, a family member, certainly. 

No, Doctor. This is John Smith himself calling you from room 302. Everyone comes in and out of my room and tells me nothing. I just wanted to know how I was doing.  Thanks a lot.

 

Contributed by Simone

I Never Knew That . . .

Nursery rhymes, some dating back centuries, have left a strong mark on many of our childhoods, but we often don’t realize where they came from. Some have evolved over centuries, bringing a whole new version to modern children, while others have remained tried and true since their inception. From women’s prisons and peep shows to wholesome tales of beloved pets, here are the origins of some beloved nursery rhymes.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again

There’s nothing that makes Humpty an egg in this rhyme! That image was popularized by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass in 1871, decades after the rhyme’s inception. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “humpty dumpty” had a few meanings before the wall came into it, including a drink with brandy and a short, dumpy, clumsy person. An 1881 book even features images of Humpty as a clown.

A popular theory is that “humpty dumpty” refers to a cannon used during the Siege of Colchester in 1648. The idea that this rhyme is some kind of wartime ballad is pretty common. Before the cannon theory got traction, many believed the rhyme was about the usurpation of Richard III in 1483.

However, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, the root of this nursery rhyme could be more innocent. While it’s unclear whether this game predates the rhyme, Humpty Dumpty was a popular game in the 19th century where girls would tuck their legs into their skirts, fall back, and then try to regain balance without letting go of their skirts. “Eggs do not sit on walls,” authors Peter and Iona Opie write. “But the verse becomes intelligible if it describes human beings who are impersonating eggs.”

Source: Interestingfacts.com

To Be Continued . . .

Contributed by Jane Hart

© Kendal on Hudson Residents Association 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all rights reserved.  Please do not reproduce without permission.

Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.