Tim’s Cub Scout dinner

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The Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner was last night, with Tim and his nine buddies “crossing the bridge” from Webelos one to Webelos two. This coming year will be his last year as a Cub Scout. At the end of the year I do suspect he’ll want to go on with Boy Scouts. That’s … Read more

A BIG rugby hit

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You have to love this, as the French #8 cleans the clock of his opposite number. It’s only one minute long. Click here: YouTube – Chabal’s Huge hit on Masoe – New Zealand v France – 02/06/07 Despite the dominating tackle, New Zealand won easily against a weak French team, 42-11.

The latest on Tim’s ankle.

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Tim is still non-weight bearing on his left foot/leg, for another 12 days, at least until he sees the orthopedist. Tough for an active ten year old, but he’s making the best of it. At the recommendation of his pediatrician we will make an appointment with a pediatric hematologist (I didn’t know such a specialty … Read more

Memorial Day in Croton

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For the first time in several years we went to the Memorial Day ceremony, held at “Five Corners” in Croton. There was a very good crowd; I am sure there were over 250 people. The main speaker was U.S. Army Major (Ret.) Robert Vasta, a West Point grad and Green Beret. He spoke for about 15 minutes, and then his son Robert, who is attending the Air Force Academy, spoke for five minutes.

Here’s Bob Vasta

and here’s his son Robert

A few crowd shots

The Croton-Harmon High School Band –

Here is a picture of part of the Vasta family. Sal Vasta is in the middle, with Pat to his right. They have a total of nine children – seven sons and two daughters, so they are very well-known in Croton. I taught one of their children – Joe – who despite spending two years in my classroom doing science and math, was able to successfully attend the Air Force Academy. Another son, Tom, followed Sal Sr. into the construction business and coaches Tim for baseball.

The young woman on the right is Bob Vasta’s daughter Mary. She is also going to be following the family military tradition and will be attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs this fall.

I hope you will take the time to read the text of the personal talks Bob Vasta and his son gave on Memorial Day. Some interesting Croton history here.

Simply hit the post continuation below for the texts.

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Health update

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My CBC done last Friday was good – maybe too good, since my white count and most of the components were above the normal range, which sometimes indicates having an infection. WBC was 13.8 (normal range 4-11) and absolute neutrophil component 11.8 (normal range 1.5-8.8). AND my cough has come back. SO I called my … Read more

2007 Valedictorian address at Notre Dame

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Pretty good address. The valedictorian, Michael Rossman, had a double major in theology and economics and is said to be headed for the Jesuits. I hope he straightens them out. Michael Rossmann 2007 Valedictory address – University of Notre Dame : News & Information Like many of my fellow Notre Dame graduates, I had the … Read more

New Croton weblog makes it’s appearance

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Here is is. Sponsored by the weekly newspaper the North Country News. It’s format is pretty basic but will undoubtedly improve over time. It’s been around for about three weeks. CROTON-ON-HUDSON ยป Welcome to the first civilized & sensible blog for the citizens of Croton#comments There is another blog in Croton, aptly named the crotonblog. … Read more