Kezar Realty is proud to serve as a collection point for this year's 'Marine Toys for Tots Program'. You can drop off unwrapped toys here at the office (224 Main Street, Lovell). If no one is here, feel free to leave them at the front door. The last day for collection will be December 13th. The Toys for Tots charity began in 1947 and annually delivers more than 18 million toys to needy families. Find out more about the program here.
Donna J. Snay
I remember the day so well. It was back in the summer of 2015 that I received an unsolicited phone call from a Donna J. Snay in South Paris. Donna was a REALTOR® who was ‘interviewing’ real estate agencies after the one she was with closed down. We made an appointment for her to come to Kezar Realty for a visit.
Based on our geographical distance, I thought it was a bit unusual for her to contact a Lovell Agency. She mentioned that she always took note of our four-color ads in the Buyer’s Guide and thought that we would be a good place for her to hang her hat.
Donna was a person who never hesitated to go after business. She enthusiastically solicited FOR SALE BY OWNERS, expired listings in addition to letting everyone know that she could sell their home or assist them in buying a new one. Now, everyone who works in sales knows how difficult it can be to ask a stranger for their business! But she completed successfully a number of transactions which originated with such contacts.
A very private person, Donna did not discuss too many things unrelated to business. She loved her family, especially her grandchildren.
Rest in Peace Donna. You will be missed.
Tom Henderson, the Executive Director of the Greater Lovell Land Trust, passed away this week. His vision and legacy will survive well into the future.
Over the years, Tom and I had many discussions and not all about the woods and the watershed. Baseball, a passion of his, was a frequent topic. A number of years ago, Tom and I served as judges for a local chowder competition where I learned he had quite a cooking background. And on that day, I learned a bit more about chowders, what he thought about the mix of ingredients, even if we didn't agree on which one was the best tasting.
I often thought about how funny it was that his job was to preserve land while my job is to sell it. I would like to think that there was some mutual respect and many times he would refer people to me while I would not hesitate to ask him to take a look at a parcel to see if the Land Trust would have an interest in it.
We also had a number of conversations about the Land Trust's rustic camp on Whitney Pond in Stoneham. Tom was proud of the number of renters he was able to get for the rustic camp and we would often compare notes on the vacation rental business.
Lovell and the surrounding towns are in a better place because of Tom Henderson.
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Some days my ride to the office is consumed by what I should put on the sign. People often stop and ask me to announce a local event or to honor someone's passing and I am more than happy to post it. Over the years, the sign has evolved into my own form of local social media.
However, some days the writing is easier than others; especially after hearing yesterday's press release from Major League Baseball.
Perhaps a little unfair, but who could resist?
To date, the perennial Super Bowl favorite, the New England Patriots, have played three pre-season games. As we know, the record doesn't mean a thing until the real games start in early September. But their biggest loss so far this year may be the season-ending injury suffered by star receiver Julian Edelman. But I am sure that the Head Coach Bill Belichick is already scheming on adjustments. That's why they play the games as teams look quite different in December and January than they do in September.
The 2017 New England Patriots' Magnetic Football Schedule has arrived at Kezar Realty. As always, the schedules will be available in local stores. If you can't make it to Lovell, feel free to drop me an email at stan@fairpoint.net and I will send one your way.
This weekend, I had the honor of flying to Norfolk, VA with my in-laws, Al & Jacky Stearns. The purpose of the visit was to witness the promotion of of Benjamin Tupaj from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant.
Rondi and I were well aware of how much time and effort Ben has put into studying, working and training over the past number of years. Heck, he had to spend most of his summer in Oklahoma and California, away from his family and without any visits. But it wasn’t until Monday morning at the ceremony when the proclamation was being read by Sergeant Major Warren and the extensive remarks by Colonel Frey that we realized just how much he had accomplished.
When Ben was notified of his promotion, he requested that his grandfather, Albert, participate in the pinning ceremony. Albert was a Corporal in the Marine Corps and served from January 1954 to January 1956. Gunnery Sergeant Jarolskawki also participated in the pinning of his new rank. The ceremony was held at the Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Atlantic on the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia.
Over the weekend, we met a number of Marines and their families. It is clear that the spouses and Moms at home are as strong as their husbands and provide a valuable, but often overlooked, service to the soldiers. And no greater example of that is with our daughter-in-law, Cassandra, who with our two young grandchildren somehow manages to keep the house in order and always with a smile!
Ben has been transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Rondi has stayed behind for a few extra days to assist with the move south.
Much is written about our country’s younger generation and the lack of discipline and respect for authority. I must say, the men and women that I met this week reinforces my belief that this country has a solid foundation going forward.
Whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River.
Whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River.
As everyone who reads KezarLife knows, I spent a good chunk of my life living and working in Baltimore. During that time I had the great fortune of getting to know some wonderful people. Time and distance tend to eliminate most of them but there are always a few people where the relationship strengthens, even without regular contact. Just a random reading or observation may trigger a pleasant reminder of an old friend.
While working in the mortgage industry in the early 90's, I met Chuck Nossick. We worked for the same company but in different offices and over time we became friends. I took pleasure in convincing him that there was value in visiting downtown Baltimore and having lunch at the Lexington or Cross Street Markets. He returned the favor by inviting me to play golf with him regularly even though my game didn't warrant it.
In Maryland, college lacrosse is as big as professional baseball. Going to sporting events with Chuck, whether it be the Terps or the Orioles, was always exciting. It wasn't a big deal to travel to Philadelphia to see Maryland play Temple on a Sunday afternoon or to Charlottesville to see the Terps play UVA on a Saturday night.
There was a two-year period when Rondi, Ben and Anna had already moved to Lovell and I was still shuttling back and forth while we tried to sell the house. Chuck and his wife Kathleen were always generous with dinner invitations at their Severna Park house.
In March 2000, Chuck's close childhood friend purchased the Baltimore Ravens. Chuck then set out to orchestrate the classiest tailgate party for each home game. On the Ravens' march to the Super Bowl that season, Chuck and I flew out to Oakland for the championship game. And while our son Ben was stationed in Afghanistan, Chuck made sure to give me all the detailed game programs and media handouts which I shipped to Ben on a regular basis. To someone sitting alone in a strange and hostile desert, it was a welcomed touch of home.
It's never good news when my friend David Jones calls me early in the morning, as he did this past Wednesday. Bad news he said. A drunk driver ran a red light and Chuck was the unfortunate victim as he was driving home from work. I still cannot shake the deep numbness.
Chuck was an extremely special person to me and I know, countless others. I feel blessed to have had him as a friend. I truly hope that that each of you are equally blessed to have a 'Chuck Nossick' in your life.
From the Annapolis Capital Gazette:
Friends and family gather to remember crash victim Charles 'Chuck' Nossick.
It is always tough to see something that you love be destroyed. I don't know why I followed the Baltimore Colts when I was young. Especially since I grew up in North Jersey. Maybe I was influenced by the numerous books written about John Unitas and the greatest game ever played that I read from cover to cover.
It was August of 1984 when Rondi and I got married, moved to Hollins Street in West Baltimore and I started graduate school. We lived in a neighborhood that some would call the Urban Frontier. It was also the historic dividing line between white Baltimore and black Baltimore. Everyone coexisted but there was a complete separation of color in regards to where one lived and socialized.
No question that the police in Baltimore have a very difficult job. For many decades drugs have been a major problem and the crime and other social ills associated with drug addiction led to a significant reduction in population (both white and black). What was left where large areas of abandoned homes, poor schools and a lack of jobs. The police do become frustrated because very often just hours after they arrest someone, that person is back on the street engaged in illegal activity.
But sometimes, the police do go overboard physically when making arrests. I have seen it first hand and it is not comfortable to watch and you begin to understand some of the frustration that the Baltimore residents have been expressing. However, being destructive is not an answer. In neighborhoods that have not recovered from the riots following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., the rioters were destroying their own employment and shopping centers.
It is painful to see the city, where we lived for 20 years and our two children were born, to take such a major step backwards. So many areas of the city have been transformed from the decaying industrial city that it was to a high-tech employment center. Large sections of the city have seen new housing developments and people moving back. I now wonder how many people and businesses will consider investing in the city.
The city leaders, police and the residents have a long uphill battle in restoring confidence in each other and moving forward together. I wish them well.
In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations..." In 1938, November 11th became a legal holiday to celebrate the veterans of World War I and in 1954 the law was expanded to honor American veterans of all wars.
Today, many people know that American soldiers are fighting around the world but very few of us have a direct connection to any of the men or women who are fighting on our behalf. From time to time it is important that we reflect on the sacrifices that our military makes on a daily basis. And since we are not asked to share in these sacrifices, I think that it is is crucial that we be reminded of them.
Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks and Washington Post writer Rajiv Chandrasekaran have published "For Love of Country", a collection of heroic actions taken by American soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors also discuss the many contributions that veterans make to society upon their return to the United States.
All of the stories in "For Love of Country" are exceptional. But none more so than the heroic actions of Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter described in Chapter Four. These two Marines met for the first time early on the morning of April 22, 2008.As he was at the end of his tour, Corporal Yale was scheduled to return to the United States in a few days while Lance Corporal Haerter had just arrived in Iraq. The two Marines were guarding Gate One when a truck loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives drove quickly towards the compound's entry. The Marines stood their ground and fired away at the oncoming truck. For six seconds they did not move or run away as they clearly made the decision to stop the truck. That heroic choice by these two Marines cost them their lives but saved 33 of their fellow soldiers, including my son, Benjamin Tupaj.
On this Veteran's Day, please take the time to not only reflect upon the sacrifices given by our military but to personally thank them for their service. And please read "For Love of Country" as it is honors these heroes.
The 2014 New England Patriots Magnetic Schedule is in! Kickoff for the first game is on September 7th. Stop in the office for your schedule or send me an e-mail (stan@fairpoint.net) and I will put one in the mail.
