Words from a lost age. “The present campaign has certainly been carried on, in a very ladylike manner. Never before have we observed such courtesy in a political campaign. There has been little mudslinging, our opponents have treated us in a very gentlemanly manner.”
The young New Paltz woman who was seriously injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding her bicycle on Rt. 299 on Sept. 11 has made great strides in her recovery, now speaking in whole sentences and paragraphs, and not just eating but “savoring” food.
This fall, the Maya Gold Foundation is hosting a series of interactive events for adults and teens, designed to improve communications and open a community dialogue across all age groups.
Trying to describe what Halloween in New Paltz is like to someone who’s never seen it for themselves brings to mind lyrics from Circle of Life: “There’s more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done.”
A sampling of some of the Halloween activities happening this weekend in New Paltz and surrounding communities.
We all die, of course. But some of us die far from home. Some of us die lost, without the memory of friends or family. Some of us die in alleyways or emergency rooms. Some die face-down in drainage ditches or under frozen sheets of broken cardboard boxes. Some of us, in other words, die broke, alone, forgotten. These are the people whose bodies have for thousands of years filled what are most commonly called “potter’s fields.”
Stephen O’Shea said that his daughter has regained consciousness and is responsive, but has not yet spoken. “She is making steady improvement,” he said.
This Sunday will be Bike Awareness Day at Water Street Market in downtown New Paltz. The October 23 consciousness-raiser was organized in response to the injuries to Gabriela O’Shea, hit from behind by a motorist while bicycling along Route 299 on September 11. It will serve in part as a fundraiser for her care. Most of the events will be free of charge.
One Book/One New Paltz, the annual joint community reading and discussion experience, returns to town with a week’s worth of activities from November 13 to 20. But this year it’s going to be a little different: Instead of the usual novel, the book selected by the One Book/One New Paltz Committee is a sobering non-fictional account of the lives of people living in extreme poverty.
Iszy Szemcsak is often seen with a camera in her hand. The New Paltz High School senior has been snapping photos since she was ten years old, and she has never lost her passion for it.