While writing this column, I started to research the term, “bucket list.” I had remembered a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, which was made in 2007, and the research online says that is generally when the term was born. The two men break out of a cancer ward and attempt to do things they have wanted to do before they die. It comes from the phrase, “kick the bucket,” which we all know means to die. Another show I enjoyed was a reality show on MTV called, “The Buried Life,”

This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day. Of course, the dads get the better weather. It seems dads always get the better day. My friends are often running around on Mother’s Day and say, “There will probably be no sports scheduled for Father’s Day.” However, with all of the sports these kids are playing today, I am sure both parents will be running around this weekend, trekking these kids to lacrosse, soccer, baseball, softball or whatever sport kids are now playing.

I want to give a shout out

The forecast for this weekend currently looks absolutely spectacular and I know we all hope to get to the beach. However, I am a week late with my column as Monday’s high temperatures had many beachgoers who did not know the beach etiquette. Here is my annual beach etiquette guide and it is for all of our new residents and our visitors (which I am sure there will be a lot of due to the ferry and the shuttle and the anticipated high temperatures). 

Rule 1: When you get to the beach and there is

The end of this school year has me scratching my head. If you read my column weekly, you know that I do not think everyone should get a trophy and that we need to be a bit tougher on our children. As a high school educator, I believe the quality many kids are missing today is grit. Many kids today cannot overcome obstacles as we have leveled all of the obstacles for them.

One reason I believe we are inflating the self-worth of our children is the constant praising of our children. When I say

Thank you so much for all of your emails this past week. Everyone seems to be on the same page with people needing beach etiquette. I just want to note these rules are for everyone, not just our visitors. My favorite text was from Beth O’Neill who said, “Love the column!!! I vote you make copies and I’ll help laminate and we will post all over the boardwalk and beach walls.”

Here’s Part 2:

Rule 4: PDAs. Our beach is a public beach, not a private beach on a romantic getaway. You may hold hands

To give some people a background about myself, I attended twelve years of Catholic school. I graduated from St. Francis de Sales, and then attended and graduated from St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows. The only time I attended public school was many moons ago when I went to kindergarten at the old P.S. 225 because Catholic elementary schools did not have kindergarten at the time. Some people say I was raised privileged but my parents made many sacrifices for the three of us to attend Catholic