2020 COVID-19

Easter Eggs, Flamingos, and Turkeys ~ Oh My!

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Some days it truly is the simplest of things that give us pleasure, amusement, or a smile.  Decorating an Easter Egg tree gives me all of those things and has been a tradition of mine for more than three decades – and some of my colorful eggs are clearly now a bit faded, fragile, and vintage.

This year, the eggs went on the tree earlier than usual, in mid-March, as a little something to brighten my Covid mood. With so many neighbors out walking to pass the time, l noticed more and more people stopping to snap a photo and say, “Thank you for this spot of color in what seems like a dark time.”

Easter has long passed and the eggs have remained on the tree for the cadre of neighborhood children (and their parents and others) who stop by daily to count the eggs and identify them by color.

One of our favorite daily visitors is an adorable two-year young lady who lives close by and spends as much time as her family will allow with the egg tree. Bird feeders and a birdbath were added and attract a colorful array of wings and birdsong.

2020 COVID-19

Bedford’s Neighbor Brigade says “Thanks for Your Gifts of Back-to-School Masks”

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Thank you to everyone who donated masks to the Bedford MA Neighbor Brigade Back to School mask drive!

We were able to collect or purchase, wash, iron, individually bag, sort by size, label, and deliver 455 masks in time for school to start. We brought 230 masks for distribution at the Bedford Food Bank, and 225 masks to the BPS Guidance Department in every color and pattern from tiny preschool to high school appropriate sizes.

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First Church Mask Makers Celebrate at Meet & Greet Farewell Party!

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First Church of Christ Congregational’s Mask-Making Ministry team members gathered in a spacious garden for a joyful, socially-distanced “Meet and Greet Farewell Garden Party” on September 12, 2020.   The intent of the party was to celebrate and thank each guest for sharing their time, talent, and skill set, to recognize and acknowledge what our group had accomplished as a whole, and to provide closure.

On the surface, the title may seem like an oxymoron, but since our group formed in response to the pandemic and we strictly adhered to social-distancing recommendations many of us had never met in person. 

2020 COVID-19

Dot’s Reading Room ~ “The Road Ahead: Charting the Coronavirus Pandemic over the next 12 Months, and Beyond” ~ September 22, 2020

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If you’re interested in looking ahead to what the next months will bring during “life in the time of pandemic,” you may find this report from the editors of STAT revealing.  (STAT is a media company focused on finding and telling compelling stories about health, medicine, and scientific discovery.)

“The Road Ahead: Charting the Coronavirus Pandemic over the next 12 Months — and Beyond” By Andrew Joseph -September 22, 2020.  Here’s a quick summary:

Bedford Common Gathering to Honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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More than 100 individuals gathered in the crisp fall air on Bedford Common Sunday evening, in the early evening darkness to honor the memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. People of every generation arrived in response to Saturday’s last-minute invitation that was shared via social media among friends, and in The Bedford Citizen so as many people as possible would know. A large circle of masked mourners was for the most part appropriately distanced from each other.  Candles were held high to honor  Justice Ginsberg who died on Friday evening. The group stood in companionable silence remembering her.

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It May Not Have Been Bedford Day, but the Town Campus was Busy on a Gorgeous September Saturday

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Editor’s Note: While Bedford Day is typically celebrated on the third Saturday of September, the 2020 date was changed to September 26 to avoid conflict with Rosh Hashana which began at dusk on September 18 and ended on September 19.

It wasn’t Bedford Day, but there was a lot happening at the Town Campus on a beautiful Saturday, that in an ordinary non-pandemic year would have been a town-wide celebration.

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Historical Society Lecture on 9/23: National History Day Winners and Comparing the 1918 Flu to Covid-19

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The first program of the Bedford Historical Society’s 2020-2021 season, on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, will be a virtual Zoom program featuring presentations on Bedford High students’ award-winning National History Day projects and a discussion about the parallels and differences between today’s coronavirus pandemic and the flu pandemic of 1918.

The September 23 program will be available entirely via Zoom, and will begin at 7 pm.  The public and society members are invited to participate either via video or audio by telephone. The links will be emailed to Historical Society members; others are invited to contact the Society office at 781-275-5276 or by email info@bedfordmahistory.org and the link will be sent to them.

Bedford

Clocks to Move Back One Hour when Daylight Savings Time Ends on November 1

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Many sleep experts argue daylight saving is a health issue.  Scientists from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) warn that the adjustment runs counter to the human body’s natural circadian rhythms and they want the practice scrapped.”  World Economic Forum
 
Added to that, an added hour of daylight this fall could help restaurants with their outdoor dining.
 
The Bedford Chamber of Commerce has been working on ideas to help Bedford Businesses, including a suggestion to extend Daylight Savings time so that restaurants could extend their outdoor dining season. Seems like the later sunsets would help increase their outdoor dinner business plus, it would be an hour earlier so a bit warmer as well.

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Writer Lizzie Seibert Talks about “The Bro Code”

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Elizabeth (Lizzie)  Seibert will present a virtual book talk at 8 pm on September 23  to introduce her first young adult novel, “The Bro Code.”

If this were an ordinary time, Lizzie would actually be speaking in person and signing books for readers at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA. But in today’s world, this event will take place via Crowdcast and YOU are invited to join the festivities.

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Newest Bedford Free Public Library ‘StoryWalk’ is ‘We March’

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Next time you’re in Bedford center, come take a walk around the library!

Our latest StoryWalk® follows Shane W. Evans’ beautiful picture book We March. It tells the story of the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered this iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on August 28, 1963.

It is a book that can be appreciated by readers of all ages, and we are happy to bring this StoryWalk® to you with support from the Friends of the Library.

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POMS Pop-Up Music: A Summer Success!

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If you were near the Town Center complex in the late morning this past Monday, you may have heard the dulcet tones of a jazz quartet. BHS junior Colin O’Toole led the group on trumpet, with music faculty Jim Felker on drums, Katrina Faulstich on keyboard, and Evan Grunwald on bass. Town staff, along with nearby neighbors and a few curious families who headed over from the Tot Lot playground, enjoyed fifteen minutes of jazz standards in the bright September sunshine. Monday’s concert was one of fifteen Pop-Up Music events in August and September coordinated by Bedford Patrons of Music Students (POMS). Five different groups comprised of fourteen student musicians performed all over Bedford, from backyards to driveways to front lawns.

2020 COVID-19

Bedford Police and Rotary Sponsor Bicycle Helmet Safety Event for Student Cyclists ~ September 19, 10 am to Noon

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The Bedford Police Department, in conjunction with the Bedford Rotary Club,
will host a back-to-school bicycle helmet safety event on Saturday, September 19 from 10 am until noon.

Residents are encouraged to stop by the Police Department parking lot on Mudge Way, where Bedford Rotary volunteers will distribute free, fitted helmets for child cyclists.

The free helmets, made possible through the sponsorship of the Bedford Rotary Foundation are all U.S. safety certified for Bike CPSC, and fit children ages 8-14.

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Fawn Lake Weekly Update ~ September 11, 2020

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The Dredgit crew continues to dredge and haul, having just completed 4 full weeks of dredge operations in the lake.  This week they removed 1,012 cubic yards of sediments for a total of 3,698 yards, approximately 46% of the total amount to be cleared.  This material is being sent to the Lexington facility for reuse in their compost operations.  The dredge barge is working in the O – O cross-section (see construction drawings, sheet C-6),  which is almost the middle of the lake.  The dredged material continues to be all organic, with a few small rocks and a couple of coins mixed in at the bottom.

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Connecting Music Students and Instruments ~ Leonards Music Clobbered by Pandemic Restrictions

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“Music is here to stay,” Rebecca Leonard asserted. “The learning environment is going to be different for a while.”

Leonards Music, at 128 The Great Road since 2011, rents, sells, and repairs musical instruments – everything except pianos and electric guitars. Their business has been clobbered by the restrictions of the pandemic, reflecting the shriveling landscape of performing arts.

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Today is World Suicide Prevention Day September 10, 2020

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September 10, 2020 is World Suicide Prevention Day and the Town of Bedford’s Health and Human Services Department has once again partnered with The National Council for Suicide Prevention in their

Take 5 to Save Lives campaign.

The National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP) is a coalition of eight national organizations working to prevent suicide. The mission of the NCSP is to advance suicide prevention through leadership, advocacy and a collective voice. During the last year, these organizations have directly impacted the lives of over 2 million people and generated over 100 million media impressions.  This campaign encourages everyone to take 5 minutes out of their day and complete five action items on September 10:

2020 COVID-19

Breakfast On the Road ~ From Carleton-Willard Village to Bedford’s First Responders

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For the past 8 years, Barbara Doyle, President and CEO, of Carleton-Willard Village, relishes the opportunity to ‘give back’ to the first responders who support the residents of Bedford’s independent living and continuing care community. The linens are pressed, the tables are set, and a breakfast buffet is ready for Bedford’s first responders who drop in as their schedules allow on the appointed day.

Because of 2020’s Covid restrictions, Doyle and CWV staff members took breakfast on the road, visiting both the Police Department and the Fire Station on Friday, September 4 at the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

It would apparently take more than a pandemic to interrupt Carleton-Willard’s tradition of thanking Bedford’s Fire and Police Departments.

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“Could it Get Any Better Than This?” ~ A Wedding in the Time of Pandemic

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My stepson John and his bride-to-be Jessica had planned their wedding for nearly two years.  They wanted a June wedding/reception at a pretty little vineyard in New Hampshire and June 6, 2020, was the first Saturday that was available. 

All the usual planning began…dresses, fittings, flowers, photographer, invitations, seating arrangements, the ever-expanding guest list, hotels, menus, transportation, etc… it goes on and on.  Jess worked so hard and her wedding day was planned down to the last detail.   Or so we thought.

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Raising Awareness and Hope, Rosie the COVIDitor said “We Can Do It!”

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Editor’s Note: Rosie the Riveter, an emblem for women flooding the workforce in World War II, became Rosie the COVIDitor as the coronavirus lockdown took hold this spring. With a nod to Labor Day, and Elizabeth Nemirovsky’s endeavor, Happy Labor Day!

Facebook post on April 29, 2020: I’m taking Rosie on the road. She can’t do nearly enough sitting on my front lawn while lives all around our state and beyond continue to fall at the mercy of COVID-19. I’m suited up: face mask, Rosie, sneakers. I’m alone: no friends or family. I’m ready. #RosietheCOVIDitor

Feeling ‘itchy’ as Bedford’s Covid-19 lockdown moved from March into April and her mother entered hospice care, forcing her to quit her job, Elizabeth Leavitt Nemirovsky created an image to display in her front window offering encouragement to passers-by. With little else to do, walking became something of a ‘thing’ this spring and such decorations sprouted all around Bedford.

“Rosie [the WWII riveter and avatar for strong women ever since] was an easy choice as far as an image to start with,” Nemirovsky wrote. “The fun really began when I started to imagine her “ka-POWing” COVID. When the poster was complete it sat in my window for a few days before I felt like it just wasn’t enough.”

2020 Boston Marafhon

The Virtual 2020 Boston Marathon ~ Running on Bedford and Concord Trails ~ Monday, September 7

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Editor’s Note: When the 124th Boston Marathon was canceled in April, runners were offered a refund or the opportunity to run a ‘virtual’ marathon on a self-designed route between September 7 and 16, finishing within six hours.

Who is motivated to run 26.2 miles?  A marathon runner.  But, what if you have never run a marathon?  Where does that crazy idea originate from that motivates a person to sign up for, train for, and run a marathon?  And, for those people who were signed up to run the 2020 marathon, how did they muster up the courage to train not once but twice? 

If you’d like to connect with Laurie and Mark or cheer them on, they plan to arrive at Merriam’s Corner a little after 7 am on Monday, during the first leg of their virtual route.

This motivation, in my personal opinion, is worthy of praise, but for the thousands of runners who signed up to run the 2020 Boston Marathon virtually, there will be no glory, there will be no fanfare, and there will not be the same feeling of pride when rounding the corner onto Boylston Street in Boston and crossing the finish line and donning a finisher medal. Running and finishing a marathon alone is just not the same, but if we have learned anything about life in a global pandemic, the only constant is change.  

Changing the date to September 14th didn’t stop many runners from continuing their training efforts and fundraising, but when runners were told once again that there would be no in-person running of the marathon, many chose to get their money back but others held onto the hope that the BAA would provide an opportunity to run the race virtually.  Two such runners, Laurie Zapalac and Mark Ciepelinski, will be using the trails right here in Bedford and Concord to run their race on Monday, September 7th.  

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What’s Bedford Thinking ~ About Vaccines?

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Vaccines have been in the news again.

There is a report in The Washington Post today, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling state health officials to be ready to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to health-care workers and other high-priority groups as soon as Nov. 1, heightening fears that the agency is under pressure to approve a vaccine before Election Day. Some scientists warn that granting emergency authorization to a vaccine before clinical trials are complete could pose safety dangers and inflame anti-vaccination sentiment — but others say that doing so could save thousands of lives.”

What is Bedford Thinking?

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An Obituary: George A. Doorakian

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George A. Doorakian passed away on August 30, 2020. A research chemist with many patents to his name, Mr. Doorakian bred hybrid daylilies, winning the Stout Silver Medal for his diploid cultivar Rose. F. Kennedy. He was also a Master Rosarian with the American Rose Society and the New England Rose Society.