The South Coast Insider - March 2010

March 2010 / Vol. 14 / No. 3

coastalmags.com

Celebrate Women’s History Month Health and wellness Stop the violence Getaway in style Try aromatherapy New feature Meet folks in Facets Bordertowns Barrington beckons Wine notes France vs. USA Pets: Can they tell time?

Happenings you’ll love

����� Top 10 in U.S. for heart care again. %

That’s not us talking, it’s HealthGrades® — the nation’s leading independent health care ratings organization.

Our heart services are consistently ranked in the top 10% in the nation. So if you have heart problems, it’s good to know that the best quality care — anywhere — is here at Southcoast Hospitals.

Our 2010 HealthGrades report card SPECIALTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS

• HealthGrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award — 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• HealthGrades Angioplasty/Stent Excellence Award — 2008, 2009, 2010

CLINICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

• Ranked among the top 10% in U.S. for Overall Cardiac Services — 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• Ranked among the top 5 hospitals in Massachusetts for Angioplasty/Stent Procedures — 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• Ranked among the top 5 hospitals in Massachusetts for Overall Cardiac Services — 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• 1 of only 2 hospitals in Massachusetts ranked among the top 10% in the nation for overall heart services 4 years in a row — 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• Ranked among the top 5% in U.S. for Angioplasty/Stent Procedures — 2008, 2009, 2010

For more information about heart care at Southcoast, including our quality and 5-star ratings, visit

www.southcoast.org.

CoastalINSIDER11/15/06

11/15/06

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Page 1

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MARCH 2010

Contents IN EVERY ISSUE

BORDERTOWNS

BUSINESS

5

From the publisher

12

34

6

On my mind:

32

40

14

28

Barrington beckons

by Paul E. Kandarian

by Paul E. Kandarian

FACETS

Book Picks: Women’s ways

23

by Magoo Gelehrter

SEED overview

by Maria Gooch-Smith

THINGS TO DO

Meet Katherine Knowles

by Paul E. Kandarian

38

Happenings: Spring things to do

YOUR HEALTH

24

Aromatherapy can help

by Duir Kell

Recognize women’s work

by Elizabeth Morse Read

FOOD NOTES

Break the cycle of violence

26

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

Pets tell time

by Brian J. Lowney

Gourmet Getaways

by Dan Logan and Robin LaCroix

WINE NOTES

30

France vs. USA

by Alton Long

What’s Happening?

Send your events to: editor@coastalmags.com or post them online at: www.TheSouthCoastInsider.com Please limit your announcement to no more than 30 words.

2

Last Word

by Michael Vieira

COVER STORY

8

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

ON THE COVER It’s Women’s History Month—a great time to recognize outstanding women in the South Coast. Katherine Knowles, executive director of the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford is an exceptional leader and role model. Meet her in this issue.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

3

UNDERWOOD FARM

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Westport – Exceptional 4,200 sf Colonial w/ 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths on 1.6 acre lot offering private living quarters perfect for au pair or in-law setup. Upgrades include irrigation, electric fence, custom closets, home theatre, security system, and stamped concrete patio, stonewalls and perennial gardens. Offered at $649,000. Call 508-679-3998.

South tiverton – New listing. Beautifully maintained 3,700 sf Colonial offering 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, master suite, hardwood floors, formal living & dining rooms, fireplace, custom built-ins, finished walk out basement, office, 2 stall garage, central air, stonewalls, privately located on over 4 acres. $525,000. Call 508-679-3998.

Westport – NEW LISTING – RARE OPPORTUNITY! 15.7 Acre estate with 536 Ft of frontage offering multi-level 3Bdrm, 3.5Bath home PLUS 40x80 brick 4-bay garage w/office PLUS 4-stall horse barn w/plumbing & electric. Previously used as a home business(Mixed Use). Beautiful manicured grounds w/plenty of room for a corral. SUB-DIVIDABLE! Outstanding location – THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!

FROM THE PUBLISHER March 2010 / Vol. 14 / No. 3

Sometimes, you just have to let go. After a cold, snowy winter, we’re ready for spring. Let’s hope Mother Nature lets us out of her cold grip. For many of us, it’s also a time to start a new chapter. This issue of The Insider will help.

Published by Coastal Communications Corp.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ljiljana Vasiljevic Editors Joe Murphy Michael J. Vieira, Ph.D. Contributors Magoo Gelehrter, Maria Gooch-Smith, Stacie Charbonneau Hess, Paul Kandarian, Duir Kell, Robin LaCroix, Dan Logan, Alton Long, Tom Lopes, Brian Lowney, Elizabeth Morse Read, and Michael J. Vieira The South Coast Insider is published monthly for visitors and residents of the South Coast area. The Insider is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay to Buzzards Bay. All contents copyright ©2010 Coastal Communications Corp.

Deadline 20 days prior to publication.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission from the Publisher. All information contained herein is believed to be reliable. Coastal Communications Corp. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

Circulation 30,000 Subscriptions $25 per year Mailing Address The South Coast Insider 144 Purchase Street • PO Box 3493 Fall River, MA 02722 Tel: (508) 677-3000 Fax: (508) 677-3003 Website http://www.coastalmags.com E-mail editor@coastalmags.com Our advertisers make this publication possible–please support them

March is a good time to pause between seasons and to reflect.

It’s both National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Month. Elizabeth Morse Read provides a look at just how far women have come, and the book picks from Baker Books focus on the achievements of some remarkable women.

Domestic violence is a terrible tragedy and problem in our society. It affects both women and men, and leaves the individuals, families and friends feeling helpless.

Stacie Charbonneau Hess not only presents a poignant picture of people affected by abuse, but also offers ways to get support, services, and the assistance that is needed.

But don’t forget to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Irish Heritage Month, St. Joseph’s Day, and other little known events like Peter Francisco Day. Every day can be special.

This issue shares ways to enjoy Gourmet Getaways, experience aromatherapy and even tell time with your pet.

Plus Al Long shares his wine tips, Paul Kandarian takes us to Barrington, and there are happenings and special offers from our advertisers that you won’t want to miss. Don’t forget to visit our website and sign up for our weekly email happenings.

Enjoy,

Ljiljana Vasiljevic Publisher and Editor-in-Chief P.S. Speaking of letting go, it’s been very difficult dealing with the loss of my father.

The many emails, cards, and other messages of sympathy really helped me as I move on to a new chapter in my life. Thank you all for caring. The South Coast feels even more like home now.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

5

ON MY MIND

My son, my hero

by Paul E. Kandarian

You never know where your heroes are going to come from.

Mine walked out of the darkness of a seemingly doomed existence and into the light of a new life.

My son, Paul, 21, is in the Army. He joined last fall, got sworn in this January and is now in Fort Benning, Georgia, in the middle of basic training, far, far from the cozy confines of home. He’s in infantry; they offered other jobs, safer jobs, jobs that wouldn’t have people shooting at him some day in a faraway place. But it was his choice, he made it, and I salute him for that as I do the countless of others who did the same.

My kids, Paul, and Jessica, now 23, and I have always been close. They were young when I got divorced, and I had it written into the decree they’d be with me part or all of four days a week, I couldn’t have it any other way. Divorce is never fair—ever—but this seemed the fairest option for them, and selfishly, for me. My kids were my life, my core, my reason for being. Being together so much helped, them and me.

But even at that, I crashed into a deep depression for awhile.

Despite me seeing them all the time, our daily routine was disrupted and it crushed me to wake up every day under a roof they weren’t.

My son and I were particularly close, I love hockey, and he grew up loving it, too. He played, I coached. He got older, played less, but we went to college and pro games together. We always had hockey as the common denominator, our frozen bond. As he grew older and we expressed our love for each other in less verbal ways, sitting together at a hockey game was all 6

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

we needed to realize how much we meant to one another.

For the last few years, he lived with me, which coincidentally were our worst times. He went through some bad patches, hung around with damaging people who reinforced his seeming desire to harm himself. He made bad choices, sometimes nearly lethal ones, his behavior fueled by a darkness inside him that scared him to endure and me to watch.

As a parent of youngsters, you live to protect them. When they grow and make their own decisions, bad decisions, and there’s nothing you can do but watch, no more helpless feeling on earth can there be. You struggle to make sense of it, and you turn the finger of blame inward wondering what you can do, could have done, should have done. Your head knows those decisions they’ve made are theirs alone. Your heart isn’t so sure.

I hurt now thinking of the last few years of hell we spent together, when the things he did drove the most painful wedge between us I could never want to imagine. We said things to one another in anger that in a million lifetimes I never thought either of us were capable of saying. Our only saving grace was the deep, unconditional love we’ve always felt for each other, love that rendered hurtful words empty. But still, as close as we’d always been, we were now apart and my heart ached from the sheer helplessness of not being able to protect him from himself.

We got him help, or tried to, and sometimes it worked, but then wore off. Whatever demons he was fighting were eating him alive and he was walking around in a body that looked familiar but with a soul I struggled to recognize.

Then for whatever reason, he straightened out, perhaps seeing old friends going to college or the service or making progress in their lives where his was in a downward spin. At the end of last summer, clean, focused, healthy, he thought of

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the service. Then he joined the Army.

Over those next several weeks, I got my son back. For three years prior, he’d gone to a dark place so deep within himself I feared I’d lost him. But he straightened out and we grew back together, as it had been, as close again as those too-long-gone days of little-boy hugs and holding my hand crossing the street. We went to hockey games, played hockey together, traveled some, laughed and smiled and enjoyed each other’s company, no longer antagonists but just father and son. As always.

In many ways, he became my best friend and I now miss my friend, my son, miss him so much it hurts, but know the path he is on—alone, out of my protective grasp—is the best possible path he could take.

When I first got divorced, my son one night told me that in school, they’d asked who their heroes were. I figured for sure he’d have said Ray Bourque, the all-star Bruins defenseman, since Paul had Bourque posters and such all over his room.

“You, Dad,” he said proudly to me that night. “I said you were my hero.”

And though he always was, he is now mine, more than ever.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

7

COVER STORY

It’s time for ‘Herstory’

by Elizabeth Morse Read

Move over, James Brown—

it’s no longer “a man’s world.” In the 21st century, the gender axis has shifted and, increasingly, it’s the women who are bringing home the bacon. American women have emerged from their ages-old domestic cocoon and have become the better-educated, hard-working partners in a rapidly evolving society—and the government, employers and society in general needs to keep pace with the implications of this monumental change.

Since 1987, March has been designated as National Women’s History Month to ensure that the contributions and achievements of American women be recognized, celebrated and championed.

In the past, little was included in textbooks and popular culture about women’s true roles, and, in the future, the challenge remains to make sure that the crucial contributions of women in society, the workplace and beyond are nurtured and addressed. The role of women in Americas has become and will continue to be a juggernaut that defines our nation’s status and growth. Seminars, exhibitions and workshops are scheduled throughout March across the country, from grassroots events to national forums. Join in and be heard!

National Women’s History Month in the U.S. is an offshoot of International Women’s Day (March 8), a national celebration in many former Soviet-bloc

8

countries and Asia, akin to Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, where flowers, parties and gifts honor the nurturing women provide as mothers, workers, volunteers and members of the armed forces.

Recognized by the United Nations, International Women’s Day provides a forum for addressing global issues affecting all women: economic exploitation, sexual abuse/mutilation, bride/honor killings, and lack of access to health care, legal rights, education and equal opportunity in the workplace.

ERA languished

While the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has yet to be passed, it has been proposed and propelled (in fits and starts) since it was first introduced in 1923. The amendment would forbid denial or abridgement of any rights based on gender throughout the country and Congress would be empowered to enforce equality through legislation.

But it has languished “in committee” for more than fifty years and has Continued on page 10

Women by the numbers, then and now n In 2008, there were almost 155 million females in the United Stets, vs.

150.6 million males. In people over 85 years old, there were twice as many women as men.

n Projections indicate that by 2009, American women will have earned 58% of bachelor’s degrees, 60% of master’s degrees, and a majority of first-time professional degrees in law and medicine.

n In 2007, fulltime working women over 16 years old earned less than $35,000/ year, equivalent to only 77.5% of men the same age and occupation.

n More than 94,000 women in the U.S. are police officers, 14,000 are firefighters, 330,000 are lawyers, 266,000 are physicians or surgeons, and 36,000 are pilots.

n Also in 2007, 33% of American women 25 years old and above held at least a bachelor’s degree (vs. 26% of men), double the rate of 20 years before. n In 2002, 86.5 million wpmen-owned firms generated $939 billion in revenues.

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

n More than 200,000 serve in the armed forces 34,000 of which are officers), comprising 14% of the total force, as compared with only 2% in 1950

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

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Continued from page 8

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never reached the floor of the Senate or House for a vote.

Public sentiment and prevailing stereotypes have long hindered its passage, from none other than the AFL and Eleanor Roosevelt herself, and conservative politicians (remember Phyllis Schlafly?) who claimed doom and gloom if women were granted legal and economic equality.

It was finally sent to the states for ratification in 1975, requiring a three-quarters yea vote by 38 states within seven years, but the abortion issue and misfounded fears that passage of the E.R.A. would expose women to military draft, make them more vulnerable in divorce settlements, and erode already-active protective labor laws killed the public support. By the 1982 deadline, only 35 states had ratified, with five then rescinding their ratification, so the status quo of the past remained in force.

Positive changes

How to choose a senior community.

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www.SunriseSeniorLiving.com 10

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

Many still bemoan that the Women’s Lib movement of the late 20th century undermined the fabric of family life and society, but the statistics show that every gain women made in previous decades had a positive impact on American life. As of now, women have surpassed men in earning post-secondary degrees, and economically, their wages have grown and surpassed men.

In 2009, 25% of married men made less money than their wives, more than five times that ratio only four decades ago, and 28% of married women now are better educated than their husbands.

Between 1970 and 2007, full-time working women’s

salaries (reflecting their higher education) grew 44% (vs. only 6% for men), and yet women are still only earning 71 cents compared with $1.00 earned by men of similar education and occupation. The longterm implications of this shift have yet to be fully realized or recognized.

On the home front, this change in economic contributions within a marriage have freed up men from full responsibility for bringing home a paycheck, and there is greater “negotiation” between partners regarding finances, domestic responsibilities and child care. The government, institutions, employers and social services need to catch up to the “new normal,” especially during hard economic times, such as now, when men are far more likely to be laid off than their working wives.

In 2008, 75% of unemployed American workers were men.

And working mothers with a high school diploma or less are far more likely to have a non-working spouse to help support the family.

Military women

Rosie the Riveter was not the only lure used to encourage WWII-era women to leave homes and join the workforce.

A contemporary Marine Corps poster urged women to go to work in order to “free a Marine to fight!”

But American women have a long and coloerful history of wanting to serve in the armed forces, going back to the Revolution’s Molly Pitcher, to the young women who disguised themselves as boys in order to serve during the Civil War. Barriers still exist, though old stereotypes prevent the military from benefiting from what female recruits

and troops can offer to their country’s defense and security.

In most branches, they are restricted to non-combat arms positions, although there are many female helicopter and fighter jet pilots, commanders of military police units , and 34,000 officers. In 2009, women were 200,000 strong in the active military, comprising 14% of total forces, compared with only 2% in 1950.

And, just as in non-military life, American females in the military have more higher education than their male comrades (27% vs. 21%).

And again, deep-seated stereotypes of women as the “weaker sex” have precluded their full potential being realized by our country’s armed services. Their gender might pose a threat to “unit cohesion”, they would be subjected to greater risk in combat or if captured, they’re not as physically strong as the male counterparts. But history has given the lie to such myths.

Soviet women soldiers proved their mettle in the Battle of Leningrad, and the Israeli Defense Force is a powerhouse in part because it appreciates the courage and bravery of its female soldiers. And more than 40,000 women have served in Iraq, with casualties and captures and numerous commendations for bravery.

Perhaps their abilities and contributions will help change the outdated attitudes that prevent women from playing a greater role in our military forces.

The Shriver Report

Maria Shriver, first lady of California, comes from a long family tradtion of public service and social activism.

Her mother Eunice was the power behind the creation of

the Special Olympics. Her father, Sargent Shriver, became the first director of the Peace Corps in 1961. And her uncle, President John F. Kennedy, enlisted none other than the indomitable Eleanor Roosevelt in 1961 to chair the first Commission on the Status of Women.

Maria Shriver’s groundbreaking report, A Woman’s Nation, Conducted with the Center for American Progress (CAP), gives a sharp look to what women have achived in the past half-century, what those achievements have wrought at home and in the workplace, and what still needs to be done to take advantage of this societal seachange.

The new normal

For instance, only 20% of current American families have the old structure of “Father works, Mother stays at home.” The “new normal” demands changes in government policy and workplace accommodations that support the changing American family.

As the old balance shifted and more husbands take on domestic/childcare responsibilities, issues such as flex-time, sick/family leave and healthcare benefits are no longer just a “woman’s worry.”

And as more and more young working couples with children are also grappling with care of elderly parents, policy-makers and employers must acknowledge and address these issues if they want to recruit and retain qualified and talented workers. And studies indicate that the most stable and successful marriages are those where both working parents share family/domestic responsibilities and regularly negotiate daily details.

The Women’s Movement 1893 – New Zealand becomes the first country in the world to grant voting rights to women.

1848 – The first U.S. women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls NY, setting the agenda for the women’s rights movement, calling for equal treatment of men and women under the law and voting rights for women.

1869 – Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Women’s Suffrage Association, seeking a Congressional Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to achieve voting rights for women.

1903 – The National Women’s Trade Union League is formed to advocate better wages and working conditions for women.

1916 – Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn NY. It was promptly shut down, but she persevered through the courts and reopened in 1923.

1919 – The federal women’s sufferage amendment was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.

1920 – The 19th Amendment to the U.S Consitution is signed into law, granting women the right to vote.

Title IX

W

hile the ERA amendment may have stalled, other legislative victories have helped American women move towards equality.

In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendment, forbade any gender-based barriers to females in any educational institution or activity that received federal funding. An extension of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1967 executive order signed

by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, at the urging of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Title IX re-energized the Women’s movement, which had gone dormant after the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920.

The most immediate result was greater equity in funding athletic programs, scholarships and support for female sports in secondary schools and colleges, but it also impacted hiring/ promotion practices and benefits for female educators.

In the 2006-2007 school year, 3 million American girls participated in high school athletic programs, as opposed to only 1.6 million in 1975-6.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

11

BORDERTOWNS

Barrington beckons

by Paul E. Kandarian

B

ack in the day, Barrington was the place to troll for girls.

Yes, that sounds sexist, but hey, this was 1970; we girl-seeking trollers were 17 years old, all raging hormones and little common sense, and Barrington girls, my God, Barrington girls were the pinnacle, with their nice clothes and impeccable manners and long hair and short skirts and handsome homes and rich parents.

Did we get anywhere? No. Did we have a blast trying?

Most definitely. Would I kill any raging-hormone fueled teen anywhere near my daughter if I were a Barrington dad then or now?

Oh, without question.

Ah, the good old days.

Those are some of my fondest memories of the little town just down the Wampanoag Trail from my native Seekonk, where as a youth I had some really good times. Now, I respect the town as a gorgeous little bedroom community with rich history and a treasure trove of parks and recreation land with a phenomenal bike path running through it.

Barrington in many ways is defined by water; no point 12

in town is more than two miles from salt water, with Narragansett Bay to the west and south, the Warren River on the east. Gorgeous America’s Cup can be seen at picturesque Brewer Cove Haven Marina, and all around town are glimpses of ocean and river.

Maritime history While the town started out as most did, agriculturally, and folks settled around a town center, another group settled around the shipyards and wharves, making the town a more maritime community, but by the early 19th century, that activity shifted across to Warren, according to a wonderfully comprehensive history of the town on its

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

website, compiled by Richard Greenwood.

Brick making was huge in Barrington for a time, with clay beds over in the Nayatt area, and brick manufacturers turned Mouscochuck Creek into a barge canal, creating claypits that are now flooded and called Brickyard Pond and Echo Lake, Greenwood writes.

The industry drew a sizeable Italian workforce, which developed a lasting influence in the neighborhoods of Maple Avenue and Middle Highway, he said. Later, the town became a draw for those seeking respite from city life, and Nayatt Point hotels popped up.

Bedroom community Barrington is largely a bedroom community these days, with modest homes in most spots, and larger, more affluent edifices along Rumstick Point Road, a high-rent district we also trolled in the 1970s in search of girls of means, and as usual having no luck at all.

One of the best features of town is, like many others, free of charge, there for all to enjoy. The East Bay Bike Path cuts through Barrington and directly through the center of what has turned into a pretty busy downtown. Getting off the beaten bike path brings you to other beautiful areas of town, such as down Nayatt Road by the Rhode Island Country Club with its terrific views of Narragansett Bay. Haines Memorial Park is also in Barrington and includes 75 acres of athletic fields, picnic sites, a boat dock and launching ramp.

Hidden jewels Barrington is a place of hidden jewels such as the Osamequin Nature Trail, located along Hundred Acre Cove off County Road, a town-maintained conservation site of 38 acres that include nature trails and a bird sanctuary.

Veterans Memorial Park on West Street is a 245-acred town park bordering the aforementioned Brickyard Pond, where you’ll also find a baseball field, picnic areas and fishing.

Barrington Beach And one hugely public treasure is Barrington Beach, a wildly popular summer spot.

The town is keenly concerned with conservation, and nowhere is that more evident than at the Barrington Land Conservation Trust, which owns more than 250 acres in town (pretty impressive in that the town is only 16 square-miles small), including the Johannis Farm Wildlife Preserve, Lombardi Park, Shepperton Marsh and others, some 70 holdings in all.

Fine schools The town is also home to fine educational facilities, public and private, such as St. Andrew’s School, a prep school founded in 1893, and to some pretty neat little stores in its center, ice cream shops and boutiques.

It is a place I still love to visit as I did 40 years ago, though for vastly different reasons.

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COVER STORY

Alternatives to violence

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

I once knew a victim of domestic violence. I will call her Natalie. Natalie was about my age at the time, 27, had three children and lived with her husband and kids in a suburb of Sacramento. When I would visit her home, there was no evidence of violence, but there was a feeling that the home was bereft somehow, and that the family was struggling financially.

N

atalie used plastic utensils for everyday, and the carpet on the floor looked worn and ragged. Just before I met her, Natalie had been in the hospital for a broken jaw. Her husband punched her in the face while they were having an argument.

Natalie’s children were beautiful. The two oldest, girls, had long shiny black hair, and evidence of the multicultural blending of Mexican American that is so common in California. The youngest, however, a boy, was scrawny and looked the wrong color—I mean he was not robust but abnormally pale for a child.

He had many silver fillings where there should have been white teeth.

Though we never talked about this, Natalie and I, I imagined the decay in her son’s teeth was parallel to the decay in her hope of ever leaving the situation she was in with her husband.

Pressures hit Perhaps the pressures of family life did not fully hit when the two girls were young, but by the time child number 14

three came along, the family unit was stressed, overwhelmed, unstable. The youngest child bore the brunt of the familial unrest in his physical stature.

But what about Natalie? And what about the girls who would grow up watching their mother get pummeled by the man who was supposed to protect her?

Their scars were less noticeable, I guessed.

Domestic violence is obviously a complex issue. In Natalie’s case, one wonders why she didn’t just get up and leave.

Aren’t there resources in California, as in Massachusetts or any state, or shelters for women and children like Natalie and her young ones?

The back story is that Natalie had grown up without a mother. She had died when Natalie was an infant, of sclerosis of the liver. Natalie’s mom was a serious alcoholic who somehow managed to obliterate her organs by her mid-twenties, when she died far from home after following a boyfriend to Hawaii.

Many abusers So Natalie was reared in a combination

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

of households—grandmother, aunts, foster care. Her uncle and brother had both raped her at some point in her life. She had never been taught to value herself, or to believe in her inherent worth. She had never gone to college. This gives us some idea of why, even after having her jaw broken, she returned to her abuser.

She didn’t know any better, or maybe she didn’t feel she could do any better.

Many educated women find themselves in abusive relationships, although they are supposed to know better. They may have loving parents, or may have attended the most expensive prep schools.

They have heard stories of women like Natalie. They know abuse happens to rich and poor, white and black, in the east and west. They’ve learned that although domestic violence victims are mostly women, men can be abused as well. And yet they are in abusive relationships.

Reports suggest that poor women are more often abused, but that may not be true. Research shows that women lower on the socio-economic scale are more likely to call the police.

The data is inherently skewed, but Susan Weitzman, author of Not to People Like Us: Hidden Abuse in Upscale Marriages (Perseus, 2000) estimates that one woman every 12 seconds endures some kind of abuse at the hands of a husband or lover.

In the book’s first pages, Weitzman highlights a woman, “Sally,” whose marriage dissolved after two decades, several broken bones and a broken eardrum, the

legacy of her abusive husband. It took her that long to see that her marriage was not normal, her husband’s behavior was not acceptable, and it was not her fault that her husband abused her (as he repeatedly told her, and she continued to believe). It took that long for her to have the courage to divorce her husband, although his treatment of her had been abhorrent, violent, and manipulative, not to mention illegal.

Against the law Although hitting a woman (or man) is against the law in this country, legalities are a sticky realm for an interpersonal relationship. The law does not govern feelings, nor does it change attitudes.

What happens behind closed doors often stays there, hidden from view from even close friends or other family members.

Sally’s own children did not know the hell she was living in. They had only witnessed a few attacks in all the time they lived at home.

Indeed, it was when Sally’s youngest left for college that she became afraid for her life. Her husband would threaten, “I’m going to get you,” under his breath, and add, “and there’s no one here to stop me.” Sometimes, until an episode is so serious it warrants medical attention, or until a good neighbor or family member intervenes, no one but the couple knows what is going on.

It’s obvious that we can’t count on the law alone to protect people in their intimate relationships or to prevent abuse. Solutions must focus on changing the attitudes of young people, both male and female. Simply talking about a taboo subject takes away some of its power.

Enter the Katie Brown Educational Program, based in Fall River, Massachusetts.

KBEP, A grassroots effort that began in 2001 in Barrington, Rhode Island, has since blossomed into a relationship violence prevention program that serves hundreds of schools and thousands of students throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Dr. Jay Schachne, after learning of the death of Katie Brown, a 20 year old

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Continued from previous page Barrington resident and daughter of long-time friends, started the educational program to honor Katie’s life. He enlisted the help of Susan Jenkinson, former executive director of Our Sisters’ Place and Residential Care Consortium.

Katie’s story

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Katie’s story is wrenching to hear. Her high school boyfriend murdered her in 2001. It was a shock that paralyzed the affluent town of Barrington, where crimes like this are not supposed to happen. Katie’s death perhaps got more attention than would, for example, an immigrant woman living in Brockton instead of Barrington, but her death illuminates the pervasive bend towards violence that creeps into romantic relationships, especially in the very young.

For almost a decade now, KBEP has raised awareness, changed attitudes, and enlightened students about relationship violence all over our region.

The goal of KBEP is to educate young people because, as the mission statement reads: Based on the belief that education is the foundation and channel for permanent change in attitudes and behaviors, the Katie Brown Educational Program promotes respectful relationships by teaching alternatives to relationship violence.

To achieve this goal, the KPEB uses interactive teaching tools and trained educators and go directly where the kids are—in middle schools, high schools, and even elementary schools all over the South Coast. Beginning with fifth graders, KBEP tailors its program to the age group.

The younger kids are encouraged to discuss their thoughts about bullying, what it looks like, what it feels like, why it is wrong and what kids can do to stop it (assertiveness, not aggressiveness, is a big focus in the KBEP). KBEP educators revisit the same schools as much as possible, so the message really sinks in.

Ruth Zakarin is KBEP’s newest executive director, and she has a particularly relevant vantage point from which to Continued on page 18

10 tips for talking to kids about relationships 1. Think about the things you value in your own relationships Then share them with your kids. How do we, as adults, expect men and women to act? How should people behave if they disagree? How should decisions be made in a relationship? Be sure that you can explain your reasoning and can support it with examples.

2. Reveal the “Unspoken Rules of Dating” Don’t assume that your son or daughter knows how to behave in a dating relationship.

Give them clear examples of appropriate manners, actions, etc. It’s important to talk with them about what you expect of them, rather than letting locker room or slumber party talk be their only source of information.

3. Tell the whole truth...good and bad Young people generally view dating very romantically—they are excited and expect their relationships to be filled only with pleasure and happiness. Support these expectations, but discuss some of the less positive things that may happen. It can be challenging to know how to act when strong feelings are involved, but give them a few suggestions or phrases to help them get out of difficult situations. For instance, “I’m not comfortable with this—can we talk about it?”

4. Teach assertiveness, not aggressiveness One of the most powerful things we learn from our parents is to speak up for ourselves—to state our feelings, opinions, and desires clearly. Compliment your kids when they respectfully assert themselves.

5. Teach anger control It’s not realistic to assume that everyone will get along all the time. Help your kids recognize when they’re getting angry and teach them to take a moment to stop and think before they act on that anger.

6. Teach negotiation Help your teens to understand that compromising and “taking turns” are positive steps to healthy relationships. Also help them to understand that violence, threats, and insults have no place in respectful relationships.

7. Teach problem solving When your teen is confronted with a tough issue, have them talk through exactly what happened and what may have caused the situation. Work with them to identify several different ways in which the situation may be resolved. Follow up with them to see which solution they chose and how it is working out.

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8. Explain the warning signs No relationship goes smoothly at all times. However, there are signs that a relationship has more than the usual ups and downs. Know the warning signs (see page 19), teach them to your kids, and help them to understand that any incidence of violence in a relationship is a predictor of very serious problems.

9. Keep no secrets Let your kids know that while special shared thoughts are okay in a relationship, sometimes secrecy—particularly when it isolates them from other friends or family can be the first sign of manipulation and coercion.

10. Be the ultimate role model Talk the talk and walk the walk. If you want your kids to respect themselves and others, let them see your relationships as the ultimate examples of healthy relationships.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

17

Local resources to go for help No matter where you are in life, what age you are and how many children you have, you do not have to live in fear of being in your own home. This is not normal, and it is not acceptable. You deserve to feel safe. There are many local resources to help you escape should you need to immediate flee from your situation. Women’s shelters have undisclosed addresses, thus removing the possibility that your abuser can find you.

Here are some local suggestions on where to go for help: In New Bedford and Fall River, one organization, The Women’s Center, provides free and confidential 24-hour easily accessible services to those in need. They provide counseling, education, outreach, referrals and resources.

They may be called the Women’s Center, but they serve men and children as well. With over 30 years of experience, The Women’s Center is the preeminent organization in the region offering comprehensive FREE and confidential services to ALL survivors and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child trauma. (www.thewomenscentersc.com/news.php#LOFT) Non-emergency information and appointments: Main Office, New Bedford: 405 County Street, New Bedford (508) 996-3343 Fall River Office, 209 Bedford Street, Fall River (508) 672-1222 Emergency: Local 24 Hour Hotline: (508) 999-6636 National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 TTY If you are in immediate danger, call 911 right away.

18

Continued from page 16 gauge the success of the Katie Brown Educational Program. She’s an LICSW and formerly managed advocacy and mental health programs for victims of domestic violence and their children.

“It’s exciting to see healing after trauma,” she says, “but at some point I decided that I really wanted to start working with prevention.” She and the KBEP staff direct their energy to affect change in young people’s attitudes about what is acceptable in an interpersonal relationship.

When asked how she measures the program’s success, Ruth enthusiastically replies: “The responses we get from the kids! We do a pre-test and a post-test with every student that we teach. From their responses we learn about the impact we make. For example, in a ninth grade class we recently taught, 22% of the students said that girls sometimes deserve to be hit by a dating partner. After the program, only 5% agreed with that statement.”

Ruth says that in her former position as crisis counselor, she would look at her clients and wonder, “If someone had talked with them when they were younger about healthy relationships and personal rights, would they be here today?”

Schools step in That is why, she says, “It’s important for the schools to step in, because many kids are seeing, at home or in their communities, that violence is the way to resolve conflicts, and that sends a pretty strong message.”

Ruth tells me the KBEP is a “universal prevention program” because it works with kids of every socio-economic level, no matter what “risk factors” have already been identified. This means the program travels from urban schools to wealthy suburbs, and everywhere in between.

Just like domestic violence, attitudes can be unpredictable and there is no one “look” to a perpetrator or to a victim.

It’s important to remove biases from the equation when deciding what communities to enter, because as statistics reveal, Barrington and other upper middle class

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

schooimpact of the program can be heard in some of the quotes collected after the week-long program was held in Fall River schools this past year.

“I learned that I have the right to voice my own opinions without fear. I had so much fun during this week and I learned so much!” (fifth grade) n

“I learned what you can do if you are angry. That is useful to me because I get angry quick and tend to take it out on others… I think that I bully someone every day and don’t think about it.” (seventh grade) n

n “I learned that if someone hits me it isn’t my fault. And I’m not alone and I can get help.” (ninth grade)

And this one is my favorite, from a sixth/ seventh grader: “I think it’s time for me to be more respectful.” n

Of course it is unrealistic to believe that one grassroots program can wipe out a whole region’s propensity toward domestic violence, but the Katie Brown Educational Program is having some real effect, and does have the intention of saving lives. Sadly, movements of this kind are often spurred by anguish and grief, but it is so important that Dr. Schachne and Susan Jenkinson had the foresight to act throughout the horror and try to memorialize the young Katie Brown and honor her and her family in this way.

Now children and young adults all over the South Coast have a chance to reflect on the questions, What is abusive behavior? What are the warning signs?

Am I a bully?

That kind of reflection has undoubtedly changed attitudes, habits and relationships. As to what happened to Natalie...

Sadly, reader, I do not know. When I met Natalie, I was in an unhealthy relationship of my own, and the last time I saw her, I spent the night at her house, having left the home where I lived with my then boyfriend, for the last time.

Signs of an abusive personality

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These are warning signs of an abusive personality. If you notice several of them in your relationship, please talk to an adult about whether it is a healthy relationship for you.

Jealousy

Hypersensitivity

n

n

Wants to be with you constantly. Accuses you of cheating all the time. Follows you around or frequently calls during the day. Odd behaviors like checking your car mileage or asking friends to check in on you.

Easily insulted. Sees everything as a personal attack. Has a tantrum about the injustice of things that happen to them. Totally goes off about small irritations.

Controlling behavior

n

Hides controlling behavior behind pretending to be concerned for your safety or that you use your time well. Acts like you don’t have the ability to make good decisions. Becomes extremely angry when you are late. Constantly questions who you spend your time with, what you said/did/wore and where you went.

Makes you ask permission to do certain things.

Quick involvement

n

Claims love at first sight. Says you are the only one who can make him feel this way. Pressure for commitment.

Unrealistic expectations

n

Compliments you in a way that makes you feel superhuman. Very dependent for all needs. Expects you to be perfect.

Says “I am all you need. You are all I need.”

Isolation

Disrespectful or cruel to others

n

Punishes animals/children cruelly.

Insensitive to pain and suffering. Has expectations of children that are beyond their ability. Teases children or younger siblings until they cry. Doesn’t treat other people with respect.

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Abusive in previous relationships

You may hear that the person was abusive to someone else that they were in a relationship with, they may say it’s a lie, that their ex-partner was crazy or it wasn’t that bad.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

n

Sudden mood changes as if they have two different personalities. One minute nice/next minute exploding. One minute happy/next minute sad.

Breaking or striking objects

n

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Use of any force during an argument

Tries to cut off all your resources. Puts down everyone you know. Refuses to let you use the car or talk on the phone.

Makes it difficult for you to get to school or work.

n

Blames others for problems/ feelings

n

Problems at work and school are always someone else’s fault. Everything that goes wrong with your relationship is your fault. Makes you responsible for how they feel.

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n

n

n

Love-Loyalty-Friendship

Threats of violence

n

Verbal abuse

Doesn’t respect your property or privacy

n

Reference: www.kbep.org/warningsigns.htm

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Snow made the remarks February 5 during a ceremony at the center, located in the Mitchell Building at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

Snow presented the check for $500,000 to Therese M. Mulvey, MD, Physician-in-Chief / Medical Oncologist at the Southcoast Center for Cancer Care; Linda Bodenmann, Chief Operating Officer of Southcoast Hospitals Group, and Barbara H. Mulville, CFRE, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Southcoast Health System.

The Auxiliary plans to raise an additional $500,000 over the next four years. The remainder of the pledge will come from proceeds from the Charlton Memorial Hospital Gift Shop and Auxiliary fundraisers, such as the upcoming “ABBA-Salutely Fabulous” event to be held on Saturday, May 1, at the Eagle Performance Arts Center in Fall River.

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High school helps Habitat for Humanity

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Habitat International’s mission is to provide a “simple, decent Fall River • Newport • Providence place to live” for those in need. Buildable land donations are now being accepted in those areas. For further information or to Prospect Street entrance 508-673-4329 • 401-849-3791 to Southcoast Centermake for a tax-deductible donation, visit www.BuzzardsBayHabitat.

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March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

dges $1 Million

Wine Festival success The Savory Grape Wine Shop, located at 1000 Division Street in East Greenwich, recently announced that its 3rd Annual Charity Fall Wine Festival, held November 7, 2009, earned almost $14,000 for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

PHOTO (l-r): Jessica Granatiero, owner of The Savory Grape Wine Shop in East Greenwich, Rhode Island; Andrew Schiff, chief executive officer for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank; Lisa Roth Blackman, chief philanthropy officer for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Photo by David Dadekian.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

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FACETS

Meet Katherine Knowles EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the first in what we hope will be a regular series of question-and-answer pieces about local folks you may know, be they politicians, sports figures or leaders of organizations or non-profit agencies. These will be fun, non-agenda driven Q&A’s designed to shine a more unique light on the many sides of a special person.

Up first: Katherine Knowles, Executive Director of the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford.

Our intrepid interviewer is Paul E. Kandarian.

Q: What is your favorite regional food?

A: Portuguese kale soup and scallops, scallops, scallops… yummmmmmm!

Q: If you were stranded on Cuttyhunk forever, what three movies would you bring?

A: When ever anyone asks this question my mind goes blank, but If I were stranded on Cuttyhunk I would need music more than movies. I’m not sure anyone knows, but I was a professional dancer for many years (ballet for part of that time) so classical music is in my bones. But so is Dylan, Springsteen, Queen, Etta James, Gilberto Gil, Chucho Valdez, Mariza, David Byrne, David Byrne David Byrne, Dave Matthews, Bela Fleck, more more more. More than anything, I would need a underwater stun gun, because I would without question swim back while eating scallops.

Q: In your acting career, what role did you love?

A: I had the great good fortune of originating the role of Ginny in The Offering, an Off Broadway-Obie Award winning play at the Negro Ensemble Company. The other role I loved was a very difficult one—Emily Stilson in Arthur Kopit’s Wings. When I think about it I have had many lives but have been in the arts my entire life. Either as a performer, grant maker or presenter. It is a great gift to be able to do what you love throughout your life. I feel very lucky.

Q: Is money or the lack of it the root of all evil?

A: Depends on the amount, the person and their power.

Q: Paper or plastic?

A: Paper—it’s recyclable.

Q: Are you a Toys ‘r Us kid or more FAO Schwartz?

A: When I was very little my father took me to FAO Schwartz and I remember the huge giraffes and Lions and looked in wonder. I was so small and they were so grand at the merry go round. It was magic and I became an FAO Schwartz fan.

Q: What’s the high and low of being Z director?

A: The high is experiencing the community’s enthusiasm for our efforts. The low is the continual struggle to make ends meet.

Q: You get your morning coffee at?

A: Home/Green Bean near the Z. Q: Are you an aggressive driver?

A: No, I was in a bad accident. My car was hit as a result of a very aggressive driver—now I am a defensive driver and always buckle my seat belt. I’m not a fuddy duddy after all I grew up in California and one of my favorite things to do was drive sunset to the ocean and up Pacific Coast highway by the sea with the top down, feel the sun, smell the sea and the wind rushing by.

Q: OK, there’s no whaling in New Bedford anymore, so how about renaming it “The Z City?” That work for you?

A: Make it “Zee Citee.”

Q: In your acting career, what role did you hate?

A: An Indian in Peter Pan. One of my lines was “ug ug wah”— enough said. I think I played a pilgrim during fifth grade and forgot all my lines.

Q: What would you like to come back as?

A: A dolphin.

Q: At fancy dinners, do you use all the utensils or just stick to a few?

A: All. I lived in Europe for a few years when I was in my twenties. I had no idea what they were doing, but watched and imitated. Now, it’s just habit.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

23

Š Monika Adamczyk

YOUR HEALTH

Aromatherapy for everyone

by Duir Kell Aromatherapy uses essential oils of many different plants and flowers as a powerful tool that may adjust a person’s smood, emotion, behavior or well-being.

It can help alleviate stress, skin irritations, depression and anxiety.

The use of aromatic plants in ancient civilizations like Egypt, Sumaria, Babylonia, Assyria, Crete and China predates written records. Their skills in extracting and blending plant oils for use in medicinal remedies and incense are still admired today.

Massage oils, salves, baths, incense and inhalations are just a few of the methods of applications used by aromatherapists.

With cold season upon us here are some great recipes for you to use to get you through the season (EO=Essential Oil): Decongestant Steam Blend Reduces sinus congestion and swelling. n 6 drops Tea Tree EO n 4 drops Cypress EO n 4 drops Eucalyptus EO n 2 drops Rosemary EO Directions: In a glass bottle blend the essential oils undiluted for an inhaler or 24

steam. Add 1 drop of this blend to a bowl of steamy water. Make sure the water is just steaming, not boiling. Close your eyes and lean over the bowl and breathe in the oil. To enhance the effects use a towel over your head to create a tent.

Colds and Flu Antibacterial Oil Destructive to bacteria. n 3 drops Black Pepper EO n 2 drops Clove Bud EO n 2 drops Eucalyptus EO n 2 drops Lemon EO n 4 drops Marjoram EO n 3 drops Camphor EO n 4 drops Rosewood EO n 1 oz. St. Johns Wort Oil

3 drops Grapefruit EO 2 drops Neroli EO n 2 drops Ylang Ylang EO n 2 drops Jasmine absolute n 1.75 oz. Distilled Water n 1.75 oz. 100 Proof Alcohol n n

Directions: Blend in a 4 oz Spray bottle.

Spray the blend into the room, clothes or bedding and breath deeply! Use as often as needed.

Sleep Tight Incense Blend Helps puts you to sleep fast. n 4 tsp Sandalwood n 1 tsp each of Chamomile, Lavender and Marjoram.

Directions: Blend oils into St Johns Wort Oil. Rub the blend on your throat, chest and feet 3-5 times a day.

Directions: Powder all herbs with either a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.

One hour before bedtime burn on charcoal tab (following charcoal directions).

Winter Time Blues Spray Can help chase away seasonal depression and relieve anxiety. n 6 drops Chamomile EO n 3 drops Lime EO n 3 drops Bergamot EO

Hopefully you find these recipes useful.

If you have any questions please stop in and see the Herbalists at The Silver Willow in Rehoboth or email us at info@ TheSilverWillow.com

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

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25

FOOD NOTES

Lois and Angelo Medeiros of Taunton prepare to leave for Florida at 5 a.m. in December 2008

Gourmet Getaways

by Dan Logan and Robin LaCroix

wning a large recreational vehicle calls for more than a passing interest in living on the road in a camper.

True, you’ve always got a kitchen full of food, and your bed is always only steps away. But convenience is a relative term here. For that convenience you put out the money for a vehicle that costs nearly as much as your house, and may seem nearly as big when you’re maneuvering it in tight quarters. It’s not the cheapest way to travel.

And, motorhomes demand lots of love—it’s taking care of your house, maintaining your car, and raising the kids, all rolled into one.

You have to really, really like it.

Plenty of people do. Take the Gourmet Getaways, a group of Taunton area campers who like traveling, and have a blast together after they drop their leveling jacks in a campground for a few days, weeks, or months. A good part of the fun is making and eating good food.

Lots of it, because the group has several 26

energetic cooks who pride themselves on creating terrific meals.

The other key characteristic of the group is its freewheeling camaraderie.

The members tend to be active, outgoing and gregarious. If you can’t take a joke you wouldn’t want to be part of Gourmet Getaways. “They’re jokesters. Laughter is a big part of it,” says Lois Medeiros, who along with her husband Angelo has traveled with the group since 1999.

“It’s a group of friends who like to socialize, like traveling and, of course, eating,” says Dennais Avila of Taunton, another member of the Getaways.

Most of the Gourmet Getaways make very good use of their large recreational vehicles, spending some winter months in Florida, and the summer on trips throughout New England, with the odd trip to upstate New York or the West Coast for variety. One couple are fulltimers, meaning their address moves with them.

The Getaways’ RV roster includes 12 motorhomes and two fifth wheels. The

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

Class A motorhomes are the largest models, 32-36 feet long, and they resemble buses. Class C models are the MiniWinnie sized vehicles, most of them 1825 feet long.

The so-called fifth wheel models are designed to be towed behind a pickup truck that has a coupling device mounted in its bed. Once the camper is set in place at a site, the truck is freed up for regular duty.

Often the larger motorhomes tow a small vehicle behind so that campers can buzz around town—or use the car as a lifeboat if the mothership breaks down.

RVs requires regular maintenance, and it’s usually expensive. And regular maintenance doesn’t guarantee trouble-free operation, notes Angelo Medeiros wryly.

The Gourmet Getaways range in age from their late forties to their seventies, some retired, some not. The membership list is fluid, but currently stands at 27 individual members.

The group is loosely structured, with no officers or charter. The participants participate to have fun. Each couple picks

and chooses where they want to go on the group’s itinerary.

There are hundreds of such RV groups throughout the country, some more formal than others, not to mention more rigid. One Gourmet Getaways couple recalls being in another club where they were invited not to return because they had to miss one trip. They were happy to find a group that didn’t require them to travel in lockstep.

“I think that’s what makes it unique, you don’t feel obligated,” Dennais Avila says.

Typically, six or seven couples will meet up at an event. While regular socializing is one reason they get together for trips, the campers also give each other plenty of elbow room, which is another reason for the group’s success.

New members are occasionally recruited when friends of members become interested in taking part in the proceedings.

The new year starts in November for the Getaways, when the Medeiroses hold a get-together to plan the next year’s travel events and make reservations.

An annual clam boil at Sandy Pond Campground in Plymouth on Father’s Day weekend is the big favorite and usually brings the entire group together.

In September the group will return to the Lake George Balloon Festival in the Adirondacks.

The travelers fend for themselves for many of their meals, but frequently get together for group dinners, typically buffets. It might be a crock pot day where everyone brings a dish in a crock pot, or hobo soup, or a steak dinner. Whatever the menu, everyone participates.

A weekend RV trip might find a group meeting for fish and chips on Friday night followed by a big buffet on Saturday.

The Gourmet Getaways don’t spend all their time eating. Many members of the group enjoy bicycling at the locations they visit. In the fall they camp at Scusset Beach or Bourne Scenic Park and ride along the Cape Cod Canal.

Wherever they are, during the day they might hunt out flea markets and yard sales.

They enjoy sitting around the campfire at night. They hold their own “ducky races” and play dominoes and Bingo. It’s not uncommon for neighboring campers to wander over to see what all the ruckus is about and find themselves joining in, Lois Medeiros says.

Most campgrounds also offer entertainment for campers. Near the campground in Ft. Myers, Florida there are small casinos that the campers enjoy visiting.

Pranks are a hallowed part of the Gourmet Getaways experience. One camper couple or another will wake up to find their camper has been decorated by their buddies during the night. One couple awoke to find their camping site completely cordoned off with police tape, as if it were a crime scene.

“You have to have a sense of humor,” says Dennais Avila.

Many times they’ve run across people from the Taunton area while on an RV trip, Angelo says. During a trip out West, one couple found themselves parked next to an RV they’d sold several years before.

Sometimes the group joins up with larger groups on their forays. Good Sam rallies are the most popular. Good Sam is a nationwide RV club offering such bennies as roadside assistance, insurance and campground discounts. The club holds rallies called Samborees all over the country, and each state holds its own annual rally. The Massachusetts rally on Memorial Day weekend is a favorite destination for the Gourmet Getaways.

At each rally there are events and entertainment for the campers in addition to the activities they plan for themselves.

The Gourmet Getaways will wear their club’s jeans shirts with their embroidered logo to Good Sam events or whenever groups get together.

There are occasional challenges in living the RV lifestyle. RV breakdowns can be frustrating and expensive, but they don’t dampen the spirits of the Gourmet Getaways.

The Gourmet Getaways are a friendly bunch. If you find yourself RVing and meet someone wearing a Gourmet Getaway jeans shirt, be sure to say hello.

Maybe you’ll get yourself invited to lunch.

The South Coast Insider / March 2010

27

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28

What time is it?

Ask your pet

by Brian J. Lowney

Who needs an alarm clock when you have a shrieking feline or a wet dog nose to wake you every morning at the crack of dawn?

Daisy, my 17 year-old mackerel tabby cat, screeches for her breakfast the minute she hears the birds chirping outside, while my other feline, Mickey, gently opens one eye to see what the commotion is all about and then quickly falls back to sleep.

He’s certainly no fool.

Scientists report that circadian rhythms— the 24-hour cycles in the biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes of living beings, are important in determining the sleeping and feeding

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

patterns of all animals, including human beings. Experts have documented clear patterns of core body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle.

This explains why some animals, like Daisy, are hungry and demand to be fed at an ungodly hour, or hop on the bed and lick their owner’s face until coveyed outdoors before sunrise. While owners are still trying to catch a few extra

minutes of rest, our pets’ body clocks indicate that the day has begun and it’s time to get moving.

I recently polled several friends and members of Write Dog, an online chat group for pet columnists and animal book authors, to determine if other furry or feathered critters are early risers or follow a set schedule throughout the day.

Noted author, pet columnist and pug fancier Diane Bourgeois reveals that most toy dogs are creatures of habit and thrive when they follow a routine.

“My late pug, Guinevere, was quite the timekeeper,” she tells me, adding that the matronly dog died a few weeks ago at age 12. “She would get me up around 8 a.m. if I wasn’t already up, because she wanted her breakfast.

She would start walking around the bed, and then walk over me.

If that didn’t wake me up, she’d slam her butt into my hip or leg.

“Guinevere was even more on target timewise for her noon and 4 p.m. meds, dispensed as treats. She would stop whatever she was doing and stare at me as if to say, ‘It’s treat time.’ If I ignored her, she would gently slap me with her paw. The same for her 5:30 p.m. supper; you could set your watch by her.”

Bourgeois discloses that if she wasn’t home and was late in medicatigng or feeding Guinevere, the little pug would “let out a single combination screech/ bark noise” to express her displeasure.

“Pugs are a very food-driven breed but, fortunately, they are also very forgiving and loving,” the breed authority says.

Pet writer and Tibetan spaniel enthusiast Susan Waller Miccio says parrots also make good alarm clocks.

“Charlie, my African Grey parrot, sleeps in my bedroom—I roll his cage in when I

go to bed,” she reports. “He wakes me up every morning at dawn—it’s a bird thing —with an ear-splitting whistle followed by a cheery, perfectly enunciated ‘Good Morning.’ He keeps it up until I either get up or tell him to shut up, which he does.”

Miccio reveals that her Tibetan spaniels aren’t easily roused if they’re sleeping snugly on top of a warm comforter.

“The Tibbies, however, are quite content to let me sleep however long I want,” she notes.

“They are my bed dogs—it’s a Tibbie thing—since Tibet is such a viciously cold place, and I have to wake them up rather than vice versa. Of course, most days I am up at 5:30 a.m.”

Respected pet book author Kim Campbell Thornton will always remember one charming feline’s early morning antics.

“Our late cat Peter used to perch on my husband’s chest, purr loudly, and stare into Jerry’s face so that when he opened his eyes, all he could see was this large gray face,” she recalls.

Local photographer Deb Thomson says that her felines keep her “sleep deprived” and make her jump out of bed when most folks are just turning over to enjoy a few more hours of peaceful slumber.

“My cats used to wake me up at 4 a.m. with great precision and regularity,” the animal lover laments. “I would feed them and get on the treadmill, begin my workout and start my day. I have since given up on the treadmill, but the cats have not forgotten. And worse, when Daylight Savings Time ended last fall and I was hoping to get an extra hour of sleep, their little kitty brains didn’t understand, and they continued the 4 a.m. wake-up call. I swear they can read the clock!”

“My cats used to wake me up at 4 a.m. with great precision and regularity”

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29

WINE NOTES

May the best wine win!

by Alton L. Long

One of the most often asked wine questions, to those who are considered wine experts, is “Which wines are best, French or American?” Of course most will say it depends on the wine itself, its quality, which is usually related to price, as well as its vintage and a host of other variables. So it is hard to say which is really “best.”

B

oth wine experts and novices have tried to answer that question for themselves for years. They do this by comparing wines of a specific type on as level a playing field as they can, or should we say a table. Some comparisons are easy to do; others are more difficult because the French and American wines, even from the same grape, are often not made as the same style of wine.

It is easy to compare a California Chardonnay with French white Burgundy (made from Chardonnay) of the same vintage and similar price range. But this classic duel always comes down to the personal preference of the tasters regarding the degree of oakeyness and fruitiness of the wines.

It is more interesting to compare the Chardonnays of southeastern New England with the French Chardonnays because this region has typically used less oak (and in some case none at all.) and tend to be made in a French style. But so far, all the comparisons have shown only a slight edge in favor of these local Chardonnays. This may be because many of 30

the French Chardonnays are not nearly as good as the classic, and they are unfortunately more expensive.

A notorious and classic comparison In Paris, in 1976, French Bordeaux and U.S. Cabernet Sauvignon based reds, and French White Burgundies and U.S. Chardonnays were “judged” by a panel of French experts. The wine world, the French judges, and especially the French wine aficionados, were all shocked to learn that the winners were essentially internationally unknown wines from California. The top red was Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignon. The top white was Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay. Both were from Napa Valley.

There was only one reporter at this event, an American newsman with The New York Times, George M. Taber.

He realized there was great story here and eventually he wrote and published Judgment of Paris (Scribner, November 2006) describing the event along with an excellent description of the struggles of the wine makers and winery owners to make great wine in the early days of Napa

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

Valley. The book ends with the impact of this event and exciting growth of truly world-class wine making in California.

In 2008, a movie called Bottle Shock was released that was based on this book. Of course there are many Hollywood twists in order to bring in some romance and tension. But much of it is still based on facts. In addition, it was filmed in California wine country and seeing it will be a pleasure for any wine lover.

Both book and movie launched a movement to replicate this French and U.S. wine-tasting comparison with many variations. What is interesting is that most of the results have all come out about the same.

And on the South Coast?

A local Southeastern U.S. chapter of the American Wine Society held a comparison tasting of several modestly priced Bordeaux and California Cabernet wines. The results were that two of the top wines were from California. The number one wine was a 2005 Freemark Abby Cabernet Sauvignon, and number two was the 2005 Stag Leap Cab. At least

one French 2000 Chateau la Pointe came in third, and another French wine, 2005 Les Ormes de Pez, from St. Estephe, tied for fourth place with the 2006 Groth Cabernet.

That number one Freemark Abby, which cost somewhere around $30 to $35, was a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, similar to some Bordeaux.

The Stags Leap which runs more like $50 to $55, is also a blend; 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec.

Chateau la Pointe, which finished in third place, runs around $55 to $60 a bottle. It is about 75% Merlot, with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc completing the blend.

The 2005 Les Ormes de Pez, which tied for fourth, costs $60 and is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot.

This data how two things; though the wines were of comparable price ranges, the California wines which rely on a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon were rated higher.

Was the higher per centage of Cabernet Sauvignon the edge that made them score higher? Or were the wines better due to region, terroir, climate or winemaking process? This is why the blend percentages are listed, to see if that may be a preference here. It appears to be in favor of the highest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon for the California wines but the Merlot for the French.

Phelps 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot), priced at $52 a bottle tying for first. Grgich Hills’ 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot) priced at $59 a bottle was a fairly close third.

The three French wines were all from the Saint-Estephe commune in the classic Bordeaux Medoc district, where most of the top Bordeaux wines are produced. The top French wine was Chateau Meyney 2005 Saint-Estephe (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) priced at $37 a bottle. It was just a few tenths of a point below the third place Napa Cab. Fifth place went to Chateau L’Argilus Du Roi 2005 a new “Chateau” on the scene. It is 58% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon 2% Cabernet Franc, and priced at $40.

Last was Chateau Phelan Segur 2005 Saint-Estephe (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc) priced at $54 a bottle.

It’s the same nationwide

Try this comparison yourself. It does not have to be formal or even a “blind” tasting. Just have a couple of bottle of a similar grape or blend at a comparable price from each country and decide for yourself which you prefer.

This sort of tasting has been done all over the country. Most have had similar results. The Premier Cru AWS Chapter, located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, recently had about 20 members, including at least four certified wine judges as well as a well known profession winemake,r do a similar “judging”. Again the result shows the Napa wines to be the best. The three Napa Valley wines took the first three top scores with Chateau Montelena 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc) priced at $48 a bottle, and Joseph

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Once again the U.S. wines win Many wine experts think that this is because the California “style” is what U.S. wine consumers have become most used to, and to many the French style is truly “foreign.” It would be interesting to see what French tasters would select. But the 1976 judgment seems to have established that there was certainly no particular bias for the French wines.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

31

BOOK PICKS BY BAKER

by Magoo Gelehrter

Courtesy of Baker Books www.bakerbooks.net

To honor Womens’ History Month, here are a handful of excellent non-fiction books showing us the ways of women, and the impact of the struggles women face in surviving in a man’s world. From Rosalie Edge to Ida B. Wells, the work done by women—in spite of the obstacles they face in a world of gender inequity—has a lasting impact.

A Mighty Long Way

by Carlotta Walls Lanier Random House hardcover $26 When fourteenyear-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the “Little Rock Nine” would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America.

Carlotta excelled in her studies at the black schools she attended throughout the 1950s. With Brown v. Board of Education erasing the color divide in classrooms across the country, the teenager volunteered to be among the first black students to integrate nearby Central High School, considered one of the nation’s best academic institutions.

But angry mobs of white students and their parents hurled taunts, insults, and threats. Arkansas’s governor barred the school door, and President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne to escort the Nine into the building. Carlotta would see her home bombed, a crime for which her own father was wrongly a suspect.

Breaking her silence at last and sharing her story for the first time, Carlotta Walls has written an inspiring memoir, 32

complete with compelling photographs, that shines a light on this watershed moment in civil rights history and shows that determination, fortitude, and the ability to change the world are inherent within us all.

Half the Sky

by Nicholas D. Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn Random House hardcover $27.95 Pulitzer Prize winners Kristof and WuDunn take us on an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet extraordinary women struggling against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.

They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad: a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family; an Ethiopian woman, terribly injured in childbirth, had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon.

Through these stories, and more, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource to fight poverty is the

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy.

Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.

Hawk of Mercy

by Dyana Z. Furmansky Baker & Taylor hardcover $28.95 Rosalie Edge (18771962) was the first American woman to achieve national renown as a conservationist.

Edge’s personal papers and interviews with family members and associates portray an implacable, indomitable personality whose activism earned her the names “Joan of Arc” and “hellcat.” A progressive New York socialite and veteran suffragist, Edge did not join the conservation movement until her early fifties; yet, her legacy of what The New Yorker called “widespread and monumental” achievements forms a crucial link between the eras defined by John Muir and Rachel Carson. Today, Edge is most widely remembered for establishing Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world’s first refuge for birds of prey. In 1930, Edge formed the militant Emergency Conservation Committee, which not only railed against the complacency of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Audubon Society, U.S. Forest Service, and other stewardship organizations. This is the life story of an unforgettable individual whose work influenced the first generation of environmentalists, including the founders of the Wilderness Society, Nature Conservancy, and Environmental Defense Fund.

I Am an Emotional Creature

by Eve Ensler Random House hardcover $20

In this daring, provocative, and insightful book, internationally acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler writes fictional monologues and stories inspired by girls around the globe. Moving through a world of topics and emotions, these voices are fierce, alive, tender, complicated, imaginative, and smart. Girls today often find themselves conforming to society’s expectations in an attempt to please. They are taught not to be too intense, too passionate, too smart, too caring, too open. They are encouraged to shut down their instincts, their outrage, their desires and their dreams, to be polite, to obey the rules. Here is a celebration of the authentic voice inside every girl and an inspiring call to action for girls everywhere to speak up, follow their dreams, and become the women they were always meant to be.

I Am an Emotional Creature is a call, a reckoning, an education, an act of empowerment for girls, and an illumination for parents and for us all.

Three Cups of Tea

by Greg Mortenson Penguin paperback $16

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard. Greg Mortenson was a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers, and

promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth.

As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

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To Tell the Truth Freely

by Mia Bay FSG paperback $18

Born to slaves in 1862, Ida B. Wells became a fearless anti-lynching crusader, women’s rights advocate, and journalist. Wells’s refusal to accept any compromise on racial inequality caused her to be labeled a “dangerous radical” in her day but made her a model for later civil rights activists as well as a powerful witness to the troubled racial politics of her era.

Though she eventually helped found the NAACP in 1910, she would not remain a member for long, as she rejected not only Booker T. Washington’s accommodationism but also the moderating influence of white reformers within the early NAACP. In the richly illustrated To Tell the Truth Freely, historian Mia Bay vividly captures Wells’ life, from childhood in Mississippi to her early career in late-nineteenthcentury Memphis and her later life in Progressive-era Chicago.

When a young schoolteacher she was forcibly ejected from her seat on a train, and sued the railroad. Though she ultimately lost her case, the published account of her legal challenge to Jim Crow propelled her into a career as an outspoken journalist and social activist.

A fierce critic of the racial violence that marked her era, Wells went on to launch a crusade against lynching that took her across the United States and eventually to Britain.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

33

REGIONAL NEWS

Helping business, creating jobs SEED Overview 2009

by Maria Gooch-Smith During the worst recession

since the Great Depression, the South Eastern Economic Development (SEED) Corporation continued lending and providing business assistance to small businesses which were doubly impacted by the recession and lack of credit in the region.

SEED was established in 1982 by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) to assist small businesses and address financing gaps in the region.

SEED focuses on small businesses because they create the majority of the new jobs.

As a “gap� financier, SEED usually 34

makes a second loan behind a participating bank. SEED makes it possible for small businesses without an operating history or sufficient cash flow, and/or collateral to get started and expand. The largest loans are made under the SBA 504 Program and the smallest are made under the Micro Loan Program.

In its 27 years of operation, SEED has made 1,079 loans under all of its programs, totaling $123 million and leveraging another $352 million in bank financing and private funds. These loans have created a total of 7,428 new jobs.

Last year, SEED made 117 small businesses loans, a 15 percent increase over the previous year, and assisted 1,646

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

existing and prospective entrepreneurs with technical assistance, an increase of 43 percent.

The loans made by SEED in 2009, totaled $34 million, leveraged another $50 million in bank and private funds, and helped create nearly 600 new jobs.

The SBA 504 Program

With interest rates at an all time low, and the elimination of fees by the Recovery Act, businesses which could purchase real estate took advantage of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Program administered by SEED. In many cases the cost of purchasing a facility was less than that of leasing. SEED

approved and closed a total of 74 SBA 504 loans representing $29 million.

SBA 504 loans provided a steady source of long term financing at fixed interest rates ranging from 5 to 5.5 percent fixed for 20 years, frequently with only 10 percent down, instead of the conventional 20 to 25 percent. The program enabled small businesses to take advantage of the lower cost of commercial real estate while conserving working capital.

SBA 504 loans are designed to assist small businesses undertaking real estate projects or purchasing heavy equipment costing more than $200,000. The participating bank makes a conventional loan for 50 percent of the project and SEED provides the next 40 percent at a current fixed interest rate of 5.7 percent for 20 years. Projects can range up to $10 million where SEED is participating with a $4 million SBA 504 loan for a manufacturing company. To date, SEED has made 520 SBA 504 loans totaling $181 million, and creating 4,600 new jobs.

In 2009, some of the small businesses obtaining SBA 504 loans through SEED in the south coast include: Maplewood Machine, Co., Dartmouth; Capeway Veterinary Hospital, Fairhaven; Anderson Automotive Products, Co, Fall River; ATCO Plumbing & Mechanical, LLC., Fall River; Performance Auto Center, Inc., Fall River; Home Kore Manufacturing Co., Lakeville; Fairfield Inn & Suites, New Bedford; Gas Express, Inc., New Bedford; Rattan Furniture, Inc., New Bedford; Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding, Somerset; and Argos Corporation, Wareham.

small business loans up to $200,000, and borrowed an additional $1 million from SBA to make micro loans up to $35,000.

The additional capital provides SEED with a total base of $6 million to lend to small businesses in the region.

Through its Revolving Loan Fund, SEED assists small businesses with small projects or working capital needs. This fund provides loans up to $200,000 which represent a portion of the total financing needed. These loans are usually subordinated to bank financing and have a term up to 10 years with a current fixed interest rate of five percent. To date, SEED has made 355 loans totaling $13 million, and creating 2,100 new jobs.

As the regional SBA Intermediary for the Micro Loan Program, SEED makes micro loans and conducts a Business Assistance Program, which includes business workshops, individual business assistance, and a small business library. This past year, SEED held 36 workshops throughout the region attended by 683 entrepreneurs.

SEED also provided individual assistance to 963 aspiring entrepreneurs.

With the Micro Loan Program, SEED provides loans from $1,000 to $35,000 to small businesses generally ineligible for bank financing.

So far, SEED has made 322 loans under the program totaling $7 million and helping to create 915 new jobs.

Some of the small businesses assisted through the Revolving Loan Fund and Micro Loan Program last year include: K & D Moonwalks, Dartmouth; Performance Auto Center, Inc., Fall River; Restoration Massage, Inc., Freetown; and Seeking Solace Counseling Corp., Somerset.

For more information about SEED’s programs or for a loan application, call SEED at 508-822-1020 or visit www. seedcorp.com

SEED assists small businesses with small projects or working capital needs.

The Micro Loan Program

SEED also assisted many small businesses to continue operating by providing working capital loans. SEED made 35 small loans under the Revolving Loan Fund and the Micro Loan Program.

These loans totaled $1.1 million and created 78 new jobs. SEED just received $1 million in federal and state grants for

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

35

Marissa A. Gaboriau, LICSW Psychotherapist

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March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

Keyboards for Kids hits chord The Greater Tiverton Community Chorus (GTCC) is putting their music where the kids are. Two concerts and a “key sale” are planned with a goal of raising $30,000 to purchase and refurbish concert pianos for the schools in communities which have been providing support to the chorus for almost 30 years.

To support “Keyboards for Kids,” individuals or groups may purchase one or more “piano keys” in support of the local school music programs. Keys will be for sale for $100 apiece. The GTCC will also perform two concerts with all proceeds going towards the cost of the pianos.

The concerts will be held on Saturday, May 1, at Westport (MA) High School and on Saturday, May 8 at Tiverton (RI) High School. Both concerts begin at 7:00 p.m. and feature the GTCC as well as student singers from Westport Middle School and Tiverton Middle School.

For more information, contact Beth Armstrong, Music Director, at 401-2537987 or bestar3@cox.net.

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

37

HAPPENINGS

Visit www.CoastalMags.com for extended event listings!

Through March – March Means Muddy Boots and Maple Sugaring at the Audubon Society. It’s spring at last. Check all the events and programs for children and families at www.asri.org or contact Audubon at 401- 949-5454.

March 7 – New Bedford Theatre Festival Open Call for “The Greatest American Musical” Gypsy.

Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford.

12:30-6pm. 508-991-5212. www.nbfestivaltheatre.com

March 2-April 26 – Tiverton 5Art Exhibit presented by the Tiverton Arts Council. Tiverton Town Hall, 343 Highland Road, Tiverton.

Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4pm. Reception March 7, 4-6pm. 401-624-6864. www.tiverton.ri.gov/arts/

March 7 – ‘Slante’ Benefit for Susan Chace Anderson Foundation. Eagle Events Center, 25 North Main Street, Fall River. 2-6pm. 508-2599068. e-mail bolgaze@aol.com for more information.

March 2 – What are You Reading?

An alternative to the regular book club. Partners Village Store, 865 Main Road, Westport.

3-4:30pm. 508-636-2572. www.partnersvillagestore.com March 5 – Addiction Symposium.

Bristol Community College, Jackson Arts Building, 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River. 508-324-2415. www.power2savelives.org March 6, 13, 20, 27 – Children’s Winter Art Workshops. Westport Art Group, 1740 Main Road, Westport Point. 9am-12pm. 508-6362114. www.westportartgroup.com March 6 – Healing Little Hearts Gala Fundraiser. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford. 508-789-7001. www.whalingmuseum.org March 6 – Story Cafe featuring Marni Gillard. Artworks!Gallery, 384 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford.

7-9pm. 508-984-1588. www.artworksforyou.org March 6 – Providence Singers Present Mozart’s Requiem. Veterans Memorial Auditorium, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence. 8pm. 401421-2787. www.vmari.com March 6 – Fairhaven High School Annual Pops Concert. Barton B. Leach Gymnasium, Fairhaven High School, 12 Huttleston Avenue, Fairhaven. Italian Buffet at 6pm.

Concert at 6:30pm. For ticket reservation call 508-979-4051.

March 6-7 – 2010 Greater New Bedford Home and Garden Show.

New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, 1121 Ashley Boulevard, New Bedford. 508-9995231. www. newbedfordchamber. com

38

March 7 – Literary Brunch presented by Claire T. Carney Library Associates. Four distinguished childrens authors will talk and sign their books. Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, New Bedford. 11am.

508-999-8671.

March 12 – 2nd Annual MILES for SMILES Walk-Run-Bike-Skate Event. UMass Dartmouth Tripp Athletic Center, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth. 9am-12pm. 508-6767645. www.smilesmentoring.org March 13 – “Signs of Spring” walk to Zylfee Brook. Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, 1280 Horseneck Road, Westport. 1-3pm. 508-636-2437. www.allenspond@massaudubon.org March 16-21 – The 101 Dalmatians Musical. For tickets call PPAC box office at 401-421-ARTS (2787) or visit www.ppacri.org March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day at the Cove. Battleship Cove, Five Water Street, Fall River. 508-678-1100. www.battleshipcove.org

March 7 – Fairhaven Community Concert Series presents the Boston Guitar Quartet. First Congregational Church, 34 Center Street, Fairhaven.

2pm. For more information call 508993-3368 or visit http://fhvnccs. googlepages.com

March 18 – Womens Club SWANS Network/Netplay. Speaker Joanie Winberg will talk on “5 Tips on How to Enjoy a Happy Relationship and Keep it That Way”. McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove Street, Fall River.

401-694-1284. www.wcswans.com

March 10 – Butterflies at the Museum, with museum director Elizabeth Leidhold. After school program at the Marion Natural History Museum, 8 Spring Street, Marion.

3:30-4:30pm. 508-748-2098. www.marionmuseum.org

March 18 – The Tenth Muse with Arthur Rainville. Experience the land of inherent romance. Photograph the inner you. Artworks!Gallery, 384 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford.

7-10pm. 508-984-1588. www.artworksforyou.org

March 10-April 3 – High School Select. The annual, juried selection of local high school talent exhibit.

Gallery X, 169 William Street, New Bedford. Wed-Sun, 11am-3pm.

Reception on March 11, 5-9pm. 508992-2675. www.galleryx.org

March 19-21 – Noises Off presented by the Laurel Tree Players, Holy Family Holy Name School, 91 Summer Street, New Bedford. 508-993-3547 or visit www.hfhn.org

March 11– All Cut Up with Wayne Fuerst: an exploration in papercutting. AHA! Night. Artworks!Gallery, 384 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford.

5-9pm. 508-984-1588. www.artworksforyou.org March 11 – A Very Special Evening with Garrison Keiller. Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset Street. Providence. 7:30pm.

For tickets call PPAC box office at 401-421-ARTS (2787) or visit www.ppacri.org March 12 – Family Overnight at Battleship Cove. Spend a night aboard a WWII vessel. Five Water Street, Fall River. 508-678-1100. www.battleshipcove.org

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

March 20-21 – South Coast Chamber Music Society Concert. Sat, 5pm, St. Gabriel’s Church, 124 Front Street, Marion. Sun, 3pm, Grace Church, 133 School Street, New Bedford. 508-295-2968. www.southcoastchambermusic.org March 20 – Princess Party at the Fall River Carousel. Five Water Street, Fall River. 1-4pm. 508-678-1100. www.battleshipcove.org March 20 – Rotch-Jones-Duff Museum Garden Symposium: The Changing American Flower Garden: Bringing Color, Fragrance and New Attitudes Home. Coachmen’s House, 396 County Street, New Bedford.

8:30am-2pm. 508-997-1401. www.rjdmuseum.org

March 20 – Makem and Spain Brothers in Concert. Bristol Elder Services Emergency Assistance Fundraiser. Bristol Community College Arts Center, 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River. 8pm. 508-675-2101. www.bristolelder.org March 21 – Concert with Treaty Rock Consort at Tiverton Four Corners. 3pm. For more information call 401-624-2600 or visit www. tivertonfourcorners.com/artscenter March 21 – A Salute to the South Coast featuring Eric Geil, piano, concert by the Tri-County Symphonic Band. Fireman Performing Arts Center, Tabor Academy, 235 Front Street Marion. 3pm. 508-997-3321. www.

TriCountySymphonicBand.org March 26 – MDA “An Evening Among Stars.” Fundaiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research and services.

March 27 – Winter Bird Walk with Paul Champlin. Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Field Station, 1280 Horseneck Road, Westport. 9-11am.

508-636-2437. Email: allenspond@ massaudubon.org March 28 – Mark of Zorro, live Spanish Renaissance music improvised to accompany Errol Flynn’s swashbuckling silent movie. 3:30.

First Unitarian Church of Providence, 1 Benevolent Street, Providence. For tickets call 401-621-6123 or visit www.ArtTixRI.com March 30 – Pats Legend Troy Brown Keynote Speaker at UMASS Celebrity/Scholarship Dinner.Venus de Milo Restaurant. VIP Reception at 5pm. Dinner 6-9pm. 75 Grand Army Highway, Swansea. To purchase tickets, or for more information call 508-910-6435 or email to alescault@ umassd.edu March 31 – “Shipping, Fishing and the Urban Whale, “ lecture presented

by Amy Knowlton and David Cassoni. Jacobs Family Gallery, New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford.

6:30pm. 508- 997-0046. www.whalingmuseum.org March 31 – SEED Basic Entrepreneurial Workshops. Cape Cod Five Cent Savings Bank, 171 Falmouth Road, Hyannis. 9am-4pm. 508-8221020. www.seedcorp.com

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The South Coast Insider / March 2010

39

LAST WORD

March-ing music and more

By Michael Vieira Everybody probably has at least

one song that brings back a particular time or season of our lives. That’s probably why the “oldies” stations continue to flourish— although I’m a little sad that those now mean 80s and 90s music.

I can’t hear Glenn Miller and not think about my father and Sunday afternoons filled with dinner and discussions. Tommy, by the Who, is the soundtrack to countless hours on the road with Kenny in his father’s Buick Skylark—but also was one of my son’s favorite CDs from the time he could string together words.

My daughter says there’s an entire XM Radio channel that sounds just like our family feeding music while she was growing up. And “In My Life” will always bring back our wedding and our first dance. You get the point, and I’m sure you can come up with your own playlist.

March music

This month, the soundtrack will include lots of Irish and Italian music, thanks to the Saints Patrick and Joseph whose feasts give us excuses to celebrate in this often gray month. Turn up the Clancy Brothers, but don’t forget there’s a lot more to the tunes of the old sod than drinking songs (although I’ve got to admit, there’s nothing like Drop Kick Murphys to get a party started).

Same with the Italians, a friend has to put Frank Sinatra on the radio if we’re heading to Federal Hill. And it does seem right.

But look beyond old Blue Eyes and his pals Tony Bennett and Dean Martin. Test drive an aria or crank up some marching band and warm up for the feast season which is right around the corner.

Go local

There’s a movement to get people to buy local produce and support our farmers 40

and growers. That’s a good idea and at our house, the opening of Almeida’s Farm Stand on Route 6 in Swansea is cause for a celebration.

In a lot of ways, music is the same way.

There’s nothing like the fresh tunes coming from a local musician in an intimate venue.

And don’t say there’s no place to go in the South Coast. The region is actually blessed with a number of impressive places to hear good music.

The Narrows Center for the Arts brings in some of the top performers in the country to its stage. Although few Fall Riverites venture up to the top floor of the old mill on Anawan Street, its shows often sell out by folks traveling from Providence and beyond. Check out www.ncfta.org you’ll be surprised at the quality acts.

If you really want to hear a soundtrack to the city, sit down and listen to Michael Troy. If you’re from Fall River, you’ll recognize somebody you know or places you lived. He has recorded the people, places, and emotions of Fall River like nobody else.

For more information, visit www.folkmichaeltroy.com Warren’s Barry Brown, also a South Coast favorite known for his amazing guitar work, has finally released a CD which showcases his range of talent. Although he has backed up and been featured in other recordings, it’s time to shine the spotlight on this local talent.

But not all local music has to be found in the South Coast. David Reitzas, originally from Fall River, is now in Los Angeles. He’s won five Grammys and been nominated for many others. (Visit reitzas.com for the list of awards and more.) His pal Jimmy Khoury, www.jimmykhoury.com) another Durfee grad, is also busy in the LA sound industry. They connected with Westport’s John Mailloux, (bongobeachproductions. com) originally from Fall River, who was

March 2010 / The South Coast Insider

nominated for a Grammy this year.

Who says you can’t make it big when you come from the South Coast?

Look and listen

For fado, that often mournful Portuguese which is guaranteed to bring saudades or longing to any Luso American, check out Sagres Restaurant on Columbia Street and other area establishments. Nearby New Bedford also offers great ethnic food and music, but much more.

Now that many new places have opened along the cobblestone streets and along the Whaling City’s waterfront, it’s getting more common to find some great music on AHA! Nights as well as at the Whaling Museum and other historic locations. For a larger scale, but still intimate venue, be sure to check out the Zeiterion Theatre.

Don’t forget the small towns with big sounds. Common Fence Music at the community center of the same name in Portsmouth, always presents and interesting concert series. Bristol and Warren, Portsmouth and the always hopping Newport are nearby and provide a full range of sounds.

Sometimes, the biggest problem with hearing the music is finding it. Most of the local newspapers have listings and Google is a great place to search for venues and musicians. Excuse the shameless plug, but the Happenings section of this magazine and its email updates are also great ways to keep informed.

So on a warm spring day, don’t just turn up the sound on your car radio—no matter how perfect your collection of speakercracking bass-pounding rap feels right for a cruise down the “Ave.” Take the time to find and support some local musicians. It will change the way you hear—and remember—2010.

W I N D O W S

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