November 22, 2019 by Greenwich Sentinel

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FRIDAY, November 22, 2019

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Greenwich: We Are What We Emoji By Bobbi Eggers

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S Work is underway by

Eversource to install an underground cable vault, which is a large concrete structure installed beneath the street to provide access to electric lines, on a short section of Field Point Road, between Railroad Avenue and Prospect Street. The road will be closed between 9 a.m., and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, weather permitting. Work is expected to continue until Nov. 27.

S The new New Lebanon

School will be dedicated to the Greenwich Board of Educat ion a nd t he Town during a ceremony a t 10 a . m . , o n D e c . 7, two years after the original groundbreaking on construction. Be sure to check out g reenw ichsent i nel.com and the print edition of the Greenwich Sentinel for full coverage.

S Governor Lamont's most

recent plan to implement tolls was met with strong opposition in a closed door meeting with state senate democrats. It appears that tolls will not be moving forward any time soon.

S A home at 46 Mead Ave., in Byram was demolished on Tue s d ay. Re sid ent s had c ompla i ne d ab out the abandoned, blighted proper t y for yea rs. A petition was signed over the summer by residents calling for the town to act and enforce nuisance code. S Outgoing First

Selectman, Peter Tesei, declared Nov. 18 as “Jill K. Oberlander Day” in the Town of Greenwich.

S On Monday morning at around 5:50 a.m., Engines 8, 1, 2, 4, Truck 1, Car 3 and other units from the Greenwich Fire Department responded to a fire in a shed of f Taconic Road. Since the location is a nonhydranted area, tankers from Banksville FD and a dry hydrant from a pond were used for water. The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes. The Greenwich Fire Marsha l ’s of f ice is investigating.

CLASSIFIED Houseman and Chef available for work. Highly experienced houseman and chef looking for employ ment live in or out. E xcel lent references. Daniel.harkins@gmail.com

A "heat map" of the most frequently used emojis in Greenwich for the last 13 months according to Talkwalker. emojis are thoroughly vetted before they become part of our universal language. The Emoji universe went crazy when Apple tried to revise the “peach” to make it look more like a fruit than someone’s backside. They succumbed to the outcry and changed it back, lol. If someone did a heat map o f t h e e m o j i s yo u u s e m o s t frequently, what would it say about you? Would it ref lect the real you? Emojis can also be a ref lection of the heartbeat of a city. Talkwalker, an international socia l media mon itor ing and analytics company, created an “emoji heat map” showing the most frequently used emojis in each of 13 different cities- NYC’s favorite emoji is the Statue of

Liberty. Boston uses the f lame San Francisco residents love emoji the most (?). It’s no surprise the nighttime bridge emoji, the

Based on our over-used emojis, Greenwich is a happy place compared to other cities. that the people in New Orleans use the fleur-de-lis more than any other city, but the f lashing red siren emoji is a favorite there, too. Hmmm. According to Talkwalker,

sobbing face, the rainbow for LGBT and the fire emojis. Each city’s heatmap is a reflection of its people’s emotions and passions and conveys their feelings.

Tesei, Toner, Litvack Final BOS Meeting By Richard Kaufman As the newly elected Greenwich Board of Selectmen prepares to get sworn-in, the out goi ng b o a r d i s s ay i ng it s goodbyes. Last week, First Selectman Peter Tesei, and Selectmen John Toner and Sandy Litvack, held their final meeting of 2019. Each member had a vase of flowers in front of them to commemorate the occasion. This will be the f irst time since 1923 that a Board of Selectmen will be made up of entirely new members following an election. First Selectman-elect

Fred Camillo, Selectwoman-elect Lauren Rabin and Selectwomanelect Jill Oberlander will be swornin on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m., at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich. Te s e i , w h o h a s s e r v e d a record six terms as Greenwich's chief elected official, has worked with three Republican Selectmen, and three Democratic Selectmen, during his tenure. He chose not to run for re-election this fall. "We have all gotten along with collegiality and mutual respect, and really striving to do what's right for the citizens in the town," Tesei said, reflecting on his years in office. "It's been a real pleasure for me to have the company and

partnership of the members of the board. It's something that stays with you when you work so closely with folks." O ver the yea rs, Tesei has issued many proclamations to individuals and organizations in town, honoring them for their accomplishments. But at last week’s meeting, Tesei had the chance to recognize his colleagues with proclamations, which he said were "extra special." Tesei proclaimed Nov. 15 as Sanford "Sandy" Litvack Day, and Nov. 17 as John Toner Day, in the Town of Greenwich. Litvack called the recognition "totally unexpected and totally

Column: On My Watch

appreciated." "I've been waiting for my day for a lot of years!" Litvack said, drawing laughs from those in attendance. L it v ack , a D e mo c rat , ra n against Tesei in 2017 for First Selectman, and came up just short. He instead joined the Board, and formed a friendship with Tesei and Toner. Litvack said that when he came onto the Board, he was a "stranger" to Greenwich's municipal government, but he learned a lot from Tesei and Toner. "For me, it's been a fascinating, interesting and rewarding experience. I'm so glad I did it," L it vack sa id. "I w ish L au ren

[Rabin] well sitting in this seat. I have no regrets yielding to Lauren who w ill per for m fa bu lously I'm sure. I'm so much better for having done this." Tesei then recognized Toner, who came on to the Board of Selectmen in 2015 following the unexpected passing of Selectman David Theis, in 2014. "[ Joh n] stepp e d i nto t h i s position during a very difficult time, and an emotional time, on the sudden passing of the late David Theis," Tesei remarked. " J o h n To n e r h a d b e e n m y campaig n chairman for my elections. He did so with a quiet

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Excerpts from The Waterwheel

Celebrating Flower Power Christmas Trees and Painter of Place By Anne W. Semmes

Imagine spending 50 years or more being “totally fulfilled” in your profession of “playing w it h f lowers.” Meet Miria m Landsman of Greenwich, today being celebrated for her 50 years of flower power and support of the former Greenwich Garden C enter, t he now Greenw ich Botanical Center (GBC). Imagine having two galleries filled with your paintings, then adding a third in an historic boatyard that you fill with over 40 of your paintings, many of them celebrating the seascapes and landscapes of our town. T he a r t ist is ou r ow n Peter Arguimbau, who welcomed us last Friday to his new work in his second Arguimbau Art showing in The Boatyard in Riverside. But Miriam takes the lead on t his her celebrator y day. T h e r e ’s m a ny a G r e e nw i c h house where Miriam has left her green imprint, with heralded Ch r ist mas decorat ions, a nd wedd i ngs where her br ide’s bouquet is legendary. Former First Selectman Rebecca Breed

ANNE W. SEMMES PHOTO

S Yo u c a n j o i n t h e

Our digital footprint says a lot about who we are, like it or not, whether it’s a reflection of us as individuals or as a group. Because data is so predictive, companies use it to na r rowly ta rget, or take advantage of, people. For example, if you apply for a loan and use the word “God” in your application, data says you are 2.2 times more likely to default. So a company will save money by not lending to people who say, “God bless you,” at the end of their application. Pretty scary, right? We leave the trail of breadcrumbs of who we a re w it hout even knowing it. Even the way indiv iduals communicate is captured. Every day we emoji our way through our feeds, breathing life into our interactions, providing support by tapping the sad face to show sympathy, selecting from a suite of visual tools, keeping our true emotions easy-breezy. Emojis are the world’s first global form of communication, boiling it down to an icon. More than 90% of social media users communicate with emojis, often without any text at all. Facebook says that 900 million emojis are used every day, without text, on Facebook Messenger. The face with tears of joy is the global most popular by far, with the heart emoji running a close second. I consider that a good thing. Tightly controlled by Facebook, Apple and Google,

O f c ou r s e , I w a s c u r iou s about Greenwich. What emojis is Greenwich using and what are we passionately communicating? I asked my friend at Talkwalker to organize an emoji heat map of Greenwich for the last 13 months (see above)- the larger the emoji, the more the emoji was used. All the various drinks emojis feel spot on, plus the mansions, f ield ho ckey a nd money. No surprise there. My guess is that the overuse of the shark icon isn’t reflecting shark sightings off the coast. I am pleased to see that we seem to be a happy community, compared to other cities. Our f la me s a nd c r y i ng face s a re much smaller than the others. Greenwich people like to take pictures, we use our phones a lot, we love art, and we like to “go to” places, as ref lected in the most popular emoji-the blue arrow. We are busy people, after all. We feel patriotic, lucky, lightning strikes, and we love to celebrate, to be sure. Oh, yes, and there’s no p o op her e . Up on f u r t her digging, Talkwalker also said the most discussed brand around Greenwich was “privately held company.” Lol. I am happy to say, the Greenwich heatmap confirms why I (heart) Greenwich so much. Bobbi Eggers is a PR, marketing specialist, working with an expert team for businesses and non-profits, in all things digital, live, promotional and experiential. Website: www.bobbieggers.com ail: bobbieggers@gmail.com

Miriam Landsman shows off her new amaryllis blossoms in her backcountry home. enlisted Miriam’s expertise for her daughter Becky’s wedding, then asked for replication for her daughter’s anniversary. T he Greenw ich Ga rden Center was Mir ia m’s f lower arranging launching pad. “That’s where it all began,” she says. “I found my happy place. I just loved to create. I really loved that they let you make stuff to sell

through the Center. We made mostly holiday decorations. The shop was downstairs and had mostly crafts for sale.” Miriam’s passion was for cut flowers. “I love all flowers,” she says, especially roses. “They’re s h o w y, w i t h t r e m e n d o u s varieties, sizes and shapes.” She earned her certificate in garden

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By Jill S. Woolworth, LMFT

ILLUSTRATED BY WAJIH CHAUDHRY

The Briefing Room

A Christmas tree is glittery and beautiful, and unaware that it has been cut off just above the roots. Similarly, we humans enjoy decorating ourselves with clothing, social status, accomplishments, and possessions. It is good to enjoy these things. Just remember that they are decorations. They are not our real substance. Friendship, family, faith, and service to others—these are substance, not decoration. They are the roots that help us flourish. They provide meaning, connection, and purpose. Fashions and fame, like decorated Christmas trees, are only with us for a season. People of substance, like healthy trees, grow for many years and give shelter and shade to others. Alyssa refers to friends who remind her of Christmas trees as “shiny people.” These are people she can’t get close to because they are intent on impressing her with their beautiful lives. She decided for herself to focus on being a blessing to her friends instead of impressing them. As she did so, the roots of her confidence and well-being grew deeper.. This is an excerpt from The Waterwheel by local author, Jill Woolworth, available through Amazon. Alternatively, we encourage you to shop locally where it is also available at Diane's Books or Dogwood Books and Gifts).

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