Vol. 1 No. 2
Free to Every Home and Business Every Month
January 1, 2011
Elizabeth’s Bagels, Get ‘Em While They Last
Franklin Woman Takes “Good Neighbor” to the Extreme BY J.D. O’GARA A couple of years ago, 34-yearold Paula Lupien, a married mother of two in Franklin rashly told her relatively new neighbor Steve Munichiello she’d give him her kidney if he ever needed it. The two neighbors had known each other since 2009, their young families hanging out together for July fourth block parties and trick-or-treating together. “In the spring, Steve was here and he had gone to an appointment and he was filling me in with some background,” says Lupien. Steve had Alport Syndrome, also known as Hereditary Nephritis, a genetic disease that affects the kidneys. His grandfather had succumbed to the disease at a young age, and a cousin of his had had a kidney transplant. He’d lived his life trying to maintain a certain lifestyle and diet to enjoy his life. “Really, without even thinking, I told him if you’re ever facing a transplant, I’m O Negative –
that’s the universal donor,” says Lupien. Munichiello took it with a grain of salt. “I definitely wasn’t like, ‘Good, I’ve got Paula in my back pocket. It was something for me like …okay…thank you ... but I’m not going to count on that, because I know what a huge commitment you just made. People say things that they may not necessarily mean.”
BY J.D. O’GARA Al Garcia went to school for video production. His wife, Jen, studied graphic arts and marketing. These days, the couple along with ofther family members, peddles the best bagels in town, with Franklin customers lining up every morning to make sure they get their favorite before it runs out. Elizabeth’s Bagels and More is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays.
His joking response to her was “Who knows if we’ll even be friends, then.” On the way home from their visit, Paula’s husband, Tedd, called her on it, asking, “Did you just offer that?” Lupien realized then the seriousness of her offer. “I said, I guess we’ll visit that when it happens.” She explains that since her husband and she live by faith, they believe everything happens for a reason. “We believe God has put us here for purposes. We try to listen for that opportunity and try to live as faith-based as possi-
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In November, Paula Lupien (right) donated her kidney to neighbor Steve Munichiello (left). The neighbors have known each other just two years.
ble.” When Lupien responded to her husband’s question, she questioned whether she had been the one to offer, or whether a higher power was guiding her.
In fact, when Munichiello, 36year-old father of first grader
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GOOD NEIGHBOR
“What people don’t know is that our product is a commodity – when it’s gone, it’s gone,” says Jen, of her preservative-free kettle boiled bagels. “The reason is that we make it fresh every day. (Customers) are used to some places down the street where the bagels are often frozen. For us to start over, it’s at least a four-hour
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BAGELS continued on page 2
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