Up & Coming Weekly

THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON By the time you read this, the United States House of Representatives will have conducted its historic vote on healthcare reform in our country. After national debate dating back a full century to President Theodore Roosevelt, virtually all of us know whether we are “fer” it or “again” it, and so some of us are pleased, even thrilled, by the House vote and some of us are dissatisfi ed, even enraged. No matter what camp we fi nd ourselves in, millions of Americans are justifi ably distressed over the vitriolic tone of our national debate on healthcare reform. The fi nal days leading up to the House vote brought reports of name-calling, racial slurs and a member of Congress who says he was spat upon by an angry citizen. Being in the middle of political frays at the state level, I do understand that some issues stir both strong opinions and strong emotions. I have never experienced, though, such unleashed hostility and hope I never will. Southern mothers teach their children that they will catch more fl ies with honey than with vinegar, advice that has proven true across generations in both the workplace and personal life. There is plenty of reason to fear that if we lose civility in our political life, we may never be able to get it back. § I continue to be haunted by the photographs of unidentifi ed girls and young women found among the possessions of convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala, which were released by law enforcement offi cials in hopes of learning who they are. Alcala is the former TV show Dating Game contestant convicted in California of the murders of fi ve young women. He apparently took thousands of images of hundreds of girls and young women, a handful of whom have now been identifi ed and who are blessedly alive. One woman saw a photograph of her younger self on television and realized how fortunate she had been. Alcala was convicted of murdering another young woman the same month he snapped her picture. Family members and friends of some of the others are coming forward to say that is a photo of my sister Susan or my classmate Jane. So we are learning who those girls and young women, are but not where they are. It can only be torture to know that someone you have loved was once in the clutches of a monster like Alcala and still not know whether she escaped. § From the “leave your readers on a positive note” department, the New York Times affi rms that the power of reading can work wonders, including healing the wounded soul. I can help you with your changing insurance or financial needs. DENNIS KNOX 3710 Morganton Rd., St. 104 910-487-1989 dennisknox@allstate.com Subject to availability and qualifications. Insurance offered only with select companies. Allstate Insurance Company, Allstate Indemnity Company, Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and Allstate Life Insurance: Northbrook, Illinois © 2009 Allstate Insurance Company. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Reporter Michael Winerip writes about Jim Brozina, a New Jersey school librarian and a single father of two daughters. He reads aloud to his students and did the same for his own children. As a fourth grader, his older daughter announced that she would read to herself, thank you very much, but when Kristen, his younger daughter, hit the fourth grade, they undertook what they came to call “the streak.” Father and daughter agreed to read together for 100 bedtimes, and when they reached that, they agreed to go for 1,000. When they got there, both agreed they could not stop. So for more than 3,200 days or nights, Kristen and Jim Brozina read together for at least 10 minutes. They progressed from Dr. Seuss to Harry Potter and on to Dickens and Shakespeare. They read at the breakfast table, on the telephone from hotel rooms, and in an auditorium where Kristen was performing in the cast of a community-theater production of I Remember Mama. Kristen’s high school friends would play cards and wait for her as her father read to her in another room. Jim once zoomed home from a date when the kind woman reminded him he was about to break “the streak.” Like all good things, “the streak” came to its end the day Kristen went to college in September 2006, with both father and daughter knowing it had enriched their lives. “The streak” saw them through the breakup of the Brozina marriage, and the departure of Kristen’s mother. It saw them through her sister’s entrance into college and the joys and struggles of a single parent household. Where are they now? Kristen graduated from college with nearly a 4.0 average. There was one B, which Kristen refers to as “an unfortunate situation.” Not surprisingly, she is an English major, who won two national writing contests, edited both her college’s literary and humor publications and won the English department’s annual award. Kristen wrote about “the streak” in her application for graduate school at the prestigious and pricey University of Pennsylvania and hopes to fi nd the funds to re- apply in a few years. Jim Brozina, now 61, is still reading to elementary school students in New Jersey where he runs into former students and immediately asks, “Are you reading?” followed by, “If you love to read, you’ll probably go to college, maybe for free. You’ll get a better job, get a higher income and live longer.” MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. C A H * Must have own vehicle, valid drivers license and insurance. CA $H!! Ear n E x r a E arn Ex tra Perfect Opportunity for: •Retirees •Retired Military •Teachers on Break •Stay at Home Moms and Dads C al l 484-6200 E x t . 102 MARCH 24-30, 2010 UCW 5 THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET This, That and the Other

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