Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
I don't usually write about important topics during their designated "awareness" months, because it always seems so gimmicky. But I'm making an exception for Organ Donation Awareness month, mostly because this story is too sweet not to share. It comes via the PR folks at Albert Einstein Medical Center (full disclosure: former Daily News scribe Jill Porter consults for the marketing department there). And if it doesn't convince you that some people are angels on earth, I'm not sure what will. This is from the press release:
"Rachel Buckley and her family asked members of their church to pray for her to get a new kidney. Rachel, now 38, had been ill since she was a teenager and had developed renal failure. Congregants in the intensely devout evangelical Christian church in suburban Philadelphia not only prayed for Rachel: one of them donated her kidney.
"Lindsey Steege, now 23, was following the example of her father, who had donated his kidney to his sister a few years earlier. Lindsey and Rachel were too divergent in age to be social friends but the families had befriended each other through St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Huntingdon Valley, PA. The two families recently got together to celebrate the first anniversary of the transplant, which took place at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia on Feb. 25, 2011. “We are forever intertwined as families,” said Lindsey’s father, Chuck Steege. “And most definitely Rachel and Lindsey are intertwined. I don’t think words can even define the connection.”
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
If you're gonna run a 5K race and take aim at a dunk tank, it's always fun to know the sub-text. Regarding this Saturday's St. LauRUNtius 5K run and Neighborhood Festival (April 21st), the occasion is a happy kick-off to what families of Fishtown's St. Laurentius plan to make an annual event to raise funds for their parish school.
St. Laurentius, of course, was on the list of Philadelphia archdiocesan schools slated to close come June. In an inspiring rally, parents and community members made a strong case to the archdiocese for a stay of execution, and so the sweet little haven at 1611 E. Berks St. will remain open.
All that rallying has been a marketing boon. Parent A.J. Thomson tells me that fall's enrollment will be over 250, up from its current 237. Given that the school's legal maximum capacity is 268, that means the school will be 93 percent full. Most of the new admissions are to the kindergarten and pre-k classes, he says, evidence of a baby boomlet in Fishtown, which "has always supported Catholic education."
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
My column today about Kensington film-maker Jamie Moffett mentions the seven-alarm 2007 warehouse fire that devastated his neighborhood. To see video footage of that fire, shot & edited (with Moffett) by neighbors who lost their homes in the conflagration that day, click the image below. And then try not to cry when you realize that all the hope neighbors had for a gorgeous green space to grow from the ashes of that fire has been for nothing. The lot sits trashy and vacant, as neighbors' pleas for help from the city have fallen on deaf ears.
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
I didn't have space in my column today to include some comments by John Curtis, director of research and public policy for the American Association of University Professors. I'd called to ask him whether the $274,000 salary of Stephen Curtis (no relation, I presume ...), president of Community College of Philadelphia, was out of whack with what other community-college presidents earn.
I asked because AFT Local 2026, which represents faculty and some blue- and white-collar staffers at CCP, have made the point that Curtis makes more than Mayor Nutter ($170,935) and Gov. Corbett ($174,900) earn.
Researcher John Curtis said that, according to a recent survey conducted by his organization, the compensation of public community-college presidents range from $81,000 to $390,000, not including extra benefits for housing and car expenses. The size of the salary is influenced by the size of the school, its location and the number of its students and employees.
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Call me an art rube, but the breathy fuss over the "fabulous" new Barnes Totem makes me giggle. Really? That bent stick is an inspiration? Help me, people. What am I missing here?
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
My column today mentions Upper Darby teen Nadin Khoury, who was brutally attacked by bullies in January 2011. A video of the assault went viral, and Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson came to Nadin's rescue. Here's how it went down, on "The View." Makes me smile every time I see it.
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Best of luck on Thurs., Mar 28, to Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), chairman of the House Human Services Committee, and Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia), who will join Self Advocates and Family Alliance (SAFA) and 18 families for a press conference and hearing in Harrisburgh to scream bloody murder about the impact that proposed state budget cuts will have on those with disabilities and on the loved ones who care for them.
Also attending will be Dee Coccia, co-executive director of Vison For Equality Inc., who shared wrenching stories with me last week about how desperate families are for services - especially elderly parents caring for their disabled adult children. Dee told me about a middle-aged, mentally impaired man who lived with his caregiver mom, who was in her 80s. One day, as he was helping her on the stairs, she fell, suffered for three days from her injuries and then died at the foot of the stairs. The son didn't know what to do. Finally, he knocked on a neighbor's door and said his mother was sick. The neighbor came over and found the body.
The irony? The son had been on a waiting list for services from the state, which would've been a help to both him and his mom. Now that the mom is gone, guess what? There are plans to place the son in an institution - which will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why in God's name wasn't it possible for the son to receive services in the home prior to his mother's passing, at a fraction of what it will now cost to institutionalize him?
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Many thanks to Gedaliah Lowenstein, rabbi at the Jewish Center of Northern Liberties, for sharing the lovely essay, below, about how his congregation helped save the lives of three neighbors whose house caught fire on St. Patrick's Day.
(When you're done reading the piece, click here to read a wonderful profile of Lowenstein that appears on MetroplisMag.com - it's about how Lowenstein decided that the perfect place to open the Jewish Center is inside an old beer-bottling plant.)
Here's the essay:
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
If I had any suggestion to give the planners of this important annual men's health fair at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, it would be to hold it on Father's Day. It could be nicknamed "Test For The Cure," because, the medical screening tests find sneaky illnesses - like heart disease, prostate cancer and the like - that , if found early, would keep more of our beloved men with us much longer.
Having said that: Fellas, get thee to this important event on Saturday, March 24! It's free and - yes! - even includes massages ...
Here's the press release, from sponsor Einstein Healthcare Network:
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
My column on Thursday, 3/22, allowed Dee Coccia to tell stories of how the state's already miserable supports for adults with disabilites is impacting vulnerable lives in Pennsylvania. Below are additional stories Dee has heard, in her capacity as co-executive director of Vision For Equality Inc. Space constraints kept me from including them in my column, so I am running them here because these tales need to be heard.
Some of them are written in the first person, culled from letters Dee has received. Others are in the third person, written by advocates for the disabled folks/families whose stories are chronicled.
How I wish Dee were making them up.
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
