Because I was fortunate to be registered and called, I did have a Covid vaccine at Brookdale College this week, and I can’t begin to praise the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners, the system, the workers, the volunteers, the organization enough! I received the call that if I could get there that afternoon, I would be accepted. With my vehicle snowed in, and me not being a shoveler of heavy snow, I relied on another great friend, Jane Frotton, to give me a ride over. Jane, generous to a fault, readily did it, although she herself wasn’t registered there so could not get the vaccine. From the county police officers outside the Collins Auditorium building directing traffic and parking to the volunteers who said thanks and have a good day as I left, no one…no one…and you already know how quick I am to criticize…could have been nicer or more efficient. Check in took a minute…. temperature taken, signup paper approved, then directions to keep distance, and while you’re in line, why not fill out these papers? Papers and clipboard and pen in hand, I advanced behind dozens of other equally contented folks to the next checkpoint, all the time filling out the papers with necessary background info, including my Medicare and other insurance cards. The next equally pleasant person checked to be sure I had filled in all the blanks, asked me the usual Covid questions about time, place, and whom I’ve seen, and moved me on down the line. A white coated person saw me next, checked to see whether the blood thinners I take would be a problem, then moved me on, letting me know, when the space was open, which desk to go visit. There, my information was checked again for completeness and accuracy, and I was issued a card with the date, type of vaccine…Moderna…and date for the second vaccine. The person here also gave me a great suggestion. Why not take a photo of this card, because it’s important for you to keep it, that way, it will also be on your phone. Great hint. From there I was directed to the line to get to the vaccine itself. And here, if possible, it got even better! Brookdale is known for the excellence of its nursing program, and it’s the senior students who were volunteering to give the injections. How wonderful! Learning on the job with people who are sometimes frightened, concerned, and unsure of everything that’s going on. But each one of these women was calm, cool, pleasant, cheery, soothing, comforting…. can’t think up enough adjectives to say how incredibly wonderful the experience was. Three seconds later, a band-aid covering the injection point, I was invited to sit in another chair, equally spaced, of course, for another 15 minutes or so until staff felt confident I would have no immediate reaction. Then by the exit door, there were two more volunteers ready to wish me well and send me on my way. Counting the 15 minutes I sat after the injection, the entire procedure took no more than half an hour. With scores of people in line, it all moved so smoothly. The next day, I got a telephone call to see whether I had any untoward reactions. I had no, still have not, and am set for March 3 when I go back to the same place, same time, to receive the second vaccine in the series. There’s more good news for me personally as well. My friend, Jane, learned of another source where she could get the vaccine, and is already scheduled for hers, which makes me truly happy. And she’s got an equally generous family. Her daughter, Renee, brought her daughter, Jocelyn, to my house that night, and the pair shoveled out my car, so I didn’t feel imprisoned. And when neighbor Kevin came out to help as well, it made me realize, just once again, how fortunate I am to live in an area where people like being nice to other people, and…because I am so fortunate… I happen to have the best friends of anybody! I wonder why every college can’t be like Brookdale, every board of commissioners as concerned for their constituents, every Health Department as efficient and friendly as Monmouth County’s and everyone have friends like mine.

Next time you see a teacher in the Bayshore, especially during these awful times when it’s the parent, not the board of education, who decides whether a child is to be in the classroom or at home any day of the week, be sure to thank him or her. And remember they are here because of their love for teaching, certainly not because of the lure of high salaries. Figures just came out showing that Freehold Regional High school is the highest paid school district for teachers in Monmouth County. And at $91,450 as the median salary, that after a 3.19 per cent raise, it is the only school in Monmouth County in the top 50 districts in the state to be pulling in that kind of salary. Next highest is 51st place Asbury Park, with a medial salary just over $83,000. Atlantic Highlands is a great place to teach in the Bayshore, as their teachers, with an 8 per cent raise, are paid a median salary of $80,560, making them the district with the 67th highest median in the state. While in Highlands, the teachers are way down in 357th place out of 657 schools. Those teachers get $65,595 as the median. And it took a 9.5 per cent raise to get them that high. Strangely, both schools send their students to Henry Hudson Regional, where the median salary ranks 278th across New Jersey. The teachers there who continue the education of kids from Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, had a3.9 per cent raise to bring them up to $68,866 as the median. Even stranger are the Monmouth County Vocational Technical Schools, including MAST over at Sandy Hook. There are five vo-tech schools under that board of education. And three of them, Hi Tech, Bio Tech and MAST place in the top 20 best high schools throughout the state! But their teachers rank 209th when it comes to median salary. They got $71,570 this year….and no raise at all. So it’s clear our teachers here go to their classrooms because they love their work, love their students, and feel they are making a difference. So thank them for it. By the way, the lowest median in New Jersey schools is in East Newark borough in Hudson County. Teachers there average $44,258.

Seeing Wanda R write what makes her happy is one of the three things today that made me happy. I’m a firm believer in positive thinking and taking aside a couple of minutes to concentrate on just three things in that particular day that made you happy makes you feel even happier. I encourage you to try it and share. Besides sharing Wanda’s happiness, I was also happy today that Father Jarlath said an extra mass this evening in case anyone who could not make it this morning had a second chance, and I took advantage of it. That’s because I have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is that five years ago today I was in that 27 minute trial that cured me from cancer without pain, surgery, radiation or chemo, simply because I was diagnosed early and dared to try something no one in New Jersey and only 17 people in the nation tried. This marks the end of the trial for this wonderful procedure developed by ICE CURE, a great company in Israel. Look to Veni, Vidi, Scripto very soon again to see what happened in my five year and final checkup for breast cancer. A great story with a happy ending.

Seeing the sunrise over the ocean at Sandy Hook is a spectacular sight that would make anyone happy every day but even so, some are more spectacular than others. One of the things that makes me happy every day is living in the Bayshore where I can enjoy such spectacular sights. I’ll write about Carol Bucco and a side of her many may not know, but I’ll save that for another day. While I mourn her passing and will miss her dearly, another thing that made me happy today was hearing Courtney Grogan sing such a spectacular mass. I’m also fortunate, as are all the parishioners of OLPH-St Agnes, to hear Courtney sing every Sunday, but today, with several new hymns I had not heard before, her unparalleled Ave Maria, and the feeling she pours into her music can make you feel better even at a very sad time. I’m also happy today because I viewed another chapter in my Great Courses on American History I’m taking and learned more about why Thomas Jefferson collected the variety of books, in the variety of languages he did. We all profit from it centuries later, since he sold them to the nation after the British burned the Library of Congress during the War of 1812…At the time, Mr. Jefferson had the most comprehensive collection of literature in the nation!

Did you ever notice the more happy things you count in a day the more there are? And today was particularly happiness-filled, just like most days. To narrow it to three, my daughter, after a long day at her own work, and having a long drive home afterwards, still came to my home to do a couple of hours of favors for me, from climbing on ladders to store things to teaching me new things on the computer. I know how fortunate I am to have such generous children, and I appreciate them every day. Two: I always fill a jug I have with dog biscuits for my four-footed friends who walk at the end of leashes past my home, and the very thoughtful folks at the other end of the leash stop and let them have a treat. My jug was empty for a couple of days (didn’t get to the store!) and two of my furry friends, Misty and Jake, left me a personally signed note and a box of biscuits…how nice is that? and Three: my furry friend, Musky and his daddy, told me Musky’s plans to save other ferrets like himself…do you know ferrets can catch Covid? Musky…see him on Facebook.. My Name is Musky… and see his #This is how I wear fur and get a different perspective on things. You gotta love Musky, His book is perfect for children, but adults can get a lot of wisdom from it as well.

You gotta love Assemblywoman DiMaso. She’s a strong advocate of keeping our personal lives personal. While vaccines are most likely the right way to go…I say most likely because we don’t know the impact they could have on us after they’ve been tested a few years… but she’s a stronger advocate of the government not dictating everything we do on an everyday basis. So having to carry a card to prove we’ve done the deal when we’re sitting next to our friends at a baseball game or buying a hot dog in a small restaurant is a little much. Small businesses have had it tough enough during the pandemic, and they’ve been wise, learned a lot…lost a lot as well….and don’t need yet another mandate to check on people before they can spend money. Read my story in my trains and planes column to see how much more difficult it is already in order to travel. We should have such stringent regulations at the southern border. On a cheerier note, I love East Point Fitness on Route 36 on the Highlands line with Middletown, and love all the people who go there. Nice to see so many taking great (and fun) steps to stay healthy. But I laugh everytime I pull into the parking lot because all of the spots closest to the fit ness center are filled with all the people going inside the fitness center to get their exercise. COuldn’t it start in the parking lot by parking at the far end or at least on the other side? Ane back to that new bakery on West Avenue in Atlantic Highlands…that is only open weekends for now but will open more days soon…take the time while you’re in that parking lot to see the other great businesses there. Woodhaven Florist maks you smile just to see all their beautiful plants outside, and their shelves of books ready for the borrowing. There’s a hair cutter in there as well, and a dog groomer. It’s my bet this little mall is going to grow and become more popular…there’s still one empty store for rent.

Three things that make me happy

The Atlantic Highlands borough employees at the borough’s recycling center, always ready with a friendly greeting, smile a and helping hand. Debbie at Evolve Beauty Salon in Colts Neck who can squeeze in a quick hair style at the last minute so I can keep an important meeting and look well.

The tech staff at the Monmouth County Library who continue to provide exciting and educational programs, speakers, music and more virtually to everyone who visits WWW.MonmounthCountyLib.org

It has become a ritual for this wonderful group of friends who first met at the 6:30 Mass every morning at St. Rose of Lima Church in Freehold. They laugh about it now, because many of them only new each other from which side of the church they sat on and in which pew they sat every morning. Over the years they became friendly chatting before and after mass, asking each other for prayers for a particular event or illness or celebrating each other’s successes or major events. Then one day Mary Janwich, the organized member of the group, suggested they all meet for breakfast after mass. And so it began. Amost two decades ago. Even Mary’s grandson Gunnar and Axel join the group when they’re visiting their grandparents in Freehold. There is no longer a 6:30 daily mass at St. Rose, some of the group have moved to other towns further distant, some live in Pennsylvania and others spend a lot of time in Florida. But all look forward to the several times a year breakfast or luncheon where they renew friendships, catch up on news, pray for those not able to attend and laugh and enjoy themselves a lot.

Part of the group this year includes Milagros Martino,Gunnar Janwich, Linda Ryan, Muriel Smith,Axel Janwich, Judy Warenkiewicz, Don Sabatini, Theresa Campanella, Nick Spinelli and his wife, Connor Spinelli

Atlantic Highlands Borough sanitation and public works department employees immediately pooled resources to help residents clear fallen trees and huge downed branches from the area so jcp&l employees could work on restoring electricity to local homes and businesses.

Neighbor Brian Dogherty stopped power company workers and showed them a video of where equipment had exploded last night.

A Team of employees immediately reacted and began investigating to find solution for 96 year old old resident