A SPECIAL LADY: HATTIE SMELTER’S 100^TH BIRTHDAY PARTY  By  CALVIN SCHWARTZ   December 19^th 2014

Three years ago, because of a special synchronicity, I was invited to the birthday party of Emily Cook, turning 101, at Arbor Terrace of Middletown (formerly Regal Pointe). It was a particularly poignant experience for me. I got a chance to talk to Emily at length after her festive party with all the senior residents, musical entertainment (Jerry Spathis)and a birthday cake fit for a centenarian. Emily was sharp and filled with emoted memories. Her descriptions of the Great Depression and her life in general were riveting. We became friends and the following year, I went to her 102^nd birthday party and somewhere in between parties, I managed to bring a TV crew and interview her live. On camera, she invited me back to her room; I laughed and still do, thinking about that.

The video went national. I learned a life lesson; how precious and meaningful time spent with seniors can be.  They can fill your senses and quest for historical first-hand accounts; that unique commentary/perspective not found on Google. Too often these days, I wish upon a star I had spent more time talking to grandparents and parents and seniors down the block, filling a void in my roots and knowledge.

I got a message a few weeks ago on Facebook from Darci Voight Kennedy, from Arbor Terrace, that another resident (it’s not assisted living but independent senior living), Hattie Smelter was turning 100 on December 12^th and once again I was invited to the birthday party. I knew right away I’d be there.

Arbor Place was adorned with balloons and party signage. Waiting for the party to begin, Hattie, perfectly coiffed and looking 25 years younger than her age, was sitting off to the side in the lobby talking to the party entertainer, a vibrant talented Cathy DaPrato. I overheard Hattie mention one of her favorite songs was ‘Goodnight Sweetheart.’  I remembered the song from ‘American Graffiti’ and originally from the ‘Spaniels’ in 1954; still within my memory banks.

I sat and listened to a hit parade of memorable songs while the party rolled on. Hattie got up to dance with several different partners. Again she looked 25 years younger; she moved gracefully. While entertainer Cathy was talking, a resident, John Sorrentino, sat down next to me. He was only 91 and met Hattie for the first time a year ago at the mailbox which he had a hard time opening due to failing vision. Hattie walked over, took the key and opened it. A few weeks later he asked Hattie to be his girlfriend. She replied, “It’s too late.” John went on to tell me about his career as a building inspector in Florida. Later in his apartment, he’d show me a commendation letter for being honest and avoiding corruption and an invitation from President Bush to attend a special dinner. John hinted we should work on a book of his life.

When Cathy sang ‘Sweet Caroline’ most of the residents swung their hands side to side; they were into it; another couple nearby just held hands. The cake was cut, champagne passed around and it was time for Hattie and me.  She was born in Jersey City on December 12, 1914. When she was 15 years old she worked for the American Can Company. “Do you remember it?” Of course I did.  “I went to Saint Anthony’s grammar school for three years then public school. I left when I was in eighth grade because I had to go to work. You know, The Depression. For a woman it was easier to get a job.”   I knew why; they paid women less. Hattie blurted out, “$7 a week.”

But she worked for the American Can Company only during the summer months because she was under age. “They wanted my birth certificate so I never went back.” She laughed.  “Then I got this job. I worked in one place for 34 years.” I thought about Tom Brokaw and the greatest generation and wondered if people today regularly work in the same places for 34 years; Hattie was tough stuff I kept thinking. Maybe it was a contributing factor to living to 100. I decided not to ask her the typical question.

She worked all those years for Mongolia Importing Company testing casings for hot dogs and kielbasa. “I was in water all day long; rubber boots and apron. I used to gauge the casings. When my mother was sick I took a few weeks off. My job was always there.”

“How’d you meet your husband?”  “I was going to a dance with two of my lady friends in Bayonne at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. Leo was on the bus. He had a gold tooth. I’ll never forget it. At the dance he comes over and starts talking and going back home he sat with me on the bus. After that, we kept company (I remember my mother always used that expression) for 18 months then we got married. We stayed married for 60 years. I had a daughter, Dorothy who passed away a few years ago.”

All of a sudden Hattie interjects, “Make sure you write good stuff, nothing bad about me.”  “Is there bad stuff?”  “I hope not,” she was quick to respond.  I asked about music. She likes the radio, Bing Crosby and TV; she especially likes ‘Kelly and Michael,’ whom she is going to see in person in January. They have a special program at Arbor Terrace corporate where they seek to fulfill bucket list for their residents. Hattie’s is going to meet Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan.

I knew I forgot to introduce myself when we started. “I’m Calvin by the way.”  “I remember Calvin Coolidge,” she stated randomly almost. “Do you remember him as President? Did you like him?”
“I forgot about him.” I thought that was so typical. No one has much to say about my namesake although I’ve been reading about an undercurrent that Coolidge is coming into vogue; history may discover he was far better than originally thought. “I remember Herbert Hoover. We used to say here comes Hoover on a horse.”

“What was it like during the depression?”  Hattie shook her head. “People used to sell apples. It was real bad. I had a job which was good. I bought shoes for myself for 99 cents. Would you believe it? Do you know how you used to pay? They put the money in a box and sent it up. They were never robbed. Then they sent the change back down. Then I bought laces for five cents.”

“During World War II, what did you do?”  “I used to work on Flit cans (Flit was an insecticide launched in 1923). Do you remember it?”  “Yes I do!”  “I used to solder them. I made a mistake once and soldered them together. I was tired. They moved me to five gallon cans.”

Hattie’s friends kept coming over to congratulate her. She asked if the party was over. I guess it was time for me too.  How engaging and delightful my time with Hattie was.  I did savor every moment. There’s a message and lesson; to do this regularly and absorb, interact and cherish. I asked Hattie if I could come to her 101^st birthday party. We shook hands on it. She had a firm grip. She left a firm grip on my soul.

FOR MORE INFORMATION On ARBOR TERRCE OF MIDDLETOWN  Phone  732-957-0083    www. at-middletown.com

Published on Nov 3, 2014

www.EANJ.org

Livingston, NJ– The Employers Association of New Jersey (EANJ) introduced on Tuesday, October 14, a new voluntary program for its membership designed to maintain a healthy workplace. The program promotes the Qualcare Tools to Maintain a Healthy Workplace. In 2012, Rutgers University and the EANJ were partners in a new statewide program to develop an online toolkit employers can use to build a healthier workplace, with activities ranging from mid-day walking clubs to more nutritious snacks in the vending machines. Casting New Jersey as a “healthy workplace state”, the program won Healthcare Hero honors from NJBiz in 2013.

“Still, with annual health care costs and premiums hovering around $10,000 per employee and increasing, it’s more important than ever for employers to encourage a workplace culture of wellness. Doing so can help employers reduce health care costs and result in increased employee productivity and satisfaction,” says John Sarno, president of EANJ.

The next step is incorporating wellness and disease management into healthcare plans, says Sarno.

On Oct. 14, Sarno convened an information session in Edison where Dr. Christopher Valerian, chief medical officer of QualCare, explained the program to employers.

“This voluntary program is designed to ensure that covered employees remain healthy, productive and happy,” says Sarno. “Working with a nurse case manager, participating employees will receive information and advice on their healthcare needs, preventative care and lifestyle choices – all within a confidential relationship.”

Sarno said employers won’t have to pay extra fees to participate in the disease management program.

EANJ’s health plan – Affiliated Physician & Employers Health Plan – covers hundreds of New Jersey small employers and is launching an initiative to encourage those employers to engage their workers in wellness and disease management programs, specifically ones that are successfully improving health and reducing unnecessary health care spending. This a self-insured healthcare trust that provides the same type of plan doctors and other healthcare providers purchase. The plan, managed by employers for employers, eventually helped give New Jersey companies a menu of more affordable, fully-ACA compliant health care plans that other options on the ACA healthcare exchange may not offer.

Presently, EANJ is the only nonprofit trade association in N.J. providing employers access to this plan with 13 different options. Currently, more than 1,250 N.J. employers, from nearly every NJ County gets their healthcare from APEHP and the rate growth is about 70 new employer enrollments per month.

Since 2006, QualCare has offered wellness and disease management programs within its entire family of health plans, which serves approximately 180,000 members.
EANJ wants to encourage more small employers to take advantage of QualCare’s wellness and disease management programs, which help individuals with chronic diseases – such as diabetes, heart failure and hypertension — to better manage their ailments.

Contact
www.EANJ.org

On My Way to See a Wizard Building a World Record Sandcastle On Point Pleasant Beach by Calvin Schwartz.  October 6, 2013

On Thursday morning October 3^rd I got a call from the head of NJ Discover (my boss) inviting me to experience a new world of record breaking sandcastle construction and imagination launching points. I’ve never really seen sandcastles other than the ones I built myself on Belmar beach when President Eisenhower was playing golf on the news and the Everly Brothers started singing ‘Bye Bye Love a long time ago. The castles I built seemed to last less than ten minutes and vanished quickly in wind and ocean wave.

Thing is; I had no concept about the scope and enormity of the project being built on Point Pleasant Beach by Jenkinson’s in conjunction with Superstorm Sandy One Year Anniversary. So as I walked the steps from the boardwalk to a patch of sand then through a makeshift office,  public relations and souvenir booth to the site of a 30 foot partially existing sand structure, I stood in awe as a towering spire of sandcastle dwarfed my 6’5” height.

I was overwhelmed and walked around the circumference. Built into the side of the castle was a ‘sand’ car in the Holland Tunnel with a license plate, ‘Brzy Pt.’ Was I in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? The detail work on the sculptured castle was incredible. I looked around the beach. It was a warm day for October; a handful of people in beach chairs were still clinging to last vestiges of summer.

Then I spotted a figure way on top of the castle who waved and invited me to come on up the ladder but I’d wait for his descent. NJ Discover’s chief introduced me to the artist, sculptor, culinary artist and world record holder, Ed Jarrett. “Could that sand castle hold my weight if I climbed up?” “Sure.” Of course I was still in denial and retrieved my reporter’s microphone; it was time to interview Ed Jarrett.

“How did you evolve into all of this sand sculpting?” I powered-on the microphone. Ed’s mother advised him that if he went to art school, he would become a starving artist so he went to Culinary Arts School at Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island. In one class, he learned how to ice carve. He remembered when an instructor walked out with a chain saw. “Standing in a puddle of water, I learned ice sculpture.”

While a junior student, he got into a seafood cooking challenge and beat out the instructors and best chefs in the state. Later he did a New York food show and took first place in pastry. He had his own ice carving and catering business before he graduated. Along the academic way, Ed took management courses and ended up managing private golf courses but still practiced snow and ice carvings. “I got into wood carving eight years ago and sand sculpture 11 years ago. I just finished a 22 foot totem pole for an Iraqi War veteran who is blind. He wanted his kids to see it. We became best friends.”  He doesn’t do ice sculptures for weddings anymore. “I have to do bigger projects with a meaning behind it.” Just then a helicopter flew overhead. We both looked up smiling.

Ed was born in Maine. Somehow I thought he was a Jersey native. I wondered how he wound up in Jersey on Point Pleasant Beach. His best friend from college called him after Hurricane Sandy but couldn’t really explain or comprehend what happened like his neighbor’s house resting in the middle of the street. His friend, in the tile business, was out of business for a while. So Alan suggested to Ed about building a sandcastle on the NJ beach. He knew lots of people and they could bring in lake sand and make it happen.

“I came to Jersey to build one castle and now I’m building a second one to get the Guinness record for the 2500 school children that helped me on the first one. I’ve gotten world records every time I tried and been out here every day now to make this happen.” He pointed to the wood foundation; it’s the same technique how a bucket is used to build a small beach sandcastle. “This new  Sandy castle is already six feet in the air. It goes fast now. By this weekend it’ll be double size on its way to over 40 feet high which just beats my record.” Then Ed paused a few seconds and took a deep breath. “It’s not about beating a record but all the community that comes out and helps. I want to see these kids wear the tee shirts with pride that they had a chance to sign official Guinness log book. It becomes a family and sense of community.” People walking by on the boardwalk stop and ask, “Can I help?” And yes there is even a bucket brigade system used to move the 1.6 million pounds of sand.

I had to ask Ed, “Is there something special about us Jersey folks?”  He was quick to respond as if he’d been waiting for this question. “There’s an incredible energy. I’ve never wanted to do two sandcastles in any one year. It’s been the biggest high and energy level right here from all the people volunteering and coming back for more. We are Jersey Strong. Of all the builds I’ve done, this is the most fulfilling. Best karma with all the people here.”  Ed’s lived all over the world but has fallen in love with Jersey.

I asked about the sand used for his sandcastles and reminded him that all my sandcastles as a kid at the Jersey shore never lasted more than ten minutes or made it over 12 inches high. He laughed at my childhood ‘deconstruction.’  “In my three world records in Maine, I used lake sand which is powdery sifted sand. Every one of the grains is sharp because glaciers over time have roughed them up. Beach sand here is rounded by ocean currents and it becomes like marbles together. My sand is sharp and edges interlock like Velcro. Rain sucks the water in and pulls it tighter. I can walk on the castle. Of course I do design my castles with moats to drain the rain water.”

Then Ed’s voice got louder and prideful. “I’m the greenest sculptor out there. People sometimes think there is wood or binders or glue holding my castles together. But not; you see I don’t want to contaminate the sand so I can use it again.” The new castle which will be finished by October 29^th for a huge celebrity filled celebration at Jenkinson’s will have a gothic feel and be part haunted for Halloween and ready for Guinness’s new category, ‘World’s Tallest Sculpture.’

I felt invigorated and spiritual. I’d spent an hour with a very special artist and world record holder. The best way to finish this article right now is to remind EVERYONE that NJ Discover is LIVE STREAMING the entire sandcastle building process, day and night(24/7) for everyone to follow right up until October 29^th.  Check NJDiscover.com website for info on Oct 29th celebration!!  Here is the link to watch live streaming of the sandcastle:
Watch Ed Jarrett and his volunteers LIVE as they build a world record sand castle! Tune in everyday to see the progress.

Please support our sponsors! Eco Building Products, Jenkinson’s Boardwalk, Sandy Castle 2013 & NJ Discover !

Live Video Provided By These Sponsors!

The Leader in Lumber Protection

Eco is the premier manufacturer of proprietary wood products coated with Eco Red Shield™, our exclusive eco-friendly chemistry that protects against mold, rot-decay, termites and now fire. We believe lumber is back as the best building material and invite you to learn more about our products, as well as what makes today’s framing lumber different and more susceptible to mold, termites and fire.

Jenkinson’s Boardwalk offers your family a wide range of activities. Whether you are visiting for the day or the entire summer, you will always find something to excite every member of your family. From free weekly events to yearly festivals, there is always something extraordinary to experience here at Jenkinson’s.

Sandy Castle 2013, Second Edition. The current structure will remain in place until Labor Day. After that, it will be dismantled and we will begin packing sand into forms for a second attempt at breaking the Guinness World Record for the Tallest Sandcastle.

NJ Discover, a New Jersey based production company that produces TV commercials, Web commercials, Local TV Show and Social Media Ad Delivery and Management Company that specializes in getting your video seen by your targeted audience. NJ Discover proudly serves the entire state and is dedicating to positive programming for New Jersey.

And on Facebook (The Sandy Castle Foundation): https://www.facebook.com/sandycastlefoundation

A PLACE TO DONATE AND VOLUNTEER:  http://jarrettscastle.com/

Journeys to the Center of the Mind:
Singularity Summit 2011

By Calvin Barry Schwartz

What if the intelligence we create could create even greater intelligence? And do we want a smart alec computer in 20 years to clone itself into a smarter computer that passes us humans by and are we aware of all the possibilities when (not if) that happens?

These are the types of questions that anchored the sixth annual two-day scientific Singularity Summit in New York City, which typically attracts approximately 600 international scientists, technologists and businesspeople to hear 24 global intellects discuss the future.

Think about it: the computer in our cell phone today is a million times cheaper, a thousand times more powerful and a hundred thousand times smaller than a computer from 1965. The Singularity Summit keeps a hopeful but wary eye on the latest developments in science and technology and what it means for future of intelligence and even us here in Monmouth County. The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence is dedicated “to research and rational deliberation on the future of humanity and in particular the promise and perils of advanced artificial intelligence.”

The conference was rife with the most inventive theories proposed by leading experts. Author, inventor and known futurist Ray Kurzweil, who Forbes called “the ultimate thinking machine” and who has 17 honorary doctorates, spoke about brain biology merging with intelligent technology, already in early stages: IBM’s Watson, (best known from “Jeopardy”) is already using biologically inspired algorithms.

Watson’s “parents,” IBM scientists David Ferrucci and Dan Cerutti, explained how they watched Ken Jennings win 74 times in a row on “Jeopardy!” and thought how neat it would be to make a computer to beat him; hence, the birth of Watson. They envision one of the early uses of Watson for the medical field. Meanwhile, Jennings admitted he was bothered by losing to Watson, expressing that it had to do with sense of self, dehumanization, being threatened, yet it still infused him with a sense of wonder. In closing, Jennings said that when he was at IBM and preparing to challenge Watson on “Jeopardy!”, he thought his being there, “was an away game for humanity.”

An inescapably compelling theme was human longevity and regeneration. Sonia Arrison, a futurist at the Pacific Research Institute, believes that by attacking end-of-life diseases such as Alzheimer’s, medical advances could nearly double human life expectancy to 150 years. Relatedly, Dimitry Itskov (founder of the Russia 2045 social movement), explained bold plans to transplant a human brain into a new body in 15 years and putting human consciousness in a hologram-like body (avatar) in 35 years. physicist Alexander Wissner-Gross, triple major from MIT where he is a research affiliate) talked about anti-aging and a recent article on the potential of curing diabetes with a starvation diet. Stephen Badylak spoke about someday treating stroke patients by regenerating pieces of the functioning human brain.

Meanwhile, however, at a press conference after his lecture, Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic Magazine, said he was skeptical about supplements and exercise as tools for anti-aging.

And then there are those great minds with wish lists. Stephen Wolfram from Wolfram Research would like to make as much as possible of the world’s knowledge computable and accessible. He mentioned has has data on every keystroke that he’s typed for the last 20 years. In another session, Peter Theil, inventor of PayPal, would like people not to distrust or be uneasy with technology.

Physicist and NY Times bestselling author David Brin remarked during his question/answer segment that he’d like to see someone fund another clock, set up next to the National Debt clock, illuminating what our debt would be if we charged royalties for satellite communications, the internet and pharmaceutical research.

Even how we as a society hand down justice may change through science: biophysicist Christof Koch talked about measuring our consciousness (phi) with an equation. In the lobby with a small group attentively listening, he said that one day “we’ll even be able to see your dreams,” provoking thoughts about a whole new aspect to criminal justice and law enforcement, as well as psychological and psychiatric understanding.

Jason Silva, a filmmaker, futurist, founding producer and host for Current TV, the Emmy-winning youth oriented lifestyle cable network started by Al Gore, electrified the audience with his energetic imagination, asserting. “We need to give people goose bumps.”

Calvin Schwartz, from NJ Discover, was the ONLY New Jersey journalist or media representative from New Jersey  to cover Singularity Summit in October which drew 600 scientists and technologists from all over the world.  As he mentioned, “It was like cerebral nirvana hanging out in the press room and going one on one with some of the most incredible minds on the planet.”