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Author Archives: Cindy
Election Day Recap: Who said “GET OUT THERE AND VOTE TODAY?”
(My dad said “Get Out There and Vote Today”)
Single dads, hopefully you voted yesterday, and explained the importance of it to your children! Here are a few questions children might ask, and as a dad, you might decide to discuss with your kids:
Why should you vote?
Why is this such an important day?
How do you decide who to vote for?
Now for a little trivial pursuit (for you diehards, who know much about history or want to learn) while we consider the pursuit of our happiness, on this historic Election Day November 6, 2012. I used to play Trivial Pursuit with my Dads and ask them lots of history questions, not just on Election Day. They always seemed to know the answers and if not…read on, and see what they taught me!
Did you know….? …. and, hard for me to believe.
“This was the most expensive presidential race in American history.” (Source: The New York Times)
As you watch and listen to the results of Election Day be recapped and reviewed today, here are some Election Day Trivial Pursuit questions for you to have fun with as well:
1. What is the significance of February 4, 1789?
2. In what year was the first census passed which determined how many delegates each state would have in the house?
3. Who wrote the first bill of rights? (Hint: A Virginia Statesman)
4. Who said this: “I live a dull life here. I never go into any public place. Indeed I am more like a state prisoner than anything else… And I cannot do as I like, I am obstinante and stay home a great deal.” ?
5. What does E Pluribus Unum mean and where can it be found?
For the answers, just ask me in the comments.
And… Let’s not forget a lesson from my dads today (besides his advice, which is the title of this post):
Single Dad Lesson #4: “Don’t look like a smarty pants. If you don’t know the answer, look it up.”
I am guilty of not always following either of their advice or this rule. Both dad’s called me “the storyteller.” I was notorious for always having an answer, but not always the correct answer.
The truth is, truth does matter.
Sandy F. was a tyrant when it came to lying. He would charge me money every time I was wrong, and it cost me a lot of hard earned money–and it was literally a pain in the butt (when I was little). I always thought my answers were logical and creative. According to Sandy F. so were his punishments: Spending the day sitting in the bathtub (with no water) and also the taste of ivory soap on my breath.
So I became a truth teller. Maybe too much so!
I would say to Sandy F. when I got a little older, “Dad Don’t forget the 8th Amendment.” So I guess as a little girl I learned a little something about my constitutional rights (smile.) However, looking back, I was a pretty brazen little girl. I would say to one or the other dad, when they were not paying attention. ” I’m going to ask my other Dad.” That usually got some kind of response!
Oh boy… what a handful… and actually… I still am!
As I grew up, I was given several nickname – one called me SAJB and the other BM. I’m not going to tell everyone what that stood for, but try me in the comment’s section :-).
Single Dad Lesson # 5: Don’t Lie (that goes for parents too)
COMING UP: Why politics matter to single dads
With that in mind, I would like your feedback: If you are a single dad, how do you see politics as a way of bringing you closer to your kids and your kids closer to you?
COMING UP SOON: a story about my political grand mother, the mother of one of my single dads, with excerpts from an interview after she served as an ambassador for the United States.
I wonder who my grandmother would have voted for ?
After Storm Sandy–Single Dad Lesson# 2:Step Up And Help Wherever You Can
As a little girl, I was pretty shy (boy, have I changed). And, I was often scared,so I acted tough.
My Dads were not around much, but I was always wishing they were when a storm was forecasted. Children like their Dads around when a storm is coming.
I learned at a very early age about men’s weather obsession, because being informed and talking about the weather conditions, was something both Sandys had in common.
When the hurricane hit NYC, the night of October 29th, I started going online and watching closely all of the news and weather channels. I could recall conversations I had with both dads about the weather, wind chill factor, high vs low tide, barometric pressure, and so on.
So, I kept track of Sandy.
Storm Stats for NYC: a full moon, winds in Central Park were approx. 58 mph and reached 90 mph in the surrounding area, the water surged up to almost 14 feet(in Battery Park), the Barometric Pressure dropped to 945, and the storm extended 1000 miles in diameter. As per Reuters, 42 people died in the NY surrounding area, 34 in NYC.
NYU Hospital Medical Langone Center was evacuated. This is the hospital I associate with the end of the line. NYU hospital was punished by Storm Sandy, not just because the backup generators went down, but 3 floors of windows blew out. I believe the 15th-17th floors. And, that is also the floor where my dad spent some of his time before he “checked out.”
On the morning of October 30th, a pink rose budded from the “Knockout” rosebush that I gave to Sandy’s niece and nephew, Ellen and John, on their wedding anniversary, in memory of Sandy. A text was sent to me Tuesday morning by their daughter, Sarah, “Cindy’s rose in memory of Sandy blooms – a good omen.”
Sandy, the Friendly Ghost was smiling down on me after the storm roared through.
Suffice it to say, Sandy was the largest storm on earth, according to the news reports. However, the damage could have been a lot worse. I remember going to help in New Orleans after Katrina, and nothing could have compared to that. But, my dads taught me you step up, wherever and whenever you can. Now it was time to help repair the damage.
The next few days, I got to work and did what I could to help those in need. NYC still has little power downtown (below 30th), food an issue and getting gas is a serious problem. Because of downed lines, there is little if any reception.
I went online to donate (see below), and made calls and sent emails to see who needed a place to stay. I brought a carload of food,water, flashlights and batteries to a shelter yesterday. Today we went to one of the Lower East Side projects. Neither had water or electricity.
I want to thank my new friend Cyrus for helping me today (btw, a single-dad) and thank Julie Menin for organizing this effort. I also want to thank my good friend David, for without his kind support, guidance and enthusiasm this project would only have been a great idea–not something real! Also: he is a Super Single Dad!
Click here to see a list of organizations you may give to
Huffington Post gives a neighborhood take on how you can help.
COMING UP: Sandy Single Dad Lesson # 3: Be fiercely independent & count on yourself
Sandy The Friendly Ghosts–How the Storm Called Me To Action
October 29/November 2012- “SANDYS STORM SURGES”
There must be something about the name Sandy that Mom liked. Not one but TWO ex-husbands named Sandy, HMMM…makes it easy in case she slipped up (smiling and rollin’ eyes). These two men came on the tail end of one another, no time to spare–similar to the way storm Sandy, progressed from a SUPER Storm and a Hurricane, to a Nor’easter.
My two single dads were Sandy G (short for Sanford), and Sandy F (short for Alexander). I realize storms are named after women, but there was a great woman, behind, in front, and beside these two men, and as a blogger, I am having some fun. Beside, my mom, who is a force of nature herself, seemed to get swept up by men, all kinds. Wannabe dads, soon to be dads, already dads and ones that later became single dads.
“Sandy” the Hurricane blew through New York on October 29th with no certainty of how big, bad and ugly it might be. That is the premise of this blog: you just never know what to expect. The same was true for both Sandy’s. They were awesome but unpredictable.
Both Sandy’s had a lifelong influence on me, as they did on all the other children they shared with our mother, in addition to other children, who were a residual benefit (Oh-happy days).
The impact that they had was not always steady and strong, but indeed like a hurricane – it was TuMUltuOUS! What SUPER Storm Sandy did was unprecedented and, so was how my dads changed me and taught me lifelong lessons.
I started writing this blog because of my two single dads named Sandy. I was called to action by the storm. I’ll be writing here about the life lessons they taught me, and also inviting you to share your stories, and experiences as single dads in NYC along the way.
Everything my single dads did, taught me something, whether it was “Good, Bad or Ugly” (a future post). With “Super Storm Sandy,” I was reminded how I was taught as a child and again as a teenager, when I was sent away to school, and then as a grown-up, that one must be prepared, careful, responsible and safe.
SD Life Lesson #1: You can have it all–and–you can lose it all.
The storm was described as a hybrid storm one half hurricane and one half a Nor’easter and believe me these dads could not be more different, however with similar drive and desire. How appropriate! Using “Sandy” as a reference, inter-related, like my two single dads.
And like the storm Sandy, both Sandys in my life came on the scene almost simultaneously, and, this created one heck of a surge. Back in their day, articles were written in the newspapers about the two Sandys, and of course the eye of their storm, my mom. The dads knew they were both spinning circles around MOM, and may the best dad win!
COMING UP: After Storm Sandy Single Dad Lesson # 2: Step Up And Help Wherever You Can
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