(l-r) Carol Oberlander, Elise Oberlander, and Nancy Wilkie volunteer at the Thrift Shop.

The Mystic Woman’s Club Thrift Shop, Stonington Shopping Plaza, is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary of being in business. The Thrift Shop is the club’s primary source of fundraising and the money donated to local organizations.

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by Roger Zotti

James Fredericks’ novel, “Brother,” concerns itself with “the nature of brotherhood.

James Fredericks’ first novel is titled “Brother” (Bascom Hill), and he hopes readers get in touch with him after finishing it. “I’d like to get their feedback because you learn from your audience,” James said.  (His website is www.jamesfredericks.com.) He added that the biggest compliment a reader could give him is saying, “I enjoyed the story and stayed up until two in the morning reading it.” He’d also like readers to consider and question the nature of their own relationships: “We often go through life taking relationships for granted. We avoid telling people things and connecting with them in certain ways to keep a shell around ourselves, and that puts us at risk.”

James said, “Brother” is about “the nature of brotherhood and how far you’re willing to go to help a man you call your brother. More specifically, it’s about twin brothers in very different circumstances, who are challenged by nefarious forces outside their control. They have to come together to solve the dilemma that faces them and see how far they are willing to go to attain justice.”

The idea for the book originated when James thought about his two brothers and “four friends whom I consider brothers. We’ve been together for thirty plus years. I started considering how easy it is to be friends when times are good, but when times are bad it’s different. I just started delving deeper into that idea and asked myself how bad does it have to become to challenge those relationships.”

For James, what proved most challenging about writing “Brother” were certain individual scenes. He singled out “the introspective ones, where I have to get inside the head of a man in a coma who’s facing torture and somehow survive it and at the same time help his brother – those were challenging because obviously I’ve never been in those circumstances.” On the other hand, “the courtroom scenes moved quickly and I enjoyed writing them. They almost wrote themselves.” Of course, there’s revision, too, which is always a challenge. “It was more difficult than the writing itself,” James said. “I specifically remember writing a chapter and then having to slash a lot wholesale because I had to keep the book tighter…That was very painful and took longer than I anticipated.”

An avid reader, James admires many authors and for that reason he kept his audience in mind as he wrote his novel. “I know what I like and what makes me feel good about a book. So I tried to incorporate some things my favorite authors did successfully that connected with me. I tried to write a book that appealed to me that I hope would appeal to others who read the same genre.”

Before readers begin his novel James hopes “they feel they’re in good hands. They should feel comforted that it’s a story that will carry them [from page one] to the end.” And yes, James is working on a new project that’s “somewhat a sequel to this novel. I have a character at the end of the book I was exploring and I just started working on that.”

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by Larry Greene

Dr. Grace Jones, president, Thames River Community College, commissioned the new book “Open,” which captures the spirit of the College.

A new book about Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) is generating excitement among staff, faculty, students and alumni.
Compiled by Emeritae Mary LaMattina,  and Elaine Pelliccio, professors, TRCC, the book is an ensemble capturing the spirit of the college.
“We’re hoping the student body sees the book as part of their own experience,” said Emeritae, adding that there is much anticipation from students.

The book’s title, Open, is descriptive not only of the students and faculty, but of the newly reconstructed facilities at the Thames Valley and Mohegan campuses.

“We have natural light coming in and the facility is very open so it ties in with the title of the book,” said Elaine.

Open Hearts and Open Minds continue the theme as titles for chapters in the book.   The theme was partly inspired by President Obama, who will be sent a copy of the book.   Included in each book is an open invitation from Three Rivers’ President and the book’s commissioner, Dr. Grace Jones.   The invitation is for “all community members to take part in the exciting experience taking place daily on our campus.”

Elaine said, “It took awhile to decide what we wanted to do.”  Considerations included looking timelines and historical highlights, but it was decided to compile individual perspectives of the college from anyone who may be involved with the college.  The result was a surprising reflection told through poetry by a student, an article by alumni Shawn Mawhiney, director of communications, William W. Backus Hospital, and even artwork by workers in the college’s maintenance department.

“People had different perspectives,” said Emeritae.

“I think they have captured the spirit, the essence of us, the real humanity of being as different as different can be,” said Dr. Jones.

“We’re very proud of this book,” said Jones, who believed she chose the two best candidates to oversee the project.

Elaine and Emeritae were surprised at how intensive the project was, requiring skills beyond what they used as English professors at the college.  Even the stitches in the book’s binding needed their attention.  “Who would think of the stitches, it was sometimes overwhelming,” said Elaine.
When the pre-published book was reviewed by a 12-year-old girl, who said the book made her want to go there to college, Elaine and Emeritae knew they had accomplished their challenge.

On November 23, the book will be available in the Three Rivers book store and in the gift shops at Backus Hospital, Norwich, and Lawrence Memorial Hospital, New London.

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Members of the U.S. Naval Academy Dolphin Club man the controls aboard Naval Submarine School's Los Angeles-class crew trainer.

Eighteen members of the US Naval Academy’s (USNA) Dolphin Club visited Naval Submarine Base New London and General Dynamics Electric Boat to become more familiar with the submarine community.

The Dolphin Club is a voluntary, extracurricular activity at USNA for Midshipmen interested in a career path in submarines.  The trip to Groton included a tour and briefing at Electric Boat and Submarine School trainers.

“Doing this gets us away from the Naval Academy atmosphere and more into seeing what the whole sub community is all about,” said LT. Tom Belchik, Dolphin Club Officer Rep.

During the visit, the Midshipmen also had an opportunity to have lunch and talk with Capt. Frank Lowery, Submarine Group Two Chief of Staff and Captain Paul McHale, Commanding Officer, Submarine School.

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by Alexis Ann

Larry the Cable Guy “Gits-R-Done” at the Mohegan Sun Arena November 13th and 14th.

Who knew a sleeveless plaid shirt with pearly buttons draped over a big hunk of a Southern-drawlin’ man would be packin’ such a punch of brainpower!  That would be Larry The Cable Guy I’m talking about. Larry performed in Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, November 13th and Saturday, November 14th with special guest Reno Collier.

I was there for Larry’s opening cry of “Git-R-Done!” That’s right.  Those were his first words on stage in the Arena and they were enough to ignite the full house into a ROAR.  Wow!!

The “Lord, I Apologize,” Larry The Cable Guy sells out theatres and arenas across the United States, Mohegan Sun’s 10,000-seat arena is no exception.  The arena was packed!  It’s true, Larry is a perfectionist at the art of redneck comedy with his deadpan delivery and off-color humor. His repertoire includes jokes about his dysfunctional “family,” bodily functions and anything that is politically incorrect.

Born Daniel Lawrence Whitney, Larry’s career took off when he developed the “Larry the Cable Guy” persona – a character with stereotypical redneck appearance and an exaggerated Southern accent. Larry starred in the feature films “Delta Farce” with Bill Engvall and “Witless Protection” with Jenny McCarthy and he is the voice of Mater in the feature film “Cars” from Disney/Pixar.  Larry’s DVD special Git-R-Done, sold more than 1 million copies and is certified platinum. The special aired on Comedy Central and gave the network their second biggest Sunday night ratings in the channel’s history.

Reno Collier, a former P.E. teacher from West Virginia, has endeared himself to a wide range of audiences from college students to church softball teams. With a contagious laugh and friendly, almost intoxicating demeanor, Reno’s observations often find him recalling mishaps of his West Virginia cousins, his Scottish heritage, unruly in-laws and alien abductions.  Reno’s TV credits include NBC’s Late Friday, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The Martin Short Show, VH-1’s The List and Comedy Central’s Premium Blend.

As Larry says, “I don’t care who ya are, that’s funny stuff right there.”

Here are some madders…. Madder than a pianist playing in a marching band…. Madder than an albino walking in a snowstorm…. Madder than a mosquito in a mannequin factory….

Want to know why Larry’s driving a new Ford Pickup?  You guessed it…. Ford didn’t take any bail-out money.

By the end of the show, I was exhausted from laughing and just trying to keep up with his brainwaves!

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