By: John Woodend, Reception Director

In Aikido, moves are called arts. Each art is divided into three separate parts. The first, is called the “attack”. That is when one’s partner, your personal assailant, comes at you with a punch, a hold or grab, or a slash with a weapon. The second part of the art, is the “defense”. This could be moving in, moving off the line of the attack, moving back, or the always fun ducking. The third part of the art is confusingly enough called the “art”. This is where the person being attacked ends the conflict, via a throw, strike, joint lock, escape, or pin.

While practicing, psychology and human nature takes place, and inevitably, everyone develops favorite partners. People that you would prefer to practice with. Out of the myriad of reasons these favorites develop, there is always a common denominator. The end! And if your partner performed “the end” well!

The end is the silent unspoken fourth part of the art that has no instructions. It is based on safety and etiquette. The end is when the assailant rolls out of a throw, taps out of a pin, yields from a joint lock, and ends their attack when they receive a hidden strike. The end is the most important and practical part of all of the arts. It literally is the reason one can continue practicing and no one needs to be taken to the hospital.

We are now starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. With restrictions being lifted, plans and phases forming and being discussed, and summer around the corner, the end of this whole epidemic seems reachable in our minds eye. However, it is important to remember why “the end” is so important. The end is where we are most vulnerable.

So as news progresses and events happen, become honest and aware of what you are and are not comfortable doing. If your gut tells you not to do something. Don’t do that something. Just like practicing an Aikido art, preforming well during “this end” means unapologetically paying attention to safety and etiquette. So, you can get back up, continue to carry on and possibly have some more fun with life.

Stay safe everyone.

By: John Woodend, Reception Desk Director

When I was around eight or nine years old, my mother grounded me. I was very rarely punished and was often considered a “Good Kid”, by the various wardens incorporated in my life. Now, I don’t remember what I did to get grounded, but I do clearly remember the feeling that I did not deserve to be grounded. It was summer, it was the 80s, and that punishment meant that I could not go out, see and play with my friends, or ride my bike. I was not happy. Justice was not being served. And I didn’t quite know or understand how to handle the situation I was now in. So, I accepted my sentence and quietly went into the tv room. I turned on the TV to determine which one of THE FIVE CHANNELS WE HAD TO CHOOSE FROM . . .TO WATCH!!!

I hardly had a chance to sit down on the couch, when my mother came into the doorway. Still annoyed with me, she asked me what I was doing and in the same breath told me that I was grounded and that I couldn’t watch TV. Still unsure of how I felt about things, I said okay and I turned off the TV. My mother then exited and I sat for a couple of minutes on the couch in silence. I then decided I would go into the playroom that housed many toys, games and books that I had outgrown. I figured I would organize and clean up the things I didn’t want anymore. Very shortly after my task had begun, my mother appeared yet again in the doorway, more annoyed than before, and told me I wasn’t allowed to play with anything. That was the point where I experienced my first Shawshank moment. My mom watched me put my toys away. I asked if it was okay if I just stayed in the room. She said yes and left. I then started to do push-ups and sit ups. She came back to the doorway because she heard noises. Now, exasperated she said, “No exercising!” I asked, “I can’t exercise?” She said, “No, you just be in here and do nothing” (this was before “time out” was a thing). She then walked off. So, I laid down on the hardwood floor and closed my eyes and began my first impromptu meditation. Maybe ten minutes later my mother returned to the doorway. She probably came back because of the silence, but in my mind, she came back because she felt my unbridled, righteous indignation that I was pumping into the ether. She asked me, “Are you sleeping?” Keeping my eye’s closed, I responded, “No”. She then asked, “What are you doing?” I responded with zero remorse, “Thinking about what to do next.”

We are now in the second month of quarantine. And it is not a coincidence that I remembered this story from childhood. This feels like I’m being grounded! I can’t go out and see my friends! And I didn’t do anything to deserve it! And neither did anyone else. However, what I can do is, decide to do something.

If you are feeling stuck. Do not focus on what you cannot do. Focus on what you still can do. For many of us, this quarantine has gifted us with time.  Don’t squander this gift. When we come out of this, what story will you have to tell? (You owe it to yourself to do more than watching Tiger King). What do you want to do or start doing with this gift of time? If you don’t know what you want to do, first, start by unplugging from all of your devices.  All of them. Next, lie down in a quiet place, relax and ask yourself, what do you want? Stay in the calm and quiet. Then ask, what can I do today? Then, when you are ready, decide to do something that will contribute to your story.

If you are wondering what happened next in my grounding story, my mother, right there, lifted the grounding and let me go out and play. And to the best of my recollection I was never grounded again.  Thus, becoming ungroundable.

By: Danielle Bouchard, GM

The dog photo that you see is one of my yellow lab, Gertrude, “Gertie” or “Gertz” for short. This photo was taken at Indian Lake, PA her favorite place! In late 2018, Gertie was diagnosed with a protein deficiency. I had taken her for a routine check-up and had blood drawn and the results that came back shocked both the Dr. and me. She had no symptoms whatsoever, but her levels were so low that the Dr. said “you need to have her see a specialist asap”. So, off to an internal specialist we went.

In order to fix her protein deficiency, she needed to be on three medications with one of those being a chemo type of drug along with blood draws every 6-weeks. Specialty drug stores are the only ones that offer such medicines so I was directed to the Kensington Apothecary off of Connecticut Ave and Knowles. The first time I went to the Apothecary, I wasn’t sure where to park so I parked at the Ace Hardware store located on Knowles. I had never been in that hardware store and I was really curious about it so I decided to visit before going in to the Apothecary. On that day, I uncovered a treasure!  I love that hardware store. Their service is fantastic, they have lots of great items and they have fun gadgets right when you enter.  I love gadgets!

The hardware store also sells dog toys, bird seed, feeders, all sorts of stuff. While there during that first visit, I purchased a bag of wildflower seed. The two other photos you see are the result of throwing that wildflower seed near my mailbox. I love flowers and gosh, I was amazed at all that blossomed. I had flowers from May 2019 through October 2019. Some of the flowers grew to be four to five feet tall. People in my neighborhood would walk down the cul-de-sac just to see the flowers. I met more neighborhood folks that summer because of those flowers.

Anyway, after my visit to the hardware store I made my way to the Apothecary. And again, what a treasure and an amazingly caring staff! I purchased all three medications, quite costly I might add, but my Gertie needed the treatment or else this protein deficiency would be fatal. Yes, I had a good chance of losing her if the treatment did not work or if I elected to forgo treatment.

Here we are almost two years later, and Gertie is doing well. She is still medicated but with only one medication. She is due for bloodwork soon to determine what we do next, but because of Covid-19 I am not venturing out to the vet just yet. She seems happy and that makes me happy!

I hope the pictures put smiles on your faces. It’s important to reflect and remember the good times because no doubt we will have them again, maybe not soon, but we will have them again!