In Sight

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

(L to R) Volunteer Zayne Sibley, 15, and participant Karl Arezzini, 18, dressed as the “Emcee”, wait for dress rehearsal to begin as a group of teens and young adults with special needs, all members of Anything’s Possible Players from Abilis, direct and perform in their own play,  “Cinderella Outgrows The Glass Slipper” at The First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich.

Unfortunately I left this assignment right before Karl took center stage and sang “When You Wish Upon A Star” but according to Advocate reporter Sarah Lipman, I missed a touching performance.  This was a nice way to spend my Saturday.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Career firefighters from Stamford Fire & Rescue and volunteers for Glenbrook conduct search and rescue drills at the fire training center on Magee Avenue.

Most people have been lucky enough to have never found themselves trapped inside a burning building, and I am one of those people.  But last night, under completely safe and controlled conditions, I got to experience that scenario firsthand and I’m in no hurry to do it again.  Yes, it was an unforgettable assignment with amazing photo opportunities.  And, yes the firefighters could not have been more cooperative, but it freaked me out!  It was HOT, pitch black and there was that one defining moment when I felt completely alone.  That’s when I politely excused myself and called it a night.  Stamford’s Bravest certainly lived up to it.

empty baseball field

a dandelion seed floats through

the strike zone

– George Swede

biking to the field

under a cloudless sky

my glove on the handlebars

– Cor van den Heuvel

Chris Preovolos/The Advocate

lost in the lights

the high fly ball that

never comes down

– Raffael de Gruttola

Chris Preovolos/Staff photo
Alex Rothwell, of the Montessori School, adjusts the microphone stand during the Regional Spelling BEE of Lower Fairfield County, held at the UConn Stamford Campus on Thursday.

This is way harder than it looks. I feel particularly bad for the girl who went down on an obscure Hawai’ian noun.

I’m too tired to comment much on the whole scene and how cute the kids were since I spent all night editing a video about the Spelling Bee, please check it out here.

–CP

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Spring-like temperatures hit the area today and people ventured out to the Mill River Playground to enjoy it.

This playground sits around the corner from the old Advocate building and being there today reminded me of how much I loved working downtown.  It was a hotbed of activity and prime for enterprise.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Peter Arahovitis, a 17-year-old Stamford High School junior, sits in his room at Yale New Haven Hospital  awaiting a bone marrow transplant.  He was diagnosed with leukemia in December, after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2004.  A donor has been found in Europe, and Peter says “it puts him one step closer” to recovery.  The procedure is scheduled for March 26.

I went to Yale New Haven Hospital today with Advocate reporter Devon Lash to begin this story.  It was another one of those moments when I say to myself “this is why I do what I do”.  The newspaper industry is going through a period of extreme change and strife,  but I’m a firm believer that if journalists can continue to bring stories like Peter’s into the public eye than the industry will flourish.   He was an absolute joy to meet and  I look forward to telling his story from diagnosis to recovery.

Chris Preovolos/The Advocate

Um, well, stuck in the snow on Spruce St. Fortunately, Jorge Robles, left, and Bob Eberheim, were helpful enough to get the radio car moving again. I imagine the young officer headed “thirty seven” for chains shortly after this.

–CP