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TOP: Women remove their shoes as they arrive at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York in Stamford to participate in afternoon prayer.  ABOVE: Ismael El Nahas, 3 of Stamford, watches as a group of men participate in afternoon prayer.

The assignment Elizabeth Kim and I took on today was timely given the recent debate over the possibility of an Islamic center near ground zero.  The Stamford center, which was founded in 1982, has undergone a complete renovation and can now accomodate up to 300 people.  The mosque offers weekly Friday prayers at 1:30 PM and other community activities.  Look for Elizabeth’s story on the center’s growing community in Saturday’s Advocate.

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Bob Altomare, stands on the sand at West Beach where he and his two brothers were lifeguards in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Today I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Bob who with his two older brothers, Tony and Peter, guarded West Beach for decades .  He truly is an old-fashioned gentleman in every sense of the word.  As we were shooting, two women walked by and stopped to watch the process.  Turns out they knew his family and exchanged hugs and handshakes.  It was a sweet moment.  I stood back to listen as the three of them took a trip down “memory lane” with stories of Stamford from years past.  So there we were 50 years later, Bob holding his guard float talking to two women in bikinis.  He had come full circle.  Check out Angela Carella’s full story in Friday’s Advocate.

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Kashvi Kumar, 7 of Westport, and Veda Malhotra, 6 of Darien, participate in a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of India’ s Independence Day at the Government Center. The event was sponsored by GOPIO (Global organization of People of Indian Origin) – Connecticut Chapter.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

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A taxi makes it way down Water Street during a thunderstorm on Block Island in late July.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

It’s been nearly three weeks since I returned from vacation in Rhode Island and it feels like months.  I finally received some images I shot with a friends camera (unlike most people I rarely carry a camera on vacation) and the memories of sitting on the deck at The National Hotel as a storm rolled in came flashing back.  As summer nears its end remember to soak in every last bit and enjoy it while you can.