Take On Life

Hi everyone,

There’s an old saying about New Year’s resolutions: They go in one year and out the other.

Sure, it’s no secret New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, whether you’re trying to lose weight or exercise more. But what if New Year’s resolutions were offered with well wishes and thanks for the coming year?

That’s what I tried to do in Friday’s News-Times, whether the resolutions were for Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, who are considering runs for governor, or for our service men and women serving at home and abroad.

So check out “Take on Life” tomorrow. Only in the print edition of The News-Times.

Hi everyone,

I fell in love with college basketball during my freshman year at Syracuse. I played tenor saxophone in the Sour Sitrus Society, the school’s basketball pep band, and watched the likes of Pearl Washington and Patrick Ewing up close.

It was a great experience and one that planted the seed for me to cover UConn men’s basketball for The News-Times from 1993-2007.

Somehow, my youngest son has become a Duke fan and it looks like my oldest son is headed to Georgia Tech next fall. Maybe Syracuse isn’t for them, but for me, I can’t imagine going to school anywhere else.

On Tuesday night, No. 5 Syracuse visited Seton Hall in the Big East Conference opener for the Orange. Midway through the first half, I checked a score update on my phone as I went to refresh my cup of coffee.

After I finished working, I watched the last few minutes of the first half on my laptop via ESPN360. By the time I got home, I turned on the TV and watched the last few minutes of the second half on SNY.

Crazy, right? 

Maybe this is standard fare for many people, but for someone who didn’t get cable until I was 11 years old, it’s the stuff of science fiction to some degree.

Best of all, Syracuse beat Seton Hall, 80-73, to remain undefeated at 13-0.

Hi everyone,

With New Year’s Eve parties right around the corner, you can be sure that spirits — those of the emotional variety and those of the bottled variety — will be flowing freely.

But don’t let a good time lead you into making a bad decision. Too many people drink and drive on New Year’s Eve, despite a concerted effort to prevent broken cars and broken lives.  

For the record, the state Department of Transportation has put up 23 of those flashing highway signs that read: “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”

The state DOT also issued 86 DUI enforcement grants to state and local police departments to conduct holiday patrols.

So why do some people still drink and drive, even after all the preventative measures and even with all the deterrents?

Check out my “Take on Life” column tomorrow, only in the print edition of The News-Times.

Hi everyone,

I’m back from vacation after spending Christmas weekend with my family in upstate New York. I ate too much — big shocker there! — but I laughed a lot, too.

My niece, Cassie, and my nephew, Tanner, received the Beatles Rock Band simulation game from Santa and everyone took a turn. It was awesome. My mom sang vocals for a bunch of songs. I played the guitar and my brother wailed on the drums. No inhibitions here!

The little kids were the funniest of all. They couldn’t wait to grab the mike and sing the lyrics to songs they had never heard before. Let’s just say they put a personal touch on the Beatles catalogue. And everyone loved it.

Yesterday, I joined the 21st century and opened a Skype account, which allows me to talk to my stepson, Mike, over the Internet for free when he visits his dad in Florida for vacations and holidays. Best of all, with the video function engaged, we saw each other through our computer web cams.

Next year, when Mike goes to college, I imagine it will really come in handy. If only George Jetson could see me now!

Leslie Mooney is a woman on a mission.

When she’s not ordering and buying supplies for the operating room at Danbury Hospital, there’s a good chance you’ll find her working with the Danbury Public Schools Special Olympics Team.

Recently, Mooney learned the numbers for this season’s basketball team are low. Really low. Scratch the belly of a snake low.

Mooney desperately wants to change that. The Danbury woman would love to add a few more athletes to the team. At this time of year, the more the merrier, she figures.

“It’s such a great experience for everyone, the kids and the coaches,” Mooney said Friday.

Check out my Take on Life column in Sunday’s News-Times to  read more about Leslie Mooney and the Danbury Public Schools Special Olympics Team.

Better yet, spread the word: The Danbury Public Schools Special Olympics Team is looking for athletes.

After 2 1/2 years of writing Take on Life for the print edition of The News-Times and our Web site, newstimes.com,  my column is going print-only effective Friday.

As someone who’s spent the last 20 years with ink-stained fingers – and loves the look and feel of newspapers – the move seems as traditional as it is vanguard.

The decision to run my column solely in the newspaper was made to promote News-Times content that will be available only in print. Likewise, there will be News-Times stories, videos, photo galleries and other content that will be available only online.

I will be blogging Monday through Friday now, so come back often to get a preview of my upcoming columns, not to mention my view of the world and all things Greater Danbury.  My blog and my column will complement each other with synergy and candor.

In Friday’s Take on Life, you can read about Linda Jones, a Newtown woman whose 16-year-old autistic son, Tyler, died suddenly this fall.

Before he died, Tyler had taken a fancy to making beaded bracelets. But it wasn’t just a diversion, his mother said. It was teaching him how to develop a marketable skill for adulthood.

Now, his mother makes the bracelets in Tyler’s honor to support autism awareness and research. The bracelets are sold locally, but you’ll have to read the print edition of The News-Times on Friday to find out where.