The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

The Concert Across America to End Gun Violence

by

gun-violence-concert

From here in New Castle, to the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, to the Top of the Standard in Los Angeles, and to Lola’s Trailer Park in Fort Worth, Texas, musicians are banding together for The Concert Across America to End Gun Violence on Sunday, Sept. 25th.

  • At Chappaqua’s First Congregational Church, Dave Bickler will be singing, Keith Robellard, Minister of Music at FCC will be playing, and other special guests will be performing and speaking. The concert, which is being co-sponsored by the FCC and the Upper Westchester Muslim Society, is free and open to the public. It will take place at 4 p.m. at FCC, 210 Orchard Ridge Road.
  • Producers of the main event at the Beacon Theatre include: Live Nation New York; Jerry Foley, former director of “The Late Show with David Letterman”; John Rosenthal of SHV, and Donna Dees-Thomases, the founder of the Million Mom March, Mother’s Day 2000–still the largest protest against gun violence in U.S. history.
  • Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains will host a participatory “Sing-In” from 4 p.m.-6 pm. Folk and contemporary song will be led by Cantors Ellen Dreskin and Jonathan Gordon, and other favorite singers: Kenny Green, Adam Hart, Ira and Julia Levin, Jenny Murphy and more. Free and open to the public. RSVP to wct.org/concertacrossamerica.

“I’m inspired by the organizers for the Chappaqua concert, whose hard work has made the message from the Lower Hudson Valley loud and clear: we cannot wait one more day for commonsense gun safety measures that are supported by the vast majority of Americans. I will continue fighting in Congress to keep our families and communities safe. And together, we will win this fight.” –Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Spearheaded by Massachusetts-based Stop Handgun Violence (SHV), Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, and dozens of other organizations committed to reducing gun violence, the concerts will feature a diverse array of artists performing at venues ranging from churches and school gymnasiums to honky-tonks and hotel rooftops. Artists are asked to perform at least one song that gives voice to the more than five million Americans who’ve been murdered by a firearm since the mass shooting at the University of Texas on Aug. 1, 1966.

Artists with pre-existing commitments can still participate with a social media shout-out on their own Facebook fan pages and on their Twitter accounts using hashtags, #ConcertAcrossAmerica to #EndGunViolence.

A Body’s Memory

by

The author’s husband and daughter, Mike and Hannah, in Japan in 2013
The author’s husband and daughter, Mike and Hannah, in Japan in 2013

By Dana Y. Wu

The mountain-top Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto is dedicated to Dai-zui-gu Bo-sat-su, the mother of Buddha. It is said that she can grant one’s wish, whatever it may be.

Hannah (my then 13 year-old daughter), my husband, Mike and I took off our shoes, paid our donation and started down the stairs under the temple–a “tunnel” to remind us of the womb of a mother. The sign on the wall simply said to hold onto the railing. It was made of round wooden ball–not a solid wood handrail, but like a string of prayer beads that swayed as we walked. Apparently, I hadn’t read the fine (Japanese!) print saying you’d better hold on because it was very, very dark inside…so dark, you couldn’t even see your hand in front of you.

I started to feel my heart pound. I suddenly wanted to bolt backwards and run out. I heard noises and smelled incense, and felt an intense wave of fear. I knew where I was, but I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. I called out “Mike, I’m having a panic attack” and felt the blood rush from my head. There were a couple of turns to navigate, but my feet were stuck. My heart was pounding and I thought I’d pass out. I heard him say, “It’s okay.” I was having a flashback to the first World Trade Center bombing. I couldn’t breathe.

Back in 1993, I was on the 63rd floor when terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the basement garage of One World Trade Center. The power was knocked out immediately, so I just grabbed my purse from my desk and ran out to the stairwells with my co-workers from the Port Authority of NY/NJ. We had to walk downstairs in darkness, with the smell of smoke and panic swirling as we evacuated the building. It was stop and go as we moved slowly down those stairs.

The stairwells were completely dark after a while–the emergency lights didn’t seem to be working, and we were proceeding down into increasingly smoky darkness. Somehow, my colleagues and I managed to get to the World Financial Center where the Red Cross had set up tables. We were covered in soot and dust–we didn’t even realize what we looked like until we reached daylight.

To this day, I can’t remember how I got home from work on February 26, 1993. It must have been cold, but I don’t think I even had my coat. At that point we didn’t yet know that it had been a bomb or imagine that our world would be forever changed by that single act of violence.

So here I was in Kyoto, all these years later, paralyzed with fear in the womb of the female Bodhisattva. My hand gripped the swaying railing ball. I knew this was a memory triggered by the darkness and incense of the temple “rebirth” but it also triggered some deep fear in me. Mike reassured me that we were coming to some light. “A few more steps.” Well, that’s what the firefighters said to us in 1993 on our way down those smoke-filled flights of stairs.

Near the end of the temple “tunnel,” there was a stone, rotating and bathed in light, on which is written the word “womb” in Sanskrit. I was grateful for the dim light, gasping up the stairs for air. The entire temple tunnel adventure was probably less than 10 minutes in duration. My own daughter was unaware of my fearful “rebirth” during this sightseeing stop.

When the taxi dropped us off that morning at the Kiyomizu temple, I hadn’t expected to be transported back 20 years to a memory that I had forgotten. I emerged from that temple experience with a visceral and physical reaction. In a world where we feel the constant threat of terrorism and gun violence, where in every corner of the globe there is disease, war and abuse, hunger and inequality, I was faced with my body’s own memory of how our life can be taken away in an instant.

What did I wish for when I reached that stone and the light? What would you wish for?

Dana Y. Wu, a Chappaqua mom of four, is an author, visual storyteller and local volunteer. Her not-for-profit management career includes experience at the New York Public Library. A life-long New Yorker, she graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University. She pursues her writing with the vibrant, creative community at the Jacob Burns Media Arts Center.

 

Keeping it Fun

by

By Grace Bennett

I’m so dizzy, my head is spinning–with all the fun stuff we’ve packed into this edition. First and foremost, I’m super proud of having covered the Democratic National Convention together with reporter Susan Youngwood. A four-page glimpse of our experience begins on page 28. We are also delighted to deliver a “back to fun” theme–to chase away any end of summer, back to school doldrums. Matt Smith’s cover feature is a celebration of the Rotary Club members who faithfully meet every Monday at Kittle House to discuss plans–including New Castle’s much anticipated Community Day–host guest speakers and otherwise focus on “Service above Self.” Grace convention shot

We also set out to spotlight exciting plans and esteemed authors for another amazing day of celebrating books and reading and children at the 4th annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF); there’s Save the Date info and a fun memory from New Castle’s much beloved Ragamuffin Parade, the Shop for a Cause Boutique, the 2016 Dewey Election Edition at the Chappaqua Library, and this year, please save the date for and learn about “The Concert for America to End Gun Violence.”

New York Senator Chuck Schumer being most gracious at the Democratic National Convention
New York Senator Chuck Schumer being most gracious at the Democratic National Convention
For your absolute reading pleasure, enjoy a variety of thoughtful essays–one, in the nick of time, “Mindfulness in a Crazy World,” by Jodi Baretz; a painful recollection of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing by Dana Y. Wu (who wrote the CCBF story too!); the magic of playing field hockey by Greeley student Lauren Neff; and finally, a personal journey buoyed by the power of unconditional love by the Reverend Dr. Martha R. Jacobs.

Yet more articles: the shift soon to reusable bags in New Castle, the DeCicco’s supermarket coming to Millwood, the town’s Exceptional People Committee, Northern Westchester Hospital’s Junior Leadership Council and a profile of ‘Ms. Carol’ and ‘Ms. Dina’ at the much loved Dance Emotions.

Finally, we have two special reports: a story about Evan’s Law, written by our wonderful summer intern Justin Ellick; and an in-depth look at affordable housing efforts as they have played out (very, very differently) in both Chappaqua and Armonk–true community journalism prepared by Andrew Vitelli, our editor for Inside Armonk.

Due to this embarrassment of riches, we had to save other wonderful submissions, so as not to ‘break up’ an amazing compilation of essays produced by a group of local teens exclusive to Inside Chappaqua. So, stay tuned for more great reading in your next, November 2016 edition too!