the staff of the Ridgewood blog
NEW YORK, NY – High-kicking 1,200 times a day and listening to the same nine Christmas songs from September through January might sound like a challenge to some—but for Ridgewood twins Courtney and Caitlyn Sullivan, it’s the thrill of a lifetime.
Coincidence connects veterans, Ridgewood High School graduates
NOVEMBER 6, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014, 2:48 PM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Paul Grassey was in one of 23 B-24 bomber planes when about a dozen German ME 262 fighter jets attacked.
“We were supposed to bomb a couple of airfields and the Germans broke through,” Grassey said, retelling one of the more memorable of the 13 missions he flew during World War II.
It’s luck, he said, that’s gotten him to 91 years old, surviving through his time as Second Lieutenant with the 8th Air Force, which suffered more than 47,000 casualties and 26,000 deaths during the war.
Although the U.S. was able to “out-manufacture the Germans” with bomber planes, Grassey wasn’t sure how they would fare against the new jets.
https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/coincidence-connects-veterans-1.1128444
Ridgewood High School graduates urged to earn happiness
JUNE 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014, 6:29 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Facing a sea of red roses and white dresses covered in sparkling details, Ridgewood High School (RHS) Principal Tom Gorman told the Class of 2014 that life is not a fairytale, with one easy way to happiness.
“Happiness is earned,” he said. “It is not a system based on awards and rewards, based solely on wants. When pursuing happiness, many times there are no raises, promotions or awards.”
As he spoke to about 400 students and several hundred more in attendance at Tuesday’s graduation, the principal’s point was that in American culture “happiness as a pursuit is strongly encouraged” – yet how to get there can be unclear.
Promising students that they will not find happiness simply through professional success or “by pursuing money, material possessions or fame” (though they may be fortunate enough to acquire those things), he invoked the struggle of Nelson Mandela and the research of Dan Buettner, who wrote “Thrive,” a book focusing on happiness.
Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment while fighting against apartheid exemplified the importance of “delayed gratification,” helping others, and having faith in something larger than oneself. And Buettner’s work illustrated that true happiness has many components.
Buettner, Gorman said, found that 40 percent of happiness is related to one’s daily thoughts and actions. Buettner’s research on “true happiness,” Gorman observed, included several key themes: the development of a caring group of healthy friends; working at meaningful jobs; engaging in enriching hobbies; staying in reasonable shape; volunteering one’s time and services; and belonging to a faith-based community.
“He also found that true happiness involves the pursuit of worthy goals,” Gorman said. “You need to believe in something bigger than yourself, something that transcends you. This gives hope and we cannot live without faith, love, and especially hope.”
Gorman told students to “remember you are not alone in your pursuit of happiness, and be true to yourself and others. And may you all live happily ever after.”
On Wednesday, the principal said he got his inspiration for the speech from a magazine article.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-high-school-graduates-urged-to-earn-happiness-1.1041312#sthash.xpY66TuE.dpuf
