Antonio Vivaldi composed the enduring Four Seasons over three hundred years ago. Many of us have heard the highly recognizable notes of introductory passage, Spring, as a bride walked down the aisle. The Four Seasons, I have learned, is “intended to evoke something extra-musical.” Vivaldi uses a four-note motif, repeated to call to mind the “harsh cold and sometimes unsettling feeling of the season.” It fulfills its mission.
Winter changes the pace and focus of everything. There’s the lower sun angle; the brevity of daylight hours; more time indoors; more time spent within the confines of memory; more time to be
analytical, critical, but also hopeful. Maybe there is truth in what Oscar Wilde wrote: Wisdom comes with winters.
Twenty-one years can wear and tear on a volunteer organization. The energy level spikes at times; at others, it’s like running on empty. Covid knocked us for a loop. Schools were and are hesitant to bring in outside presenters. Myself, I truly miss the personal give and take, the interaction with a group of interested, enthusiastic children. I never participated in any online courses; never took part in distance learning. These methodologies are not part of my teaching DNA. As with everything in
life, it’s Adapt! or become ignored, out of sync with the times.
Because of Matt’s foresight, we have a presence on the internet: videos, lesson plans, blogs.
This past January 9th, Matt Barbis and I were scheduled for an interview at the Catholic Faith Network (CFN). We would be guests on the station’s LIVE news segment and engage in a question and answer with the host, Colleen McVey, about the book we coauthored with Chris Vaccaro, No Thanks; I’ll Walk. CFN describes its mission as bringing “uplifting, inspiring stories to its viewers” and providing “thought provoking content from an array of regular contributors while featuring interesting guests from myriad backgrounds.” We were gratified to be included under that
umbrella.
How did we get there? Like all journeys, it began a while ago with the first step. As we waited to be called to the set, I asked Matt what he thought he was going to accomplish way back in March 2004, one month after Carlie’s passing, with the creation of The Rose Brucia Educational
Foundation (RBEF). No matter how many times we talk about the Brucia organization’s past, present and future, I always come away believing I see more clearly, maybe more fully, the tragedy and its aftermath. The emotion is there in his voice yet again when he speaks of Carlie in these private moments. Even though he makes eye contact during the conversation, I sense that he is looking through me, to the time when the entire Brucia/Barbis family was holding its collective breath, waiting for news, good news (Please, God!), but not wanting to acknowledge the worst might have happened.
Matt relived how the RBEF gotstarted one month after Carlie’s death. The first year was filled with fits and starts. Schools would not allow Matt to present his initial concepts about stranger safety awareness unless RBEF was affiliated with SCOPE Education Services. SCOPE is “a private, no-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, permanently chartered by the NYS Board of Regents to provide…local school districts programs for educators, parents and children.” Fortunately, through connections, Matt was partnered with Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, NY, which was affiliated with SCOPE. Out of this meeting of the minds came the first set of lessons utilizing a wide array of puppets. Matt and his troupe of volunteers were given a venue at which to perform and an audience to interact with. The children were entertained, AND the parents in attendance genuinely
liked what they saw and heard. These parents reached out to their respective PTA’s, acting as agents for Matt and his program. The rest is a twenty-one year history. As Matt recounted the birthing pains of the RBEF, it was obvious that without Good Sam’s faith in Matt’s vision and resolve, the organization would never have moved foward.
Fast forward to this summer. Catholic Health Services (CHS) was the corporate sponsor for the season at Adventureland amusement park in Farmingdale, NY. CHS would have employees at
the park providing information about its mission and available services. This organization reached out to Matt and asked if the RBEF could be a presence alongside the CHS personnel, as a type of community outreach, presenting Brucia’s program in a modified form to park attendees. Matt readily agreed. The mentoring by Good Sam will never be forgotten. On one of those hazy, hot, humid August days, a reporter and cameraman from CFN showed up. Video was compiled.
The reporter asked both of us pertinent questions about the who, why, what, how of the RBEF. As we were wrapping up our materials, I handed a copy of our book to Matt and suggested he give it to the reporter. He did.
The reporter said, “You have a book? How about you come to our studio and do a sit down with one of our hosts. I’ll contact you and set it up.”
Thanks to CFN, we now have a verysmart-looking media package. Check it out at CFN LIVE-The Rose Brucia Foundation on Vimeo.
When plans are made for space exploration, the propulsion of the craft is always front and center. A
gravitational slingshot is a “maneuver that uses a planet’s gravity to change a spacecraft’s speed and trajectory.” How incredible that in our journey we again are at a spot to absorb and utilize a welcoming, truly positive force to boost our forward momentum.
Winters can elicit hope. Albert Camus wrote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer.”
Here’s to the next twenty-one years!