Somebody has supposedly measured the intelligence of every city in the United States and has proven that Princeton is in the top three smartest cities in the nation.
We could have figured that out without the test. And we doubt the efficacy of the test in the first place. But we’ll smile and acknowledge the honor.
Now the question is — what are we doing with these massive brains to help our community, our world?
How would Princeton be different if Barbara Boggs Sigmund had lived? Her mother, Lindy Boggs, just died:
The New Orleans Times Picayune obit writer describes Bogg’s “disarming personal charm, a gift for communicating warmth and a sense of civility that drew others as her allies, almost to their surprise.
Friends said she elevated manners to an art form, and made personal charm a powerful political tool. . . But a hard substantive edge always glinted just below the surface. . . Mrs. Boggs also became famous for her tenacity — a warm and ever-gracious refusal to take no for an answer. . .
Boggs supported civil rights, as did her daughter, who began to follow her father’s and mother’s political trajectory as mayor of Princeton Borough. Boggs quit her job in Congress in 1990 to care for Barbara who, after years of sporting an eye patch, would die of cancer that year.
Had Barbara Boggs Sigmund lived, I believe she would have — in her New Orleans drawl — done something about issues of inequality with which Princeton is still struggling. She was her mother’s daughter.
When the Pedaling Parsons — ministers riding bikes to raise money for missions — toured Princeton, their favorite spot was the beautiful Princeton University Chapel. Here is the virtual tour with details on the choir loft carved from wood found in Sherwood Forest, and pews made from gun carriages.
What is the scripture for this? My pick is Isaiah 2:4 and what’s yours?
It was built in 1928 for $2 million after the Marquand Chapel was destroyed in a fire. The intent was, according to the University history, “to permit the University to maintain its religious heritage, but in a manner that recognized its public mission in an increasingly multicultural society.” I told them about the community -wide services at Thanksgiving and we commiserated on the sad fact that the University Chapel services are held, invariably, at the same time as the PUMC services. Tour it online here.
Photo by Steve McDonald.
The Peddling Parsons’ mission target this year is “Stopping Random Violence Before it Happens: investing in children and youth programming at local community centers.” office@northcantongrace.org
More sidewalks, more bike lanes, better infrastructure — after Hurricane Sandy, when an entire village burned because the road was impassable, the Department of Transportation is rebuilding. Find out how in the current issue of U.S. 1 as Diccon Hyatt tells about one of those conferences that don’t get advertised, “Driving a Sustainable Environment,” set for Monday through Thursday, July 22 through 25, at the Transportation Review Board Summer Workshop at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick. Among the topics will be “intelligent roads,” like those I’ve seen in Germany. On the autobahn, electronic signs tell the speed limits, which varies according to weather and circumstances. It’s what we need for the “smart cars” of the future.
A Memorial Bench for the late Evelyn D. Voorhees will be dedicated on Friday, July 19, at 2 p.m. at Spruce Circle. A resident of Spruce Circle, she was a pollworker for District 9, a Commissioner on the Housing Authority of the Borough of Princeton and worked for the Princeton Senior Resource Center as an administrative assistant until she retired in 2010.
“Anyone who knew Evelyn and would like to attend the Memorial dedication and the reception to follow is welcome to attend,” says Linda Sipprelle.
Two “do-good” events come up in the next 18 hours. Will you be stopping by the Plaza Palooza this afternoon, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.? I’ll be at the table sponsored by Princeton United Methodist Church and United Front Against Riverblindness. We’ll have a “Help Us Help Others” Wheel — for $1 you get to spin the wheel and either win a prize — or your dollar goes to the charity that the wheel chooses. It’s fun. At the other tables you’ll meet area business folks, get free tastings and lots of giveaways. BAI water will be there, sure to be a hit in the heat! It’s free and a great place to network.
Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Jennifer Bryson will speak at the Princeton Chamber breakfast on one of her recent exciting endeavors. For two years she had worked for the Department of Defense at Guantanomo Bay. Now her day job involves partnering with Muslim advocates for religious freedom, but she also campaigns to defend the Sourland Mountains from encroachment. Bryson (Stanford, Yale) is currently teaching at the Army War College.
I’m not always in agreement with preservationists (I’m siding with the Institute of Advanced Study re building on its property). Hear what Bryson has to say and make up your own mind about the 90 square miles of the Sourland Mountains, New Jersey’s “last great wilderness.” Everybody can come to this breakfast for the reduced member price, $25, and it’s great networking.
Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Hebrews 12:13
I came across this verse in today’s Moravian Daily Texts, an ecumenical devotional guide read by 1.5 million in 50 languages. Though the writer of Hebrews surely meant spiritual healing, the same principle — align yourself correctly to be healthy — applies to the physical body as well.
With my Pilates instructor, Katrine, I am currently trying to heal tendinitis in a shoulder joint — partly by trying to learn to use my arm in a better way. And with a physical therapist, Jeff, I am retraining my jaw to open in a normal way. (Loquacious as I am, my mandible is abnormally tight.)
So it occurs to me that Hebrews 12:13 could be the mantra for Pilates and physical therapy. If your body is not aligned correctly, it develops bad habits until eventually you are “out of joint.” Pilates trainers and physical therapists discern alignment problems; they heal.
For your interest, here is the entire selection. The long passages (Psalms, Hebrew Bible, New Testament) at the top are from the “lectionary,” the verses read and preached upon by most Christian churches for this week. The Hebrew Bible verse (Ezekiel for today) is chosen by lot during the previous year. A minister chooses the New Testament verse to go with it — and composes the prayer.
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Moravian Daily TextsFriday, July 12 – Psalm 83:13-18 Isaiah 32:1-33:16; Ephesians 5:21-33 |
They shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. Ezekiel 34:28
Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Hebrews 12:13
Like a comforting mother, hold me this day, Lord, with the tender touch that kisses our wounds and rubs our shoulder and keeps us safe when we fall or even fail. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Angela Amar, an African American nurse and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar, tells of an incident when a patient’s wife referred to her as “a lil’ colored girl here to see you.”
That was one issue to for her to work through, but Amar reveals the bigger issue is when her students say she is “smart.” Faculty members are supposed to be intelligent, Amar points out. Her white colleagues do not hear the same compliment.
“So, is it something that is remarkable because I am a woman of color? Am I an exception? Does my mere presence challenge students’ perceptions of African Americans?” Yes, her presence does challenge perceptions. She is effective as a mentor for minorities, but even more as a challenge to stereotypes that the majority holds.
Amar currently works in Georgia, and I don’t know where the “lil colored girl” incident took place, but let me make it plain to my Southern friends that I realize Northerners can be equally steeped in harmful stereotypes.
Here is the link, again, to Amar’s essay, and I’ll let her have the last word:
Diversity is not a one-way glass that only directs light in one direction. Diversity is a window—it lets light in and out. The benefits and opportunities of diversity are not just for the individuals who bring the diversity to the environment; diversity benefits everyone.
“Coveting Not the Corner Office, but Time at Home,” a July 7 article in the New York times, resonated with me, as I am sure it did with thousands of women. It begins:
Sara Uttech has not spent much of her career so far worrying about “leaning in.” Instead, she has mostly been hanging on, trying to find ways to get her career to accommodate her family life, rather than the other way around.
I’d been pondering the balance between career and family as I prepared my speech for the WIBA “Women of Achievement” breakfast last month.
Along with three other women (Denise Taylor, Danielle Gletow, and Barbara Hillier) I was “honored to be honored” at this event. Richard K. Rein, my ex-boss at U.S. 1, wrote an “outsider” column about it, outsider because he was a man at a predominently female gathering. Rich comments that Hillier was the one who put the career balance thing in context. She used the familiar Ginger Rogers metaphor (does everything that Fred Astaire does, but backwards and in high heels) but it is oh so true.
In the ’60s, ’70s, and even ’80s, women did not have so many choices as we do now. But living with limited horizons can be easier. Each of us must find her own way.
Marion Reinson — whom I know from the chamber program committee and the former Einstein Alley Entrepreneur’s Group — wrote a sweetly complimentary account of the WIBA awards breakfast. I posted it on my personal blog for my grandchildren to read someday.
It’s more difficult than you’d think to be praised in public, but it was a truly wonderful event, planned to be specially nice from the table decorations to the engraved Simon Pearce glass bowl that the honorees received.
So here is the ultimate thank you to everyone on the committee, printing all the names: Elizabeth Hampton (chairperson), Brenda Ross-Dulan (emcee), Lorraine Holcombe (chamber liasion), plus Mary Betz, Dale Blair, Donna Bouchard, Jodi Brigman, Carol Einhorn, Michelle Everman, Robin Fogel, Danielle Gletow, Meg Helms, Judy Hutton, Heather Kumor, Nicole Lyons, Jane Mahon, Eileen Martinson, Susan Mullin, Helen Okajima, and Lucia Stegaru. You did a great job!
And while I’m at it, the sponsors were Wells Fargo, jasna Polana, WithumSmith+Brown, PNC, MacLean Agency, Fox rothschild, Lindt Chocolates, and Monday Morning Flower & Balloon Co. Thank you all again.
Princeton Comment 